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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Eight-year ban on Satyam can be reviewed, says World Bank

Giving some hope to crisis-ridden Satyam, the World Bank has said it could review the eight-year ban imposed on the company provided
the software exporter takes "corrective action".

A World Bank official said Satyam has to show it has again become a responsible vendor to do business
with, when asked whether the multilateral lending agency would relax the ban on the software exporter.

"The vendor would have to demonstrate (that) corrective action had been taken to address the original causes of the ... ineligibility," a World Bank official from Washington said in an emailed statement.

The official further said action should substantiate that Satyam is "again a responsible vendor with whom the Bank can do business".
The World Bank banned Satyam Computer Services for eight years in 2008 for providing "improper benefits" to Bank staff and for failing to maintain records relating to fees charged for sub-contractors.

Satyam has a strong case for a review of the ban since its old board and management have been changed after its disgraced founder Chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to fudging accounts to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore.

Read more...

MEA computers hacked again

The ministry of external affairs on Sunday said that no classified information has been stolen, after over 600 of its computers were
hacked. ( Watch )

According to Times Now, the machines were infected by spyware — a bug that gets into a computer taking control of the user's actions.

The infected computers include those in the ministry's sensitive Pakistan section.

However, the MEA insists that no national secrets have been breached.

They said that each senior official has two computers, one that connects to the Internet and the other for classified work, which is not connected to the net.

This is not the first such instance of hacking.

In May 2008, the MEA’s internal communication network was said to have been broken into by Chinese hackers.

In fact, a series of intrusions into secure systems in the MEA were then traced to China.

Read more...

Pak to grill 26/11 'mastermind' Lakhvi

The judge issued the order after reviewing evidence produced by investigative agency against them, the sources were quoted as saying, PTI reported.

The judge recorded the suspects' statements before sending them to physical remand, the report said.

Meanwhile, 'Dawn' on Sunday reported, quoting an unnamed security official, that the suspects, including Lakhvi, were produced before judge Sakhi Mohammed Kahut of the anti-terrorism court at an undisclosed location.

The FIA is expected to submit a chargesheet against the suspects at the end of the remand, it said. The agency has already conducted preliminary investigations into the case.

Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, was arrested in December near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Both Lakhvi and Shah, another accused named in the FIR is Hamad Ameen Sadiq, a key militant linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, western diplomatic sources told news agencies.

Pakistan on Saturday briefed foreign envoys on the steps taken by it to cooperate with India in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice and to eliminate terrorism and militancy.

The heads of diplomatic missions in Islamabad were also briefed by foreign secretary Salman Bashir on Pakistan's perspective on "peace, security and stability, with particular emphasis on the situation in South Asia".

Meanwhile, Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said that his country may demand from India the custody of Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor among the accused of the Mumbai terror attacks.

"So far, we have not asked India for the custody of Kasab. But we may seek it if the investigation demands," Rehman Malik said in the southern port city of Karachi, adding that at the moment, it would be premature to say anything else in the matter.

India was quick to react, saying there was no way this could happen.

"The crime was committed in India. There is no question of handing Kasab to them. In fact, Pakistan should hand over to India the other suspects they've arrested because they were responsible for this terror attack. It can't be the other way around," sources in the Indian external affairs ministry said in New Delhi.

"On what basis do we send Kasab out there? The crime was committed out here (in Mumbai), therefore logic and reasoning demands that the suspects who they've rounded up be sent here (to India)," the sources told IANS.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the state had gathered enough evidence to show that Kasab, the only surviving November 26 Mumbai terror suspect, had been a part of the criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to orchestrate the terror strikes at pre-decided sites in Mumbai.

"We have all the evidence required. The chargesheet will be filed within a couple of days," Nikam said.

"He is not educated and (is) poor and the concept of religion was wrongly projected to him," he said.

IANS reported that Nikam said while victims of such systematic brainwashing by extremist forces needed proper handling, there was a need to distinguish between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.

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Recession-hit BPO employees 'on the bench'

BPO employees
were once thriving with so many job opportunities, but are now feeling the heat of the economic slowdown, as call centres have begun cutting back on jobs.

In the NCR region - Noida and Gurgaon - worried about actually laying off people, some companies are resorting to putting them on the bench.

For three months, Anshul Kumar has not reported to the call centre where he has worked for two years. Officially, he hasn't been sacked. He's been told he's "on the bench" and his id card has been taken back. He can't show up at work and he doesn't get paid.

"The process we moved to after spending more than two years in the programme faced a lot of issues due to recession. It was downsizing at that time so they decided to put us on bench. Like any other employee, I wanted to grow with the company and get recognition but it didn't go that way. It really feels bad," said Anshul Kumar.

Putting young workers on the bench is one way of controlling costs. Here's another.

A Noida-based BPO no longer offers transport to employees who live further than 45 km away. So employees in Gurgaon and Faridabad, or parts of Delhi like Rithala, need to assemble at a pick-up point even at 3 am.

"Cost cutting is essential today. It's important to be more productive and reduce all the wastages we are living with. When four cabs are going to the same location, you can get a bus to do the same job," said Deepak Ohlyan, president, Business Process.

With the deepening financial crisis in the US, that accounts for 70 per cent of the BPO business, cost reduction and productivity improvement are the two most commonly heard words in call centres in the past few months.

In simple English, that means longer and tougher hours.

Those who answer phones have to spend nine hours instead of eight taking calls, which means longer shifts for answering calls. Administrative and support staff also have to take calls now and vacation time has been shortened.

"Stopping free meals or deducting money for transport, that is still ok. We are still earning, but if we loose our jobs after that due to recession, it really hurts because you don't know what's going to happen to you after that," said Anshul.

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Amar-Pawar meet: Is poll alliance on the cards?

In a bid to tie-up a seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Sunday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on New Delhi.

The interaction was followed by a meeting Pawar had with national office bearers of his party, including Praful Patel, Deepti Tripathi and Tariq Anwar, NCP sources said.

NCP leaders from the state, who have been touring various districts, had met Pawar on Saturday in New Delhi and conveyed their assessment of the party's strengths and weaknesses ahead of the polls.

"We are in favour of taking along the RPI factions and the Samajwadi Party with the Congress-NCP alliance," NCP leader and state Power Minister Sunil Tatkare had told reporters after the meeting.

The negotiating teams of the Congress and the NCP are expected to meet next week to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls. NCP leaders have been demanding an equal share in the 48 Parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded nominees in 27 Parliamentary seats while NCP put up candidates in 21 constituencies. Congress had won 13 seats while NCP was victorious on nine.

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Amar Singh meets Pawar on tie-up in Maha for LS polls

In a bid to tie-up a seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Sunday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar here.


NCP leaders from the state, who have been touring various districts, had met Pawar yesterday here and conveyed their assessment of the party's strengths and weaknesses ahead of the polls.

