Shoegate: Omar has joined elite club of Bush, Zardari, says dad Farooq Abdullah while Omar stresses need for free trade, travel across LoC!50-hour-long Rajouri encounter ends!Shoe-thrower mentally unsound: Kashmir Police

Shoegate: Omar has joined elite club of Bush, Zardari, says dad Farooq Abdullah while Omar stresses need for free trade, travel across LoC!50-hour-long Rajouri encounter ends!Shoe-thrower mentally unsound: Kashmir Police

Rahul Gandhi visits flashflood-hit Leh!The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh and the  zionist dynasty Head Sonia Gandhi have to visit the Cloud Burst area as Kashmir Situation remains GRIM and the Stand OFF continues without any attempt seen as serious as to resolve the Crisis inflicted in the Life Line of the persecuted Humanscape!

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Shoe-thrower mentally unsound, Kashmir Police caliams!A suspended policeman entered the VIP enclosure and flung a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at an Independence Day function at Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium on Sunday. Fifteen policemen, including four officers, have been suspended for the breach of security. The brown
related stories leather shoe missed Abdullah, who had just risen to unfurl the national tricolour.

Responding lightly to the attack, Abdullah said: "It is better to hurl shoes and raise slogans than pelt stones.

Abdullah thus joined a select group of world leaders — including former US president George Bush, Chinese premier Wen Jaibao, Pakistani president Asif Zardari and Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram — all of whom have had shoes hurled at them.

In his speech after the incident, Abdullah appealed for an end to violence, adding that he "will not shy away from discussing solutions (to resolve the Kashmir issue), including azaadi (freedom)".

Rahul Gandhi visits flashflood-hit Leh!The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh and the  zionist dynasty Head Sonia Gandhi have to visit the Cloud Burst area as Kashmir Situation remains GRIM and the Stand OFF continues without any attempt seen as serious as to resolve the Crisis inflicted in the Life Line of the persecuted Humanscape!

50-hour-long Rajouri encounter ends!The nearly 50-hour-long encounter between militants and security forces in Rajouri district ended on Monday in which a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant and an Army jawan were killed and three others, including a major, injured. A total of three LeT militants, believed to be involved in the attack on a bus in Rajouri last week, have been killed in the encounter which started when security forces launched a search operation in Shara Wali forest belt in the district on Saturday, Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, R K Jalla said.
The deceased Army jawan has been identified as Sepoy S K Singha, while the injured have been identified as Major Susheel Mahapatra of 38 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Police official Iftikhar Malik and civilian Abdul Razak.

The LeT militant killed today has been identified as Zargar.

Two LeT militants were killed and constable Nasir Ahmed was injured in the gunbattle in the area yesterday. The militants were identified as Sajjad Kashmiri and Abu Qamran.The slain militants were believed to be part of a group involved in the attack on a passenger bus at Der-Ki-Gali area in the district on Wednesday last in which two civilians were killed and 18 others, including two jawans, injured.

Good relations between India and Pakistan are imperative for peace and development and both countries should join hands to fight terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of people, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.Good relations between India and Pakistan are imperative for peace and development and both countries should join hands to fight terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of people, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.

On the other hand,Making light of yesterday's incident in Srinagar in which a shoe was flung at his son and J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, Union minister Farooq Abdullah said it was "wonderful" that he has joined the elite club of former US President George Bush, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders.On the other hand,The Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday said the man who flung a shoe at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during the Independence Day parade in Srinagar on Sunday is a suspended head constable and is "mentally unsound". "Abdul Ahad Jan is a suspended head constable of police belonging to
related stories Kulgam district (in south Kashmir) and already has a criminal case pending against him," a police officer said in Srinagar. Police said the suspended head constable was also involved in a fake ex-gratia compensation case in which he tried fraudulently to benefit his sister.Jan was immediately overpowered by the security men after he flung a shoe at the chief minister during the parade at the Bakshi Stadium.

Despite these clarifications, how Jan managed to get into the highly secured stadium breaching a ring of security is a question that remains unanswered.

Jan was sitting in the VIP enclosure right behind the podium where Omar Abdullah unfurled the tricolour and took salute when he targetted the chief minister with a shoe.

An unfazed Abdullah said later that it was better to throw shoes than stones as this would not hurt anybody.

"This is a better way of showing protest," Abdullah said.

"He has joined an elite club of former US President George Bush, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zadari and a few others with the reward of shoe. It is a wonderful thing," he quipped when reporters sought his comments outside Parliament House on yesterday's incident.

A suspended police head constable had thrown a shoe towards Omar during the Independence Day function in Srinagar but missed him. Following the security scare, 15 policemen including four officers were suspended.

Omar is the latest victim of "shoe protest" which all started when an Iraqi journalist at a press conference in Baghdad during his visit to Iraq in December 2008 flung a shoe at Bush who ducked in time.

Zardari too faced a similar incident in the UK. An unhappy Pakistani threw a shoe at Zardari during a rally in Birmingham early this month. Chinese PremierWen Jiabao and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram have also been the targets of such protests.

Like all the previous shoe protests which has captured the imagination of people, the footwear flung at Omar during the Independence Day function by a suspended police head constable, too, missed the 'target' and the protester ended up being taken into the custody by the police.

Farooq said Sunday's incident showed the security apparatus is "useless".

Asked if the incident reflected a sense of disillusionment in the state, he said, "We have to fight out the situation that exists. We can't run away."

He said Jammu and Kashmir is part of India and he did not support the calls for its separation from the country. "Either you stay with us or sink with us," he said.

Addressing a well-attended public meeting in this bordering village, the Chief Minister stressed on brotherly India-Pak relations and said dialogue between the two countries in a friendly atmosphere will pave the way for settling all issues and contributing for lasting peace in the sub-continent.

"In the last 60 years, we have witnessed three and half wars between the two countries without yielding any positive result. This highlights the need for addressing the issues peacefully," he said.

The Chief Minister said the bad affects of gun and violence have engulfed Pakistan and there is immediate need for that country to join hands with India to fight terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of the two peoples.

He welcomed the Centre's recognition of the fact that the accession of the state to India had taken place under unique circumstances, necessitating addressing of political issues of the State in a special manner.

He also welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the issue of autonomy and said time has provided a historic opportunity to the people of the State to take the advantage of this.

On the present law and order situation in some parts of the Valley, he said stone-pelting and violence will never prove prudent for anyone to ventilate his opinion and stress on the issues.

"We have undergone a saga of militancy and we know it has yielded nothing for us," he said and appealed to all shades of the people to help restore normalcy and work for peaceful settlement of political issues on table.

"When dialogue process is available, why to resort to stone-pelting and hartals?" he said.

"We have promised to be facilitators in the talks at internal and external levels and my government is actively involved in it," he added.

The Chief Minister expressed sorrow over the economic losses in recent torrential rains in this border area and said government will take every measure to rehabilitate affected families. He announced six months ration for the affected families and special recruitment drive for the youth of the area.

'Shoe thrower may have used politician's invitation card'
nvestigators on Monday were probing the possibility of extra invitation cards collected by a politician being used by the suspended policeman, who flung a shoe at the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to gain entry into the restricted VIP gallery. This angle is being looked into as a
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high-level probe by Police and local administration tried to ascertain how the suspended head constable Abdul Ahad Jahan managed to enter the VIP gallery and embarass Omar by hurling the shoe while he was unfurling the national tricolour at the Independence Day function on Sunday.

According to sources privy to the investigations, a prominent MLA of opposition party had approached Divisional Commissioner's office for additional three VIP invitation cards. The identity of those who had used these cards to get into the VIP enclosure was not immediately known.

Efforts were on to procure details from the politician, whose name was not revealed immediately, as to whom did he hand over the three passes, the sources said.

The sources said the probe being conducted by the police authorities showed the police apparently did not have much of a role behind Jahan's entry as their duties were limited to complete body frisking and whether or not the guest was carrying a valid invitation card.

The name on the invitation card needed to be matched with the identity card of the visitor by the Divisional Commissioner's staff, a procedure which appears not to have been done in this paraticular case.

As many as 15 policemen including four officers were suspended on Sunday. The policemen four of whom who were of sub-inspector rank faced the action pending an enquiry for lax security arrangements which enabled the head constable to enter the highly-secured Bakshi Stadium.

Jahan, who was in the VIP enclosure behind the rows where Omar was taking salute from marching contingents after unfurling the national flag, was overpowered by security men and has been arrested.

Jahan, a resident of Ajjas in Bandipore, claimed during interrogation that he was dropped by a zonal President of the rival political party on his motorcycle at the Bakshi stadium, according to official sources.

The probe also showed that Jahan was suspended in May this year after he was chargesheeted in two cases for being drunk while on duty and extortion while the third case was still under investigation.

Jahan's son Showkat is a surrendered militant and is facing a chargesheet for providing shelter to terrorists. The arrested constable had also filed a case against the Jammu and Kashmir Police in court claiming that he deserved a double promotion. However, the case was dismissed by the court. In both the cases, he was represented by a prominent lawyer.

Police also recovered some medical prescriptions from Jahan's pocket and it was suggested he may be undergoing some psychiatric treatment.

Omar shoe-thrower cries in court, gets 5 days in custody

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Express news service

Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 1848 hrs IST
Srinagar Suspended policeman Abdul Ahad Jan, who hurled a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Omar Abdullah at the Independence Day function in Srinagar on Sunday, was produced in court and remanded to five days in police custody on Monday.
Jan has been booked under sections on sedition.
Jan's lawyer Mudassir Gulzar said the former policeman was produced before the Forest Majistrate Masarat Ruhi. Jan broke down in court, Gulzar said and told the magistrate he had been tortured in police custody. Gulzar said: "He was not in a good condition and complained about being in pain."
The police, however, assured the court that Jan was under proper medical supervision at the police hospital. Jan was brought to the court late in the afternoon and appeared for 15 minutes.
Jan, Gulzar said, also told the court that he was being pressured to implicate "separatist leaders or a particular mainstream political party" in the crime.
g Jan told the court he threw the shoe out of his own volition and because of his anger about the prevailing state of affairs. He said he is a son of the soil and was angry about the ongoing killings," Gulzar said. Jan is, however, believed to have told the police that he was incited by a mainstream politician to throw the shoe at Abdullah.
Jan has been booked under section 124-A of Ranbir Penal Code which applies to a person who "by word, oral or written, signs or visual representation attempts to bring hatred or disaffection towards the government". Gulzar said he will move the bail application on Tuesday.
Jan threw the shoe at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah when he went up on the podium to unfurl the national flag on Independence Day. He breached the tight security cordon and sat in the third row of the VIP enclosure. After throwing his shoe which didn't hit Abdullah, Jan shouted pro-freedom slogans. He was quickly overpowered and taken into custody.
Soon after the shoe-throwing incident, people at his village Ajas Bandipore, flocked to his home. Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Geelani said he saluted Jan's courage. "The Abdullah family has always betrayed Kashmiris for their hunger for power. The shoe-throwing is the result of the consequent anger," Geelani said.
In a statement, Dukhtaran-i-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi has said Jan represented the sentiments of oppressed Kashmiris
Several cases are registered against Jan. Gulzar, who has also represented Jan in other cases, refused to give details about them.

50,000 youths apply for 5,000 army vacancy in J-K

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an overwhelming response against an army recruitment drive in which over 50,000 youths have applied against a vacancy of 5,000.
"Over 50,000 youths have applied for the recruitment rally in Samba district. We will recruit only 5,000 out of them," Deputy Director General (DDG) recruitments, Punjab-J&K, Brig K D Malhotra said as he threw open the recruitment rally in Samba on Thursday.
In this regard, we have distributed 10,000 tokens to the aspiring candidates, he said, adding we will take all the youths found eligible to fill up the quota of 5,000.
"Special priority would be given to candidates from militancy prone areas of Jammu region," Brig Malhotra said.
A similar rally will be held in Baramulla district of the state next month, he said.
The present rally is being conducted from January 22 to January 31.

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Nationalists vs anti-nationalists war raging in Guj: Modi

Close on the heels of arrest of former minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said state has become an battleground for nationalists versus anti-nationalists forces.
"The war between nationalists and anti-nationalists demons has started in Gujarat. But remember this is Gujarat, where anti-nationalists forces will be defeated", Modi said addressing a rally in Palitana town of this district.
"If you think that you can frighten me, you should open your ears and listen, Modi will bow down to truth and will fight 100 times against false," Modi said at a Van Mohatsav function.
"I want to tell Delhi Sultanat (central government), Gujarat is inheritor of legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who provided leadership to win our freedom.
Gujarat will win in this war of nationalism and anti-nationalism", he said.
"This country never takes side of those who stand besides terrorists, those fighting for rights of 'demons', anti-nationals and those related with underworld activities," Modi said.
Modi's close aide Shah has been arrested by the CBI for his alleged role in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case who according to Modi was a criminal. Modi throughout his address refrained from taking the name of CBI.
"Since last eight years there has been peace and development in the state. They are trying to destabilise the progress of Gujarat," Modi alleged.
"They are jealous of progress of Gujarat and so they are not trying to derail the progress of the state", he said.
addressing a rally in Ahmedabad, Modi yesterday had said Congress has already accepted defeat in the forthcoming local body polls and will have to field CBI officers as their candidates.

Magisterial probe indicts police in Anantnag firing

Agencies

Posted: Jul 30, 2010 at 1634 hrs IST
Srinagar A magisterial inquiry ordered by the Jammu and Kashmir government to probe into the June 29 firing incident in Anantang district, which left three teenagers dead, has indicted police and recommended appropriate action against them.
The report submitted to Anantnag deputy commissioner Jipal Singh by the probe team last evening has indicted police and also recommended action against some top officials of police and district administration who were present at the spot when the killing took place, officials said here today.
The 14-page report has established involvement of policemen in the firing that killed three youths identified as Ishtiyaq Ahmad (15) of S K Colony, Imtiyaz Ahmad Itoo (17) of Watergam-Dialgam and Shujat-ul-Islam (17) of Anchdora.
The report said, "Minutes before the incident took place, a Rakshak vehicle carrying six policemen including some officers chased the youth protesting at Laizbal area of K P Road up to the S K Colony, where they got down from the vehicle and three policemen entered a bylane leading towards Anchidora area where the incident took place."
As per the report, as the policemen entered the premises of house in Anchidora area, several gun shots were heard and seven person were found lying in a pool of blood.
"Some of the bullets were fired inside the compound of the residential house," the report said.
The inquiry team also held responsible some top officials of police and civil administration in the district for delinquency in duties and suggested disciplinary action against them, the sources said.
"Though the policemen who fired on the youth after returning from the spot did conceal the facts before the higher-ups to hide their wrong doings, but the top police and civil administration officials who were supposed to preserve the circumstantial evidence exhibited utter negligence in finding the facts," the report said.
The report also blamed the police officers concerned of manipulating the FIR and not furnishing the accurate details about the use of ammunition by the accused policemen and recommended action against the policemen and other officials according to their level of "involvement in the crime".
The report said the accused policemen have already confessed to their crime during the course of investigation.
The killing of the trio triggered violent protests in the town following which the magisterial inquiry was ordered by the government.

US court orders demolition of gurdwara

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Express news service

Posted: Jul 30, 2010 at 0114 hrs IST
Chandigarh There's tension brewing in the Sikh community of Austin in Texas, after a court recently ordered the demolition of the only gurdwara in Western Travis County.
Reversing the decision of a trial court that allowed the gurdwara in Bee Caves West subdivision, the 3rd Court of Appeals ordered removal of the gurdwara earlier this month.
The gurdwara is constructed over 3,800 sq feet bought by the Austin Gurdwara Sahib (AGS) in 2003. Five years later, a couple who bought land in the neighbourhood went to court claiming that the subdivision's deed restrictions did not permit a temple in the area. AGS members are now circulating mails, vowing to fight the "grave injustice".

