Latest News in Detail

Don't go to Australia: Indian victim to students

MELBOURNE: After surviving a murderous attack, a 25-year-old Indian student on Saturday appealed to fellow countrymen aspiring to pursue education in Australia that they should not come here.

"My advice to every Indian student now who wants to come to Australia is please don't come and there's no life here," said Baljinder Singh, who was attacked by two youths here recently.

Singh also expressed concern over the condition of another Indian student Shravan Kumar, who was attacked by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a separate incident. Kumar remained "very, very serious," he said.

Kumar is in a state of coma in the intensive Care Unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he was visited by Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh and Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar on Thursday.

Singh said one of his friends from Karnal has got a visa to Australia, but he is "very scared" to come here now in the wake of "racial" attacks on Indians.

Recalling the ordeal he faced, Singh said that he went to a train station on Monday night after finishing his work and two knife-wielding boys, aged around 20, approached him.

"I was very scared to see the knives. They asked me if I had any money? I told them to hang on as I looked for my purse in my bag which was very messy... In first five seconds, one of the guys stabbed me in my stomach. I just fell down on the floor," he said.


20 Indians attacked within a month in Sydney


Saturday May 30, 2009, Melbourne:An Indian community leader has claimed that over 20 incidents of "curry bashing" have taken place in Sydney in the past 30 days, and said there is an urgent need to address the issue as most students are reluctant to lodge any complaint out of fear.

Yadu Singh, the head of a committee that has been formed to address concerns about the welfare of Indian students in Australia, also revealed that more than 100 attacks on Indian youths were feared to have taken place in the last 12 months.

Singh, a Sydney-based cardiologist, said the attacks had grown over the last four years and there was an urgent need to address the issue. "There is a term 'curry bashing' for such incidents and it is used as 'lets go curry bashing'."

"They (the attacks) are not random at all, the people are targeting them. They know these students are easy targets," Singh said.

Indian students often become victims because they travel home late at night, alone, after working to support their studies, he pointed out, adding that they were also not reporting the incidents to police.

Many students were afraid that lodging any sort of formal police report would harm their chances of permanent residency.

"So they will suffer the humiliation and the insult and the criminals think 'We are pretty safe robbing them and nothing will happen'," Singh said.

Referring to the petrol bomb attack on 25-year-old hospitality graduate Rajesh Kumar, who received 30 per cent burns, Singh said "it is a clear case of racial attack as there is no other angle we can apply to this attack."

"Melbourne has a bigger problem, but if we don't do something it will be repeated in Sydney," said Singh. He sought more intensive undercover police effort to capture the offenders.

Lanka civilian deaths should be probed: Amnesty

COLOMBO: Amnesty International on Saturday called for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of the war against LTTE and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates.

The call by the rights group followed a report in the Times of London newspaper on Friday citing confidential UN reports that more than 20,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan army shelling.

The report followed weeks of allegations that large numbers of civilians had been killed as the army closed in on Tamil Tiger rebels to end the war.

Amnesty's Asia Pacific director Sam Zarifi accused both sides of war crimes and called for an independent international probe.

"The Times report underscores the need for this investigation and the UN should do everything it can to determine the truth about the 'bloodbath' that occurred in northeast Sri Lanka," Zarifi said in statement.

The statement said the UN "must immediately publicise its estimate of the number of civilians killed by the two sides in the final weeks of fighting".

Sri Lanka's Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe dismissed Amnesty's call and said the organisation was being "ridiculous to keep harping on things they cannot substantiate," he said.

The government, which has rejected demands by the UN Human Rights Council for a fact-finding mission on the war crimes allegations, on Friday angrily dismissed the Times report.

"These figures are way out," defence ministry spokesman Lakshman Hulugalle said. "We totally deny the allegation that 20,000 people were killed."

Amnesty said, however, that it continues to receive reports of widespread human rights violations, with more than 280,000 people displaced by the recent fighting and now restricted to state-run welfare camps in the island's north.