"We are in favour of taking along the RPI factions and the Samajwadi Party with the Congress-NCP alliance," NCP leader and state Power Minister Sunil Tatkare had told reporters after the meeting.

The negotiating teams of the Congress and the NCP are expected to meet next week to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls. NCP leaders have been demanding an equal share in the 48 Parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded nominees in 27 Parliamentary seats while NCP put up candidates in 21 constituencies. Congress had won 13 seats while NCP was victorious on nine.

Read more...

26/11 suspects in Pak FIA’s custody

A court here on Sunday sent six accused in the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks to 14-day police remand. All the accused, including prime suspect LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, will now be in the custody of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which is probing the 26/11 strikes.

FIA officials had on Friday tried to obtain physical remand of the suspects "without producing them in the court, but their efforts proved unproductive".

Officials at Pakistan's foreign office said Saturday that the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court has issued a 14-day physical remand of the six alleged suspects, into the custody of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The judge gave the order after reviewing the evidences produced by the agency against them, officials said, adding that the suspects' statements were also recorded in the court.

Admitting that part of the Mumbai attacks conspiracy was planned in Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had on Thursday said that a first information report (FIR) had been registered with FIA's Special Investigation Unit. The minister also admitted that the lone terrorist caught in Mumbai, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was a Pakistani.

Eight suspects had been identified in the FIR, six of whom have been arrested. Two are still at large.

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

awesome website...
plz visit once...
very funny..

http://www.baatmaan.com/


Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname@ymail.com. Sign up now!

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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Check out my Facebook profile

facebook

Check out my Facebook profile


Hi Abhiuppi1011.news,

I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile.

Thanks,
Abhishek

To sign up for Facebook, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1413724328&k=4ZLU5ZPZ45VM5AEGVBZUTV&r
This e-mail may contain promotional materials. If you do not wish to receive future commercial mailings from Facebook, please opt out. Facebook's offices are located at 156 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

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Monday, February 2, 2009

Grand Slam winners return home

Grand Slam winners return home

The winning pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza returned home amidst a rousing welcome at the mumbai Airport on Monday.

"It's a great way to come back, especially what happened in the last six-seven months," Sania, the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title, said after landing in Mumbai with Bhupathi.

While the mixed doubles champions arrived in Mumbai, Australian Open boys' singles winner Yuki Bhambri reached New Delhi.

Asked about her future plans, an elated Sania said: "I am happy to win my first Grand Slam and there are many more to go."

Sania will now fly down to her hometown Hyderabad.

Bhambri won the singles title in the boys' junior event. He is only the fifth Indian to win a junior Grand Slam title.

Bhupathi and Sania won their first Grand Slam together, crushing Andy Ram and Natalie Dechy in straight sets in the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open on Sunday.

The Indian wildcard pair thrashed the Israeli-French duo 6-3, 6-1.

The win gave Bhupathi his 11th Grand Slam title and the seventh in mixed doubles. This was also Bhupathi's second mixed doubles title at the Australian Open, following his 2006 triumph with Martina Hingis. For Sania, it was her maiden Grand Slam title.

Read more...

Sania Mirza to miss Fed Cup tie

Sania Mirza to miss Fed Cup tie
In a big setback to the Indian Fed Cup team, Sania Mirza will miss the upcoming Group I Asia/Oceania zone tie, citing an abdominal injury.

The Fed Cup tie will begin in Perth, Australia from Wednesday and the Indian team has been reduced to three members now.

No replacement can be sent to the event as the last date for sending the substitute has lapsed.

Sania suffered the injury during her Australian Open campaign, an All India Tennis Association official said. "We were told yesterday that she will not play. Her father spoke to me and informed," said an AITA official.

Last year also, Sania did not play the Fed Cup matches though she was part of the team.

The Indian team comprises Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthi.

Read more...

India eye series win, SL look to hit back

Bolstered by two consecutive victories, a confident India will aim to wrap up the five-match series when they take on Sri Lanka in the third one-dayer on Tuesday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have been on target in the first two matches but the Indian captain would be taking no chance under floodlights after India just about managed a close 15-run win in a nail-biting day-night affair at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

Dhoni, who has led the team to seven successive ODI wins, ha swarned his teammates against dropping their guards before the series was claimed.

A few chinks were seen in the Indian armour in the second match when bowlers looked confused in the powerplay overs and Dhoni wants a more disciplined show by his bowlers.

The batting has also not fired but to be fair, the Indians have been hit hard by a few dubious umpiring decisions. But the top order batsmen have to get into the act quickly if they hope to clinch the series on Tuesday itself.

Sachin Tendulkar has been a victim of poor umpiring decisions in both the matches and the maestro will be hoping that he gets the chance to make amends on Tuesday.

In bowling dapertment, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have a big role to play since India do not have any experienced spinners in their ranks.

Dhoni, who is known for his calm composure in anxious moments, lost his cool when he saw bowlers clueless in the powerplay overs.

"It was tough and we did not have such a game for a long time," Dhoni said.

Although Indian batsmen did not fall prey to Sri Lankan spin wizards Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, they struggled to hit boundaries against the duo.

"We have to be careful as such wins often make us relaxed a bit. We should remember that the series is yet to be won. We want to win the series and for that each of us have to give 100 per cent," Dhoni said.

For a jaded looking Sri Lanka, it is a must win situation and they would be desparate to keep the series alive by clinching a win on Tuesday.

The hosts are struggling to find a steady opening pair even as an unimpressive middle order and blunted striking weapons leave them in a desparate position.

Muralitharan and Mendis are not as dangerous as their captain Mahela Jayawardene would want them to be. The home team's fielding is also looking dispirited.

"I would be lying if I say that we are not tired," Jayawardene said.

"During India innings we gave away too many runs when we were in control. We have to minimise mistakes and raise our game in the remaining matches," he added.

He got back among the runs with his first 50 in 14 games and that goes back a long way to the tour of Zimbabwe in November.

Murali has failed to capture in two games the two wickets required to become the greatest ODI bowler in the game's history.

It is pretty much back to basics for Sri Lanka. Consistency at the top order, restore the killer instinct to make use of the batting skills to optimum, tight fielding and bowlers doing the job.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.

Read more...

SEBI seeks SC nod to gain access to Raju brothers

With Ramalinga Raju continuing to elude SEBI even after spending weeks behind bars, the market regulator on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to interrogate the tainted Satyam-founder on the Rs 7,800 crore fraud in the IT major.

In its request, SEBI said that it was constrained to approach the apex court for urgent relief related to the most serious financial scam that had large-scale national and international ramifications.

A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan allowed SEBI to mention the matter tomorrow after Solicitor General GE Vahanvati and counsel Pratap Venugopal submitted the market regulator’s request.

Meanwhile, in another significant development that may help Satyam Computers' potential suitor to get control of the IT company at an affordable price, SEBI today said that it would amend regulations governing open offer to ensure transparent pricing.