FMCG cos bet on foreign boost

ust India is not enough, it would seem. Indian consumer firms are increasingly betting on higher growth from international operations to bolster profits in the coming quarters after rising costs and competition hurt domestic operations.
In the June quarter, firms such as Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Marico Ltd, Dabur India Ltd, Tata Global Beverages Ltd saw their global profits, and in most cases, sales, outpacing their domestic performance.
With most Indian consumer firms on an overseas acquisition spree, their international operations have gained from inorganic growth, expanding their scope from marketing and distribution to outright acquisitions and setting up manufacturing bases.
They are finding it easier to add market share in countries like Bangladesh, West Asia, South Africa without competition nipping at their heels, said Ashish Upganlawar, an analyst with brokerage Sharekhan.
We are expecting our international business, which currently contributes to 23 percent of our revenues, to grow 20 percent per year over the next few years, Chaitanya Deshpande, EVP and Head M&A and Investor Relations, said.
Marico's international business saw a healthy 29 percent sales growth during the June quarter, whereas as its standalone business, which captures Indian sales alone, posted a muted 6.8 percent rise over the same period a year ago.
Similarly, Tata Global Beverages posted a consolidated net profit of 455 million rupees during the June quarter from a loss of 196 million rupees , mainly helped by its overseas operations. Its standalone profit fell by about 5 percent in the same period.
Godrej Consumer, with a string of acquisitions in the past months, saw its international business in the quarter grow 84 percent from a year ago, while standalone sales from its domestic soaps and hair colours business, reported a 7 percent dip.
Overseas is a small base and then most players are in the process of expanding distribution in those markets...topline growth will keep happening in the range of 20-25 percent, said an analyst with Prabhudas Lilladher.
Personal care products maker Emami, which saw revenues from its international business rise 48 percent in the June quarter, expects its overall revenue share from its international business to grow to 15 percent in FY11 from 13 percent in FY10.
We are aggressively focusing on the Middle East, Africa. We are already present in Egypt and Bangladesh via our exports from India and now we are setting up manufacturing bases there, director Mohan Goenka said.
The thing to watch out for in the coming quarters will be how the margins from their international business stack up as most companies have lower margins there compared to their domestic business, the analyst with Prabhudas Lilladher said.
As they are moving to one country and adding distribution there it is expected to improve going forward, he added.
DOMESTIC GROWTH MUTED
The Indian scenario, however, is a little dismal, with high food inflation leading to pricing pressures and a scramble for market share. Raw material costs have increased and promotional expenditure to retain market share is adding to the pressure..it is only a matter of time now before we see another round of price hikes in the 4-5 percent range, said the Prabhudas Lilladher analyst.
India's wholesale price index rose 9.97 percent from a year earlier while the food price index fell to 10.29 percent in July from 14.60 percent in the prior month.
The monsoon rains which are likely to remain below normal for another week, is forecasted to revive soon and provide some relief.
Overall basis, I dont think margins will increase, monsoon will not have much of an impact on the value front although it may provide a booster to the volume growth, said Sharekhan's Upganlawar.


Pak agencies warn of terror attacks on foreigners, embassies

Pakistan's intelligence agencies have revealed that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and banned local militant outfits are planning to carry out attacks targeting foreigners, embassies, Shia clerics and imambargahs in various parts of the country.

The agencies in their reports have also warned of attacks on Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders at the party's public meetings.

The TTP plans to carry out large-scale attacks in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and other big cities of Punjab during the month of Ramazan, The Daily Times stated the reports, as saying.

It also highlights that the TTP has tasked one Abu Adil Mujahid to carry out the potential attacks.

After receiving the agencies' reports, police and other law enforcement agencies have directed security to be immediately put on red alert across the country.

Republicans attack Obama over Muslim center comments

Republicans attacked President Barack Obama on Sunday for his comments on a controversial plan to build a Muslim cultural center in New York, saying he was "disconnected" from the nation in an election year.

Obama waded into the debate on Friday when he appeared to offer his backing for the center called Cordoba House to be built two blocks from the "Ground Zero" site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City.

On Saturday, seeking to clarify his position, Obama said he supported the right of Muslims to build the center but would not comment on the "wisdom" of deciding its location in Lower Manhattan.

Prominent Republicans have opposed the proposed site of the center, saying it was insensitive and reopened the wounds of the attacks. On Sunday, several criticized Obama for what they said was his support of the center's construction and subsequent waffling on the issue.

"This is not about freedom of religion because we all respect the right of anyone to worship according to the dictates of their conscience ... but I do think it's unwise to build a mosque at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as the result of a terrorist attack," Texas Republican John Cornyn said on the "Fox News Sunday" program.

"To me it demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the President himself seems to to be disconnected from the mainstream of America," Cornyn said.

Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York who opposes the location of the center, told CNN's "State of the Union" program that Obama clearly gave the impression he supported its construction but then backed off the next day.

"If the President was going to get into this, he should have been much more clear, much more precise and he can't be changing his decision from day to day on an issue which does go to our Constitution ..."

Obama's remarks put him in the middle of a heated political debate months before November elections, which are expected to result in big losses for Obama's Democrats and a potential power shift in Congress in favor of Republicans.

Earlier this month a New York City agency cleared the way for the construction of Cordoba House, a 13-story building that would include meeting rooms, a prayer space, an auditorium and a pool.

Some of the families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block it, calling the center provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims.

"It does put salt on the wound," King said. He urged Muslim leaders behind the project to reconsider the location.

Supporters of the right to build the center, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, argue that religious tolerance is the best answer to religious extremism.

"The fallacy is that Al Qaeda attacked us. Islam did not attack us," Jerrold Nadler, a Democratic congressman whose district includes the "Ground Zero" site, said on "State of the Union."

"We were not attacked by all Muslims. And there were Muslims who were killed there."

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll showed a majority of Americans across the political spectrum opposed the project being built near the site of the attacks.

The survey, released on Wednesday, showed nearly 70 percent of Americans opposed it, including 54 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents.

Republicans said the November elections will be about jobs, and that the president should be addressing high unemployment in the United States instead of speaking about religious freedom.

"Intellectually the President may be right. But this is an emotional issue and people who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers, do not want that mosque in New York and it's going to be a big, big issue for Democrats across this country," Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist, told CBS' "Face The Nation" program.

(Additional reporting by Alan Elsner; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Paul Simao)

(For more news on Reuters India, click http://in.reuters.com)

Pak-Iran gas pipeline project intact despite US sanctions, says envoy

The Pakistani Ambassador to Iran, Mohammad Bakhsh Abbasi has said that sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) targeting Iran's refined petroleum imports will have no affect on the 7.6 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.

"Iranian and Pakistani engineers are still working on this pipeline together and this project is intact," The Nation quoted Abbasi, as saying.

Pakistan and Iran had signed the gas contract on June 12, under which Tehran agreed to deliver over 21.2 million cubic metres (742 million cubic feet) of natural gas per day to Islamabad from 2014.

The project will transfer gas from Iran's South Pars gas field to Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The pipeline was originally planned between Iran, Pakistan and India, but the latter pulled out of the project last year.

Pakistan plans to use the gas purchased from Iran for its power sector.

Iran is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, but on account of its low refining capacity, it meets nearly 40 per cent of its requirements of petrol through imports. (ANI)

Pakistan's 'image deficit' hurting aid funds flow: UN

Relief agencies are having trouble obtaining funds to help millions of Pakistan flood victims as the country suffers from an "image deficit", a UN spokeswoman said on Monday.

"We note often an image deficit with regards to Pakistan among Western public opinion," said Elizabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"As a result, Pakistan is among countries that are poorly financed, like Yemen," she added.

The Unied Nations has been struggling to obtain USD 460 million to provide emergency aid to six million victims of the country ravaged by heavy flooding. Only a fifth of the required funds have been pledged since the appeal was launched on August 11.

Melanie Brooks, spokeswoman of the humanitarian group Care International stressed that the UN must explain to donor states that "the money is not going to go to the hands of the Talibans."

"The victims are the mothers, the farmers, children.

But in the past, information linked to Pakistan has always been linked to Talibans and terrorism," she said.

According to Pakistani authorities, around a quarter of the country which extends over 800,000 square kilometres (308,880 square miles) and counts 167 million inhabitants, have been affected by the floods over the last three weeks.

The UN said billions would be needed in the long term to reconstruct the villages, infrastructure and harvests devastated by the floods.

US military in Sri Lanka on training mission

More than 40 US service members are here on a six-day medical and engineering training mission with the Sri Lankan government and medical representatives from the Maldives and Mongolia.

The mission, called Pacific Angel-Sri Lanka, will be conducted at various sites near Anuradhapura and Puttalam, an American embassy statement Monday said. The military personnel arrived in Sri Lanka Saturday.

It will offer free medical and dental care and also feature repairs and construction to support local schools.

This week's mission allows participating nations to hone their ability to work together and to practice their trades in non-clinical settings, while helping Sri Lankans in need of services.

'It is a pleasure and an honour for me and my team of professional airmen and soldiers to be here as guests of the Sri Lankan government,' said US Air Force Reserves Col. Wes Cockman, the Pacific Angel-Sri Lanka mission commander.

'India not taking America's jobs'

Slamming the critics of H-1B, a US think-tank and corporate America have suggested the removal of Congressional cap on this popular work visa programme and allow markets to determine the number of skilled foreign workers eligible to work in the country.
"The best policy for the United States is one that sides with freedom and innovation, not restriction. It is a policy where the H-1B cap is either eliminated or set high enough that we can let the market decide on the number of new skilled foreign nationals who work in America each year," a report said.
The 81-page report titled "Regaining America's Competitive Advantage: Making our Immigration System Work" has been jointly prepared by US Chamber of Commerce, which is the top representative body of the American businesses, American Council on International Personnel, an eminent think-tank.
Meanwhile, corporate America has come down heavily on all those in US who of late have been alleging that Indian companies grab most of the H-1B work visas, thus taking away most jobs from Americans.
In this report on immigration, US Chamber of Commerce, which is the world's largest chamber with more than three million members, asserted that such an allegation against Indian companies is "hyperbole".
US President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a new 'Border Security Bill' proposing a steep hike in some categories of H-1B and L-1 visa fees which is expected to badly hurt Indian IT firms which may have to shell out an additional USD 250 million annually for the next five years.
"The best policy would ease the way for employers to sponsor high skilled individuals for green cards by exempting from labour certification and current employment-based immigrant quotas many who now languish in 6 to 20 year queues," the report said.
"Allowing top talent who graduate from US universities to gain a green card directly will help US employers retain the world's leading future innovators," the report said.
The report has come out with some very interesting finding about H-1B visa programme, according to which popular foreign work visa has been a key factor in US' competitiveness and its economic growth.
Who is in a better position to determine which employees are most likely to make Apple, Amazon or other US companies successful? Is it critics of immigration, government
bureaucrats, or the companies themselves?," the report said.
Findings of this report show that leading US companies cite the role played by highly educated foreign nationals in the success of the organisation.
Noting that the critics argue US has too much talent entry of high skilled foreign nationals should be blocked, the report says real immigration-related problem is that many talented people have not been able to stay in US after graduation because of low quotas for H-1B visas and employment-based green cards.
"H-1B visas are a large source of scholarship money for US students, with H-1B training and scholarship fees levied on each petition (and renewal) having funded more than 53,000 math and science college scholarships for US students through the National Science Foundation," it said.
"There is little evidence high skilled foreign nationals on H-1B visas are in general paid less than their American counterparts," the report said.
The report said critics who insist H-1B professionals are hired to "save money" fail to note that in addition to legal requirement to pay H-1B visa holders higher than prevailing or actual wage paid to US workers, employers must pay significant legal and government fees.
The American Council on International Personnel estimates combined H-1B and green card sponsorship costs (government/legal fees) can exceed USD 35,000 for one person.
"Critics also ignore that the labour market is global and if US employers were interested only in lower labour costs they would shift all their work overseas," it said.
The report has also said: "While some have expressed fears that H-1B professionals hired by Indian companies threaten the US workforce... or have expressed concern that Indian companies do not sponsor many of their employees for green cards... the actual numbers are such as to make any concerns overwrought, even if using a simplistic, zero-sum view of the labour market," US Chamber of Commerce said in its latest report.
"In FY 2009, Indian tech companies used 4,809 new H-1B visas, which equals to 0.003 per cent of the US civilian labour force, less than 1/100th of 1 per cent," it said, adding: "Moreover, H-1B use by Indian companies has declined by
70 per cent between 2006 and 2009."
The new H-1Bs used by Indian companies represented only about six per cent of total initial beneficiaries (new employment), according to US Citizenship and Immigration
Services, the report said.
"When information technology services companies... whether Indian or non-Indian... perform work in the United States it is only because US companies believe such work makes their businesses more profitable," it said.
If such service providers enable US businesses to concentrate on core functions and run more effectively, then US companies can hire more people in the long run, it added.

Hamas leader gives nod for Ground Zero mosque

New York, Aug.16 (ANI): A Hamas leader has insisted that American Muslims must construct the mosque near Ground Zero in New York.
"We have to build everywhere," said the New York Post quoted Mahmoud al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas and the organization's chief on the Gaza Strip, as saying.
"In every area we have, [as] Muslim[s], we have to pray, and this mosque is the only site of prayer," he said on "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on WABC.
"We have to build the mosque, as you are allowed to build the church and Israelis are building their holy places."
New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer dismissed the endorsement.
"Hamas is a terrorist organization, and their views don't deserve any weight on anything," his spokesman said.
Zahar said Muslims around the world, including those who live in this country, are united in a common cause. (ANI)

Orissa to examine Saxena panel report on Vedanta mining

After a central expert committee opposed Vedanta''s controversial mining project in Orissa, the state government today said it would "examine" the report before taking any stand on the issue. "We have not received any report from the Centre.
The state government will examine the matter after getting the report on the proposed mining project," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters. "Whatever is correct and appropriate will be done in this regard", he said.
The N C Saxena panel set by the central government today asked the government to withdraw forest clearance to Vedanta mining project. The Saxena Committee report on Vedanta''s aluminium project Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, has come as a second blow within a fortnight after the South Korean steel giant Posco project which has run into stiff resistance from tribals opposing land acquisition and "stop-work" order of Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).
Both the reports by Saxena Committee on Posco and Vedanta found the state government violating laws under Forest Rights Act, Forest Conservation Act and Environment Protection Act. Hailing the committee report on Vedanta, BJP said it had all along been opposing mining at Niyamgiri hills.
"Unfortunately Naveen Patnaik is handing over mines, minerals and resources to private companies in utter disregard for laws," senior BJP leader Ashok Sahu said.

Curfew in parts of Bareilly after communal violence

Curfew was clamped in parts of Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district Monday after communal violence broke out, police said.
According to Bareilly Deputy Inspector General of Police N.K. Srivastava, a number of neighbourhoods under Fareedpur police station and Fatehganj (East) police station were put under indefinite curfew.
No casualties were reported, even as the situation continues to remain tense.
Trouble was sparked off when some unidentified miscreants set ablaze a motorcycle belonging to a kanwariya group camping in Fareedpur town on the outskirts of Bareilly city early Monday.
According to police, 'once the kanwariyas traced the culprits, it was followed by a clash and retaliatory arson in which some shops were burnt down in Fareedpur'.
Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal claimed that the situation was now 'under control.'

