Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan:
At least eight persons were killed and over 20 injured on Sunday when a bomb went off in a busy market in the restive northwestern Pakistani city of Dera Islamil Khan.
The blast occurred at Pir Market, which is located near a bus station. The bomb was planted in a rickshaw and went off at a time when a large number of people were present in the market, officials said. District Coordination Officer Mohsin Shah told reporters that eight persons were killed and over 20 injured in the blast. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital by people in private vehicles. Ambulances also rushed to the site. There were also reports of unidentified persons resorting to firing soon after the explosion.
According to officials, about five to six kgs of explosives were used in the bomb.
ARY news channel quoted an official as saying that a suspect was arrested from the blast site. No group claimed responsibility for the blast. Dera Ismail Khan has witnessed several bomb attacks on security forces and police. The city has also been hit by sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias in recent months.
Mahalingam's body identified; handed over to family
Kaiga, Karnataka:The body of Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant scientist Lokanath Mahalingam, which was recovered from the Kali river, was handed over to his family on Sunday after identification. Mahalingam's wife identified the body, which was recovered by Naval divers from the river flowing along the Kaiga township. A team of doctors conducted post-mortem of the body, they said.
Police had said on Saturday that they were investigating whether Mahalingam had drowned or there was any foul play. Intelligence officials were also involved in the search operations to locate Mahalingam, a scientific officer in the Kaiga generating station of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) associated with its training department.
Earlier six days after he went missing, Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant scientist N Mahalingam's body was fished out by naval divers from the Kali river late on Saturday night. Forty-seven-year-old Mahalingam, was reported missing by his wife on June 8 when he failed to return from his morning walk, police said.
Police said they are investigating whether Mahalingam had drowned or there was any foul play in his death. The Kaiga nuclear power plant authorities have identified the body of Mahalingam, police said adding that his family members have also confirmed that the body, recovered from the river flowing near the Kaiga township, belonged to the scientist.
As the disappearance of Mahalingam caused concern, authorities of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) had said the scientist, involved in training at one of the simulator training centres, did not have any access to sensitive documents. They had also dismissed fears that Mahalingam was involved in any strategic programme. The scientist had earlier worked with Madras Atomic Power Project (MAPP) in Kalpakkam near Chennai.
BJP wide open, eyes wide shut
New Delhi:Just a fortnight ago, they elected L K Advani to lead the party in the Lok Sabha and “authorised” him to appoint its new faces in both Houses. Now the top brass are openly questioning him and his decision in what has become a very public fight over the spoils of defeat.
So barely minutes before BJP president Rajnath Singh imposed a gag order on leaders from airing their views in public and warned of disciplinary action today, vice president Yashwant Sinha quit from all his posts in the party and urged others to do the same in a four-page letter marked to his chief and circulated among the party’s core group.
In that letter, Sinha hit out at what he called the “conspiracy of silence” in the party over the electoral debacle and the “rat race for posts” from “whatever goodies were available.”
“It appears as if some people in the party are determined to ensure that the principle of accountability does not prevail,” he wrote, “so that their own little perch is not disturbed.” While Sinha underlined that the party leadership’s “reluctance to introspect and introspect comprehensively” on the BJP’s second successive defeat in the Lok Sabha elections was the key reason behind his move, the subtext was clear.
After Jaswant Singh’s letter earlier this week, Sinha’s note that “BJP puts a premium on failure,” exposes the deep resentment in a section of the party over the appointment of Arun Jaitley as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Sushma Swaraj as Advani’s deputy in the Lok Sabha.
Prabhakaran waited for Indian poll results
NEW DELHI: Velupillai Prabhakaran was waiting for the results of Indian elections to plan his next strategy in the 30-year-old civil war in SriLanka and was apparently hoping that either the NDA or the Third Front would come to power in New Delhi, but the army
there had different plans.
It has now emerged that the 54-year-old slain guerrilla leader was waiting till May 16, the day results of Lok Sabha elections were known, to decide on his and the outfit's future, but it was too late as the Sri Lankan Army had by then cut off all the escape routes.
"Till May 16, he (Prabhakaran) was hoping that someone will interfere and stop the army from entering the final 'No Fire Zone' where he was held up," Sri Lankan Army sources said.
On May 16th afternoon, LTTE announced that it would allow all civilians trapped in the area held by them to leave to safety, apparently after knowing that the Congress
, which it believed was hostile to him and the outfit, was set to return to power.
Sources in the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka said the LTTE was hoping that there would be a popular upsurge for it in Tamil Nadu, where the general elections were fought on the Eelam plank, and that the Third Front or the NDA could come to power.
"This (election results) might have upset Prabhakaran and other leaders of the outfit, but they did not have time to think or plan anything. They were boxed by the Army by that time," the Tamil sources said.
The LTTE chief would have thought that the Third Front and the NDA would not be so hostile as the Congress was, they said, adding that once the people started leaving the war zone, Sri Lankan Army swiftly rescued the civilians and took them to safe zones.