The SEBI move followed a request from Satyam Board in this regard to relax the norm of 26-week average price to make an open offer.

"It was decided to appropriately amend the regulations to enable a transparent process for arriving at the price for such acquisition," SEBI Chairman CB Bhave told reporters in Mumbai after the Board meeting.

SEBI at SC

The market regulator moved SC today seeking permission to interrogate Ramalinga Raju on the Satyam fraud after the Andhra Pradesh High Court last week deferred to February 9, hearing on its request to quiz the tainted ex-chairman and his brother Rama Raju.

SEBI had moved the High Court challenging a lower court order, which denied it permission to interrogate the Raju brothers, who were arrested by the state police on January 9 -- the day a SEBI probe team had summoned them to appear before it in Hyderabad.

The Raju brothers, along with Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, are now in judicial custody.

The 6th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad, had refused permission on the ground that SEBI was not an investigating agency and there was no provision in law under which it could interrogate the Raju brothers.

A probe team from SEBI had landed in Hyderabad on January 8, a day after Ramalinga Raju disclosed the massive accounting fraud in the IT company.

Challenging the High Court order, SEBI said that it had appointed an investigator after Raju confessed to accounting irregularities in a letter to Satyam's Board of Directors.

According to the market regulator, the High Court should have seen that the Raju brothers cannot use judicial custody as a shield to avoid probe by expert agencies.

SEBI further said that just as police apply for custody, any other agency can also apply for access or custody and the same can be granted and the refusal to permit SEBI even to record the statements of the accused while in the custody was "arbitrary, unreasonable and perverse".

According to SEBI, merely because investigations by different agencies like CID, Enforcement Directorate, Serious Frauds Investigation Office, Registrar of Companies etc may overlap, it cannot be said that they cannot investigate simultaneously pursuant to the power conferred on them under their respective statutes.

Stating that the scam in the NYSE-listed Satyam Computers was the worst in the country's history, the advocates said that the company's market capitalisation has fallen from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs 2,000 crores.

SEBI to amend open offer rules

Even as SEBI announced the move to amend regulations governing open offer, its chairman Bhave said that the amendments will be made not only for the Satyam case, but for all similar situations that may arise in the future.

The Board recognises that the issue needs to be dealt with in a general context and not as a specific case, Bhave said, referring to the Satyam request.

Though Bhave declined to give any timeframe for the amendments in pricing rule, he said: "We are aware about the urgency of the situation."

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro has increased its stake in Satyam to over 12 percent. If it crosses 15 percent, the company would have to make an open offer to purchase another 20 percent from the market.

Among the other decisions taken today, SEBI made it mandatory for listed companies to declare dividend on per share basis instead of percentage basis followed at present.

Besides, the regulator has reduced the timeline for the completion of bonus issue to 15 days if the shareholder approval is not required and to 60 days where the approval is required. At present, the timeline for this procedure is six months.

SEBI also decided to shorten the timeframe to announce the price band for IPO in today's Board meeting. With this, the price band should be declared two days prior to the opening of IPO.

The regulator has also upped the up-front margin to be paid by allottees of warrants to 25 percent as against 10 percent at present.

Read more...

Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak problems: NSA

Coming out strongly against any attempt to link Kashmir issue with turmoil in Pakistan's tribal areas, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has said that US President Barack Obama would be "barking up the wrong tree" if he holds such views.
Narayanan said India had made it known to the Obama team at the outset that it would not like Indo-Pak relations to be on the agenda of Richard Holbrooke, special envoy of the US for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"References made by President Obama did seem to suggest that there is some kind of a link between the settlement on Pakistan's western border and the Kashmir issue. Certainly that had caused concern," he told audience in a programme.

He was responding to reported suggestions by Obama during his campaign that Pakistan's fight against Taliban on the western front is linked to resolution of Kashmir issue.

The NSA pointed out that Obama made such references when he was in the campaign mode or when he was president-elect.

"We tend to sort of say lets wait and see what he does when he come into office," Narayanan said, adding "I don't think we had any major exchanges with members of the Obama administration later on" though the US President had made courtesy call and discussed bilateral ties.

"I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does have any such views then he is barking up the wrong tree," he said.

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No choice but to wait for Pak response: Pranab

India has "hardly" any choice except to patiently wait for Pakistan to respond to the dossier given on mumbai attacks, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday. "We won't get anything by simply losing our patience, so hardly we have a choice," Mukherjee said here at a function of a private news channel.
He was responding when asked how long India will wait for Pakistan's response to India's demands after the Mumbai terror strikes for which Pakistan-based elements have been blamed.

India gave the dossier of evidence on January 5 and has since been waiting for Pakistan to respond officially.

Pakistan has said it is investigating the matter and would get back to India as soon as it is over.

Queried on his status now since he is discharging duties of the Prime Minister, he said, "Simply I am discharging duties, neither I am officiating nor acting, neither de-jure nor de-facto".

He said under the Constitution of the country, there can be only one Prime Minister. But "the Prime Minister can delegate some responsibility to his colleagues and I am doing exactly that".

Replying to a query on whether he had any apprehension about the Nuclear Suppliers Group giving its waiver last year, the External Affairs Minister suggested that he was not sure till it happened.

"Unless it (deal) was done, to be very frank, I was not convinced that we will be able to succeed. It was done only after the NSG waiver came on September 6," said Mukherjee who had remained awake virtually through the night as the 45-nation grouping deliberated on the issue in Vienna till early morning of September 6.

To a question on which of the many GoMs headed by him (Mukherjee) will have any lasting impact on the country, the external affairs minister said he does not take anything to his credit.

"Because in our system, we do everything in consultation and collectively. So success and failure have to be shared collectively," he said.

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CEC-EC face off: Govt tilts in Navin Chawla's favour

