CURRENT AFFAIRS: 08/02/11

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Pakistani troops deployed after 34 killed in Karachi

Authorities called in paramilitary soldiers and police to quell political and criminal violence in Pakistan's largest city on Tuesday after 34 people were killed here in less that two days, officials said.

Violence in Karachi, a sprawling port city of 18 million, has added to the political instability in the nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied nation and provided another distraction for the government as it fights a Taliban-led insurgent movement. It also undercuts Pakistan's struggling economy, because Karachi serves as the country's main commercial hub.

The Hindu Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa speaking before the launch of the report "Humanitarian Operation — Factual Analysis" compiled by the Ministry of Defence, in Colombo on Monday. Photo: R.K. Radhakrishnan

Hinting that Sri Lanka will re-examine its war with the Tamil Tigers, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has said his country “will certainly engage with and account for the events of the past, [but] our focus must be on the future”.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's government Monday acknowledged for the first time that there were civilian casualties in the final phase of the civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels but calls them unavoidable.

Italy approves draft law to ban burqa

istory

A Muslim woman wearing a niqab in Brussels - under the new Italian law this would be illegal.

Under the new Italian law wearing a niqab would be illegal. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA

An Italian parliamentary commission has approved a draft law banning women from wearing veils that cover their faces in public.
The draft, which was passed by the constitutional affairs commission on Tuesday, would prohibit women from wearing a burqa, naqib or any other garment that covers the face in such circumstances. It would expand a decades-old law that for security reasons prohibits people from wearing face-covering items such as masks in public places.

Geir Lippestad, lawyer of Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, the man accused of a killing spree and bomb attack in Norway, delivers a statement and answers questions in Oslo, July 26, 2011.

The Norwegian man who has confessed to killing 77 in the twin attacks in his country last month has presented a list of demands he wants to exchange for sharing information about his alleged crime.

Obama gifted measuring tape to US SEAL's chief

NEW YORK President Barack Obama gifted a measuring tape to the commander of the US SEALs, which killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, after he found out that the commandos did not have one to measure the height of the slain al-Qaeda leader.

Bin Laden was believed to be about six feet four, "but no one had a tape measure to confirm the body's length. So one SEAL, who was six feet tall, lay beside the corpse: it measured roughly four inches longer than the American," The New Yorker magazine said in its latest issue bringing to light new aspects of the mission, codenamed Operation Neptune's Spear.

The Iraqi government agreed late Tuesday to start negotiations with U.S. officials on whether to authorize the U.S. military to remain in Iraq on a mission training Iraq's security forces after 2011.
The announcement came the same day that Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the country and warned that Washington needed a clear signal from Iraq about whether it would ask the American military stay on.

A Pakistani shepherd herds his goats past the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US Special Forces in a ground operation early May 2, in Abbottabad on May 4, 2011.

US commanders of the raid on Osama bin Laden considered a more down-to-earth way of entering his compound than swooping in by helicopter — tunnelling.

Nato is sending hundreds of extra troops to Kosovo amid rising tension in the north along its border with Serbia.

The military alliance said the situation had not deteriorated but that reinforcements were needed to relieve troops currently patrolling the north.
Soldiers from Nato's Kosovo Force were deployed after clashes broke out between Kosovo police and ethnic Serbs.

Police kill 4 suspects in Xinjiang city

KASHI, Xinjiang, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Four suspects were shot dead by police in the city of Kashi (or Kashgar) in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Sunday afternoon.
Four others were caught, while police are hunting for the rest four following an eruption of violence at 4:30 p.m., in which more than 10 pedestrians and police officers had been found injured.
Local sources have earlier said three people died from a blast at the scene, but witnesses said the victims were hacked to death by the rioters.

The former managing editor of News of the World, Stuart Kuttner, who has been bailed after being questioned over phone hacking. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA

Stuart Kuttner's arrest – leading to hours of questioning before he was bailed – demonstrates the determination of the now humbled Metropolitan police to comprehensively investigate the phone-hacking affair. The move against the former veteran managing editor of the News of the World may well come as no great surprise to those following the saga – not least because people who were both above him (former editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson) and below him (ex-news editors Ian Edmondson, Neville Thurlbeck and James Weatherup) have all been arrested already.

U.S. envoy Marc Grossman

U.S. envoy Marc Grossman has called on Pakistan to support peace and reconciliation efforts between Taliban militants and the government in neighboring Afghanistan, saying Pakistan has a "unique" and "important" role to play.

Grossman, Washington's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, spoke on August 2 in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where he held trilateral talks with Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawid Ludin and the deputy head of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, Salman Bashir.