CID, forensic experts inspect truck

Kolaghat(WB), Aug 16 (PTI) A team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers and Forensic experts today inspected the truck which hit a car of the convoy of Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on August 8 near here. Banerjee had complained of chest pain after her car suddenly braked after the truck hit a car in her convoy.
The team thoroughly inspected the truck registration number PW 13G 5774 which was driven by Gurjar Singh, a resident of Mora village in Sangrur district of Punjab. Singh had claimed after the incident that he hit a car of Railway minister''s convoy due to brake failure.
Both the CID team and Forensic experts also held talks with the officers of the Kolaghat police station. The West Bengal government had asked the CID to probe the matter after the Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the Kolaghat police station alleging that mishap was a conspiracy to kill the TC chief.

Ration cards for poor distributed in Bengal's Maoist areas

The West Bengal government has started distributing ration cards for below poverty line families as part of implementing the special development package in the states' three Maoist hit western districts from Independence Day, a senior official said Monday.
Chief Secretary Ardhendhu Sen said: 'We have distributed 10,000 ration cards to tribal families that are below the poverty line in the Nayagram, Lalgarh and Jhargram areas of West Midnapore. This is part of a drive that involves the distribution of 1.6 lakh extra ration cards over the coming month in the region.'
Bankura and Purulia are the other two districts where the left wing ultras have been active for quite some time.
The special development package was announced by the state government in June, upon the completion of one year of the joint operation by security forces to flush out Maoists and activists of the pro-Maoist group - Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) from Lalgarh and its adjoining areas.
Apart from the distribution of ration cards, the package includes schemes for socio-economic development of the region such as funds for the up gradation of educational institutions and improving civic amenities. Sen said the government's experience since the initiation of operations had been 'mixed.'
'We have taken a lot of beating and lost a lot of men, but we have been able to arrest many of the active squad members of the Maoists. We have arrested several of the middle level leaders. The top leadership has not yet been arrested, but efforts are on to completely deactivate the Maoist machinery in our state,' he said.
Speaking on the security situation in the state at an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the chief secretary said the resources will have to be utilised to build a modern police force.
'We had asked the 13th Finance Commission for a sum of Rs.260 crore to upgrade the training facilities for the police,' he said adding that the Finance Commission had granted the money.
Sen also said that the government had received a special input about a possible terror strike on Independence Day which had not been made public to prevent a panic situation. However, the day had passed off without incident.
An improvement in relations with Bangladesh has helped the government in containing the spread of separatist movements in the state's northern districts, but the problem of 'a highly porous border' was a matter of security concern, he said.

Sonia expected to be re-elected Congress chief

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is Sep 21 expected to be formally elected for another term in office.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met Monday and decided the election schedule for the election of the Congress chief and the state party chiefs.
Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said after the meeting that according to the election schedule, the election would be notified Aug 27 and the last date of filing nominations is Sep 2.
The date of polling, if necessary, is Sep 17 and the counting of votes and declaration of results will take place Sep 21.
Sonia Gandhi first became the Congress president in 1998.

BlackBerry to give India partial access - govt source

Research In Motion (RIM) has assured Indian authorities of limited access to its Messenger services by Sept. 1 and will hold talks this week on giving access to enterprise mail, a government source said on Monday.
RIM faces an Aug. 31 deadline to give Indian authorities the means to read e-mail and instant messages sent over the BlackBerry.
"They have assured partial access to its messenger services by September 1 and agreed to provide full access by the end of the year," a senior government source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
(For Slideshow: Evolution of the BlackBerry, click http://in.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=INRTR2H0RK)
New Delhi says it will pull the plug if RIM does not comply, threatening its future in the world's fastest-growing telecoms market.
"We hope they will address our security concerns," an interior ministry official said.
India is the latest country to step up pressure on RIM, which has built the BlackBerry's reputation around confidentiality.
Many business professionals and politicians prefer the device, but some governments, including Saudi Arabia, fear it could become a tool for terrorists or those breaking Islamic laws.
RIM has said BlackBerry's security is based on a system where customers create their own key, and the company has neither a master key or any "back door" to allow RIM or any third party to gain access to crucial corporate data.
RIM officials are expected to hold talks with the Indian government to explain the complexities of the enterprise mail system and try to find a solution, the government source said.
India's demands follow a deal with Saudi Arabia, where a source said RIM had agreed to give authorities codes for BlackBerry Messenger users. The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Algeria are also seeking access.
India, like other countries, has been criticised for seeking blanket restrictions, while mobile phone operators say they must offer consumers privacy and secure communications.
(Editing by Rina Chandran and David Holmes)

Govt to file curative petition in SC on Bhopal gas tragedy

The government will soon file a curative petition in the Supreme Court seeking enhancement of the compensation paid by Dow Chemicals and its subsidiary Union Carbide to victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy by Rs 1,500 crore. Sources said the petition in this regard is ready and
is awaiting the approval of a senior law officer. The petition, to be filed by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, has pointed out that the USD 470 million settlement arrived at by the apex court in its decision in February, 1989, was allegedly based on the incorrect calculation and reasonings. It was based on the erroneous assumption that there were only 3,000 deaths due to the gas leak. However, the death toll later turned out to be higher, at 5,295. The decision to file the curative petition was taken after the Group of Ministers on June 24 had asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati to explore its possibility by August 14. Earlier, in 1991, the apex court had dismissed the petition seeking a review of the 1989 decision awarding only USD 470 million as compensation to victims of the tragedy. In the curative petition, the government will point out that the maximum amount fixed as compensation to an individual should be paid and the difference of the amount arising out of the compensation given earlier will have to be given. "There is no point of giving the lowest amount as compensation and therefore, the maximum fixed amount would be paid to the victims," sources said, referring to the point likely to be made in the curative petition. Sources said the total amount which has been calculated as additional compensation comes to around Rs 1,500 crore. Earlier, the Group of Ministers (GOM)had recommended that Attorney General should examine whether a curative petition could be filed in apex court for reconsideration of the compensation amount, earlier settled at USD 470 million. "The ministry feels that the basis made by the Supreme Court for compensation was not correct and it need to be reviewed," a source said. Recently, the Cabinet had announced a Rs 1,265.56 crore package for Bhopal gas victims. It had decided that an ex- gratia of Rs 10 lakh would be given to the kin of each person killed in the tragedy and Rs 5 lakh to those who had suffered permanent disability. The ex-gratia would benefit 45,000 affected persons and the amount would be paid after adjusting it against the compensation already paid. The government also announced various packages for remediation, rehabilitation and other measures, taking the total amount spent to Rs 1,265.56 crore.

Cabinet nod for biotech regulator

Decks have been cleared for creation of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India that would replace the Genetic Engineering Approval Authority. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today approved the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill which is expected to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
The Bill seeks to create a new body to regulate research, manufacture, import and use of products of modern biotechnology. The need for a biotech regulator was highlighted during the recent controversy over introduction of genetically modified brinjal for commercial cultivation.
The government eventually announced a moratorium on Bt brinjal.

CBEC asks Customs to clear CWG goods expeditiously

The Revenue Department has asked Customs officials to expeditiously clear consignments of goods meant for the Commonwealth Games. "Customs will allow clearance of the imported goods after ensuring adherence to the normal import clearance procedure
, but at the same time, take care that there is no delay on its part, since the clearances are for the CWG, which is an event of national importance," CBEC said in a circular. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said it came to know from the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, 2010, regarding difficulties faced by importers in this direction. "... A large number of consignments are pending clearance at different ports in the country, causing a delay in smooth organisation of the games," it said.

Fiscal deficit may now not be lower than budgeted: Citi

Citi today dampened the hope of a lower-than-budgeted fiscal deficit in 2010-11, saying the government''s additional expenditure, among other things, will eat into the gains from the telecom spectrum sale and higher taxes. "Recent developments suggest that the rays of light seen earlier this year on the fiscal front are waning," said Citi economists Rohini Malkani and Anushka Shah today.
In June, the telecom spectrum auction raised Rs 1,06,336 crore for the government coffers, over three times the original estimate of Rs 35,000 crore revenue from both 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). As for the reasons for ''rays of light getting cloudy'', it cited the government''s additional expenditure of Rs 68,300 crore, besides reduced prospects of higher disinvestment proceeds on account of the dilution of capital raising norms and possible extension of the Food Security Act, which can bloat the subsidy bill.
"All of this could erode the surplus telecom auction revenues, thus resulting in the FY''11 deficit remaining around budgeted levels of Rs 3,81,400 crore," Malkani and Shah said in a research report. However, as a percentage to the gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit could still be below the 5.5 per cent level -- which is the government''s projection for this fiscal -- due to higher nominal GDP growth, Citi said.
Earlier this month, the government tabled its first supplementary demand for grants for additional spending to the tune of Rs 68,300 crore, of which the net cash outgo was estimated at Rs 54,600 crore. Furthermore, the government recently diluted the norms for minimum listing requirements, under which it was proposed to raise the threshold for public shareholding in listed companies to a minimum of 25 per cent.
It exempted public sector companies from the 25 per cent free float and removed the mandatory 5 per cent addition to public shareholding each year for private corporates as long as they met the 25 per cent norm within 3 years. The diluted norms would result in the total capital to be raised coming down substantially, Citi said.
"While this eases concerns on oversupply of paper, it reduces prospects of divestment proceeds from PSUs from USD 26.3 billion to USD 4.1 billion," the note said. Meanwhile, gross tax revenues during the April-June, 2010-11, period stood at Rs 1,29,500 crore, up 28.6 per cent year-over-year.

Sudan expels five UN/ICRC staff from West Darfur

Sudan has expelled five U.N. and ICRC workers from West Darfur state, a U.N. official said, in the latest confrontation with international organisations in a region with the world's largest aid operation.

Sudan's relationship with foreign aid agencies and the U.N.- African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) has long been tense, with expulsions and obstruction often the reward for anyone reporting on rights abuses during the seven-year rebellion.

After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur last year, he expelled 13 aid organisations. Khartoum says they gave the ICC evidence concerning Darfur.

"The heads of the UNHCR (U.N. refugee agency) and FAO (Food and Agriculture) agencies in West Darfur as well as the head of UNHCR agency in Zalengei have been asked to leave," Abdallah al-Fadil, head of UNAMID in West Darfur, told Reuters on Monday.

"The government also informed me that it had asked both the ICRC's heads of delegation in el-Geneina and Zalengei (town) to leave too," he added.

The ICRC said its staff had been "recalled with the agreement of authorities" and added that its operations continued as normal in West Darfur.

Fadil said it was not clear why the authorities had told the staff to leave, only that they had made mistakes "beyond their mandate".

Another U.N. source who declined to be named said the FAO head of office in West Darfur was told to leave because he had forwarded a petition against hunger -- www.1billionhungry.org -- and authorities had said he did not obtain approval for it.

On Aug. 7 Bashir told the three Darfur governors they could expel any foreigner who failed to respect Sudan's authority.

UNAMID is in a tense standoff with Darfur authorities over sheltering six refugees from the volatile Kalma camp who the government says are responsible for violence which killed eight people last month.

The peacekeepers say that without an arrest warrant or guarantees of a fair trial they will not hand over the refugees, a position which has infuriated the government.

Kidnappings of foreign aid workers and UNAMID staff began last year after the ICC warrant for Bashir was issued. On Saturday two Jordanian UNAMID police were abducted and a U.S. woman from the Samaritan's Purse charity was taken three months ago.

The kidnappers usually are young men from Arab tribes who demand ransom money. Sudan has yet to prosecute any of the abductors.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

(For more news on Reuters India, click http://in.reuters.com)

Tri-series: Virender Sehwag and bowlers shine in India's terrific win

Daily News & Analysis - ‎34 minutes ago‎
By TV Sriram | Place: Dambulla | Agency: PTI Sri Lanka prevented Virender Sehwag (99 not out) from scoring a century but could not stop him from steering India to a comfortable six-wicket win in the cricket tri-series in Dambulla today.
Virender Sehwag denied ton in India win over Sri Lanka BBC Sport
Sehwag's 99 gives India big win Rediff
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Hindustan Times - ‎31 minutes ago‎
The CPI(M)-led Left Front government in Kerala is caught in a cleft. It has delayed arresting firebrand cleric Abdul Nassar Madani (45), accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, in spite of having distanced itself from him a year ago.
Karnataka, Kerala at odds as Madani arrest drama peaks Economic Times
Karna, Ker indulge in blame game over delay in Madani's arrest Hindustan Times
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                                                                                                                       10 injured in clashes, strike disrupts normal life in Kashmir

          Defying curfew, protesters took to the streets here and clashed with police which left 10, including five securitymen, injured as a separatists-sponsored shutdown disrupted normal life across the Kashmir Valley on Monday.
Curfew remained in force in several parts of the valley after street-fights on Sunday had left 30 hurt in Bandipora, Srinagar and Shopian.
One person received bullet injuries when security forces opened fire to quell a mob that blocked the national highway at Tengpora in Batmaloo locality in central Srinagar on Monday, an official spokesman said.
Five policemen were injured in stone-pelting by the protesters, he said.
A woman was injured when police resorted to cane-charge and fired smoke shells to scatter the stone-pelters at Alochi Bagh here.
In Shalimar Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar, a mob, which had blocked the road, was chased away by police, the spokesman said.
In the process, a woman fell down and was injured, he said adding two more injured elsewhere in the summer capital.
Curfew remained clamped in several parts of the Kashmir Valley where a strike called by the separatists hit normal life.
Shops, businesses, educational institutions, banks and private offices were shut and traffic remained off the roads.
Curfew was in force in Srinagar, Anantnag, Bijbehara, Sopore, Kupwara and Bandipora while restrictions were imposed in other places after over 30 people were injured in clashes on Sunday.
                                          

    Slideshow

Day in pictures, August 16, 2010

Rahul Gandhi visits flashflood victims in Leh, Rahman scores music for Commonwealth Games, senior citizens demand a separate ministry for themselves, and there is no end to the sufferings of the Pakistan flood victims. A collection of images from India and around the world.

more slideshows »

Resources

Prime Minister's Independence Day Address

President's speech on the eve of 64th Independence Day

Prime Minister's opening remarks at the meeting of all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir

Prime Minister's statement at the Joint Press Conference with his British counterpart

World Classical Tamil Conference: Special Souvenir

More Resources »

    http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article574282.ece?homepage=true

Omar stresses need for free trade, travel across LoC The Hindu - ‎3 hours ago‎ PTI PTI Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addresses a public meeting at Thangdhar in Kupwara on Monday. Good relations between India and Pakistan are imperative for peace and development and both countries should join hands to fight ... Cop's shoe misses Omar mark Hindustan Times - ‎3 hours ago‎ In a major security lapse, a shoe was hurled on J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during the... A suspended policeman entered the VIP enclosure and flung a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at an Independence Day function at ... Ahad Jan: The man who threw a shoe at Omar NDTV.com - ‎1 hour ago‎ Srinagar: Was this Ahad Jan's misplaced anger against the system...or a tacit conspiracy of silence? Suspended Police Head Constable Abdul Ahad Jan threw a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during the flag-hoisting ceremony on ... Responding lightly to the attack, Abdullah said: "It is better to hurl shoes and raise slogans than pelt stones." more by Omar Abdullah - 3 hours ago - Hindustan Times (3 occurrences) Officer lauded in Indian Kashmir for hurling shoe The Associated Press - Aijaz Hussain - ‎5 hours ago‎ SRINAGAR, India — Fifteen police officials have been suspended after an off-duty officer flung a shoe at Indian-controlled Kashmir's top elected official during India's independence day ceremony — an insulting act lauded by thousands of Kashmiris, ... Omar shoe-thrower cries in court, gets 5 days in custody Expressindia.com - ‎3 hours ago‎ Srinagar Suspended policeman Abdul Ahad Jan, who hurled a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Omar Abdullah at the Independence Day function in Srinagar on Sunday, was produced in court and remanded to five days in police custody on Monday. ... Did Farooq Abdullah stop Omar from resigning? Times of India - Saleem Pandit - ‎Aug 14, 2010‎ SRINAGAR: More than a year ago, when Omar Abdullah rushed to the governor's house to resign after the opposition humiliated him over allegations of a sex scandal, his dad Farooq Abdullah accompanied him. This time around, it appears, ... 50000 youths will be recruited in next few months: Omar Abdullah Times of India - ‎Aug 14, 2010‎ SRINAGAR: In an Indpendence Day-eve bonanza, Jammu and Kashmir Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah today announced his government will recruit 50000 youths in the next few months and pitched for restoration of autonomy to the state to bridge the "trust ... Breach of security in Srinagar The Hindu - Shujaat Bukhari - ‎20 hours ago‎ SRINAGAR: A suspended policeman hurled a shoe at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the Independence Day function here on Sunday. It fell on the ground but the incident shook the dignitaries seated in the VIP pavilion at the Bakhshi ... Centre uneasy over Omar's rising unpopularity Economic Times - ‎16 hours ago‎ NEW DELHI: THE dwindling political stock of the Abdullah family in Jammu and Kashmir and the inability of chief minister Omar Abdullah to connect with the population of the Valley are complicating the Centre's efforts to bringing back normalcy in the ... Cop hurls shoe at Omar Abdullah Times of India - Saleem Pandit - ‎22 hours ago‎ SRINAGAR: Omar Abdullah isn't the first politician to have a shoe hurled at him. But it's the first time that a member of the security apparatus — his assailant is a head constable with the state police — has launched such an attack. ... All 88 related articles »