Government on Monday ticked off Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for seeking removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, saying he is not the "political boss" and hinted at Chawla becoming the next CEC in April.
"Gopalaswami should do his work in EC and not become a political boss," Law Minister H R Bharadwaj told agencies on the sidelines of a conference here.
The CEC controversy continued to generate political heat with the Government and Congress party attacking the CEC for recommending to the President removal of Chawla. Gopalaswami had sought Chawla's removal accusing him of being partisan.
"The CEC has no Constitutional authority to embarrass or comment upon his own colleague because they are all equals. He is only the administrative head of the Election Commission and he is not the boss," the minister later told reporters.
Bharadwaj said the policy of having the senior-most in the Election Commission as the successor will continue, indicating the likelihood of Chawla getting to the key slot when Gopalswami's tenure comes to an end on April 20.
Describing the present controversy as "unfortunate", Bharadwaj said it should not effect Chawla's career as appointments in the Election Commission are based on merit.
"We will begin the process to put in place a new CEC well in time" so that the name of Gopalaswami's successor is clear before he retires, he said.
Congress spokespersons Abhishek Singhvi and Manish Tiwari said the CEC has no unilateral power to recommend removal of an Election Commissioner. The CEC does not enjoy a "status superior to that of the Election Commissioner", Tiwari said.
The rift in the Election Commission also set off a war of words between the Congress, which saw motives in the timing of Gopalswami's move, and the BJP supporting him.
Hitting out at Bharadwaj, BJP party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said "nothing better could be expected from the Law Minister" since his ministry was already "advising" Chawla for the last so many months.
When cogent reasons for bias has been given, instead of addressing the issue, Government is attributing motive on the part of the CEC which is "grossly unfair", Prasad said.
Rebutting BJP's contention, Bharadwaj said the CEC's authority flows from the President and if the President asks for his opinion, only then he can given.
"If he (President) does not ask, how can he (CEC) do so?" he asked.
"It is unfortunate that a person of such high rank and at the end of his office has made such a recommendation and, thus, troubled the good name of the Election Commission," he said.
Noting that the country was moving towards the general election, he said the main work of the EC was to prepare voters' list. "It is unfortunate that the controversy has been started at such a time," he said.
The Law Minister said the President is the appointing and the removing authority for Election Commissioner members under the Constitution. "The role of CEC is as a measure of protection, if the government wants to remove and Election Commissioner, then CEC's opinion is sought," he said.
He said the file relating to the CEC's recommendation reached his office two days back and Law Secretary T K Viswanathan is studying it.
Describing the CEC's move against Chawla as bolt from the blue, Bharadwaj said Gopalaswami had no suo motu power to recommend the removal of an election commissioner.
He cannot initiate a move on his own it is only when the government wants to remove any election commissioner then the Law Ministry can approach the CEC, he said.
Bharadwaj termed as unfortunate BJP trying to use the Election Commission for its ends. "Why should involve itself in EC politics. They went to court (to target an EC), they did not succeed. Then you start using the very Election Commission for your ends, that's very unfortunate," Bharadwaj told reporters after a conference here.
The Law Ministry is the agency through which all transactions of the Election Commission are carried out. If there is any letter by the CEC, it is supposed to be routed through the ministry, Bharadwaj said holding Gopalaswami's action as improper.
"Without the impeachment in Parliament, the CEC cannot be removed...but if the government wants to remove any election commissioner then the ministry can approach the CEC," he said.
"It is a security of tenure enjoyed by election commissioners that they are protected against the arbitrary acts of the government and it is a protection to them and not an authority to the CEC that he can get rid of his colleagues by this method," Bharadwaj said.
There have been instances of differences among Election Commissioners. There are bound to be differences and what they do within themselves, I am not bothered, Bharadwaj said.
"But this (CEC move against Chawla) is a bolt from the blue. This is no courtesy," he said.
Bharadwaj said Gopalaswami has no primacy over his colleagues.
"He is the first among equals and they are all equals like the Chief Justice of India. Do you think he (CJI) is the boss of other judges. When they sit in the court they are three and CJI can be over-ruled by a majority of two.
"Similarly, in this EC also if his colleagues overrule him then the CEC will be in a minority, he has no overwhelming Veto," he said.
Asked about the next course of action in the matter, Bharadwaj said Navin Chawla is the senior most member of the EC...I will not hesitate in performing my duty to process the appointment of the next CEC on the precedents as are prevalent today, that is, the senior most EC gets it unless he is otherwise deprived of it.
We have to complete the three-member strength of the EC and one more proposal will be sent to add the third one, Bharadwaj said elaborating on the future configuration of the Election Commission after the CEC retires on April 20.

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8-yr-old kills 5-yr-old in petty fight

In an unfortunate incident, an eight-year-old child killed another five-year-old child in a small fight.
Two children, eight and five years old, were playing with a plastic ball. They had a small fist fight over the ball, after which the eight-year-old child picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed the younger child.
The blow hit one of the veins on the neck, which led to excessive bleeding and the child died.
The eight-year-old has been sent to child remand home.

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Don't make EC an object of public ridicule: Law Minister

In an indication of government's thinking that it may not accept the CEC's recommendation for removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj on Monday said N Gopalaswami should do his job in the EC and not behave like a "political boss".
Speaking to NDTV's senior managing editor Sonia Singh, the Law Minister said the Election Commission should not become an object of public ridicule due to this controversy and contended that the CEC has no powers to make a recommendation for Chawla's removal.
Bhardwaj also said that Navin Chawla will be the next Chief Election Commissioner in due course.
Bhardwaj said he had received a file on the matter. "I have to see what is new in the matter," he said, adding the internal tussle within the Election Commission has been going on ever since Chawla was appointed to the post of Election Commissioner.
"Gopalaswami should do his work in EC and not become a political boss," he said on the sidelines of a conference here.
Asked if the government had taken any decision on the Chief Election Commissioner's recommendation to remove Chawla, he said "When a decision is taken, we will inform you," adding "the EC's role is to prepare electoral rolls and not to settle scores".

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Friday, January 30, 2009

US GDP shrinks 3.8%, most in 26 yrs

The world's largest economy US has contracted 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1982, as the worst ever financial turmoil in nearly 80 years crimped consumer and business spending.
The nation's economy which officially entered into recession in December 2007, shrunk 3.8 per cent in the December quarter, according to the advanced estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Moreover, the decline is the worst since the GDP fell 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 1982.
"Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008," the BEA which is part of the Commerce Department said in a statement today.
In the third quarter of last year, the GDP had declined 0.5 per cent.
Reportedly, experts had expected the economy to shrink 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, the figure is grim considering the worsening financial situation.
However, the BEA noted that that the fourth quarter advance estimates are based on "source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision..."
For the full year 2008, American economy grew just 1.3 per cent compared to two per cent rise in the year-ago period.
According to the statement, the drop in fourth quarter real GDP was mainly due to negative contributions from exports, personal consumption expenditures, equipment and software and residential fixed investment.
Noting that most of the major components contributed to the decrease in fourth quarter real GDP, BEA said, "the largest contributors were a downturn in exports and a much larger decrease in equipment and software. The most notable offset was a much larger decrease in imports".
Regarding the full year 2008 advanced GDP figure of 1.3 per cent, the BEA pointed out that the growth was primarily on account of exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, federal government spending, non-residential structures, state and local government spending.
"These were partly offset by residential fixed investment, PCE for goods, equipment and software, and private inventory investment," the statement said.
On the other hand, BEA noted that deceleration in real GDP (as compared to a growth of two per cent in 2007) primarily reflected a sharp fall in PCE, a downturn in equipment and software, and decelerations in exports and in state and local government spending.
Meanwhile, American President Barack Obama is expected to come up wtih an 819-billion dollar stimulus package to bolster the nation's sagging economy and also create nearly four million jobs.