U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman (C), U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter (L), and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker attend a tripartite meeting of Pakistani, U.S. and Afghan officials at the foreign ministry in Islamabad August 2, 2011. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States and Pakistan are working to smooth over travel curbs which Islamabad has imposed on U.S. diplomats, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday, the latest strain in ties that have worsened since the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Pakistan says it has introduced the restrictions on U.S. diplomats' movements around the country as a security measure but U.S. officials say they smack of harassment.

Aid Groups in Famine-Stricken Somalia Granted Leeway on Helping Militants

The Obama administration is assuring aid workers in the Horn of Africa that they won’t violate U.S. laws if some of their food, medicine or money ends up in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked militants accused of worsening the region’s famine.
The revised U.S. guidelines don’t lift any restrictions on the al-Shabab network, which controls southern Somalia and has been blamed for aggravating the impact of drought-driven famine by barring international aid workers from the area.

MDG : Somalia / Refugee carries a bag of relief food

A Somali refugee carries a bag of relief food from the World Food Programme distribution centre at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border. Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

An estimated 12.4 million people now need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, according to the UN. The food security crisis in the Horn of Africa – including the officially declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia – has already been called the worst humanitarian crisis of 2011 by Antonio Guterres, head of the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, and the most severe food crisis in the world today.

A citizen journalism image of Syrian anti-regime protesters in the city of Hama, Syria. Photograph: AP

The night before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, the Syrian army was mobilised and deployed, not to the occupied Golan Heights, but to Syrian cities and villages.
The brunt of this campaign of state-sponsored violence was absorbed, yet again, by the defiant city of Hama. In 1982, President Bashar al-Assad's father brutally crushed an armed insurrection by the Muslim Brotherhood there, killing more than 20,000 Syrian citizens along the way.

Death Toll Mounts in Syria as UN Debates Resolution

Syrian security forces have intensified their bloody siege against anti-government protesters, sending the three-day death toll above 130 as President Bashar al-Assad's international isolation deepens.
Rights activists and witnesses Tuesday said troops and pro-Assad “shabbiha” militiamen attacked the flashpoint city of Hama for the third day in a row, killing three more people and sending other residents fleeing for their lives. Most of the deaths in Mr. Assad's three-day military assault have occurred in Hama.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement on the passing of a debt-ceiling bill in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, August 2, 2011. REUTERS/Larry Downing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama suffered a defeat in the battle over raising the U.S. debt limit that may have repercussions for his efforts to restore growth to the U.S. economy and win re-election in 2012.
The outcome of the debt battle dismayed Obama's liberal base just when he needs them for 2012 fundraising and support, and emboldened his Republican adversaries who forced him to accept more spending cuts than he wanted.

Obama statement on Debt Ceiling Increase

US president Barack Obama address the media after the vote on the debt ceiling deal. Photograph: Rex Features

What is the immediate effect of the deal?
It grants a $400bn increase in the government's debt ceiling to stave off the threat of default, with an additional $500bn increase available from February to be effective on the president's authority. Further increases of $1.2tn-$1.5tn will become available if a balanced budget amendment is considered by Congress by the end of the year.

When do the spending cuts kick in?
From the start of the government's 2012 fiscal year on 1 October, savings of $21bn are to be made through limits on spending. After that, caps on federal spending are to save an estimated $917bn over 10 years by slowing the speed of increases. Further cuts are to be identified by a bipartisan "super committee".
What's the 'super committee'?
A 12-member congressional panel to meet in November and come up with a plan to reduce deficits by $1.2tn to $1.5tn over 10 years. It can consider tax or revenue increases. If it fails to produce a plan acceptable to Congress, the deal triggers steep, automatic cuts in spending of a similar size.
How does this trigger work?
The trigger is designed to encourage the committee to produce meaningful ways to cut the deficit. If it fails, across-the-board spending cuts in discretionary spending starting from fiscal year 2013 will be set in motion, with half coming from defence – a painful prospect for many Republicans. Medicaid and social security payments are protected, with limited cuts to Medicare programmes – painful for Democrats.
What is the 'balanced budget amendment'?
By the end of 2011 Congress must consider adding an amendment to the US constitution that the federal budget be balanced. If Congress approves the amendment the debt ceiling can be raised on the president's authority by $1.5tn. But if, as is more likely, it is not approved, the debt ceiling can be raised by just $1.2tn.
What does this balanced budget amendment mean?
It would give constitutional force to a rule requiring that the budget could not exceed revenues or exceed 18% of US national income unless approved by a super-majority in both houses of Congress.
Will it help balance the budget?
No. Experts say that the amendment as proposed has significant practical flaws that make it unenforceable. Further, economists argue that it is based on questionable assumptions.
What is Obama's next move?
A battle is looming over the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. Allowing the tax cuts to lapse as scheduled in 2012 would produce around $3tn in additional revenue over the following decade. If Democrats and Obama have the stomach for a fight, they could turn the table on Republicans and block any extension.
Is the plan set in stone?
No. Congress can reopen and amend some or all parts of the deal at any time. Depending on the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, and the state of the economy in 2013, it seems all but certain the deal will be revised and possibly discarded entirely.