Related Omar Abdullah Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir Independence Day Abdul Ahad Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story Ahad Jan: The man who threw a shoe at Omar ‎1 hour ago‎ - NDTV.com Centre uneasy over Omar's rising unpopularity ‎16 hours ago‎ - Economic Times Breach of security in Srinagar ‎20 hours ago‎ - The Hindu Refrain from violence during Ramzan month: Omar to separatists ‎Aug 15, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times Did Farooq Abdullah stop Omar from resigning? ‎Aug 14, 2010‎ - Times of India Images The Hindu NDTV.com AFP AFP Xinhua India Today ZNews24.com indiablooms The Express Tri... All related images » Videos Politics behind Omar Abdullah shoe assault NewsX  -  6 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XuMUiusf0Ys/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuMUiusf0Ys">Politics behind Omar Abdullah shoe assault</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 6 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuMUiusf0Ys">Watch video</a></div> Shoe Hurled at Omar Abdullah during independence day function Asian News International (ANI)  -  8 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/p0wmXN07-sY/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0wmXN07-sY">Shoe Hurled at Omar Abdullah during independence day function</a> <span class="source">Asian News International (ANI)</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 8 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0wmXN07-sY">Watch video</a></div> Shoe hurled towards Omar Abdullah at Independence Day function NewsX  -  Aug 15, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8gaGCh_1mf0/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gaGCh_1mf0">Shoe hurled towards Omar Abdullah at Independence Day function</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Aug 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gaGCh_1mf0">Watch video</a></div> Shoe thrown at Chief Minister in Indian Kashmir Express Tribune  -  Aug 15, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/r3Zdu0itb8Q/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Zdu0itb8Q">Shoe thrown at Chief Minister in Indian Kashmir</a> <span class="source">Express Tribune</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Aug 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Zdu0itb8Q">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

                               

Mosque opponents declare Obama out of touch

                   

                       

Print Email

                       

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

                       

Broadcast: 16/08/2010

                       

Reporter: Karen Barlow

                   

                   

                       

Barack Obama has weighed into the debate about a mosque near Ground Zero in New York.

                   

                   

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: After avoiding it for weeks, United States president Barack Obama has planted himself right in the middle of controversial plans to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York.

Many Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, say the project's insensitive to the victims of September 11.

During the last few days, president Obama first appeared to support the mosque plan and then to back away from it.

Republicans are now painting the president as out of touch, less than three months before key mid-term elections.

Karen Barlow reports.

KAREN BARLOW, REPORTER: The first family is on a symbolic 24 hour holiday, reclaiming in front of the cameras the BP oil spill-affected vacation coastline of Florida.

BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT (playing golf with wife and daughter): Hole in one!

KAREN BARLOW: Political holes in one are rarer, as the President found at a White House ceremony marking Ramadan.

BARACK OBAMA: As a citizen and as president I believe that the Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.

(Applause from audience).

And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in Lower Manhattan.

KAREN BARLOW: For weeks there's been fierce opposition to the construction of a mosque in an old clothing store two blocks from New York's Ground Zero. Its proponents say it'll be a home for all people yearning for understanding, healing and peace. Opinion polls suggest more than two thirds of Americans oppose the Muslim project.

JIM RICHES, LOST FAMILY MEMBER IN SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS: It's two blocks away. It's right in the shadow of Ground Zero. We think that's being insensitive.

FRAN BONADE, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: I don't care about the mosque. They can build the mosques. I mean, I'm not discriminating religion. But not here.

JOHN RANDALL, VIRGINIA RESIDENT VISITING NEW YORK CITY: I think there's a fair amount of insensitivity involved with having the mosque built here, being that nineteen of the, you know, 9/11 terrorists were Muslim.

KAREN BARLOW: The White House had previously skirted around the controversy, which has divided some leading republicans.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is in favour of the project, while former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and former house representatives leader Newt Gingrich want it stopped.

With the November mid-term elections coming up, president Obama subsequently felt the need to clarify his views on the mosque.

BARACK OBAMA: Well, the - my intention was to simply let people know what I thought, which was that in this country we treat everybody equally, in accordance with the law, regardless of race, regardless of religion. I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding.

KAREN BARLOW: Barack Obama's intervention is now being used by Republicans to paint the president as out of touch and he's being accused on backpedalling, fence-sitting and vagueness.

PETER KING, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: What the President should have said is the Muslim community has the right to construct a mosque, but they also have the responsibility to talk with the families. And for the president to ignore that and just talk about - in the abstract about a right, to me, totally missed the point.

KAREN BARLOW: Many commentators say they want religion out of the argument, but the fact remains there was a Muslim prayer room in the World Trade Centre.

ANSAR ABDUL-KARIM, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: There was a Masjid, a praying - a Musalla in the World Trade Center, in the World Trade Center number two. Most people don't know that. They don't know that Muslims were killed on that day as well. I come that way every day, and it just so happened that day I came a little early. And so I just missed those planes. I would have been in that rubble as well.

KAREN BARLOW: It's a local planning issue that president Obama may regret ever stepping into.

Karen Barlow, Lateline.

Do you have a comment or a story idea? Get in touch with the Lateline team by clicking here.

    http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2010/s2984747.htm           

                                     

Taliban call for joint inquiry into civilian Afghan deaths considered

                                                         
UN and NATO cautiously consider Taliban's proposal, which follows reports of high levels of civilian deaths caused by insurgents
                             
             

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•                                    Jon Boone in Kabul                
•             guardian.co.uk,                                                                                                       Monday 16 August 2010 18.17 BST        
• Article history

                                        
NATO and the United Nations are cautiously considering a Taliban proposal to set up a joint commission to investigate allegations of civilians being killed and wounded in the conflict in Afghanistan, diplomats in Kabul have told The Guardian.
The Taliban overture, which came in a statement posted on its website, will revive a divisive debate about whether to conduct any formal talks with insurgents who are responsible for the majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and whose assassination campaign now kills one person every day on average.
The Taliban statement called for the establishment of a body including members from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, UN human rights investigators, NATO and the Taliban. "The stated committee should [be] given a free hand to survey the affected areas as well as people in order to collect the precise information and the facts and figures and disseminate its findings worldwide," the Taliban said.
One human rights organisation has already thrown its support behind the joint commission plan, which echoes a similar idea floated four years ago.
The UN and NATO are treading carefully, but western diplomats say the proposal is being carefully considered. One said that some senior officers at the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were keen on the idea but that no steps could be taken until it was considered "at the highest political level".
The attraction to NATO is that contacts with the Taliban might help improve a dire security situation that threatens to deteriorate still further.
The Taliban statement also complained that data on civilian casualties were being used as "propaganda by the Western media".
A UN report last week showed that a 31% spike in civilian casualties was largely caused by insurgents, who have increasingly turned to homemade bombs and assassinations. The report also destroyed one of the Taliban's main propaganda claims: that foreign forces are responsible for most civilian deaths and injuries. In fact, the report showed "pro-government" forces were responsible for just 12%, while insurgents were responsible for 76%.
A 30% drop in the number of casualties caused by foreign forces was put down to severe restrictions on the use of heavy weapons and airstrikes.
Today meanwhile it emerged that Taliban forces had resorted to another dark tactic barely used at all in recent years. A couple accused of adultery were stoned to death in the northern Kunduz province. Amnesty International said the killing underscored a basic fundamental: "that the Afghan government should not sacrifice human rights, particularly the rights of women and minorities, in the name of reconciliation with the Taliban and other insurgent groups".
Today, Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai indicated that the private security industry that guards everything from Nato supplies to foreign embassies, would be scrapped within four months and all security handed over to the Afghan police. The announcement appeared likely to widen the rift between Karzai and his western backers.
The delicate balancing act for Nato is that the possible benefits of opening dialogue with insurgents must be weighted against the danger of simply giving them political legitimacy at a time when David Petraeus, the US commander of NATO forces, has ordered his communications department to cast the Taliban in the most negative light possible.
Today NATO military spokesmen put out statements attacking the Taliban's record on civilian casualties, but refused to comment on whether the plan was being ruled out.
ISAF said: "The Taliban clearly realize their vulnerability on the issue of civilian casualties, and are trying to devise a way to evade responsibility for them. But the facts are clear – the Taliban have caused the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties."
A spokesman for the UN, which has for years had unofficial contacts with insurgents and sees itself as an independent arbitrator in the conflict, simply said: "We are aware of the statement and we are considering it." There are some concerns, shared by the UN, about whether the proposal, which was posted under the name of Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, actually comes from the highest levels of the movement's leadership. "Although it was on their website and from their spokesman, this is actually low-level and there has been no other reach out," a diplomat said.
And there are fears that the Taliban have not shown contrition for the huge number of people killed and injured by improvised explosive devices and their assassination campaign, which, according to last week's UN report, now runs at an average of one person killed per day.
Afghanistan Rights Monitor, an organisation that investigates human rights abuses, said in a statement that it welcomed the Taliban's announcement, but issued a list of 12 provisos.
They included a demand that the Taliban provide safety guarantees to human rights investigators in areas under their control and an immediate stop to suicide attacks in areas where civilians are concentrated.
"This offer would be more credible if the [Taliban] demonstrated a commitment to reducing civilian casualties itself by not attacking military targets indiscriminately, or by targeting and assassinating civilian officials and persons," said Eric Gaston, a human rights lawyer and Afghanistan specialist at the Open Society Institute.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/taliban-afghan-civilian-deaths-nato-un                                                                          

                                           

        
                                      

                                                          

Afghanistan war logs: Secret CIA paramilitaries' role in civilian deaths

                                                         
Innocent Afghan men, women and children have paid the price of the Americans' rules of engagement
                             
             

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•                                    David Leigh                
•             guardian.co.uk,                                                                                                       Sunday 25 July 2010 22.33 BST        
• Article history

                                                     
                                        
Shum Khan, a man both deaf and unable to speak, lived in the remote border hamlet of Malekshay, 7,000ft up in the mountains. When a heavily armed squad from the CIA barrelled into his village in March 2007, the war logs record that he "ran at the sight of the approaching coalition forces … out of fear and confusion".
The secret CIA paramilitaries, (the euphemism here is OGA, for "other government agency") shouted at him to stop. Khan could not hear them. He carried on running. So they shot him, saying they were entitled to do so under the carefully graded "escalation of force" provisions of the US rules of engagement.
Khan was wounded but survived. The Americans' error was explained to them by village elders, so they fetched out what they term "solatia", or compensation. The classified intelligence report ends briskly: "Solatia was made in the form of supplies and the Element mission progressed".
Behind the military jargon, the war logs are littered with accounts of civilian tragedies. The 144 entries in the logs recording some of these so-called "blue on white" events, cover a wide spectrum of day-by-day assaults on Afghans, with hundreds of casualties.
They range from the shootings of individual innocents to the often massive loss of life from air strikes, which eventually led President Hamid Karzai to protest publicly that the US was treating Afghan lives as "cheap". When civilian family members are actually killed in Afghanistan, their relatives do, in fairness, get greater solatia payments than cans of beans and Hershey bars. The logs refer to sums paid of 100,000 Afghani per corpse, equivalent to about £1,500.
US and allied commanders frequently deny allegations of mass civilian casualties, claiming they are Taliban propaganda or ploys to get compensation, which are contradicted by facts known to the military.
But the logs demonstrate how much of the contemporaneous US internal reporting of air strikes is simply false.
Last September there was a major scandal at Kunduz in the north of Afghanistan when a German commander ordered the bombing of a crowd looting two hijacked fuel tankers. The contemporaneous archive circulated to Nato allies records him authorising the airstrike by a US F-15 jet "after ensuring that no civilians were in the vicinity". The "battle damage assessment" confirmed, it claims, that 56 purely "enemy insurgents" had died.
Media reports followed by official inquiries, however, established something closer to the real death toll. It included 30 to 70 civilians.
In another case the logs show that on the night of 30 August 2008, a US special forces squad called Scorpion 26 blasted Helmand positions with multiple rockets, and called in an airstrike to drop a 500lb bomb. All that was officially logged was that 24 Taliban had been killed.
But writer Patrick Bishop was embedded in the valley nearby with British paratroops at their Sangin bases. He recorded independently: "Overnight, the question of civilian casualties took on an extra urgency. An American team had been inserted on to Black Mountain … From there, they launched a series of offensive operations. On 30 August, wounded civilians, some of them badly injured, turned up at Sangin and FOB Inkerman saying they had been attacked by foreign troops. Such incidents gave a hollow ring to ISAF claims that their presence would bring security to the local population."
Some of the more notorious civilian calamities did become public at the time. The logs confirm that an entirely truthful official announcement was made regretting the guidance system failure of one "smart bomb". On 9 September 2008 it unintentionally landed on a village causing 26 civilian casualties.
The US also realised very quickly that a Polish squad had committed what appeared to have been a possible war crime. On 16 August 2007 the Poles mortared a wedding party in the village of Nangar Khel in an apparent revenge attack shortly after experiencing an IED explosion.
It is recorded under the heading: "Any incident that may cause negative media". The report disclosed that three women victims had "numerous shrapnel wounds … One was pregnant and an emergency C-section was performed but the baby died". In all, six were killed. The Polish troops were shipped home and some eventually put on trial for the atrocity. After protests in their support from a Polish general, the trial has apparently so far failed to reach a conclusion.
But most of the assaults on civilians recorded here, do not appear to have been investigated. French troops "opened fire on a bus that came too close to convoy" near the village of Tangi Kalay outside Kabul on 2 October 2008, according to the logs. They wounded eight children who were in the bus.
Two months later, US troops gunned down a group of bus passengers even more peremptorily, as the logs record.
Patrolling on foot, a Kentucky-based squad from 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, known as "Red Currahee", decided to flag down the approaching bus, so their patrol could cross the road. Before sunrise, a soldier stepped out on to Afghanistan's main highway and raised both hands in the air.
When the bus failed to slow – travellers are often wary of being flagged down in Afghanistan's bandit lands – a trooper raked it with machine-gun fire. They killed four passengers and wounded 11 others.
Some of the civilian deaths in the list stem from violent actions by US special forces attempting to hunt down Taliban leaders or al-Qaida incomers. In a typical case, last November, the army files record a demonstration by 80 angry villagers who broke an armoured car window in the village of Lewani. A woman from the village had been killed in an assault by the shadowy Task Force 373.
The influence of the then new commander, General Stanley McChrystal, can be seen, however. Brought in last year with a mission to try to cut the number of civilian casualties, he clearly demanded more detailed reporting of such incidents.
The Lewani file is marked with a new "information requirement" to record each "credible allegation of Isaf [the occupying forces] … causing non-combatant injury/death".
McChrystal was replaced last month, however, by General David Petraeus, amid reports that restraints aimed at cutting civilian deaths would be loosened once again.
The bulk of the "blue-white" file consists of a relentless catalogue of civilian shootings on nearly 100 occasions by jumpy troops at checkpoints, near bases or on convoys. Unco-operative drivers and motorcyclists are frequent targets.
Each incident almost without exception is described as a meticulous "escalation of force" conducted strictly by the book, against a threatening vehicle.
US and UK rules require shouts, waves, flares, warning shots and shots into the engine block, before using lethal force. Each time it is claimed that this procedure is followed. Yet "warning shots" often seem to cause death or injury, generally ascribed to ricochets.
Sometimes, it seems as though civilian drivers merely failed to get off the road fast enough. On 9 July 2006 mechanic Mohamad Baluch was test-driving a car in Ghazni, when the Americans rolled into town on an anti-IED "route clearance patrol".
The log records: "LN [local national] vehicle did not yield to US convoy … Gunner on lead truck shot into the vehicle and convoy kept going out of the area." The townspeople threw rocks at the eight departing armoured Humvees. Baluch ended up in hospital with machine-gun bullets in his shoulder.
• This article was amended on 26 July 2010. The original referred to Shum Khan as deaf and dumb. This has been corrected, as the Guardian's style book counsels against the term dumb.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-civilian-deaths-rules-engagement                        
        