AIADMK's Jayalalithaa, who was part of the Third Front, expressed support to the Sri Lankan Tamils cause and had even promised to send Indian Army to carve out Tamil Eelam from Sri Lanka if a government of her choice came to power in New Delhi.
On May 16 afternoon, LTTE's International Relations head Selvarasa Pathmanathan issued a statement in which the outfit virtually accepted defeat and asked the "global community to save the people of Wanni."
They said Prabhakaran did not expect that the Sri Lankan forces would encircle him and his aides "so soon".
The army also got a tip off from LTTE Sea Tigers chief Soosai's wife, who was taken into custody while trying to flee the island, that Prabhakaran and the top brass were still inside the war zone.
"This emboldened the Army which went all out against the Tigers and virtually encircled them in a 2 sq. km area in the Wanni region on May 16. That gave no chance for any of the Tiger leaders to escape," the sources said.
Two more swine flu cases in India, total 19
NEW DELHI: Two more people - a 29-year-old woman and her three-year-old daughter who arrived from the US - have tested positive for swine flu,taking the total number of confirmed cases in India to 19 so far. ( Watch )
"The mother and child reached Bangalore on Friday from New Jersey. Tests confirmed Saturday night that they are infected with the influenza A (H1N1) virus," S. Buggi, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Bangalore, said over phone on Sunday.
"We have notified the test results to Delhi (health
ministry). The mother and child are under medical treatment at our hospital," he added.
With the number of swine flu patients in the country on the rise, the health ministry is holding a monitoring committee meeting on Sunday along with experts from the World Health Organisation and National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
"We will discuss about various issues related to the disease at the meeting," said Shashi Khare, head of Virology, NICD.
On Saturday, a 20-month-old boy from Hyderabad tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus, a day after his six-year-old sister was confirmed with the infection.
According to the WHO, which has declared swine flu a pandemic, 74 countries have officially reported 29,669 cases of the influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 145 deaths.
Indian Business News
Top 10 firms lose Rs 5,100cr last week, ONGC major loser
MUMBAI: The country's top 10 firms saw their total market capitalisation falling by Rs 5,168 crore last week, with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation losing the most among the pack.
The total market valuation of the elite club, comprising four private sector and six state-run companies
, stood at Rs 16,83,045 crore in the week ended June 12 against Rs 16,88,213 crore in the previous week.
ONGC's market cap fell by Rs 11,518 crore to Rs 2,41,008 crore as shares of the company slipped by 4.56 per cent to close at Rs 1,126.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday last week.
Among the 10 most valued firms of BSE, five firms -- ONGC, Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation, National Mining Development Corporation, State Bank of India and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd -- witnessed a drop in their respective market caps last week.
Meanwhile, other five firms - Reliance Industries Ltd, National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies and Larsen & Toubro -- saw their valuations rising last week.
The country's most-valued firm, RIL, added Rs 22,812 crore to its market valuation of Rs 3,70,913 crore last week. The company had market valuation of Rs 3,48,101 crore in the previous week.
NTPC added Rs 1,113 crore to its market cap. On the other hand, ONGC lost Rs 11,518 from its market cap, which stood at Rs 2,41,008 crore this week.
NMDC slipped to the sixth position after losing Rs 12,528 crore from its amrket cap, while private telecom services provider Bharti Airtel jumped a place to fifth slot by adding Rs 1,073 crore to its valuation.
Power equipment supplier BHEL stood seventh as it lost Rs 3,500 crore from its market cap, while SBI slipped to the eighth slot losing Rs 11,485 crore from its market valuation.
While, IT bellwether Infosys Technologies added Rs 2,142 crore to its market valuation, L&T added Rs 3,702 crore to its market cap last week.
In the club, RIL is followed by ONGC (Rs 2,41,008 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,82,266 crore), MMTC (Rs 1,69,699 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,57,646 crore), NMDC (Rs 1,57,359 crore), Bhel (Rs 1,08,473 crore), SBI (Rs 1,03,930 crore), Infosys (Rs 98,980 crore) and L&T ( Rs 92,771 crore).
Satyam back in top 100 m-cap club; grows 13-times since nadir
NEW DELHI: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has entered again the elite club of the top 100 companies in terms of market valuation -- a status it had lost after being hit by the country's biggest corporate fraud.
Following a sharp rally seen in its share price last week on the back of disclosure about its profits, Satyam's market capitalisation has grown to about Rs 7,800 crore, placing it among the 100 most-valued firms in the country.
The company had moved out of this league soon after the disclosure about the fraud on January 7 -- the day when its founder and then Chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to multi- year financial fraud at the company.
Two days later on January 9 -- when the company's share price and market valuation hit their all-time lows at Rs 6.30 a share and about Rs 600 crore, respectively -- Satyam did not figure even among the 300 most-valued firms.
In contrast, Satyam was placed as the country's 34th most-valued firm with a market capitalisation of over Rs 15,000 crore on December 16 -- just before Raju unsuccessfully tried to acquire two firms promoted by his family in his bid to conceal the financial fraud at the company.