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Now, Ramadoss targets 'pub culture'

Closing ranks with leaders opposing pub culture in the aftermath of the Mangalore incident, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said it was against Indian ethos and asserted that the proposed National Alcohol Policy would help curb it.
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way," Ramadoss said at a press conference in new delhi.
Linking youngsters visiting pubs to increased rates of accidents due to drunken driving, he said: "In India, 40 per cent of road accidents are alcohol-related."
These young people not only jeopardise their lives but are also a danger to others on the roads.
"It is not our culture. If it goes this way I don't think India will progress," Ramadoss said adding, most of the people losing their lives due to such road accidents and alcoholism were in their early twenties, which are the most productive years.
Unfortunately over the recent years, there has been a huge percentage of people taking to alcohol.
There is also a study which says that in the last five to six years there is an increase of 60 per cent among the youth who have taken to drinking, he said.

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26/11 probe report ready; will share findings: Pakistan

Responding to India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comments that Pakistan is unresponsive over 26/11 mumbai terror strike investigation, Pakistan’s External Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the investigation report is ready.
"The Federal Investigation Agency of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has completed the preliminary investigation and sent (its report) to the Law Department," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters here after addressing a conference at the International Islamic University.
He went on to add that the report will be sent to India and other countries soon.

After a review by the Law Department, the report on the preliminary investigation will be received by the Foreign Ministry and then it will be shared with India and the international community, he said.
"Pakistan has assured India and the world community that it is seriously making progress in the process of investigating the Mumbai attacks and wants to bring the culprits to justice," Qureshi said, adding Pakistan wants peace in the region and good relations with its neighbours.
He said Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik met Home Minister P Chidambaram today and updated him on the latest developments regarding the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had on January five handed over to High Commissioner Malik in new delhi the dossier containing evidence, which included confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist held during the Mumbai attacks.
Qureshi said Pakistan has always condemned terrorism and extremism in all its forms anywhere in the world and it had been promoting the message of peace and brotherhood.
Pakistan does not want confrontation with anyone in the region as it wants to concentrate on its economic development and strengthening its democratic process, he said.
The country wants to promote the message of peace, love and tolerance and concentrate on trade, he said.
Referring to reports of threat to High Commissioner Malik, Qureshi said the issue was taken up with the Indian government and he had now been provided additional security.

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Spice Group bids to acquire Satyam

B K Modi-led Spice group on Thursday made a formal bid to acquire scam-hit Satyam Computer, although engineering major Larsen & Toubro has been courting the IT company for a while now.

"Yes, we have given the letter of Expression of Interest to the interim board of Satyam for acquiring controlling stake," diversified Spice group chairman B K Modi said.

The company, sources said, has told the government- appointed board that it has proven management track-record and was hence most suited to turn around the IT company.

Spice group is into the entire domain of entertainment, BPO, IT, retail and mobile handsets business. No price has been discussed so far.

Engineering giant L&T had last week emerged as the front runner for Satyam, which is smarting from a Rs 7,800 crore accounting fraud disclosed by its founder Ramalinga Raju, by increasing its stake in Satyam to over 12 per cent through open market transactions on Friday.

L&T Chairman A M Naik had last Wednesday called on Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta, apparently to discuss its plans for Satyam, whose board met the very next day.

Incidentally, LIC, which has four per cent stake in Satyam and is also the single-largest shareholder of L&T, had said that was not averse to the idea of the IT firm's sale. The board had this week ruled out part sale of the company, saying it was not its mandate to do so at this stage.

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Stimulus packages working, 7% growth likely: Pranab

The two stimulus packages given by the government to boost the economy have started working and the economic growth in the current year is likely to be seven per cent, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also holding the charge of the Finance Ministry, said here.
"The two stimulus packages have started working...That has been reiterated by the Reserve bank Governor while announcing the (third-quarterly review of the) credit policy," Mukherjee said after his first meeting with Minister of State for finance P K Bansal and senior officials of the ministry at North Block.

Mukherjee took charge of the Finance Ministry as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was looking after the finance portfolio, is recuperating from a heart surgery at the All-Indian Institute of Medical Science.

The minister was briefed by the senior officials of the finance ministry on various issues, including preparation for interim budget which is to be presented in Parliament next month.

As regards economic growth, Mukherjee said, "though the economy will not grow at 8.9 or 8.8 per cent, it will grow around 7 per cent. There is no doubt about that ... Indian economy is sound and will bounce back ".

The RBI in its review of the credit policy projected a growth rate of 7 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 7.5 to 8 per cent estimated earlier.

On his priority as in-charge of the Finance Ministry, Mukherjee said, "My first priority is to get the vote on account passed. That is the top most priority and it is also a constitutional requirement."

As general elections are due later in the year, the government will have to present an interim budget and get the vote on account approved by Parliament to carry on the essential expenditure.

The government has already convened a fortnight-long session of Parliament on February 12 for completing the essential business.

In addition to secretaries, economic advisor Arvind Virmani and members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) were also present at the meeting to brief Mukherjee.

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Seven suitors line up for Satyam Computers

New Delhi, Jan 29: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has been approached by as many as seven possible suitors, including private equity players, even as the company's investment bankers are trying to find the best match.
"So far we are aware of four (companies that have approached Satyam Computer). But we have heard that another two or three firms are also interested," Satyam Computer board member Tarun Das, who is also the chief mentor of industry body CII told reporters here.

Investment bankers are talking to everybody and finding out which firm is interested, what is the level of seriousness and are evaluating the proposal before getting back to the board. The process is likely to take six weeks, Das added.

Earlier this week, the board of Satyam Computer Services appointed Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital as investment bankers and mandated Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to act as its management adviser.

Asked whether Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju had inflated employee numbers as claimed by the Andhra Pradesh police, Das said: "We have done a head count using external agencies and we believe in the basis of investigation that we are well over 50,000 people in Satyam. So I do not think that there is any inflated numbers."

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh CID had claimed in a court that there were 13,000 ghost employees on the rolls of the IT firm, following which the human resources department of Satyam Computer Services conducted a verification of the head count.

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Pak must ensure 26/11-like attacks don't recur: McCain

Washington, Jan 29: Pakistan should take steps that reduce the threat of a reccurence of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks, US Republican Presidential candidate for the 2008 election, John McCain, has said.
"This is what would satisfy the United States," McCain told at the conclusion of a Senate Committee hearing on the Mumbai terrorist attack at the Capitol Hill here.

"To satisfy the US ... Well actions that clearly indicate they have reduced the threat of their reoccurrence (of Mumbai terrorist attacks)," McCain said, when asked what actions of Pakistan would be satisfactory to the United States.

"I think that there are variety of reasons that argue for the arrest of the people who are responsible (for the attack) and the terrorist's organisations," he said.

Referring to the testimony by experts at Senate Committee hearing on Mumbai attack, McCain said it should be a very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

"I agree with the witness that it is very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two countries and the United States should do everything we can to prevent escalation of tensions," McCain said.