Egyptian army forcibly clears Tahrir Square demo

Egyptian soldiers arrest a man after tearing down a protest camp in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on Monday. Troops clashed with a small group of the protesters, who want more political changes and the country's ex-president, Hosni Mubarak, to face justice. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)

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Egyptian forces swinging electrified batons and shouting the battle cry "God is great" swiftly chased off dozens of activists Monday who had refused to end four weeks of renewed protests at Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Hundreds of riot police backed by armoured vehicles and soldiers moved in to tear down a camp of dozens of tents after a group of activists — some of them relatives of people killed in the national uprising that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak in February — refused commands over loudspeakers to go home. Some in the crowd, whose demonstration aimed to pressure the country's military rulers, hurled stones at the police.

A boy salvages items from the rubble after Egyptian troops tore down the protest camp in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday. Ben Curtis/Associated Press Firing shots in the air and using clubs, Egyptian forces cleared the square within minutes.
With Mubarak's trial on charges that he ordered the killing of protesters due to start Wednesday, the ruling military council appeared to run out of patience with the protesters, whose key demand is to see the former president and other members of his regime face justice.

AP Hosni Mubarak. File photo

The choice for the Karnataka Chief Minister post has narrowed down to the outgoing Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar (left) and Udupi-Chikmagalur MP D.V. Sadananda Gowda. File photos

The HinduThe choice for the Karnataka Chief Minister post has narrowed down to the outgoing Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar (left) and Udupi-Chikmagalur MP D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

But there is no unanimity still between rival factions of BJP

The selection of the next Chief Minister of Karnataka, 20th to head the government since 1947, has reached a feverish pitch. There is still no unanimity between the two rival factions of the Bharatiya Janata Party, indicative of the deep divide in the legislature wing.

The choice has narrowed down to the outgoing Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Jagadish Shettar, and MP representing Udupi-Chikmagalur D.V. Sadananda Gowda. The party's central leadership, which has steered clear of naming a successor to B.S. Yeddyurappa, has decided to leave it to the legislature party to select the leader.

The party's central observers, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley, who were initially tasked with obtaining Mr. Yeddyurappa's resignation and thereafter identifying his successor, arrived here on Tuesday to restart the selection process, which they left midway on Sunday.

They merely said the political process of selecting the next Chief Minister was on, but declined to give a specific reply to the question whether the leader of the legislature party would be finalised through consensus or through ballot.


Jagdish Shettar (left) and Sadananda Gowda (right)

The race for chief minister’s kursi is heading for a nail biting finish as the rival factions rooting for BJP MP DV Sadananda Gowda and Rural Development minister Jagadish Shettar show no signs of compromise, even as BJP national leaders Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley held late night parleys to evolve a consensus on Yeddyurappa’s successor.

Dance bars still function in Mumbai, BJP has the names

Members from the opposition benches stunned the lower house by producing the names of some dance bars that are functional and do business till the wee hours.
BJP MLAs alleged that the police are hand in glove with the bar owners and hence no action has been taken against the bars.

PTI Farmers arrive at the Indira Gandhi Kala Kendra for a meeting with Noida Authority officials in Noida on Saturday.

Farmers in Noida on Saturday agreed to suspend their agitation against land acquisition for three months after authorities had accepted their demands, including giving them developed plots.

After talks, the farmers gave them an assurance that building development activities would not be stopped, said Noida Chairman and CEO Balwinder Kumar.

Farmers get assurance, in writing

The Noida Kisan Sangharsh Samiti on Tuesday officially called off its agitation after receiving a written assurance of the “agreements” made on July 30, signed by Noida Authority CEO Balwinder Kumar.
At a meeting between the Noida Authority and 16 village heads on Saturday, farmers from 54 villages in Noida were promised 5 per cent land — in the form of developed plots — in three months. Additionally, they were assured that the abadi (residential) land, where villagers currently reside, would be regularised.
Despite calling off the agitation, Samiti members said they would monitor the activities of the Authority, and take to the streets if the promises were not fulfilled within a month.

The samiti is an umbrella organisation of farmers and village pradhans in Noida.
“We have been assured that all the villages will be given 5 per cent developed plots in three months. At least 15 villages should get them by August 30,” said Mahinder Awana, organisation spokesperson. “If not, we will speak to the authorities and take to the streets again.”