              16 August 2010 Last updated at 15:06 GMT    

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Obama under fire for Ground Zero mosque defence

                
President Barack Obama has come under fire over his defence on Friday of a developer's right to build a mosque blocks from Ground Zero in New York.
Republicans said Mr Obama was out of step with America on the project.
"It's unwise to build a mosque a the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of a terrorist attack," Senator John Cornyn said.
On Saturday, Mr Obama said he was backing the rights of the developers, not the "wisdom" of the project.
'Not commenting'
Since a New York developer announced plans to build a 13-storey Islamic community centre and mosque about two blocks from the former World Trade Center site, prominent Republican politicians and a host of conservative pundits have attacked the project.
   

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• Obama backs 'Ground Zero mosque'
• 'Ground Zero mosque' moves closer

   
At a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan on Friday, Mr Obama vigorously defended the developers' right to put the mosque there "in accordance with local laws and ordinances".
Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country", the president said.
But on Saturday Mr Obama clarified his comments, saying: "I was not commenting, and I will not comment on, the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there".
Nevertheless, a number of opposition Republicans hit out at the president's stance on the US Sunday talk shows.
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President Obama waded into the controversy in remarks at a Muslim Iftar dinner at the White House
       
"It's unwise to build a mosque at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of a terrorist attack," Senator John Cornyn of Texas said on Sunday on Fox News.
"And I think to me it demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America."
Meanwhile Ed Rollins, a veteran Republican campaign consultant, said Democratic candidates would be forced to take a position on the issue in campaigning for November's US mid-term elections.
"Intellectually, the president may be right, but this is an emotional issue, and people who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers, what have you, do not want that mosque in New York, and it's going to be a big, big issue for Democrats across this country," he said on CBS's Face the Nation.
"Every candidate who's in the challenge districts are going to be asked, how do you feel about building the mosque on the Ground Zero sites".
Political risks
The White House and the president's supporters have sought to frame the Mr Obama's comments as a matter of conscience, not poll numbers, and argue that Republicans are inappropriately politicising the issue.
"This wouldn't be a controversy if it was a proposal to build a synagogue or a church," Democratic party chairman Tim Kaine said on CBS. "We don't prefer people and we don't punish people based on their religion."
The Politico website quoted a senior administration official as saying: "When I start to view religious freedom through the prism of midterm elections, I'm just going to quit."
While polling suggests a majority of Americans oppose plans to build the mosque, a Fox News poll released on Friday suggested 61% supported the developer's right to build the mosque.
"It was a bold decision - Obama could have stayed out of what is ostensibly a local matter," wrote polling analyst Nate Silver on the political website FiveThirtyEight.com.
"But a careful evaluation of the polls reveals it to be less politically risky than it might at first appear."
        
             

   

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• Obama backs 'Ground Zero mosque'                 14 AUGUST 2010, US & CANADA
• 'Ground Zero mosque' moves closer                 03 AUGUST 2010, US & CANADA
• The battle over the 'Ground Zero mosque'                 03 AUGUST 2010, US & CANADA
• TV networks reject 9/11 mosque ad                 15 JULY 2010, US & CANADA

   
   

From other news sites

• Business Day Obama walks tightrope over mosque 10 hrs ago

• Sydney Morning Herald New York mosque fuels political row 13 hrs ago

• Yahoo! UK and Ireland Ground Zero mosque row stirs political storm 13 hrs ago

• Philippine Daily Inquirer Mosque near Ground Zero becoming political football 17 hrs ago

• Haaretz Republicans slam Obama over Ground Zero Muslim center remarks 23 hrs ago

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Related Mosque Mosque at Ground Zero Barack Obama Islam Freedom of religion Ramadan Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story GOP seeks political gain from ground zero Islamic center issue ‎37 minutes ago‎ - CNN Obama and the mosque: An election issue? ‎5 hours ago‎ - USA Today Obama's Islamic-Center Stance: Why the GOP Shouldn't Run Against It ‎8 hours ago‎ - TIME Obama's Mosque Remarks Reverberate ‎17 hours ago‎ - Wall Street Journal Administration's Muddled Response on Mosque Creates New Election Year Debate ‎Aug 15, 2010‎ - FOXNews President Obama reluctantly addresses Ground Zero mosque issue ‎Aug 14, 2010‎ - New York Daily News Under Fire, Obama Clarifies Support for Ground Zero Mosque ‎Aug 14, 2010‎ - FOXNews Ground zero mosque debate...Danger alert system...Five days after ‎Aug 13, 2010‎ - 9&10 News Obama Defends Plan for Mosque Near Ground Zero ‎Aug 13, 2010‎ - Wall Street Journal Images CNN CBS News The Star-Ledger... Newsweek Atlanta Journal... ABC News Vanity Fair Daily Mail Sky News (blog) All related images » Videos The Buzz: Mosque Controversy Fox Providence  -  2 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dzPNx77j3F8/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzPNx77j3F8">The Buzz: Mosque Controversy</a> <span class="source">Fox Providence</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 2 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzPNx77j3F8">Watch video</a></div> Obama Supports 'right' for Ground Zero Mosque The Associated Press  -  Aug 15, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/baMmL_Ez3iE/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baMmL_Ez3iE">Obama Supports 'right' for Ground Zero Mosque</a> <span class="source">The Associated Press</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Aug 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baMmL_Ez3iE">Watch video</a></div> Islamophobia: New Anti-Communism? RT  -  Aug 15, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/osp6hFpbcfI/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osp6hFpbcfI">Islamophobia: New Anti-Communism?</a> <span class="source">RT</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Aug 15, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osp6hFpbcfI">Watch video</a></div> President Obama backs 'Ground Zero' mosque plans ITN NEWS  -  Aug 14, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6ye2MmmOVU/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ye2MmmOVU">President Obama backs 'Ground Zero' mosque plans</a> <span class="source">ITN NEWS</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Aug 14, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ye2MmmOVU">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

Indian stocks seen ripest for picking in Asia

16 Aug 2010, 2243 hrs IST,Shailendra Bhatnagar,ET Bureau
ET NOW: Indian companies, led by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Punjab National Bank, are the most attractive investment picks in Asia, outshining those in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy.

An analysis by ET of nearly 5,000 of the most closely tracked listed companies in Asia shows the dominance of Indian stocks is overwhelming , they occupy the top 25 spots for most 'tracked' recommendations by brokerage firms.

Local companies also lead the list of Asian stocks that have the most 'buy' ratings, with eight out of the top 10 companies Indian. "India is offering a visibility of 2-3 years in sales growth, which is uncommon in Asia," said Deven Choksey, CEO of K R Choksey Shares & Securities. "Nearly Rs 660,000 crore worth of investment is planned in sectors like power, roads and ports in the next five years and close to half of that will go into capital goods. It is no surprise that our stocks are being tracked with such intensity.''

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TCS, India's largest software exporter, is the top-ranked stock across Asia, with 47 'buy' recommendations, followed by Punjab National Bank and Infosys Technologies, with 45 each. Axis Bank, HCL Technologies and Bank of Baroda occupy the next three slots.

In contrast, only 11 Chinese companies figure among the top 50 in the list of most recommended stocks. Chinese Merchants Bank Co. is the most attractive Chinese company, with '37' buy recommendations and is at the 11th spot. China's GDP in 2009 was nearly $5 trillion and its economic output is expected to expand by around 10% this year. India's economy is worth some $1.2 trillion and the RBI has forecast that GDP in the fiscal year to March 2011 will grow by 8.5%.

While economic growth in China may be streets ahead of India, stock markets in India are faring better — the BSE Sensex is up 4% since the start of the year in stark contrast to the 20% decline in the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which is trading in bear territory.

"Indian companies offer a higher return on equity and are far better at using scarce capital than Chinese companies," says Mumbai-based Choksey. "A large part of the Indian story is led by domestic growth and private consumption, whereas lots of Chinese companies depend on export markets and government contracts.''

Tata Motors has seen its stock price forecast being raised by 25 analysts after it swung to a profit of Rs 1,990 crore in the April-June quarter from a loss of Rs 330 crore a year ago. The maker of trucks, the Rs 1.25-lakh Nano and the super-luxurious $80,000 Jaguar XF, benefitted from roaring demand for automobiles in India as well as the US.

Tata Motors is a "cat in full stride,'' Jatin Chawla, an auto analyst with brokerage IIFL wrote in a recent report. "Realisations also improved on lower incentives, better product and region mix and higher prices of the new 2010 range of models'' for its Jaguar Land Rover unit. Tata Motors is the ninth most attractive stock, just behind Wipro Ltd.

Clearly, analysts expect the services sector, which accounts for more than half of India's economy, to lead growth in the coming quarters. Banks stocks remain high on buy lists as demand for credit grows at over 20%.

State Bank of India stunned analysts with a better-than-forecast 25% rise in quarterly profit and a surge in net interest margin to 3.18%. Officials at SBI were confident that the bank's loan book would expand thanks to strong demand from the infrastructure space and from retail customers.

"We remain positive on India financials," Seshadri K Sen, banking analyst at JPMorgan wrote in a report on the banking sector. "Rising rates are not a worry, yet, because they are unlikely to affect growth."

Companies in India's cement sector are ranked among the least attractive, with the highest number of 'sell' recommendations in Asia. India Cements leads that pack with 24 'sell' recommendations, followed by ACC, Ultra Tech and Ambuja Cements with 23, 20 and 19 'sell' calls, respectively.

CWG venues in top-class shape, to be ready by Aug 25: Randhir

Satisfied with the preparation of Commonwealth Games venues, Organising Committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh on Monday said all the stadiums are in "top-class shape" and will be ready by August 25.

Randhir, who visited the venues alongwith OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and secretary general Lalit Bhanot, said little bit of finishing work which remains will be completed in a weeks time.

"It has given me personal satisfaction to inspect each and every venue except for the Khadarpur shooting range. Initially I was worried and nervous but now I can assure you that all the venues are in top-class shape," Randhir told a press conference.

"The field of play in all the stadiums were already in shape but now most of the rubbles have been cleaned. The beautification work, including plantation of greenary, is going on. It is a very encouraging sign," said Randhir, who is also the secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association.

"We checked each and everything minutely. Although minor works still remains but everything will be completed in a weeks time. By August 25 all the things will be done," he added.

With the Games struck by charges of corruption, Randhir, OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and secretary general Lalit Bhanot visited the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Jawaharal Nehru Stadium complex, Siri Fort Sports Complex, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and Yamuna Sports Complex in the last one week to take stock of the preparations.

Randhir also said that the Games Village will open on September 16 to accomadate some foreign athletes who will be in the Capital by September 15 for registration.

Shivaji Stadium, a training venue for hockey, is running against time to be ready for the Games but Bhanot, who is also the OC spokesman said it is not at all a matter of concern.

"Shivaji Stadium is a training venue. There were some court cases which is the reason behind its delay. But even if it does not finish within time we have Yamuna Sports Complex and other stadiums for training," Bhanot said.

Cabinet orders probe into illegal mining

16 Aug 2010, 1416 hrs IST,REUTERS
NEW DELHI: Union cabinet on Monday has ordered a probe into alleged illegal mining in the country, Mines Minister B.K. Handique told reporters. Several mineral-rich Indian states say several mining firms operate without necessary licences and approvals.

The southern Karnataka state, India's second-largest iron ore producer, has banned export of the steel-making raw material, citing illegal mining as a provocation.

The Orissa state in the east has been engaged in a year-long drive against offenders closing several mines, while western Goa state has said it will clamp down on exports of illegally mined iron ore.

Is CAG 'leaking' defence secrets?

16 Aug 2010, 1018 hrs IST,TNN
NEW DELHI: The armed forces are increasingly getting furious with successive CAG reports divulging their '' classified operational readiness reports (ORRs)'' for all the world to see.

Getting rapped for financial and procedural irregularities or diversion of funds to buy golf carts and delays in much-needed procurements is one thing but the armed forces are aghast that the operational availability of their aircraft, helicopters, submarines and other platforms as well as radars and missiles is being put in '' the public domain' ' by CAG reports.

'' Why make the jobs of our enemies easier? To make matters worse, the latest reports are promptly uploaded on the CAG website, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. CAG reports must have a classified section , which only a select few of decision-makers must have access to,'' said a senior military officer.

While the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai, could not be contacted since he was abroad, another CAG official contended the reports were prepared '' in consultation' ' with the defence ministry and service concerned.

'' Our mandate is that every audit report has to be laid in Parliament . The parliamentary public accounts committee subsequently takes it up. Once anything is tabled in Parliament, it's in the public domain ,'' he said. Moreover, don't newspapers regularly report on depleting levels of fighter squadrons in IAF and submarines in Navy? Or, of the poor serviceability of MiG, Jaguar or reconnaissance aircraft fleets and the alarming gaps in radar coverage over central and peninsular India?

'' Yes, they do, and often accurately . But they are still newspaper reports,'' said an IAF officer. In contrast , the reports of CAG, a constitutional authority with access to secret flying logs, equipment and sensor availability reports and other classified stuff, come with an official stamp of authenticity.

'' Even if a CAG report describes a fighter only as 'X' , any serious defence watcher will know which particular jet is being talked about. All this makes it easy for our adversaries to know our operational capabilities,'' the IAF officer said.

'' The CAG reports are important . But are any such official reports available in the public domain in either Pakistan or China? Warfare is all about keeping your enemies guessing about your capabilities ,'' he added.

Take, for instance, India's solitary 50-year-old aircraft carrier INS Viraat. A careful reading of the latest CAG report makes it clear Viraat may just be a paper tiger, left as it is with only eight upgraded Sea Harrier jump-jets to operate from its deck. Similarly, take India's rapidly-shrinking underwater combat arm. As frequently reported by TOI, Navy is left with only 15 submarines — 10 Russian Kilo-class , four German HDW and one virtually-obsolete Foxtrot — at present. And the number may dip to just half by 2015 due to progressive retirements.

Then came a CAG report which held that the operational availability of Indian submarines was as low as 48% due to an ageing fleet and prolonged refit schedules. In effect, this means that if India went to war with Pakistan, it will only have seven submarines to deploy.