"The UN must address the war crimes and grave human rights
violations that have occurred - and could still be occurring - in Sri Lanka," Zarifi said. He said that despite repeated calls, the Sri Lankan government continued to restrict access to the camps by international humanitarian organisations, including the UN and the Red Cross.

"I am appealing to all these rights groups to let us get on with the job of resettling these people in their homes in the quickest possible time," Samarasinghe said. The island's military claimed complete victory over separatist Tamil Tigers after wiping out the guerrillas' leadership nearly two weeks ago.


Yeddyurappa asks Centre to 'bail out' recession hit states

Bangalore:Karanataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has asked the UPA government to work out a stimulus package for states to tide over the economic crisis caused by global downturn and sought other states' support for his demand.

"As the Centre announced two stimulus packages to insulate the economy from economic recession, there is an urgent need to come with a similar package to bail out the state governments out of this crisis", he said in an interview on the occasion of his government completing its first year in office.

The Finance department officials have been working out details of the impact caused by the global meltdown and the extent of financial losses to quantify the aid the state should seek from the Centre, he said.

Yeddyurappa, looking relaxed after his party's good performance in Lok Sabha polls in the state with 19 of the 28 seats in the state, wanted all Chief Ministers to join him in demanding a financial package to states.

"All Chief Ministers, be it ruled by Congress, BJP and allies of UPA, they should come together to put forth this demand before the Centre," he said.

"I expect the Centre to come to my state's help", said Yeddyurappa, who has been repeatedly accusing the UPA government of giving Karnataka a raw deal earlier on the ground that it was ruled by BJP.

Exuding optimism that the UPA government, which has returned to power for the second successive term, "will not continue the step-motherly treatment" to Karnataka, Yeddyurappa said, "This time, I hope they would cooperate".


Making phone calls won't stop race attacks: BJP to Govt

New Delhi:Asking the government to set up a special cell to look into the incidents of attacks on Indians abroad, BJP said on Saturday that it would raise the issue of racism in Parliament.

"The government should set up a special cell to look into the various cases of attacks, small or big, against Indians studying or working in foreign countries. This would provide a sense of security among Indians," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi.

Terming the attacks as "racial" and as an attempt by "certain powers" to create unrest amongst the Indian community abroad, Javadekar said the party would raise the issue in "both houses of Parliament during discussion on President's address" next week.

Referring to the telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith on Friday over the attacks on Indian students in that country, the BJP spokesperson said "making phone calls will not solve the issue. All attempts must be made to provide security to Indians working or studying abroad."

He said besides Australia, Indians have also been attacked in the US. "In the past one and half years, eight Indians from Andhra Pradesh have been murdered in the US," he reminded.

Big B turns down honorary doctorate by Oz university

New Delhi:Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has reacted to racial attacks on Indian students in Australia by rejecting an honorary doctorate offered to him by an Australian university.

The Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane had offered the 66-year-old veteran a doctorate for his contribution to the world of entertainment and Bachchan had earlier accepted the title.

The honour was to be conferred on the star in July as a part of celebrations to commemorate a retrospective of his films to be inaugurated in the city.

"I have been witnessing with great dismay and shock, the recent violent attacks on Indian students in Australia, on the electronic media the entire day," Bachchan wrote on his blog.

"I mean no disrespect to the Institution that honours me, but under the present circumstances, where citizens of my own country are subjected to such acts of inhuman horror, my conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen," he added.

Australia has recently seen a series of attacks on Indian students, the most serious being the assault of Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh who is battling for life in a hospital here after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured.

Indian Business News

Bharti, Wal-Mart open first joint store in India

AMRITSAR: India's Bharti group and Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, opened their first cash-and-carry joint venture store here on Saturday on an investment of $7 million, and they plan to open at least 15 outlets across the country in the next three years.