Earlier during the hearing McCain said the Mumbai terror attack was "well orchestrated, well trained and well planned" and had outdone security forces until commandos showed up.

"They were not necessarily suicide individuals, they were able with just handful of people to hit 10 targets... I think there are a whole lot of lessons... that may be we have not paid much attention to," he said.

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After Gehlaut, Karnataka CM won’t allow pub culture

A day after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlaut announced he will eliminate pub-culture, Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa seemed toeing the Ram Sena line when he said he will not allow pub culture to grow in the state.
“It is a most unfortunate that this incident (assault of women in a Mangalore pub last week) happened but we will not allow pub culture to grow in Karnataka,” he said.
"Anyhow, we are not going to allow such incidents to happen again in the state. Nobody should take law into their hands and it is very unfortunate. That is why I have taken immediate action and the situation is under control," he added.
He also dithered on the issue of banning right-wing group Sri Rama Sene whose activists have been arrested for last Saturday's pub incident in Mangalore in which girls and boys were thrashed. "We will discuss it with the police officers and I will discuss it with the cabinet."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has accused the erswtwhile Vasundhara Raje BJP government of bringing in "liquor culture", said in Jaipur the move to end pub culture in the State had nothing to do with the Mangalore incident.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit saw nothing wrong in boys and girls going out together to malls when asked to comment on Gehlot voicing reservations in this regard.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said he is against all "uncivilised behaviour."

Gehlot said, "my feelings have nothing to do with the Mangalore episode. My feelings are my own and in the interest of Rajasthan and its culture".

He had drawn flak for his comments that he wanted to end the culture of boys and girls roaming around in malls holding hands.

Assuring strong action against the culprits, BJP’s first Chief Minister in the south said that his party has no connection with the Sena.

"Sri Rama Sena has no connection with BJP or any other political party. It is an individual organisation," the Chief Minister said.

Disclosing that the state has so far arrested 33 people including Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, Yeddyurappa said, "From the government's side, we have taken action and we will continue to take strong action against affiliations.

The culprits, he said, are currently booked under the charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, and also added that the police is also mulling to slap Goonda Act on the Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik and his party members who were arrested in connection with the Mangalore pub attack earlier this week.

He further accused the opposition Congress party for fuelling the matter further as it could not “digest” the growing popularity of BJP govt in the state.

Stressing that the BJP has a track record in the welfare of women, he said that the police has been given full liberty to pursue action against the culprits.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

PM likely to be discharged on Jan 30

New Delhi, Jan 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery, is likely to be discharged on January 30, according to the doctors attending on him.

"He will be discharged in another day or two, depending on his condition," one of the doctors attending on him, requesting anonymity, told media.

Doctors are discussing the future course of Singh's treatment on daily basis in their internal meetings. He has shown better than expected recovery, the doctor said.

All the Intensive Care Unit equipment, used for monitoring the Prime Minister's various health parameters, was today removed and he has been shifted to an adjacent room.

The decision to shift him out of the ICU was taken by a team of doctors which included his personal physician Dr K S Reddy and repeat by-pass surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute (AHI).

Dr Vijay D'Silva, an ICU specialist also from AHI and attending on the Prime Minister, said, "His is making speedy recovery in the expected time frame". The Prime Minister has been moved to an adjacent room and only his family is allowed to meet him.

"We are not allowing any guests as the Prime Minister has himself expressed desire to meet them only after he reaches home," the doctor said.

Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Prime Minister's wife and daughters and wished him speedy recovery.

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Lanka assures India of safe passage to Tamil civilians

Sri Lanka has assured India that the safe zone for Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE would be expanded.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after returning from Colombo, told reporters here on Wednesday, that the assurance was given during his talks with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

“We made it quite clear that our concerns are for the civilian population. Around 150,000 plus civilians are affected by the crossfire. In course of discussion, the President has agreed to expand the safe zone and also assured that there will be no shelling or firing in the safe zone,” Mukherjee said.

“We requested that international agencies like UN High Commission for Refugees, International Red Cross Society, and other international organisations, who are engaged in the relief measures, should be allowed to visit Sri Lanka,and see the situation with their own eyes,” he added.

Mukherjee said beside the recent upsurge in the military offensive against Tamil rebels, issues like implementation of the 13th Amendment was also discussed with Rajapakse, who assured that his government would pay attention to the issue.

“The President (of Sri Lanka) assured me that it will be the area of his urgent attention and he will try to explore the possibilities, and also try to improve the conditions further,” Mukherjee concluded.

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Prabhakaran living in bunkers: Lanka army

Cornered LTTE chief V Prabhakaran is now fighting a last ditch battle in the jungles of Mullaitivu and moving from bunker to bunker to avoid being detected, Sri Lankan military sources have said.

In Killinochchi, the army found one abandoned bunker where Prabhakaran used to stay.

These reports have come amidst the news that Sri Lankan ground forces have captured a key defensive position of the Tamil Tigers at Visuamdu, deep in the jungles of Mullaitivu.

The Sri lankan Air Force has reportedly launched simultaneous precision strikes against crucial LTTE resistance positions although it is it is not clear whether civilians have been hit too.

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Raju created 300 firms to divert funds: Govt

The government said today that Satyam Computers' disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju created a network of about 300 companies and diverted funds from one company to another in a complex but carefully planned process.
"There has been an issue of siphoning (off of) funds. This is what we have understood from the information we have received from (the) RoC, SFIO and various other agencies (probing the Satyam case)," Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta said in a TV interview.
Gupta said, "Our information is that there was a network of almost 300 compnaies and funds were diverted from one company to (another) and then to (a) third."
"So like this, it was a very complex process he had adopted," Gupta said, but added that "unless the investigation is complete we can't say what exactly happened".
Asked if it meant a carefully planned process to avoid detection, Gupta said, "...Well, to some extent I would agree with you that it was a carefully planned operation, but ... still what we personally feel it was a complex process."
Asked if other people might also be involved in the scam, Gupta said, "I feel there are other people involved."
"But if you go into the systematic inspection and investigation of the structure of the company, you come to the conclusion that the whole thing (revolves) around the Raju family only."

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India start Lanka campaign with a win

Sanath Jayasuriya's hundred went in vain as India won the opening match of the five-ODI series by 6 wickets in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Riding on Jayasuriya's sparkling 107, Sri Lanka set a target of 247 runs that India achieved with 11 balls to spare. That, however, did not deprive the Lankan opener of the 'Man of the Match' award. Jayasuriya raised 28th hundred, his 7th against India with the help of ten fours and a six.

Chasing that total, India stumbled early as they lost Sachin Tendulkar for just 5 runs. Sachin on Wednesday opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir, as the regular opener Virender Sehwag was ruled out because of an injury. Sri Lanka bowler Thilan Thushara trapped him in front of his wicket for 5 runs. It was an unfortunate decision as the ball pitched outside the leg stump and straightened to hit Sachin high on his pads. Not the best of the decisions, it was umpire Kumar Dharmasena's first in international cricket.