RBI likely to hike key rates by 0.5-0.75 per cent going forward

Projecting a strong outlook for the domestic economy in the second-half of 2010, DSP Merrill Lynch on Monday said that Reserve Bank of India is likely to further hike lending rates by 0.5-0.75 per cent.

"The RBI will hike key rates probably by 0.5-0.75 per cent and then pause," DSP Merrill Lynch's senior director and economist Indernil Sen Gupta told reporters in Mumbai today.

The hike would come on the back of rising core inflation, he said.

Sen Gupta said that he is looking at a fairly strong economic growth. "The economy is clearly set on an 8 per cent growth path," he said.

"Interest rates are expected to go up and they are going up," he said, adding, "but we don't think they will go up to the levels where they affect growth as such."

On rainfall, he said that there has been sufficient rainfall across several areas in the country and "this should support rural demand."

The markets are unlikely to increase any further from the present level considering the valuations, Sen Gupta said.

"We target the (Sensex) at 18,000 this year," he added.

Vedanta should not be given mining approval: Govt panel

16 Aug 2010, 1543 hrs IST,REUTERS

NEW DELHI: A government panel said on Monday UK-based mining group Vedanta should not be given permission for bauxite mining in Orissa. "This committee is of the firm view that allowing mining in the proposed mining lease area by depriving two primitive tribal groups of their rights... in order to benefit a private company would shake the faith of the tribals in the law of the land," the N.C. Saxena Committee that was set up by India's environment ministry said. The panel said such a move may have serious consequences for the security and the well being of the entire country."

The holy grail of financial inclusion

16 Aug 2010, 0242 hrs IST,Sugata Ghosh,ET Bureau

* Telecom firms, outgunning one another in a bloody tariff war, know that it must end someday. There has to be some other way to make money to prune their debt and keep the interest alive in their stocks. The ray of hope, they feel, lies in mobile banking. If Filipina maids in Hong Kong can remit money to their moms from basic handhelds, why can't those in Mumbai and Delhi do the same to send a slice of their salaries to their families in Bihar and Bengal? But, how do you make it happen? Regulators, paranoid about terror finance, will argue that a loose remittance channel can make money laundering easier. How do you convince them? Use the magic term 'financial inclusion.'

* If you have to give unique identification numbers to millions spread across 600,000 villages, how do you go about it? Not an easy job. It can be more difficult when NGOs and citizen activist groups complain that the very idea is an infringement on privacy. But the noise will slowly die down when you call it a gateway to 'financial inclusion.' Since banks will not spend on full-fledged ATMs in all villages, the poor and unbanked can use the identification numbers to withdraw cash from micro ATMs — inexpensive machines that serve as cash dispensers.

* What about business houses trying to realise their dreams of owning banks? They will have to counter well-honed arguments: corporates will find multiple ways to use their banks to fund group firms, place their own men on bank boards and that there is no supervisory mechanism to check all of that. In the '80s, American banks backed a new set of rules, better known as Basel I, to fix the minimum capital a bank must have to lend. Many felt it was a ploy to cut down the huge Japanese banks that were sponsored by zaibatsus, operated on wafer-thin capital and bought almost anything they liked. But outspoken advocates of Basel I and Wall Street banks which quietly backed them, were emboldened by instances of corporate houses mismanaging banks.

In the past two decades they sharpened their views into formidable intellectual objections. This is the tallest wall a corporate had to climb before it could own a bank. None could. And, for years RBI found itself safe behind the wall as it denied a banking licence to even the biggest of corporate houses. Today, there is a crack in that wall. What has changed? Besides the hectic lobbying and the corporates own intellectual ammunition, something else helped. Once again, it's 'financial inclusion.' Something that's being peddled around as an idea whose time has come.

A lot of people have learnt to use it. Seasoned politicians have been quick to sense it. Bankers acknowledge it. Corporates know how to weave the magic term with their proposals. Even event managers have found out that few turn down an invitation to a seminar on 'financial inclusion.' And, the regulator is powerless before it. RBI fears that the old wall will crumble in time. Grudgingly, it will have to dole out licences to corporates. Whether that "limited number" of licences is three or eight will depend on the outcome of a game that will be played out in the next one year.

FM to lose veto power in GST council, to retain chairmanship

The revised draft of the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST will drop the contentious issue of giving veto powers to the Union Finance Minister in order to bring states on board.

However, the Union Finance Minister will remain the chairman of the council, which will take decisions on the indirect tax system.

With states rejecting the earlier draft on the ground that giving veto powers to the Union Finance Minister would interfere with their fiscal autonomy on indirect taxes, the new draft of the Bill proposes that all states, along with the Centre, would have to agree on a decision in the GST council to make it effective.

Also, states will be given deputy chairmanship of the council on a rotational basis, a key official source said.

"If there is no consensus arrived on any decision taken by the council, then it would be blocked, even if one member rejects a proposal," the source said.

This way, the council would become a recommendatory body, rather than mandatory, as proposed in the original draft.

However, Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghavji wants more clarity on the issue.

"There has been no mechanism suggested on what would be done if there is no consensus," he added.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would meet the state GST panel on August 18 to discuss the revised draft of the Constitution Amendment Bill.

Before meeting Mukherjee, state finance ministers will meet among themselves on the same day to discuss the revised Constitution Amendment draft to implement GST.

Earlier, efforts to introduce GST from the next fiscal received a setback after states opposed the original draft Bill to amend the Constitution in its present form, saying it provides a veto power to the Union Finance Minister in matters relating to state subjects.

"This proposed draft Constitution Amendment Bill related to GST in its present form is not acceptable to the states," Asim Dasgupta, the Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST, had said after a meeting of the panel.

He had said states are against infringement on their financial autonomy and have certain reservations on the draft Bill's provisions for the GST Council and the GST Disputes Authority.

The draft had proposed a GST council that would have members from the states and the Centre, with veto power given to the Union Finance Minister.

For any dispute, there would also be a dispute authority, according to the proposed draft.

States fear that giving a veto power to the Union Finance Minister on state taxation issues would curb their fiscal autonomy.

Allow 49% FDI in defence sector: Assocham

The government should increase the foreign investment limit in the defence sector to 49 per cent for growth of the domestic industry, Assocham on Sunday said.

"The suggested move will allow a significant degree of control by Indian government on FDI inflow in defence and encourage domestic industry to seek meaningful foreign tie-ups," Assocham said.

The hike would also help in creating more jobs in the sector, it said, adding the move would also ensure technology transfer.

The industry department has initiated a discussion for further increasing the foreign direct investment in the defence sector currently capped at 26 per cent.

Proposing 74 per cent FDI in the sensitive sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had stated that 100 per cent overseas investment would be "desirable".

India's massive defence budget has the potential to make it a global manufacturing and services hub in defence.

"India must seize this opportunity and put in place a policy regime that would facilitate investments (foreign and local), transfer of technology (ToT) and creation of jobs in India," it said.

India's cumulative defence budget has been growing annually at 13.4 per cent since 2006-07 to Rs 1,47,344 crore (USD 31.9 billion) in 2010-11.

Of this, about 40 per cent is capital expenditure and 70 per cent of which (about USD 8billion) is met through imports. The government should increase the foreign investment limit in the defence sector to 49 per cent for growth of the domestic industry, Assocham on Sunday said.

"The suggested move will allow a significant degree of control by Indian government on FDI inflow in defence and encourage domestic industry to seek meaningful foreign tie-ups," Assocham said.

The hike would also help in creating more jobs in the sector, it said, adding the move would also ensure technology transfer.

The industry department has initiated a discussion for further increasing the foreign direct investment in the defence sector currently capped at 26 per cent.

Proposing 74 per cent FDI in the sensitive sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had stated that 100 per cent overseas investment would be "desirable".

India's massive defence budget has the potential to make it a global manufacturing and services hub in defence.

"India must seize this opportunity and put in place a policy regime that would facilitate investments (foreign and local), transfer of technology (ToT) and creation of jobs in India," it said.

India's cumulative defence budget has been growing annually at 13.4 per cent since 2006-07 to Rs 1,47,344 crore (USD 31.9 billion) in 2010-11.

Of this, about 40 per cent is capital expenditure and 70 per cent of which (about USD 8billion) is met through imports. Market
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CEOs say GST will raise profits: Survey

An overwhelming majority of senior executives from various sectors favour introduction of the proposed Goods and Services Tax and think that it will increase profitability for firms, according to a survey by industry body CII and global consultancy KPMG.
The study also found that industry Representatives feel that the single unified tax structure would help in consolidation of business.
"Eighty eight per cent of the survey respondents prefer having a single national GST enactment, both for Centre and the states," the 'Report on Goods and Services Tax Survey: Industry expectations and perceptions' said.
The study was based on response from over 200 senior executives of top companies in diverse fields like auto, FMCG, power and energy, real estate, IT, pharmaceuticals and financial services.
"...most of the respondents had presence on a pan-India basis and they expect GST to be a unifying fiscal legislation across the national market," the survey added.
The government plans to roll out the GST from April 1, next year. All central and state taxes like excise, VAT and service tax will be rolled into GST, once the new regime comes into effect.
The revenue from GST will be shared equally between the centre and states.
The central government had last month proposed a three-rate structure for GST under which goods will attract 20 per cent levy, services 16 per cent and essential items a concessional 12 per cent.
The CII-KPMG study also found that 44 per cent of the executives felt that the GST could be an opportunity to consolidate their business operations as the proposed changes in the indirect tax structure would transform India into a national market.
"...84 per cent of the survey respondents feel that GST would have a positive impact on the profitability of the business as there would be seamless flow of input tax credit with no or very limited cascading of taxes," CII-KPMG said.
The survey found that industry representatives feel any upward revision of service tax due to implementation of GST would have a "moderate to high" impact.
"They (industry representatives) are realistic enough to know that the cumulative standard rate of GST may not be less than 14 to 16 per cent. But nevertheless they would much prefer the tax to be collected at a single rate for both goods and services," it said.
Close to 70 per cent of the survey respondents said it would take them 3-4 months in reconfiguring their IT systems to bring their business in tune with the proposed new tax regime.

Godhra pre-planned, Modi not involved: Nanavati panel

Gandhinagar, September 25: The Sabarmati Express coach burning was a 'pre-planned conspiracy', a probe panel has said also giving a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the state police in the subsequent post-Godhra riots that claimed over 1,000 lives.
The report which went into the coach burning in February, 2002 in which 58 kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed, 'was a pre-planned conspiracy' which was hatched at the Aman Guest House in Godhra.
The train carnage was cited as the reason by Hindu outfits to justify the post-Godhra pogrom.
This finding of the two-member Commission goes contrary to a probe headed by another former Supreme Court judge U C Banerjee set up by the Lalu Prasad-headed railway ministry that the coach burning was purely an accident. Retired justice Akshay Mehta was the other member of the Nanavati Commission.
"There is absolutely no evidence to show that either the Chief Minister or any of the ministers in his council or police officers had played any role in the Godhra incident," said the report of Justice G T Nanavati, a former Supreme Court judge that went into the train burning incident.
The first part of the report was tabled in the state Assembly on Thursday and evoked instant criticism from political parties and activists opposed to the BJP. They contended that the Commission was set up to 'mislead' the people.
The conclusion that the train burning was a 'pre-planned conspiracy' was based on various grounds including the statements of the passengers of the train that stone pelting continued for 10-20 minutes to prevent the passengers from coming out of the coach.
140 litres of petrol was purchased by Razzak Kurkur and Salim Panwala to execute the conspiracy, the Commission said adding that according to eyewitnesses, Shaukat Lalu and Mohammad Latika, had possibly opened the sliding door connecting the S6 and S7 coaches and entered S6 through that door.
One Hassan Lalu had thrown a burning rag which had led to the fire in the S6 coach, it said.
On the conspiracy, the report said it was hatched at the Aman Guest House on the directions of Maulvi Umarji and executed by Razzak Kurkur, Salim Panwala, Shaukat Lalu, Imran Sheri, Rafique Batuk and Shiraj Bala.
"The conspiracy hatched by these persons further appears to be a part of a larger conspiracy to create terror and destabilise the administration," the report said.
Giving a clean chit to Modi in the post-Godhra events, the Nanavati Commission said there was no evidence to show there was lapse in the role of the chief Minister or his ministers in providing protection, relief and rehabilitation to the victims of communal riots or in the matter of not complying with the recommendations and direction given by the National Human Rights Commission.

Scare at Home as dangerous virus stalks ministry computers

A malicious mail containing a dangerous computer virus from the email ID of the Indian Ambassador in Uzbekistan to some senior officials of the Home Ministry has sent alarm bells ringing in the security establishment here.
It is feared the mailbox of the diplomat may have been compromised by hackers.
The 'Trojan' virus concealed inside a sham list of indigenous Indian terrorists has even escaped the Trend Micro Anti-virus software deployed by the government's IT arm National Informatics Centre (NIC) in the official computers.
"The Intelligence Bureau has intimated that a number of senior officers in Ministry of Home Affairs have received a malicious mail from the email ID containing a 'Trojan' concealed inside a sham list of indigenous Indian terrorists," an official circular said.
After detecting the virus, the IB swung into action immediately for damage limitation and advised a number of procedures to be followed by all officials who use computers in the North Block premise.
Investigators believe that the hackers, based in a foreign country, cracked the official email ID of the Indian Ambassador to Uzbekistan and sent the mail with an intention to infiltrate in the Home Ministry computer networks.
The IB has also advised that all computers in MHA are regularly updated with latest anti-virus operating system and application software (MS Office, Acrobat Reader etc.) Patches and no Internet connected computer should be used to process, store or transmit sensitive official documents.
"There is proper control over the use of Computer Storage Media (CSM). If the same Pen Drive is used in standalone and Internet computers, all precautions should be taken to ensure that Pen Drive is treated with anti-virus software and there is no hidden folder," the IB advisory said.
Earlier also similar attempts have been made to infiltrate into the computers of sensitive Ministries, including Home and External Affairs, allegedly by Chinese hackers.
The government is also taking action to fight back the hackers. National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon had held a high-level security meeting on July 29 which was attended by Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Mathur as well as senior officials of Department of Telecommunication and security agencies.Tata becomes India's most valued group
Coinciding with the beginning of a search for Chairman Ratan Tata's successor, the Tata Group has become the country's wealthiest, with a market value of about Rs 3,71,000 crore -- higher than that of the business houses led by the two Ambani siblings.
The Tata Group is followed by Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries group as the second-most valued firm (Rs 3,21,750 crore), Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite group at third (Rs 1,35,300 crore), Anil Ambani group at fourth (Rs 1,25,000 crore) and Sunil Mittal-led Bharti group at fifth (Rs 1,20,500 crore), in terms of cumulative market capitalisation.
However, the Tatas would be relegated to second position if the market values are combined of the two Reliance groups -- one led by Mukesh Ambani and another by younger sibling Anil -- in the backdrop of their now harmonious relationship after years of acrimony till a few months ago.
The combined market capitalisation of the two Ambani groups currently stand at nearly Rs 4,47,000 crore – higher than the Tatas by nearly Rs 77,000 crore.
On a standalone basis, the Tatas have replaced Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries group as the country's biggest in terms of market value at a time when the issue of finding a successor to iconic industrialist Ratan Tata as the next chairman of the salt-to-software group is hogging the limelight.
Earlier this month, the Tata Group announced that it has set up a search panel for identifying a successor to Ratan Tata, who assumed charge of the group in 1991 and is scheduled to retire in December, 2012.
The cumulative market capitalisation of about 30 listed Tata Group companies currently stands at nearly Rs 3,71,000 crore -- a surge of nearly Rs 35,000 crore in the current quarter beginning July.
At the end of the previous quarter (April-June 2010), the Tata group had a total market cap of Rs 3,26,000 crore – making it the second-most valued firm after the Mukesh Ambani group.
With just two listed companies -- Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) – the Mukesh Ambani group had a market cap of nearly Rs 3,58,000 crore at the end of the previous quarter. It has declined by nearly Rs 37,000 crore so far in the current quarter.
The Anil Ambani Group, with seven listed companies, currently has a total market value of nearly Rs 1,25,000 crore -- down from nearly Rs 1,42,400 crore at the end of the June quarter. The group was the country's third-most valued after the Mukesh Ambani and Tata Groups at the end of the previous quarter.
The market wealth of the top groups has been shaken in the past few days, especially due to a sharp rally in some Tata group stocks such as Tata Motors and Tata Steel, as well as erosion in the value of the Mukesh Ambani group's flagship firm, RIL, and ADAG firm RCom.
Reliance (both ADAG and MDAG) pack shares were on a rising spree after the warring siblings called a truce on May 23. However, in the past eight days of trade, RIL has risen only once. Last week alone, the company's market capitalisation was eroded by nearly Rs 7,000 crore.
RIL, however, still remains the country's most valued company on an individual basis.
In the previous week, the Tata group's auto company Tata Motors' shares sky-rocketed after the company posted a robust June quarter profit. Tata Steel has also recorded smart gains recently.