Ghost ship sinks India's coastal defences claims

AP Children play near m.v. Pavit, a Panama-flagged vessel that ran aground on the Juhu beach.

m.v. Pavit drifted undetected for over 100 hours to Mumbai's shores

India's post-26/11 coastal defences have been brutally exposed by Pavit, a 1,000-tonne Panama-flagged merchant vessel, which ran aground on Mumbai's Juhu shore on Sunday, undetected by the new, three-tier security ring on which at least Rs. 700 million has been spent.

The Praja Rajyam chief, Mr K. Chiranjeevi, will become a Congress member on August 8 in New Delhi, signalling the merger of the PR with the Congress.

(File photo) When Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called on Chiranjeevi at his Jubilee Hills residence. PCC President Botsa Satyanarayana also seen - DC

The Praja Rajyam chief, K. Chiranjeevi, will become a Congress member on August 8 in New Delhi, signalling the merger of the PR with the Congress.

The Hindu PRP chief and veteran actor K. Chiranjeevi at a function in Chennai. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan.

AICC President Sonia Gandhi has invited Praja Rajyam Party President and Tirupati MLA K Chiranjeevi to New Delhi to meet her anytime between August 7 and 10 to formally take primary membership of the Congress party.

The PRP has already technically merged with the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh but a public meeting could not be organised as planned to formalise the amalgamation.

Jagan wants state to take stand on pleas against him

HYDERABAD: YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday urged the A P High Court through his counsel to call upon the state to take a stand on the petitions against his alleged illegal assets case and convey the same to the court.

"Let them say whether they are supporting me or hunting me rather than lending credibility to nefarious elements through their silence," Jagan said while defending himself and his entities in the cases filed against him by textiles minister P Shankar Rao, Yerran Naidu of the TDP and Sherwani, a lawyer from Kadapa.

Rane wanted quick call on Adarsh from Forest dept

Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane, during his tenure as the chief minister in September 1999, had sought a speedy inquiry and submission of a report into ownership and other details of the land where the controversial Adarsh Housing Society stands, a senior revenue official told a judicial panel.

Jagdish Gharat, deputy secretary of state Revenue and Forest department, while deposing before the two-member inquiry Commission, said the chief promoter of Adarsh society had on September 21, 1999 sent a letter to Rane seeking allotment of land.

The AP High Court on Tuesday was not inclined to insist that the state government spell out its stand on petitions seeking a CBI probe into alleged amassing of wealth by the YSR Congress president, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

(File photo) YS Jagan Mohan Reddy - DC

Security personnel and forensic experts inspect the site after a bomb exploded at a busy market in Imphal on Monday.

Normal life was disrupted here on Wednesday in response to a 12-hour strike called by the All Manipur Students’Union (AMSU) to protest the bomb blast on the outskirts of the state capital in Imphal West district.

Official sources said all transport services between Manipur and rest of neighbouring states were cancelled because of the strike which began at 5 a.m.

No proof that endosulfan posed health risks, Centre tells SC

The Union Agricultural and Cooperation Department on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that there was no evidence to suggest that long-term use of endosulfan posed health hazards and various nations had banned the pesticide as a precautionary measure.

The Union government submitted the counter-affidavit in response to a petition filed by Kerala unit of DYFI, youth wing of CPM, which sought ban on use and production of endosulfan. The DYFI move came in the backdrop of the reported maladies in Kasargode villages, allegedly caused by two-decade-long spraying of the pesticide in cashew plantations.
The affidavit, submitted by Agriculture Department director Vandana Jain, said the Joint Meeting of the Pesticide Review appointed by the WHO and FPO had evaluated in 2006 that “long term intake of residues of endosulfan from uses that have been considered by the JMPR was unlikely to present public health concern”.

Health problems not from Endosulfan, Centre tells SC

(File photo) Pushparajan, an endosulfan victim, with mother Kavitha at their house in Kaithodu, Kasargod (Picture for representational purposes only - DC)

The Centre on Tuesday stunned Kerala by submitting before the Supreme Court that the health problems in Kasargod villages were not caused by endosulfan.
The ministry of agriculture said this in a counter affidavit filed before the SC in response to the petition submitted by the Democratic Youth Federation of India seeking a nationwide ban on endosulfan.
According to the Centre, there was no evidence that proper use of endosulfan caused health problems. Kerala’s problems were caused by the indiscriminate aerial spraying of endosulfan on the Kasargod plantations, it said.

In the continuing crackdown by the AIADMK government on land grabbing, a former DMK MLA was on Tuesday arrested for his alleged role in a case.