The stores will be run under the brand name of Best Price Modern Wholesale.

"This is a beginning and we will come up with 15 more stores in three years and employ more than 5,000 people," said Bharti Enterprises vice chairman and managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal.

"We have tied up with 30,000 retailers and 8,000 suppliers and expect more to join us," Mittal said after inaugurating the outlet.

The Amritsar store, spread over about 50,000 square feet, will provide 200 direct and 500 indirect jobs.

"Within 6-12 months you will see many such ventures in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. We have brought properties there," said Mittal but declined to divulge further details.

"About 80% of our suppliers are from Punjab. We will set up our next store in Ludhiana. Each store will require about $7 million. This does not include the land price."

Raj Jain, managing director and chief executive of the joint venture Bharti Wal-Mart India, said a lot of planning and preparation had gone into the project in the past 12 months.

"The hard work will now bear fruit as we open the doors of our first cash-and-carry store in India."

Best Price Modern Wholesale will offer an assortment of around 6,000 items, including food and non-food items, at competitive wholesale prices.

Over 90% of the goods will be sourced locally, helping keep down costs.

Bharti Wal-Mart, in association with the Punjab government, has also started a training centre offering full scholarship to bridge the shortage of skilled workers for cash-and-carry and organised retail formats.

The company had earlier planned to open the store on May 26 but this had to be deferred on account of the violence that erupted in Punjab following the killing of a spiritual leader in Austria.


H-1B restrictions would choke US of talent: Premji

WASHINGTON: Wipro's executive chairman Azim Premji has warned that a proposal to restrict hiring holders of H-1B visas for skilled workers will choke America of talent coming in and could generate a trade war with countries such as India.

"In my opinion it's a very drastic initiative," he said in an interview with BusinessWeek, referring to a bill in the US Senate basically preventing firms from hiring H-1Bs in the US or bringing in holders of L1 visas for semi-skilled workers.

"It will choke the United States of talent coming in. You will not be able to substitute the absence of this talent with local hires because it's not easily available," Premji said.

"Also, you'll generate a trade war with countries such as India," he said, calling it as a freedom-of-trade issue. "It's precisely what President (Barack) Obama said in the G20 meeting: The United States will not get into a spate of protectionism."

Premji suggested the US must realize that today 60 to 70% of the growth of the revenues of large American companies comes from India and China.

"These are the growth markets. It's a simple thing for our government to raise tariffs. It's a simple thing for our government to say no American corporation will get central or state government contracts, or defence contracts," he warned.

Noting that the software and BPO industries for India represent 24% of its exports, Premji said: "These are critical industries for emerging countries... There's no way our government can take it lightly."

Asked what would happen if the bill passes, the Wipro chief said Obama "is too sensible to pass it. He's too mature".

Describing global trade in IT as vital "because the economies of all countries are getting more and more the dominance of services, versus manufacturing and agriculture", Premji said: "To risk a cycle of protectionism, it's not worth it."

"What's the total of visas issued in a year? 20,000 to India. What will you achieve? The 20,000 will come down to 12,000. You'll create 8,000 more jobs, theoretically, with the rules. "What's that compared to 9% unemployment on a total labour force of 100 million?" he asked, calling it "a very short term approach".

Asked why IBM and Accenture were employing so many people in India, Premji said: "They like the low labour rates... the quality of the people, the willingness to work hard. They're not getting the people they need in the United States. That's the bottom line."


Govt to give push to affordable housing: Selja

Saturday, May 30, 2009 (New Delhi) :With a shortage of housing estimated at nearly 25 million, the government will focus on affordable housing by involving the private sector.

"Our major focus will be on construction of affordable housing for poor and middle class people across the country by involving the private sector," Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said on Saturday.

Private sector is also recognising the growing demand for affordable housing, she said after assuming charge of the ministry for the second term.