Anemia is on the rise in India, says NFHS report

Adolescence in India goes hand in hand with iron-deficiency anemia, medically known as IDA, says the latest NFHS report.
While 56 per cent of adolescent girls are anemic, boys too are falling prey to the disease. Around 30 per cent of adolescent boys are suffering from anemia, the report states.
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), conducted in 2005-06, presents the statistics that mark a growth in cases pertaining to anemia.
Most of the anemic patients, especially women, suffer from mild to severe deficiency of iron. The hemoglobin count in most of the adolescent girls in India is less than the standard 12 g/decilitre, the standard accepted worldwide.
The doctorspeak is, although well known to all, anemia rarely features our regular check-up list. "Normally women are not aware of their tendency of being anemic. They don't have any complaints otherwise. It is only when they come from blood test for some disease, we find that they are anemic," said Dr R S Chatterjee, Sr Consultant of Rockland Hospital, New Delhi.
Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most prevalent form in India, but "Lack of consciousness among women aggravates the situation, as now a days, they attach more importance to loosing weight." he says.
Dr Anant Mohan of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi admits that lack of consciousness, especially regarding the cause of the disease, is one of the main reasons of preponderance of anemia.
" While heavy menstrual bleeding in adolescent girls cause anemia, intestinal worms and intake of mildly toxic elements by children, like paint and mud also facilitate the disease. It is very important to provide a child with iron supplements in order to protect him or her from anemia," he says.
His words are all the more significant in context of the NFHS report that shows prevalence of anemia in children in India is as high as 79 per cent.
In Uttar Pradesh alone, 85 per cent of children under the age of three years suffer from deficiency of iron, a leap of 11.3 per cent from the figures in NFHS 2, conducted in 1998-99.
But women within the age group of 25 to 49 suffer the most. The prevalence of the ailment can be well ascertained by the following incident. An all-woman social welfare group in New Delhi, 'Vanita Samaj' arranged a blood donation camp sometime back. But all the 13 middle-aged members of the group were barred from the serving the cause of philanthropy; none of them were found fit enough to donate blood.
The reason - all the members were suffering from some or the other ailment.

CBI seeks transfer of Sohrabbuddin fake enocunter case from Guj

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Maneesh Chhibber,Krishnadas Rajagopal

Posted: Jul 30, 2010 at 1247 hrs IST
New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation today filed a status report in the Supreme Court on its six-month-old investigation into the Sohrabbuddin Sheikh fake enocunter case, seeking the immediate transfer of the case from Gujarat for a "fair trial".
Sources quoting the report said the CBI has expressed apprehensions that the influence of "senior politicians and police officers" would deprive the agency of a "conducive atmosphere" to hold further investigations and prosecution.
The agency today sought permission from the Supreme Court for "further investigation" into the involvement of the "political leadership".
The agency says the conspiracy resulting in the encounter of Sheikh "may involve" political leaderships in both the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Sources say that the involvement of political leadership may go beyond State Home Minister Amit Shah and the agency is probing into "documents" which allegedly has references to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The agency is primarily probing the killing of Tulsiram Prajapati, who was allegedly accompanying Sheikh and wife Kauser Bi in the bus when the latter was taken away by the police.
Sources said the killing of Prajapati was at a time when then Investigating Officer Geeta Johri had decided to examine him as he was a "witness of the kidnapping". Sources confirmed that the political leadership in Rajasthan is also under scanner because Prajapati was allegedly killed in that state.
The CBI is expectant that the statements of police officers summoned like DGP PC Pande, OP Mathur and Geeta Johri may throw some light into the role of the political leadership that "goes beyond" Shah.
Pande eventually retired as the Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau, while Mathur retired as the Director General of Communication.
Mathur was also one of the officers under whose supervision the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case was investigated by CID (Crime).
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Transfer-Sohrabuddin-case-outside-Guj-for-fair-trial-CBI/653850/

Avatar sequel to explore Pandora's oceans

Los Angeles Oscar-winner James Cameron, who celebrated his 56th birthday underwater Lake Baikal in Siberia, is planning to explore Pandora's oceans in the sequel to his 2009 blockbuster Avatar. The sci-fi film, which revolved around the people of Pandora, a fictitious world created in 3D by Cameron , is all set for a special edition re-release on August 27.
Cameron wants the next installment of Avatar franchise to explore Pandora's oceans. The Titanic director said that his fictional planet's aquatic life was equally rich and "diverse and crazy and imaginative" as its famously colourful land-based equivalent.
"I think what we should do there because we'll have to have characters that are in and under the water... we should actually capture them underwater. It's not the same as going diving, but I like to keep my diving, which I do for pleasure, separate from work," the director said.
Cameron's is known for his fondness for diving. His fascination with underwater world has been explored in films
like Titanic, and The Abyss. The director is currently in Siberia, exploring the largest freshwater Lake Baikal in Siberia. Cameron was invited by his Russian friend Anatoly Sagalevich, who had helped the film director in the underwater shooting of Titanic in 1997.
"James Cameron dove to the bottom of Lake Baikal in the south near Cape Tolsty on the Mir-1 piloted by Anatoly Sagalevich," a spokesman for the Lake Baikal preservation foundation was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
He said Cameron had already submerged over 200 meters during the last three hours and the crew plans to explore the shoreline.
Scientists have so far fixed the maximum depth of the lake at 1.68 kilometres (5,511. 81 feet), and each dive on a submersible costs some 2 million roubles (USD 64,800).
Cameron is joined on board the Mir-1 submersible by an Australian explorer, Michael MacDowell and Maria Wilhelm the author of the book that inspired Cameron's 3D blockbuster Avatar.

Peepli, for people of India

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Shubhra Gupta

Posted: Aug 15, 2010 at 1606 hrs IST
Tiranga-waving heroes and soul-stirring freedom songs are on the wane in Hindi cinema. The hyper-patriotism of Gadar and Border has become outmoded and Ae mere watan ke logon is just glorious nostalgia. In Bollywood, freedom is searching for new places and people to settle in
Today is a good day to declare freedom. Through a sassy slogan on your tee. Or a white-green-orange outfit. Tricolour is the way to go, especially when it is just for a day, especially when it is followed by the real thing at the I Day-themed bash where multicoloured shots will be served, and you will remove cutesy paper flags from your glass, and make very merry.
Today is also a good day to note a departure. Flag waving is alive and well on terraces and TV, but it is on the wane in Bollywood. The sight of the tiranga, accompanied by stirring speeches, is now so rare that you have to think, quite hard, about when you saw it last in a film.
Is patriotism in the movies dead? Or does it rear its expedient head, like us, only when we need to make a statement?
A corrupt politician is killed by a bunch of idealistic youngsters because they can't see a way out of the dead end they are in. One among them, a fighter pilot, dies in a crash because the plane he is flying has faulty parts. Rang De Basanti, made in 2006, was the last big-budget Bollywood film that waved the flag with such vigour. Patriotism became the flavour of the season. It was suddenly cool to talk about freedom fighters, and what they did for azaadi. They gave up their lives, bringing to us an instant recall of the immortal Shaheed song: Ae watan ae watan, hum ko teri kasam/ Teri raahon mein jaan tak lutaa jayenge. So do our contemporary heroes. Rang De Basanti unleashed a tidal wave that took a long time subsiding, and such has been its impact that it will always be a contender in compilations of Top Patriotic Hindi Films. Once the fervour on campuses and TV chat-rooms subsided, the flags seem to have been taken off their poles and packed away.
Where have all the patriots gone? All evidence points to a disappearance, a voluntary laying down of arms, a switching of tracks. India is a country no longer in search of itself. It doesn't need to define itself to outsiders. India Shining may have dimmed, but has not gone under. The danger now is not so much from the outside, though it is always useful to swat a couple of terrorists in style, it is from within. The freedom which was hard won in 1947 is now being threatened by people who don't want to be, or never were, part of the nation-state.
New enemies require new strategies. Keeping up with the times is what Bollywood does best. Now the occasional spotlight is on the jungles in Middle India, overrun by gun-toting Maoists, or on Kashmir, overrun by gun-toting separatists. But, by and large, India via Bollywood is a vast, glittering playground: its characters are smooth and shiny, and their problems can have earth-shaking dimensions like choosing a Christian Lacroix over a Jimmy Choo. If you have such momentous tasks at hand, where's the time or the space to think of mere matters like the state of the nation?
Pre-Independence, Hindi cinema was creating far-sighted, much-ahead-of-its-time content that was capable of being released overseas. Post '47, it made the jump from making films that craftily hid its nationalist sentiments from the British. There was no need to pussyfoot anymore, just the desperate desire to make sense of a fledgling nation coming to grips with its multi-religious, multi-ethnic communities, which were as deeply riven then as they are now.
Societal ills were the chief focus of the films, and when they were banished neatly at the end of the film, the British, metaphorically, were too. The '34 Chandidas features KL Saigal as a poet who fights for his beloved, a lower-caste washerwoman, whose desire to enter a temple causes a furore. The film ends on a positive note, with all those making a racket backing off, a commonality of vision that was belied when freedom actually rolled in: achhut kanyas remain achhut even now.
Caste and creed became the next big things. Hindi cinema launched into a huge coming-out party, and quickly every other genre came dancing out — mythologicals, action-adventure, socials, dramas and, yes, war films. The '64 Haqeeqat, starring Balraj Sahni and Dharmendra, marked the '62 India-China war, and made its place permanent with the song Ab tumhare hawale watan sathiyon. A gun was not the only weapon at our disposal. A plough was equally potent. Upkar's Manoj Kumar famously sang Mere desh ki dharti sona ugley ugley hirey moti and took on the mantle of Mr Bharat, which fitted in with the robust optimism of the '60s. The deep cynicism of the '70s led to Roti Kapada aur Makaan, also starring Kumar, by which time the ground beneath yielded only hunger and helplessness, no gold and diamonds.
Jump straight to '97 to Border, which was based on the '71 war with Pakistan, and you see a return to the war staples of gola and barood. But this time around, the explosions were accompanied by a new, disturbing jingoism, exemplified by Sunny Deol straddling a tank and hurling invective at his Pakistani counterparts. Clearly, director JP Dutta, who made a career out of hyper-patriotism, was on to something, because the film was a huge hit.
Pakistan was outed for the first time by name in Sarfarosh, which gave Aamir Khan his first shot at being a modern-day patriot. Until then, such euphemisms as sarhad ke us paar ke aatankwadi or, even more nebulously, videshi taakat were used. Aamir's plainclothesman questions the integrity of a Muslim colleague, and gets told off. Sarfarosh, which came out in 1999, was a watershed film because it pulled off, in complete mainstream fashion, the incendiary combination of religious and national identity, and told us what we knew all along — that Pakistan was the bad guy.
Aamir's take-no-prisoners attitude carried through to the 2001 Lagaan, in which he plays a poor but canny villager in colonial India who spearheads a ragtag cricket team to roundly defeat the resident Brits. Lagaan is a landmark in Indian cinema, because although it is set in a village more than a hundred years ago, its charming fable-like quality cut a broad swathe through metro audiences all over the country. The same year, Sunny Deol took jingoism to a new low with Gadar, in which he storms the citadel of his Pakistani father-in-law to rescue his bride. He does it singlehandedly (no surprises here; no one can counter the super-patriotic Deol snarl, not even a posse of Pakistanis in hot pursuit), and comes galloping back.
The massive success of Gadar created its own backlash. Shrill Pak-bashing was over and done with. Subsequent similar films, featuring Deol, sank. The brawny sardar at the wheel of a beat-up truck driving towards his beloved, gave way to three rich kids whooping it up in a Mercedes coupe. The coming of Dil Chahta Hai in 2001 changed forever the iconography of Hindi movies: director Farhan Akhtar's follow-up Lakshya (2004) that featured the hazel-eyed, hunky Hrithik Roshan battling for his country on a Kargil peak, was a worthy film but a box-office dud.
Rang De Basanti released two years after, and can safely be labelled a patriotic film, but its patriotism was made palatable by drawing parallels between the bunch of young people going to college and the group of legendary revolutionaries led by Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad who gave up their lives for their country. The clutch of biopics on Bhagat Singh around the same time found no takers: old-style declamatory desh bhakti was completely out of vogue.
Bollywood is no longer rattling its sabres. Even the soft-touch patriotism practised in films that use Indianness as a virtue and western habits as evil is mouldy: the easy flitting between desh and pardes has made everything virtually indistinguishable in swish metro pockets, and who cares about villages anyway? Shah Rukh Khan can come back from a coveted NASA job because he wants to re-connect with his homeland in Swades, and still manages to come across as credible, but millions of Indians would still give their right arm for a green card or, at the very least, an American work visa. Shah Rukh's on-his-sleeve patriotism in Chak De! India is much easier to accept, because he transforms a deadbeat girls' hockey team into world champions. It is no longer the clunky "Yeh Mera India". It's the cool "Yay, India".
It is now about forging new identities. And re-defining freedom. That freedom given to us 63 years ago is in the past. It's history. Freedom can now mean different things to different people: someone might want a choice between brands of bottled water; another may want not to walk a mile to fetch water. Someone may not want to live in a relief camp another day; another may be debating over her next holiday spot: Bali or the Bahamas? And a true patriot may be someone who saves a girl from being killed in the false name of honour. Or saving a farmer from committing suicide.
Because it is no longer about the other. It is about us. Bollywood knows it: our new hero is Natha, the farmer in Peepli Live who resolves to give up his life so that he can pick up financial compensation for his starving family. He doesn't want to, but everyone around him wills him on: his sacrifice will be the tamasha everyone will benefit from. Natha's dilemma, and the manner in which he deals with it, is heroic. He is the true keeper of the faith.
Patriotism in the movies isn't dead. It's floundering, looking for new places and people to settle in. It's in the process of changing its name. Bharat. Hindustan. India. Abstraction becomes molten concrete, spreads out from the screen, pours into people. Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh mein bhar lo pani. And we wave the flag again.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Peepli-for-people-of-India/659844/