Ranganathan, the latest to come in the police net in connection with the land grabbing allegations, thus becomes the third arrested leader of the DMK. Earlier, former minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam and Chepauk MLA J. Anbazhagan -- close aides of Union Minister M.K. Alagiri -- were held on similar charges.

Ex-DMK MLA, aide held in land grab case

A day after the DMK staged a state-wide protest against the AIADMK regime’s drive against land grabbing cases that has targeted the opposition party, Chennai city police arrested a former MLA and his aide for appropriating a piece of land worth crores of rupees after forging documents and intimidating the owners.

In the latest in a series of arrests of DMK men, B Ranganathan, a three-time MLA, was arrested with his close aide Venkatesh alias Gowri Shankar on Tuesday after people complained to the police that the politician and his alleged benami usurped their two acres of land. The plot in Chennai suburbs was bought by a group of 120 persons in 1994. In 2008, they found that the property had changed hands.

Govt starts process to regularize 51 colonies

NEW DELHI: With the Municipal polls slated for early next year , the Congress-led Delhi government is all set to woo residents of unauthorized colonies by dangling the 'regularization' carrot at them . The Sheila Dikshit government's urban development department has finally fixed the "tentative boundaries" of 51 colonies and referred the matter to the BJP-led MCD. If MCD standing committee's approves these boundaries , the state will begin the process of granting regularization status . The government plans to regularize about a 100 odd colonies before the 2012 municipal polls .

Sopore: SP shifted, PDP MLAs attacked

Angry protesters on Tuesday attacked a group of 18 PDP legislators at Sopore and pelted stones at their cavalcade. The legislators had tried to visit the residence of Nazim Rashid Shalla, who died in police custody on Sunday. In Srinagar, the state government on Tuesday ordered the transfer of SP, Sopore, Altaf Khan to “ensure fair and impartial” probe into the custodial death.

On Tuesday afternoon, as the legislators reached the residence of Nazim Rashid Shalla at Kranksivan colony, his family closed all doors and refused to let them enter the house. A large number of people assembled outside and pelted stones at the legislators’ cavalcade, breaking the window panes of their vehicles, forcing them to flee. The personal security officers of the legislators had to fire warning shots in the air to allow safe passage for the legislators.
PDP leader Iftikhar Hussain Ansari termed the anger of the people as “genuine”. “There were some people with us who were involved in the killing,” he said, referring to the police escort provided by the state government.

Sopore mob takes it out on PDP leaders

Protesters stone vehicles of PDP leaders in Sopore on Tuesday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad

People were incensed by the presence of Deputy Superintendent of Police

Eighteen legislators of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday bore the brunt of mob anger at Sopore town, which observed a complete shutdown for the third consecutive day to protest the custodial “killing” of Nazim Rashid Shalla (28).

Parliament to finally do business, debate inflation

Even as Parliament was stalled on Tuesday over inflation and land acquisition, the government and the opposition agreed to have a debate on inflation in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This seems to have paved the way for Parliament to function normally, unless there are further adjournments.

Plan to bring Lokpal Bill to standing halt

Will it be ninth time lucky? Forty-two years after it was first introduced, the Lokpal Bill will be introduced in Parliament for the ninth time on Thursday, but will most probably end up with the standing committee for lengthy discussions and is unlikely to meet Anna Hazare’s deadline of August 16.
This while Anna Hazare reacted sharply on Tuesday, writing an open letter to the MPs in which he said the government’s bill doesn’t have anything in it to address the corruption faced by the common man.
Anna in any case doesn’t want this government’s Lokpal Bill. Having said that, chances are the bill would remain with the standing committee for a long time.

Team Anna has been denied permission by the Delhi Police to hold its proposed indefinite dharna at Jantar Mantar here beginning August 16.

In a letter to India Against Corruption, the organisation corresponding on behalf of social activist Anna Hazare, the police on Tuesday said one group could not be allowed to usurp indefinitely the space earmarked for all citizens to exercise their democratic rights.

Right to Food Campaign calls for ‘action’ against draft food Bill

The Right to Food Campaign on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set aside the government draft of the Food Security Bill which “minimises government's obligations, restricts people's entitlements and is devoid of any accountability”. Rejecting the government's draft Bill, the Campaign gave a national call for action.

To ward off any threat of huge grain imports on the government's account in the event of drought or natural calamity, the draft Food Security Bill proposes to pay through cash or vouchers in lieu of grains or cooked meals to targeted beneficiaries.

According to the draft bill recently cleared by an empowered group of ministers chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ], the state governments will be responsible to make payments of such food security allowance to the targeted beneficiaries in the manner and time laid down by the Centre.