"Notwithstanding the economic slowdown our efforts will be to put major thrust in the housing sector as our goal is that everybody should have access to affordable housing. We are moving towards that goal," she added.

She said two schemes have been launched in the first quarter of 2009 to encourage states to provide urban land at affordable costs for housing and also to reduce the cost of credit for housing for the poor.

Referring to UPA government's flagship programme Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURRUM), she said equal emphasis would be placed to facilitate the flow of institutional funds for affordable housing.

"Our budget allocation has also been increased from Rs 2500 crore to RS 3300 crore in this fiscal for carrying out the various programmes providing better amenities to people in cities," she added.

RCom may rope in Hrithik as brand ambassador

New Delhi:Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications is planning to launch a Rs 150-crore advertising campaign for its nation-wide GSM services and is believed to be on the verge of signing Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan as its brand ambassador.

According to sources, Reliance Communications is planning a Rs 150-crore media campaign for its GSM services featuring its new brand ambassador, Hrithik Roshan.

Sources said the company is in the final stages of signing an endorsement deal with Hrithik, who would be the official face for the company’s mobile, data and DTH businesses.

When contacted, the company spokesperson declined to comment.

The three-year deal with Hrithik is believed to be worth over Rs five crore annually and excludes the fees payable for appearances and events, sources said adding the overall deal could touch Rs 10 crore annually. The new campaign is expected to be on air in the first week of June.

This is Reliance Communications' first advertising campaign for its GSM service, which was launched on commercial basis in January 2009 and has since then added over 13 million subscribers.

TechM may close some Satyam offices

NEW DELHI: Some of Satyam Computer's 105 offices and 30 delivery centres worldwide may soon cease to exist. According to a report in a business daily, the Hyderabad-based company "is evaluating options to downsize operations at its overseas development centres and terminate lease contracts for offices and other properties."

By consolidating its offices and delivery infrastructure Satyam, which was recently acquired by Tech Mahindra, will be able to up capacity utilisation and also reduce overhead costs, says the report.

The review of operations is reportedly a part of Operation Phoenix, Tech Mahindra's plan of resurrecting Satyam, which has seven development centres in China, Germany, Brazil, Egypt and Malaysia.

Incidentally, Satyam's Australia chief Deepak Nangia recently quit in pursuit of greener pastures. The local head of IT company Satyam Computer services here Nangia was quoted saying by The Australian, "I left the company about three weeks ago to pursue other opportunities."

He joined Satyam in 2002 and during his tenure Nangia built Satyam Australia into a 200-million-Aus-dollars company, securing blue-chip clients such as Telstra, NAB and Qantas.


Indian Sports News | World Sports news

T20 World Cup: Team India lands in London

London:The India cricket team arrived at London Heathrow Airport on Friday to participate in the second World Twenty20 tournament that begins on June 5.

Before the team's departure from Mumbai earlier in the day, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who won the cup in 2007, said he was confident about retaining the title, as the current team had enough experience of 20-20 cricket.

India plays their opening match against Bangladesh on June 6 with Ireland being their other opponent in Group A of the 12-team tournament.

The 15-member India squad has a deep batting line-up and a potent pace and spin attack.


Yousuf, Razzaq back in Pak fold, might play intl cricket soon


Karachi:Welcoming the announcement by the cricket authorities that they can play for the national team again, Pakistan's senior Test players Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq have said there was no greater pride than playing for the country.

The two players with a combined experience of 125 Tests and 500 one-day internationals between them were cleared on Friday by the Pakistan Board to play for the national team again and are expected to make the squad for the Test tour of Sri Lanka from June 27.

The PCB said they would be considered for the national team again because the Indian Cricket League had accepted their resignations and they were free to play for any other team now.

"It is a great relief to be cleared to play for Pakistan again because I have missed the competition that is available while playing for your country," Yousuf said.

The senior batsman said he was targeting the tour of Sri Lanka and would start training soon for the series.