Vedanta bags Cairn: Is it a raw deal for small investors? Moneycontrol.com - ‎2 hours ago‎ Vedanta Resources is set to acquire 51-61% in Cairn India from parent Cairn PLC for between USD 8.5-9.6 billion. The deal is valued at Rs 405 per share which includes a Rs 50 per share non-compete fee. Sesa Goa will hold a 20% stake in Cairn India. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Cairn deal via Mauritius SPV, says Anil Agarwal Hindu Business Line - Suresh P. Iyengar - ‎22 minutes ago‎ As he gears himself to enter a new territory, Mr Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources, was in an upbeat mood as he spoke to Business Line about the company's decision to acquire Cairn Energy Plc's stake in Cairn India. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta to acquire Cairn India Business Standard - ‎17 minutes ago‎ In one of the biggest buyouts of a domestic company, London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Resources will take a majority stake in Cairn India for almost $10 billion. The Anil Agarwal-promoted group will purchase at least 40 per cent from the ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta-Cairn deal: Tax Dept hopes to collect a tidy sum Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ The Finance Ministry is hopeful of collecting a tidy sum as capital gains tax from the Vedanta-Cairn Energy Plc deal announced today in London. The deal involves part sale of Cairn Energy Plc's shareholding in Cairn India to the London-listed Vedanta ... LON:VED - NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 Sesa Goa plummets on Vedanta's move Hindu Business Line - Adarsh Gopalakrishnan - ‎22 minutes ago‎ Parent Vedanta Resources' move to use iron ore miner Sesa Goa to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Cairn India sent the Sesa Goa stock plummeting 8.9 per cent on Monday. Vedanta Resources holds a 57 per cent stake in Sesa Goa. ... BOM:500295 - LON:VED - NSE:CAIRN Cairn Energy reaps a windfall Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ This is what the oil exploration business is all about. Back in 2002, a little known Scottish oil explorer called Cairn Energy plc made a risky bet on an oilfield in Rajasthan, given up as useless by none less than Shell. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 Lower offer price, limited scope dampen Cairn Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ The devil was probably in the detail. The Vedanta Resources-Cairn Energy Plc deal, which envisages Vedanta gaining majority control of Cairn India, saw the latter's stock decline 6.36 per cent to around Rs 333 in Monday's trade. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Cairn Energy not to invest stake sale proceeds in India Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ Cairn Energy PLc has no plans to invest the money it receives from Vedanta Resources (for divesting between 51and 60 per cent of its stake in Cairn India Ltd) in India. The Edinburgh-based company expects to raise $9.6 billion from the sale. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta to buy up to 60% in Cairn India for $9.6 bn Financial Express - ‎19 minutes ago‎ Mumbai: Metals baron and industrialist Anil Agarwal has moved a step closer to his ambition of owning a diversified portfolio of natural resources in India. Agarwal's Vedanta Group said on Monday it was looking to buy a controlling stake of between ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 An exit option for Cairn shareholders Livemint - ‎1 hour ago‎ The acquisition of Cairn India Ltd by Vedanta Resources Plc had investors concerned about the huge acquisition cost of between $8.5 billion and $9.6 billion (Rs40,000- 45000 crore) and what it will do to Vedanta's balance sheet. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED All 268 related articles »

Related Cairn India Cairn Energy Vedanta Resources Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story Cairn deal via Mauritius SPV, says Anil Agarwal ‎22 minutes ago‎ - Hindu Business Line How analysts` view Vedanta-Cairn deal? ‎7 hours ago‎ - Myiris.com European Stock-Index Futures Advance; Cairn, Dana, Aviva Shares Might Move ‎12 hours ago‎ - Bloomberg Vedanta Said to Seek Controlling Stake in Cairn India ‎Aug 15, 2010‎ - Bloomberg Vedanta in talks to buy Cairn India assets ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times FTSE up as miner gains outpace bank, energy falls ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Reuters Images Hindu Business ... Business Standa... Hindu Business ... Hindu Business ... Hindu Business ... Moneycontrol.co... Financial Times... The Hindu Moneycontrol.co... All related images » Videos The Mint Report for 16 August Mint  -  2 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hVD2k26OvvM/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVD2k26OvvM">The Mint Report for 16 August</a> <span class="source">Mint</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 2 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVD2k26OvvM">Watch video</a></div> News Update: Breaking News - Vedanta Plans to Buy Majority Stake in Cairn India, for up to $9.6B SmarTrend News  -  3 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xd5k5BGafRM/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5k5BGafRM">News Update: Breaking News - Vedanta Plans to Buy Majority Stake in Cairn India, for up to $9.6B</a> <span class="source">SmarTrend News</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 3 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5k5BGafRM">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

Vedanta bags Cairn: Is it a raw deal for small investors? Moneycontrol.com - ‎2 hours ago‎ Vedanta Resources is set to acquire 51-61% in Cairn India from parent Cairn PLC for between USD 8.5-9.6 billion. The deal is valued at Rs 405 per share which includes a Rs 50 per share non-compete fee. Sesa Goa will hold a 20% stake in Cairn India. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Cairn deal via Mauritius SPV, says Anil Agarwal Hindu Business Line - Suresh P. Iyengar - ‎22 minutes ago‎ As he gears himself to enter a new territory, Mr Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources, was in an upbeat mood as he spoke to Business Line about the company's decision to acquire Cairn Energy Plc's stake in Cairn India. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta to acquire Cairn India Business Standard - ‎17 minutes ago‎ In one of the biggest buyouts of a domestic company, London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Resources will take a majority stake in Cairn India for almost $10 billion. The Anil Agarwal-promoted group will purchase at least 40 per cent from the ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta-Cairn deal: Tax Dept hopes to collect a tidy sum Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ The Finance Ministry is hopeful of collecting a tidy sum as capital gains tax from the Vedanta-Cairn Energy Plc deal announced today in London. The deal involves part sale of Cairn Energy Plc's shareholding in Cairn India to the London-listed Vedanta ... LON:VED - NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 Sesa Goa plummets on Vedanta's move Hindu Business Line - Adarsh Gopalakrishnan - ‎22 minutes ago‎ Parent Vedanta Resources' move to use iron ore miner Sesa Goa to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Cairn India sent the Sesa Goa stock plummeting 8.9 per cent on Monday. Vedanta Resources holds a 57 per cent stake in Sesa Goa. ... BOM:500295 - LON:VED - NSE:CAIRN Cairn Energy reaps a windfall Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ This is what the oil exploration business is all about. Back in 2002, a little known Scottish oil explorer called Cairn Energy plc made a risky bet on an oilfield in Rajasthan, given up as useless by none less than Shell. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 Lower offer price, limited scope dampen Cairn Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ The devil was probably in the detail. The Vedanta Resources-Cairn Energy Plc deal, which envisages Vedanta gaining majority control of Cairn India, saw the latter's stock decline 6.36 per cent to around Rs 333 in Monday's trade. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Cairn Energy not to invest stake sale proceeds in India Hindu Business Line - ‎22 minutes ago‎ Cairn Energy PLc has no plans to invest the money it receives from Vedanta Resources (for divesting between 51and 60 per cent of its stake in Cairn India Ltd) in India. The Edinburgh-based company expects to raise $9.6 billion from the sale. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED Vedanta to buy up to 60% in Cairn India for $9.6 bn Financial Express - ‎19 minutes ago‎ Mumbai: Metals baron and industrialist Anil Agarwal has moved a step closer to his ambition of owning a diversified portfolio of natural resources in India. Agarwal's Vedanta Group said on Monday it was looking to buy a controlling stake of between ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 An exit option for Cairn shareholders Livemint - ‎1 hour ago‎ The acquisition of Cairn India Ltd by Vedanta Resources Plc had investors concerned about the huge acquisition cost of between $8.5 billion and $9.6 billion (Rs40,000- 45000 crore) and what it will do to Vedanta's balance sheet. ... NSE:CAIRN - BOM:532792 - LON:VED All 268 related articles »

Related Cairn India Cairn Energy Vedanta Resources Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story Cairn deal via Mauritius SPV, says Anil Agarwal ‎22 minutes ago‎ - Hindu Business Line How analysts` view Vedanta-Cairn deal? ‎7 hours ago‎ - Myiris.com European Stock-Index Futures Advance; Cairn, Dana, Aviva Shares Might Move ‎12 hours ago‎ - Bloomberg Vedanta Said to Seek Controlling Stake in Cairn India ‎Aug 15, 2010‎ - Bloomberg Vedanta in talks to buy Cairn India assets ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times FTSE up as miner gains outpace bank, energy falls ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Reuters Images Hindu Business ... Business Standa... Hindu Business ... Hindu Business ... Hindu Business ... Moneycontrol.co... Financial Times... The Hindu Moneycontrol.co... All related images » Videos The Mint Report for 16 August Mint  -  2 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hVD2k26OvvM/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVD2k26OvvM">The Mint Report for 16 August</a> <span class="source">Mint</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 2 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVD2k26OvvM">Watch video</a></div> News Update: Breaking News - Vedanta Plans to Buy Majority Stake in Cairn India, for up to $9.6B SmarTrend News  -  3 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xd5k5BGafRM/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5k5BGafRM">News Update: Breaking News - Vedanta Plans to Buy Majority Stake in Cairn India, for up to $9.6B</a> <span class="source">SmarTrend News</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; 3 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5k5BGafRM">Watch video</a></div> All related videos »

Vedanta's Orissa project faces setback over forest clearance

Financial Express - ‎16 minutes ago‎
Bhubaneswar: The London-based Vedanta Resources' plan to set up the world's largest alumina refinery in Orissa — 6 million tonne per annum — on Monday suffered a severe setback with the Saxena Committee recommending cancellation of the forest clearance ...
LON:VED

Govt panel says no to Vedanta mining project

Hindustan Times - ‎24 minutes ago‎
An Environment Ministry committee on Monday denied permission to the Vedanta Resources' bauxite mining project in Orissa citing violations of various laws. The committee said the ministry cannot approve the project in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district) ...
LON:VED

Are Orissa tribals winning their battle against Vedanta?

NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
Bhubaneswar: The Dongria Kondh are a primitive tribal community who live in the pristine hills around Niyamgiri in Western Orissa's Kalahandi district. On youTube, a series of spots campaigns have been running for their rights against a corporation ...

Vedanta's Indian mining project under threat

The Guardian - ‎53 minutes ago‎
Vedanta's controversial project to develop a bauxite mine on sacred tribal land in India was in jeopardy after a government inquiry said that mining would destroy the way of life of the area's "endangered" and "primitive" people. ...

Vedanta under fire over Orissa mine

Financial Times - Amy Kazmin - ‎1 hour ago‎
Vedanta has suffered a setback in its quest to build a controversial bauxite mine in Indian eastern state of Orissa, with an official panel accusing the Indian mining company of "total contempt for the law" in its handling of ...

Panel advises government against granting mining rights to Vedanta

domain-B - ‎2 hours ago‎
A four-member committee headed by NC Saxena set up by the ministry of environment and forests to look into the proposal submitted by the Orissa Mining Company for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri has advised against granting mining licence in the ...

Vedanta Aluminium's Orissa Mine Should be Rejected, Government Panel Says

Bloomberg - Bibhudatta Pradhan, Abhishek Shanker - ‎5 hours ago‎
Vedanta Resources Plc's plan to mine in the Indian state of Orissa should be rejected because it will endanger the livelihoods of locals, a panel set up by the environment ...
LON:VED

India Panel: Vedanta Mine Would Threaten Tribes

Wall Street Journal - Prasenjit Bhattacharya - ‎3 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI—A panel set up by India's Ministry of Environment and Forests said Monday that approval for a Vedanta Resources PLC bauxite mine in eastern India would have grave consequences for tribal people in the Niyamgiri Hills ...
LON:VED

Panel indicts Vedanta, supports tribals

indiablooms - ‎1 hour ago‎
New Delhi, Aug 16 (IBNS) In a massive indictment of British mining giant Vedanta Resources PLC, a four-member panel by India's environment and tribal affairs ministries said on Monday in a report that allowing the firm to mine bauxite in Niyamgiri ...
LON:VED

Vedanta Mining: Orissa to Examine Saxena Panel Report

Outlook - ‎38 minutes ago‎
After a central expert committee opposed Vedanta's controversial mining project in Orissa, the state government today said it would "examine" the report before taking any stand on the issue. "We have not received any report from the Centre. ...
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In a drug fix Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎ A deadly hospital-acquired superbug that cannot be treated using existing medicines is spreading from India to Britain and the rest of the world, claimed an international study last week. The Indian government promptly retaliated, with Union Health ... Superbug fears not deterring medical tourists CBC.ca - ‎2 hours ago‎ Susan Nieboer packs for a trip to India, where she traveled for a medical procedure, despite warnings about a new superbug. (CBC) The prospect of picking up a new type of "superbug" in India isn't preventing some Canadians from travelling there as ... New 'superbug' hits UK hospitals BBC News - Michelle Roberts - ‎Aug 10, 2010‎ A new superbug that is resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics has entered UK hospitals, experts warn. They say bacteria that make an enzyme called NDM-1 have travelled back with NHS patients who ... Congress party's Jayanthi Natarajan said the report of the superbug was a "wrong propaganda against the country". more by Jayanthi Natarajan - Aug 12, 2010 - BBC News (14 occurrences) India rejects UK scientists' 'superbug' claim BBC News - Geeta Pandey - ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ India has rejected a claim by British scientists that a new superbug, resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, has entered UK from India. The health ministry said it was unfair to link the bug to India and ... Self-prescription, overuse of drugs increases resistance risk Times of India - ‎19 hours ago‎ Experts are alarmed because the NDM-1 enzyme can make bacteria resistant to most last-resort drugs. The gene is also capable of easy replication in other bacteria strains which may result in the formation of another superbug, resistant to many other ... Drug-resistant 'superbug' traced to India Times of India - Pushpa Narayan - ‎Aug 11, 2010‎ CHENNAI: Scientists have tracked down a drug-resistant superbug that infects patients and causes multiple organ failure to Indian hospitals but doctors here see in it the germ of a move to damage the country's booming medical tourism industry. ... Indian author says superbug report is fudged Times of India - Pushpa Narayan - ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ CHENNAI: A day after the Lancet report on a drug-resistant superbug NDM-1 created a global scare, India hit out at the study, which it said was funded by pharma companies that make antibiotics to treat such cases. While the Union health ministry issued ... Indian medical journal first documented 'superbug' The Hindu - Aarti Dhar - ‎Aug 13, 2010‎ NEW DELHI: Though a paper on the 'New Delhi Metallo-beta lactamase bacteria' in the latest issue of a British medical journal has led to allegations of a 'Western plot' to undermine medical tourism in India, the first formal documentation of NDM-1 ... Superbug from India causes scare in Britain Times of India - ‎Aug 11, 2010‎ A superbug that is fiercely resistant to antibiotics with "an alarming potential to spread" has caused a scare in Britain. Thirty-seven cases have already been reported, mainly among patients who had travelled to India and Pakistan, for cosmetic ... Mumbai doctors had warned of superbug in March Daily News & Analysis - ‎Aug 13, 2010‎ Indian doctors had warned earlier in the year about the multi-drug resistant superbug — months before the Lancet study that the government is condemning for scaremongering. A team of researchers from Hinduja Hospital — including Payal Deshpande, ... All 1,732 related articles »

Related Superbug NDM-1 Drug resistance Antibiotic resistance Bacteria Plastic surgery Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story In a drug fix ‎1 hour ago‎ - Hindustan Times India calls Britain's super bluff on superbug ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Express Buzz Drug-resistant NDM-1 'superbug' found in London and Nottingham hospitals ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - Daily Mail Antibiotics: 'We have a window of maybe 10 years' ‎Aug 12, 2010‎ - The Guardian Govt says unfair to blame India on alarm over 'New Delhi' bug ‎Aug 11, 2010‎ - Indian Express Can we stop the Indian superbug? ‎Aug 11, 2010‎ - Telegraph.co.uk New 'superbug' hits UK hospitals ‎Aug 10, 2010‎ - BBC News Images CBC.ca The Guardian The Guardian Telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail Daily Mail Telegraph.co.uk Calcutta Telegr... Calcutta Telegr... All related images »