New Delhi: Reacting to the CNN-IBN expose on Haryana land deals favouring the Rajiv Gandhi Trust, the Congress has said that no rules were bent and that land was only given on lease. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The land was leased to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust for eyecare. The trust does not own the land."

Singhvi claimed, "Not a single rule has been bent, the Gram Panchayat owns the land."

Haryana government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it has approved constitution of a high-powered committee to consider cases of petitioners in connection with acquisition of land for development of Sectors 58-63 in Gurgaon, which includes the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust at Ullahawas village.
As the case came up for resumed hearing, the state government's counsel told a division bench comprising Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Augustine George Masih that it was willing to look into the petitions referred to the government.

The state government told the court that it was ready to review the cases of the petitioners in the case.
Last week, Haryana government had submitted it would reconsider the acquisition of over 850 acres of land in Gurgaon, following the filing of 65 petitions by landwoners, including leading artist Anjolie Ela Menon, who, however, has not withdrawn from the case.

IAF forced to fly MiG 21s till 2017 due to Tejas delay

NEW DELHI: The MiG-21 fighter jet, which has provided stellar service to the country, has been dubbed the flying coffin due to its high crash rate.

The figures are simply chilling. Of the 793 MiG-21 s inducted into IAF since 1963, well over 350 have been lost in accidents, killing about 170 pilots . The horrific crash rate of earlier decades has been controlled to a large extent but IAF will be forced to fly the upgraded MiG-21 "Bisons'' till 2017 because of the huge delay in the development of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), which is over 27 years in the making.

India: MiG-21 crashes in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, pilot dies

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft on Tuesday crashed soon after taking off from Naal airfield in Rajasthan's Bikaner district killing the pilot. "The pilot ejected but died due to injuries sustained by him," defence spokesperson S D Goswami said. The MiG-21 'Type-96' aircraft was on a routine sortie and crashed near the airfield, which is about 15 km from Bikaner city, he said.

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The unprecedented rush of pilgrims to Amarnath this year has contributed to the ice Shivling in the holy mountain cave completely melting away more than 10 days before the end of the yatra.

The Amarnath shrine board confirmed that the ice stalagmite, which was particularly well-formed this year and stood 15 feet high when the yatra began on June 29, had melted away.

The Hindu Devotees on their way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, at Sangam in south Kashmir. File photo: Nissar Ahmad

The 34th batch of pilgrims comprising 426 people on Tuesday left for the Amarnath yatra from here amid tight security, police said.

As many as 270 men, 55 women, 4 children and 97 seers left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in the early hours in a cavalcade of 14 vehicles for the 13,500-feet-high cave shrine situated in the Himalayas in south Kashmir.

The chief minister of the southern Indian state of Karnataka has resigned days after an anti-graft panel indicted him in an illegal mining scandal.

BS Yeddyurappa quit on Sunday following a decision by the leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The anti-corruption report alleges the scam cost the exchequer more than $3bn (£1.8bn) from 2006-2010. Mr Yeddyurappa denies any wrongdoing.
Correspondents say illegal mining has been rife for years in Karnataka.

New Delhi: As the NDA slammed the government for the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as the head of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, we revisited an RTI application which revealed how in a 2008 meeting, BJP leader VK Malhotra "applauded" Mr Kalmadi for the "excellent services rendered by him." Mr Malhotra also proposed Mr Kalmadi's re-election as Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President.

The Lok Sabha was on Monday adjourned for the day after paying tributes to former Haryana Chief Minister and sitting member Bhajan Lal, who died during the inter-session period. In the Rajaya Sabha uproarious scenes were witnessed over the government’s handling of the corruption issue.

As soon as the House met on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, Speaker Meira Kumar made obituary reference to Lal, a member from Hissar, who died on June 3.

She described him as an able administrator and champion of the causes of the masses and worked for the uplift of the weaker sections throughout his political career spanning over four decades.

The House also made obituary references to former members Dharmabhiksham, Sribatcha Digal, Sripal Singh Yadav, L S Tur and Chaturanan Mishra.

Hegde steps down as Karnataka Lokayukta today

After a "sweet and sour" experience as Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde is stepping down on Tuesday, looking forward to a relaxed and enjoyable life and do "what every retired person does".
The 71-year-old former Supreme Court judge whose report on illegal mining triggered a political storm that eventually cost BS Yeddyurappa his Chief Ministerial chair, told PTI that his innings as Lokayukta can be described as "sweet and sour experience".