Suresh Raina joined Gambhir after Tendulkar's dismissal. The duo added 113 runs before Gambhir perished. Carrying his good form into the new year, Gambhir (62) struck 14th ODI half-century, his third against the hosts. In his attempt to loft Murali over the mid-off region, Gambhir erred and was taken by Thilina Kandamby at long-off as spin wizard's 501st victim.

Raina, too, fell soon after he raised his fifty. Raina (54) slammed ninth ODI half-century, his fourth against the Lankans. He gave away his wicket while trying to steal a second run off Mendis. An alert Murali did him in.

Yuvraj Singh fell as the fourth Indian wicket after Sri Lanka pacer Farveez Maharoof dismissed him for 23 runs. The Punjab left-hander added 44 runs with skipper MS Dhoni before he failed to get the desired elevation and was caught by Muralitharan who came charging from the long-on.

This middle-order collapse did not deter Dhoni who led from the front and slammed an unbeaten 61 runs. It was his 26th half-century and eighth against Jayawardene's team. He was well supported by Rohit Sharma (25*) for the fifth wicket and guided India to victory.

Earlier, electing to field first, India got the first breakthrough in the form of Tillakratne Dilshan's wicket as the Lanka opener was caught short of his crease. It was an utter mess in the middle. Dilshan played a Zaheer's delivery towards square leg and rushed for a single but Jayasuriya was not very keen and sent him back from halfway. Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan collected the ball and knocked the stumps to see Dilshan tread back without scoring.

Losing Dilshan early on, Jayasuriya accompanied by Sangakkara added 118 runs for the second wicket. In the process he also completed 13000 ODI runs. India spinner Pragyan Ojha broke the dangerous partnership between Sangakkara and Jayasuriya as he dismissed the former for 44 runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman, playing across the line, lofted an Ojha-delivery at mid-on where Raina took a simple catch.

Jayasuriya was dismissed by India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan as he holed out a full toss delivery to Munaf Patel at mid-off.

Oldest player to score a hundred

Player Age Runs Team Against Ground

ST Jayasuriya 39y 212d 107 Sri Lanka India Dambulla
G Boycott 39y 51d 105 England Australia Sydney
SM Gavaskar 38y 113d 103* India New Zealand Nagpur
DL Haynes 38y 18d 115 West Indies England Port of Spain
CG Greenidge 37y 321d 117 West Indies India St John's



India's lanky pacer Ishant Sharma finished with three wickets. His victims were Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Farveez Maharoof and Thilina Kandamby.

Kandamby, who was sent ahead of Jayawardene, contributed just 17 runs in the 51-run partnership with the demolishing opener. He tried to launch Ishant over mid-off but could not back it with power. As a result he was caught by Zaheer.

Jayawardene, who's been struggling with his form of late, played him across the line and gifted Rohit Sharma a simple catch at mid-on. Maharoof added a quick 35 runs before a slow delivery from the Delhi bowler took an inside edge of his bat and crashed into his stumps.

The last Sri Lankan wicket to fall was of Chamara Kapugedera's. Raina knocked down Kapugedera's stumps from the extra cover as the Lanka batsman struggled to make it to his crease on time.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Thilana Kandamby, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis.

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IBM quietly cuts thousands of jobs

With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM Corp. is joining the fray — but not advertising it.
The Armonk, New York-based company has cut thousands of jobs over the past week, including positions in sales as well as the software and hardware divisions. IBM says the cuts are simply part of its ongoing efforts to watch costs, and the company won't release specific numbers, even as reports of firings stream in from IBM facilities across the country.
Workers have reported layoffs in Tucson, Arizona; San Jose, California; Rochester, Minnesota; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; East Fishkill, New York; Austin, Texas; and Burlington, Vermont.
Meanwhile, other tech companies such as Intel Corp.,Microsoft Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Google Inc. have all publicly revealed job cuts as part of their strategies for riding out the economic crisis. More than 20,000 jobs will be lost from those companies.
One of IBM's biggest rivals — Hewlett-Packard Co. — is also laying people off. HP is shedding 24,600 jobs, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000 employee work force, as it digests the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
IBM says it doesn't have to reveal the number of jobs it is cutting, since the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose only "material" events. And IBM considers its job cuts a regular part of the company's business model, since thousands of jobs are cut every year but are usually added back in other places.
Because of that, IBM contends it doesn't have to break out its layoffs in regulatory filings unless it suddenly changes course and makes substantially more or fewer job cuts.
That's why while IBM's head count keeps growing, topping 400,000 at the end of 2008, laid-off IBM workers have flooded online job boards with complaints about the company's stealth cuts.
One estimate of IBM's recent cuts put the number at more than 4,000 jobs lost since IBM's fourth-quarter earnings announcement last week. Those earnings contained an unexpected surprise: IBM forecast at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009. IBM shares are up more than 10 percent since then.
To get the cost savings that will help spur the higher profits, IBM appears to have acted quickly. The estimate of at least 4,000 jobs cut comes from AllianceAtIBM, a union that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and represents a small number of IBM workers.
The Associated Press reviewed one document sent to laid-off workers that identified some of the positions that were cut. Employees weren't identified by name, but positions and the workers' ages were listed. The document listed nearly 3,000 jobs.
In Vermont, IBM remained tightlipped about layoffs at its Essex Junction facility, but state Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden said the total number would be less than 500.
IBM recently employed 5,300 workers at the Essex Junction plant, down from 8,500 in 2001.
Jim Gallo, 48, who said he worked in IBM Software support for 27 years, was among those let go from that facility. Gallo, drinking a Grey Goose and ginger ale at nearby Lincoln Inn on Tuesday, said he hadn't told his four children yet.
He said he has until Feb. 26 to find another job in IBM, but he put his chances at "slim to none." Gallo said he gets six months' pay as part of a severance package.
"It's too bad they're not doing what they were doing before. They offered some sweet packages for people to jump out," he said.
IBM's ongoing labor adjustments have led the company to add bodies in cheaper and higher-growth parts of the world, like India.
In 2007, the last full year for which detailed employment numbers are available, 121,000 of IBM's 387,000 workers were in the U.S., down slightly from the year before. Meanwhile, staffing in India has jumped from just 9,000 workers in 2003 to 74,000 workers in 2007.

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Five get life term for raping German girl

A local court on Wednesday sentenced five youths to life imprisonment for raping a 20-year-old German girl after abducting her from outside a five-star hotel last September.

All the five were convicted on Tuesday by Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Shekhar Attri in a speedy trial that lasted just a week.

The judge announced the sentence after hearing arguments in camera from both the prosecution and the defence for three hours.

The five are Pankaj Punia, Manvir Singh Jolly, Harpreet Singh Dalli, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi and Sompal.

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Pak incapable of action against terror: Pranab

As it awaits a concrete response from Pakistan on steps taken against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, India has raised questions on whether the government in Islamabad was deliberately not taking action against terrorists or incapable of doing so.