While it is still to recover about half of its lost value due to the scam, the shares have grown back to Rs 80-level -- representing a 13-times surged from its low.
Between the announcement of aborted attempt to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties and the disclosure letter about the fraud on January 7, the company lost more than 80 per cent in its market value, while its slide continued further till it reached an all-time low of about Rs 6.30 per share on January 9.
Prior to its fall, Satyam was the country's fourth most-valued IT firm after Infosys, TCS and Wipro, but had become one of the least valued on January 9.
Satyam now ranks at the seventh position among IT companies after TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Oracle and Tech Mahindra and at the 97th spot among the top 100 companies.
Tech Mahindra's market valuation has also increased significantly to around Rs 8,799 crore since it won the bid for acquiring controlling stake in Satyam.
Tech Mahindra's market capitalisation has increased by as much as Rs 4,420 crore, since April 13, while its shares have more than doubled to Rs 722 on June 12 as compared to Rs 359.45 on April 13.
Last week, Satyam shares got a boost from its results for October-December 2008 with Rs 160 crore profit in the quarter which points to a promise of a strong comeback under new owner Mahindras.
Reeling under the about Rs 10,000-crore financial scam that necessitated restatement of accounts, Satyam was at its nadir in January with a measly profit of Rs four crore before showing signs of revival by recording a Rs 52 crore profit in February. This was despite losing about two dozen clients.
In October-December 2008 -- a period that saw the beginning of Satyam's fall from grace -- the IT firm posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 160.50 crore and a total income of Rs 2,327.21 crore. The announcement came within a month of Tech Mahindra, an IT arm of Mahindra & Mahindra, acquired controlling stake that valued Satyam at Rs 5,800 crore.
However, analysts believe entering into Satyam stock at this moment may be a high risk move as still uncertainties prevail on the future of the two entities.
"Uncertainty about their future make both Satyam and Tech Mahindra a high risk investment, though Tech Mahindra seems relatively better as it may gain considerably with its increased size," Bonanza Portfolio Assistant Vice-President Avinash Gupta said.
Sports News|T20 World Cup News
South Africa inch closer to T20 World Cup semi-finals
London:Strong contenders South Africa inched closer to a semi-final berth in the Twenty20 World Cup after a convincing 20-run victory over giant-killers West Indies in a Super Eight match.
The South Africans first compiled a competitive 183 for seven riding on Herschelle Gibbs' rollicking 55 and then restricted the Caribbean team to 163 for nine to create a record of sorts by registering their sixth consecutive T20 triumph.
The victory at the Kenington Oval not only brought an end to West Indies' giant-killing spree but almost assured the Proteas a berth in the semi-finals. They play their last Group-E Super Eight match against India on Tuesday.
Lendl Simmons very nearly took West Indies to the target with with a blistering 50-ball 77 but could not get any support from the other top order batsmen.
It was yet another convincing performance by the South Africans who outplayed the islanders in all departments of the game.
The 35-year-old Gibbs was the batting star for the Proteas with a 35-ball 55 which contained eight boundaries and a six. The seasoned Jacques Kallis (45) and captain Graeme Smith (31) were the other notable performers for the South Africans.
The South African innings began on a brisk note with the experienced duo of Smith and Kallis finding the boundaries easy to come by against the West Indies pacemen who were a trifle erratic in their opening spell.
Smith set the tempo by clobbering Fidel Edwards for two consecutive boundaries in the second over of the match while Kallis also showed his aggressive intent by hammering Jerome Taylor for 16 runs in the next over.
Gul leads Pakistan to 6 wicket win over Kiwis
London:Umar Gul bulldozed New Zealand with a sensational five-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six-wicket to keep their semifinals hopes alive in the World Twenty20 here today.
Gul's incredible fast bowling spell resulted in Kiwi's complete demolition as they were all out for a paltry 99 in 18.3 overs after deciding to bat in this Super Eight match.
Gul, introduced as late as in the 13th over, wreaked havoc in his three-over spell and emerged as the first bowler to claim five wickets in T20 Internationals.
Abdul Razzaq (2/17), playing first match for his country after quitting ICL, celebrated his return by rocking the Kiwi top-order at the start.
Pakistan almost made a mess of an easy chase before scoring the required runs with 6.5 overs to spare at the Oval.
The victory has strengthened Pakistan's chances of making the finals stage as they next play minnows Ireland on Monday.
Shahzaib Hasan (35) Kamran Akmal (19) began the chase in right earnest, putting up 36 runs in 4.2 overs but departure of the latter triggered a mini collapse.
Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori (2/20) dismissed Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik to jolt the Pakistani camp.
However, skipper Younus Khan and Sahid Afridi saw the team through with a 39-run partnership.
Kiwis had already lost four wickets when Gul came to bowl and heavily turned the match in favour of his side with his sparkling spell.
Gul first got rid of Scott Styris, who top scored for New Zealand with his 22, and just rolled over the rest of the batting line-up to complete his magical spell.
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