"I had given my resignation to the Board sometime back and finally the ICL has accepted it," he added.

Yousuf said he had spoken to captain Younis Khan and was looking forward to playing for Pakistan again. "What happened in the past is now in the past. My experience with the ICL was a short one but there is no greater pride then playing for your country," he said. Razzaq, who is leading the Lahore Lions team in the final of the National T20 championship, said he was relieved the ICL matter was now resolved.

French Open News

Roddick advances to 4th round at French Open

PARIS: Andy Roddick reached the last 16 at the French Open for the first time in his career on Saturday by defeating France's Marc Gicquel 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

It was a stunning turnaround in fortunes on clay for the former world No.1 who went out in the first round in 2006 and 2007 before missing last year's tournament with a shoulder injury.

The win made him just the second American through to fourth round at the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2003, Robbie Ginepri having achieved the feat last year.

"I played very well," Roddick said. "I knew the crowd would not be for me but they were very respectful.

"It's a lot better than I have done here before but it's only three matches."

Roddick, who scored straight sets wins in his first two ties, bolted out into a 3-0 first set lead by breaking serve in the second game and another break four games later gave him the most encouraging of starts.

The American was solid on his own booming serve and made Gicquel struggle to hold his own which he did until the seventh game when a double fault gave Roddick two break points.

The former world No.1 cashed in on the second of these when Gicqel dumped a drop shot into the net. Roddick duly served out to go two sets up.

It was more of the same in the third set with Roddick comfortably holding serve and then blasting away with his big forehand to shorten the rallies against the lightweight Frenchman.

He grabbed the final break he needed in the third game hitting an angled forehand past his opponent and then was happy to serve out four times for the biggest win of his career on clay.

Roddick will next go up against either Jurgen Melzer of Austria or Gael Monfils of France for a place in the quarter-finals.

Also through to the last 16 in early action was German veteran Tommy Haas who defeated France's Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

It was just the second time that the 31-year-old had made it through to the fourth round in Paris and he will take on either second seed Roger Federer or Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu for a place in the last eight.


Nadal into French Open last 16

PARIS: Rafael Nadal breezed past Lleyton Hewitt for the third time in four years at Roland Garros on Friday as the four-time champion took another confident step closer to a record fifth French Open title.

Nadal won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch a 31st consecutive win at the tournament and will now tackle either compatriot David Ferrer or Robin Soderling of Sweden for a place in the quarter-finals.

"For sure it was my best match here so far," he said.

The 22-year-old Spaniard stormed to two quick breaks to lead 5-1 in the first set against the former world number one before wrapping up the opener after just 30 minutes.

He broke again to love in the first game of the second but the gritty Hewitt, who fought back from two sets down to beat Ivo Karlovic in the first round, clinched his first break of the contest to level the set at 2-2.

But it was a brief respite as Nadal, six years younger than the former Wimbledon and US Open winner, broke back to lead 4-3 with a breathtaking forehand, picked up at his toes.

Nadal won nine of the match's last 10 games to take victory after less than two hours on court.

Fernando Verdasco edged closer to another potentially epic Grand Slam showdown with Nadal after taking the hard road to see off Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro.

Eighth seed Verdasco needed nine match points to defeat the 31st seed Almagro 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8) in their third round clash and will next face Russian 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko, a two-time semi-finalist.

A win there would give the 25-year-old Verdasco a probable last eight tie with Nadal against whom he lost in five sets in the Australian Open semi-finals this year.

Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Djokovic will face German 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber who put out Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 champion, for a place in the last 16.

Chilean 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez, twice a quarter-finalist and the junior champion in 1998, ended the hopes of French wildcard Josselin Ouanna, who put out Marat Safin in the previous round, with a 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 win.

Later Friday, third seed Andy Murray of Britain meets unseeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic looking to reach the last 16 for the first time.

The winner of that tie will face Croatian 13th seed Marin Cilic who knocked out Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.