"Yes, one way you can make a differentiation that they are deliberately not doing or are incapable of doing. But as far as India is concerned, the net impact is the same ... the perpetrators are launching terror attacks from the territory of Pakistan," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

"The infrastructural facilities there (are) used by them (for) committing crimes in India, not necessarily in this case but in a large number of cases in the past," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera news channel.

Mukherjee said India expects the Pakistan government to act against the perpetrators of terror acts operating from Pakistani soil.

"We expect Pakistan to act. Whatever is to be done from our side we are doing so ... but Pakistan has to act because the handlers and planners (of Mumbai attacks) were from Pakistan," he said.

Mukherjee said India expects three things from Pakistan -- dismantle terror infrastructural facilities, take strong action against perpetrators of terror attacks and look for fugitives of Indian law who have committed crime in India and taken shelter in Pakistan.

Pakistan cannot shrug its responsibilities to the international community, Mukherjee said when pointed out that several areas in the neighbouring country were out of control of the government there.

"Every country is responsible to protect its territory, to protect its citizens and also to ensure that its territory is not misused by miscreants to cause trouble in neighbouring countries," he said.

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Petrol prices slashed by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 2

The government on Wednesday announced further reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5 and Re 2 a litre, respectively. In second round of cuts in as many months, the domestic LPG rate was also brought down by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.

The reduction, which will be effective from midnight Wednesday, will help further ease inflationary pressures and benefit common man.

Petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre instead of the present Rs 45.62 per litre from Wednesday midnight, while diesel will be sold at Rs 30.86 per litre as against current Rs 32.86 a litre. Similarly, a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 279.70 in place of Rs 304.70.

"The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has decided to reduce petrol, diesel and LPG prices to pass on the benefit of softening international oil prices to consumers," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

While state-run oil firms were making a neat Rs 9.86 a litre profit on petrol before this price reduction and Rs 3.48 on every litre of diesel, they were still losing Rs 32.97 per LPG cylinder and Rs 12.16 per litre of kerosene. The reduction could have been sharper but for the losses on LPG and kerosene.

Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said no decision on raising excise and customs duty to mop up any extra revenue has been taken. Also, the parallel proposal of freeing petrol and diesel prices from administrative control has not been acted upon.

"The Government," he said, "will made good all of the losses of state-run retailers after accounting for Rs 32,000 crore contribution from upstream firms, through issue of oil bonds."

Deora said, "This is the first time the retail selling price has gone down below the rates in June 2006. There is no inflationary impact at all because of fuel now." Petrol on June 6, 2006 was priced at Rs 47.51 a litre in Delhi, diesel at Rs 32.47 and domestic LPG at Rs 294.75.

"After reduction, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre, diesel Rs 30.86 and domestic LPG Rs 279.70 per cylinder," he said.

"We believe in keeping the promises. We had promised to reduce prices when international prices come down and now we have done it. This is a big step that will help common man," Deora said.

2008-09 had witnessed an unprecedented volatility in international oil prices. While on the one hand, the Indian basket of crude oil touched $142 per barrel on July 3, on the other, it plummeted to $35.83 a barrel on December 24.

In spite of the softening in oil prices, the PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs) incurred under-recoveries of more than Rs 106,000 crore during April-December 2008 on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.

To compensate the public sector OMCs, the Government has already approved issue of oil bonds of Rs 60,967 crore and the upstream oil companies - ONGC, GAIL and OIL - have contributed Rs 32,000 crore.

"Whatever is the under-recovery (revenue loss) at the end of the fiscal, will be compensated by the Government through issue of oil bonds," Pandey said, adding more oil bonds could be issued.

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Ram Sena chief arrested for Mangalore pub violence

The Mangalore police on Wednesday arrested Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the Mangalore pub-assault case, hours after he got bail in another case in Davanagere.
Muthalik was taken into custody on Jan 27 for an inflammatory speech in Davangere. He got bail in the case but was re-arrested by the Mangalore police for pub-violence on January 24.
Police had requested the Davangere court to hand over Muthalik for interrogation, IGP (Western Range) A M Prasad told agencies here today.
He told a TV channel that the Davanagere police wil hand over Muthalik to Mangalore police which will interrogate him in connection with the pub-attack case. He said cases have been registered against the 27 others under criminal interrogation, trespass, molestation, criminal conspiracy. Charges will be fixed against Muthalik once he is questioned, Prasad added.
Earlier, all the 27 Sri Ram Sena workers in a local court, who have been arrested in connection with the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub.
The investigators believe that Muthalik’s custody will help police in obtaining more information about other prominent members of the organisation who are still at large.
All schools and colleges across Mangalore remained closed today and the students' community has started a signature campaign demanding stringent action against the culprits while expressing sympathy towards the victims.
Prior to Muthalik’s arrest, police also picked up the Sri Ram Sena vice president Prasad Attavar and 10 others in connection with the case.
However, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik later apologised for the attack on weekend revellers at a Mangalore pub, saying the way the right-wing group acted "was wrong" but insisted it was done to "save our mothers and daughters".
Muthalik also denied his affiliation with the BJP and said he was only working for Hindutva.
The BJP government in the state has earned sharp criticism for its insufficient and slow response to the shameful act.
In view of the increasing public pressure, BJP president also condemned the incident as an "unacceptable act of hooliganism".
Complicating things for the BJP government, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday constituted a three member panel to probe the incident.

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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Israel pounds Gaza as it mulls unilateral ceasefire

There was no let up in the Israeli attacks on Hamas-held Gaza as Tel Aviv weighed a unilateral ceasefire proposal to the 22-day-old war which has killed nearly 1,200 people, half of them civilians.

Israel on Sunday bombarded Gaza ahead of a meeting of its security cabinet that is expected to decide on a proposal for end to the war after the Tel Aviv received pledges from Washington and Cairo to help prevent arms smuggling into the Islamist-run enclave from Egypt.

The Israeli government is expected to vote today to decide whether to declare a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that would being to an an end the three-week-long 'Operation Cast Lead'.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a deal with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday under which Tel Aviv would end its offensive even without a reciprocal agreement from Hamas. Israeli forces would remain in Gaza and the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt would remain closed until security arrangements are made to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

"This campaign is not a one-time event. We will need to have our hand on the pulse," she said. "The test will be the day after. That is the test of deterrence," she told the Israeli YNet news Web site.

"I hope we are entering the endgame and that our goal of sustained and durable quiet in the south is about to be attained," Prime Minister Ehut Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.

Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus, rejected the ceasefire demands yesterday, insisting that Israel should withdraw its troops immediately. Israels offensive has killed nearly 1,200 Palestinians half of them civilians. Ten Israeli 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket strikes.

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  © Abhishek Upadhayay Newspaper III by http://news4allofu.blogspot.com 2008

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