Bangalore: BS Yeddyurappa vows he shall be back soon. But that's for later. Karnataka needs a Chief Minister immediately and the BJP is expected to decide today on who that person shall be. By vote. The two men said to be forerunners for the post: Mr Yeddyurappa's man Sadanand Gowda and Jagadish Shettar, who belongs to the rival camp of Ananth Kumar.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP

Long-awaited laws in India to fight corruption, protect farmers from unscrupulous developers and boost economic growth look less likely to be passed after tumultuous scenes in the national parliament on Monday.
Opposition politicians forced a shutdown within minutes of the start of a new five-week parliamentary term, an indication that the bitter partisan politics dominating in recent months are set to continue.
The lower house was adjourned after the death of a member of parliament during the recess.
The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and other senior figures in the ruling coalition government, which is led by the Congress party, had appealed for calm and co-operation. Singh, 78, said he hoped the five-week session would be "constructive and productive".

Prime Minister Tried to Keep at Arms Length from Suresh Kalmadi's Case: BJP

New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Noting that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ignored the warning of three successive sports ministers on former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday said perhaps he wanted to keep an "arm's length distance" on the issue.
"The fact is that three sports ministers of the UPA -- Sunil Dutt, Mani Shankar Aiyar and M.S. Gill -- tried to call the prime minister's attention on the person appointed, but he ignored it," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said.

As BJP leadership grappled with the Yeddyurappa succession issue, the race for Karnataka Chief Minister's post hotted up today on the eve of its legislature party meeting with D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar being propped up by rival camps.

The rival camps in the BJP in the state appeared headed for a major showdown even as the outgoing Chief Minister said he did not want to become "a super CM" amid suggestions that that he would rule the state by proxy after installing his nominee Gowda in office.

The Hindu File photo of Karnataka BJP leader D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

Congress continues its onslaught against BJP on mining issue

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday asserted that the party legislature party in Karnataka would meet in Bangalore on August 3 to elect a successor to the outgoing Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, but was non-committal on the demand of Mr. Yeddyurappa to see D.V. Sadananda Gowda in his place.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, who returned on Sunday from Bangalore after persuading Mr. Yeddyurappa to step down, told journalists here that he, along with the former party President, Rajnath Singh, had completed ‘consultations' with the party legislators on choosing a new Chief Minister.

Hours before Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde demitted office, outgoing chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday filed a petition before him seeking reconsideration of his report indicting him in the illegal mining that cost him the top post.

Yeddyurappa in his petition pleaded with the Lokayukta to reconsider his recommendation for prosecuting him under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, saying it was contrary to the Lokayukta Act and “there are certain errors which have crept into the report”.
The report had not provided any substantive evidence to prove the charge against him, Yeddyurappa, who was directed to quit by party leadership, said.
“The recommendations made in this case are liable for reconsideration as it is not a part of the reference made by the state government. In fact, the recommendations are beyond the reference made by the government," he said after submitting the report.

Price rise: Special debate in Parliament with voting tomorrow

The government and opposition on Tuesday reached a consensus after a few rounds of parleys on holding a debate on price rise in both Houses of Parliament under the rule which entails voting on the resolution.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told reporters that the discussion and voting on price rise under Rule 184 (which entails voting on the resolution moved) would be held soon after the Question Hour concludes on Thursday.

Yeddyurappa's plea to Hegde: 'Reconsider my case'

BANGALORE: Hours before Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde demitted office, outgoing chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday filed a petition before him seeking reconsideration of his report indicting him in the illegal mining that cost him the top post.

Sehwag to join Indian team, Gambhir declared fit

London:

Virender Sehwag, who missed the first two Tests because of a shoulder injury, is set to join the beleaguered Indian team on Wednesday even as the team management declared that opener Gautam Gambhir was fully fit for the next match.

Sehwag will join his teammates on Wednesday and is expected to play the two-day game against Northamptonshire to check his fitness ahead of the third Test beginning at Birmingham on August 10.

Warne slams Dhoni, says Indian youngsters lack fighting spirit

London:

Australian spin legend Shane Warne has launched a severe attack on India's young batsmen and felt Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was being affected by his below par wicket-keeping as the visitors slumped to a massive 319-run defeat against England in the second cricket Test.

Warne said to derail India an opposition just need to dismiss their three most experienced batsmen as the rest of the willow-yielders in the side lack fighting spirit.

"As far as the batting is concerned, it is three down, all down. If you get Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman out, the rest all follow suit because they can't handle the intensity of the situation," Warne wrote in the 'Daily Telegraph' after India's humiliating defeat at Nottingham on Monday.

IT department very lenient to BCCI: Parliamentary panel

London:

Accusing the Income Tax Department of being "very lenient" to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a Parliamentary panel on Tuesday said it allowed the cricketing body to "enrich its coffers at the expense of the exchequer".

Headed by former Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, the Standing Committee on Finance has asked the IT department, Reserve Bank of India and Corporate Affairs Ministry to expedite their investigations into the affairs of the BCCI and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott says India played like Bangladesh in parts of the second cricket Test at Trent Bridge and has predicted another England victory in the next match at Edgbaston beginning Aug 10.

Boycott, in his column for Daily Telegraph, wrote India are unlikely to improve in the next Test and their opposite number looks a much more determined unit.

India can bounce back against England: Kirsten

Mumbai:

Even as India reel under the pressure of a 0-1 deficit after the loss at Lord's in the opening Test to England, they have some words of solace from their World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten, who believes Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co are more than capable of making a comeback in the four-Test series.

MiD DAY spoke to the former opening batsman, and now coach of the South African team, here in his hometown.

Excerpts

Do you think England can snatch the World No 1 tag from India?
India have a lot of pride at stake here. They've become the No 1 team in the world after putting in a lot of hard work. I must admit that I'm not following the series closely, but I won't be surprised if India bounce back in the next Test and stage a comeback in the series. This Indian team is more than capable of doing that, after all they are the best team in the world.

From a foreign set-up (in India) you now head into a more familiar South African set-up with former teammate Allan Donald to assist you in coaching duties. You think you will be more comfortable and as successful here?
Firstly, I never applied for this job (SA coach). It just happened. So there was obviously no planning involved. Secondly, for me, it's never been about the coaching staff. It's always been about the players. It's the players, who make the assignment what it is. And it's been a privilege and honour for me to share the dressing room with some high-performance players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and others. South Africa too is a high-performance team, so I'm sure it will be a great experience with them too.

Speaking of the Indian team dressing room, what's the atmosphere like, with the likes of the Tendulkars and the Dravids sharing space with a host of youngsters?
It's one of the calmest places to be. The senior players know exactly what they need to do both on and off the field. On field, players like VVS, Sachin and Dravid work the hardest and hit the maximum number of balls and that sure is an inspiration to any younger player. Without the senior lot, this Indian team would never have been what it is.

How would you sum up your India coaching stint?
I spent most of my time forming a relationship with players, bonding with them and trying to understand them. I only helped them with one or two things they needed. I think that's how a coach should go about his job.

Your style of coaching is that of being a very behind-the-scenes person. Is that the way you are in personal life too and has that been the secret to your success?
I believe a coach has to be behind the scenes. He forms a relationship with the players and only helps when needed. He need not be the one shouting on the top of his voice and going atop podiums to assert his presence. That's for players to do because it is they who soak in all the pressure when they go in to bat in front of millions of fans. The success is theirs for the taking. I've never liked to be the one taking any publicity. I always prefer to stay away from the spotlight and that has worked for me.

Could you recall the World Cup campaign?
The build-up (to the WC) for us was in trying to get individual players to rise from their individual performances and perform for the team in times of crises. In fact, besides winning the World Cup, we set ourselves the target of becoming the No 1 team in the world. And for this, we needed individuals to fight for a team cause. We worked towards getting individuals to making game-changing contributions to the team. VVS (Laxman) is one great example of this. He has been one of the greatest teammen I've ever come across.

What would be your most memorable non-cricketing experience in India?
I've had a lot of exciting experiences during my two-year stay in India, but I think the most exciting should be the time when I went skiing up north in the Himalayas. That was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

The Indian Premier League is an exciting place to be. When do we see you there?
It sure is, but I won't be there for the next two years at least, because I'm contracted with cricket South Africa for that period.

There have been talks of the BCCI being the all-powerful and influential body when it comes to key decision-making in world cricket and until now you've been on their side with Team India. Henceforth you will be in opposite camps. What's your take on that?
I don't really look at it that way. For me, if the game is run in a fair and exciting way at the global level, that's all what matters. I think the BCCI realises that too.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Authorities called in paramilitary soldiers and police to quell political and criminal violence in Pakistan's largest city on Tuesday after 34 people were killed here in less that two days, officials said.

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Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was flown on Wednesday from a Red Sea resort in Sinai to Cairo for the opening of his historic trial on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him in February.

The Praja Rajyam chief, Mr K. Chiranjeevi, will become a Congress member on August 8 in New Delhi, signalling the merger of the PR with the Congress.

The AP High Court on Tuesday was not inclined to insist that the state government spell out its stand on petitions seeking a CBI probe into alleged amassing of wealth by the YSR Congress president, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The AP High Court on Tuesday was not inclined to insist that the state government spell out its stand on petitions seeking a CBI probe into alleged amassing of wealth by the YSR Congress president, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

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