Indian Latest News

Cong fumes as Modi says will write to Sonia on price rise in Italian

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Whipping up Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin to flag the price rise issue, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on the Congress chief saying he would now write a letter to the Centre in 'Italian' to make it act to rein in food prices.

The Congress hit back at the BJP leader's personal attack suggesting he has become mad. "He has lost his mind. From an uncivilised person, you can only expect such a presposterous rhetoric. I would not even want to dignify such comments by speaking from this podium," Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said in New Delhi today.

Speaking at a Garib Kalyan Mela at Patan, about 130 km from here, last night, Modi said, "I have written a number of letters to Central Government on the issue of price rise. I have written letters in the language they can understand urging them to take steps to do something about the rising prices of food items.

"But, I think that they have no sympathy for the poor people and it seems that they are not willing to take steps to control rising prices. Now, I need to write a letter in Italian," he said.

Modi and Sonia have had a few run-ins during the Gujarat Assembly election campaign towards the end of 2008.

"They (Centre) had organised a meeting on the issue of price rise. But have now postponed it saying that they have some other work. I don't understand what work is more important than addressing the issue of price rise," Modi said.

"Keeping poor people hungry in this manner will lead to nemesis of the Central government," Modi said.

'Garib Kalyan Mela' is brainchild of Modi to provide the direct benefit of schemes meant for poor without involving middlemen.

"Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had said that if Central government release one rupee for poor, only 10 paise reaches them. By organising such melas I have tried to solve this problem," Modi said.

Food prices to ease, but India to remain import dependent: Pawar

NEW DELHI: Food prices are expected to decline in the next fiscal on the back of higher farm output and the only worry then for the government would be on storage, food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has said.

He, however, said that the country would remain import dependent when it came to pulses and edible oils for the next 10 years.

On the possibility of prices coming down in the next financial year beginning April one, Pawar said in a TV interview: "100 per cent. In 2011-12 the problem which the government of India will have to worry about (is) what to do and where to store".

Food inflation touched 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 on account of high prices of vegetables and pulses.

On controlling prices of pulses, the minister said: "Pulses we have to import, edible oil we have to import even for another 10 years or so. Because day by day, demand is growing, purchasing power of the weaker section is also improving."

India imported a record 8.1 million tonnes of edible oils in 2008-09 season (November-October). The country imports 3-4 million tonnes of pulses every year to meet domestic demand.

The prices of essential food items have risen sharply in last one year, particularly of sugar, pulses and vegetables.

Sugar prices have more than doubled since January 2009 and is ruling at Rs 43 a kg in the national capital. Pulses are ruling high, with arhar being sold at about Rs 85 a kg.

India faced a severe drought this year affecting over 300 districts that resulted in loss of Kharif production. Rice output is estimated to decline by 13 million tonnes in Kharif.

The Centre has taken various steps to curb rising prices and give relief to consumers, including abolition of import duties on sugar, rice, pulses and crude edible oils.

Russian rape case: Main accused arrested

PANAJI: Aman Bharadwaj, the main accused in the rape of a Russian minor girl, has been arrested in Chembur, in Mumbai, Goa police said on Friday evening.

Bharadwaj was arrested by a Goa police team and is being brought to the state, the police said.

Earlier today, one of the two accused in the nine-year-old Russian girl rape case, who had engaged the victim's mother while the crime was being committed, was arrested by Goa Police.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ravindra Yadav told PTI that Anil Raghuvanshi, one of the two men, mentioned by Russian mother in her complaint, was arrested from Panaji bus stand this morning.

Yadav said the accused in his thirties was picked up from a bus which had arrived from Bangalore and was taken to Pernem police station, where the case is registered.

"He was on his way to Bangalore when we spoke to him yesterday," he said.

Goa Police on Thursday had identified the main accused as Aman Bharadwaj, from Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly raped the victim, holidaying in Goa with her mother on Arambol beach on January 26.

He did so when his accomplice Anil, who is from Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, diverted the mother's attention by striking a conversation with her.

Yadav said that police had spoken to Anil on his cell yesterday and thereafter his mobile was out of coverage area or had been switched off.

The accused duo, colleagues in a pharmaceutical firm at Dhargal industrial estate, were part of a group that had gone to Arambol for a picnic on Republic Day.

Haldiram owner, four others sentenced to life

Haldiram Bhujiawala proprietor Prabhu Shankar Agarwal was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday along with four others by a fast track court for conspiring to kill a tea stall owner, whose shop came in the way of a food plaza he was building.

Judge Tapan Sen of the Bankshall Court awarded the sentence to Agarwal, history-sheeters Gopal Tiwari, Arun Khandelwal, Manoj Sharma and Raju Sonkar under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) besides 10 years rigorous prison terms under section 307/34 (attempt to murder/common intention).

Tiwari was also found guilty under the Arms Act and sentenced to seven years in one section and three years in another. All the sentences would run concurrently, the judge said in his order.

Agarwal, owner of the multi-crore food and confectionery chain, which has outlets in many cities and also in London and elsewhere, had failed to persuade tea stall owner Satyanarayan Sharma in Burrabazar area here to move out as the shop would spoil the facade of the food plaza he was constructing.

His hired goons had then raided the shop looking for Satyanarayan, but not finding him, shot his nephew Pramod Sharma, injuring him seriously on March 30, 2005.

Earlier, Agarwal pleaded for mercy before the judge stating that thousands of his employees and their families depended on him and his incarceration would hamper his business and put their livelihood in jeopardy.

PC calls Sino-India frontier 'most difficult border'

Bhanu (Panchkula): With a glint of pride in their eyes and armed with INSAS rifles, 209 women personnel on Friday joined the ranks of the ITBP to guard the Sino-Indian frontier, which Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram termed as "one of the most difficult and challenging borders".

Calling it a "historic event", Chidambaram, who took the salute of the first women constable's contingent of the force at the basic training centre here, said with this passing out parade, the women will be able to "regulate international trade between India and China at Nathu La and Sherathung trade markets besides escorting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatris".

The new contingent will also be used to provide security to vital installations, rescue and relief operations including disaster management, perception management and psychological operations in border villages and during festivals, public meetings and agitations.

Ads by Google Hyderabad Real Estate List or Search for Flats, Offices, Plots, Apartments & Land for Free.Makaan.com/HyderabadMBA From Amity : 2 Years UGC Recognized. Reputed Faculty. Admissions Open. Apply Now!Amity.Edu/Admissionwww.Naukri.com We Are Waiting for Your Response Apply to 20000+ Recruiters Now!Naukri.com

Chidamabaram congratulated the families of the women, "especially their parents for taking a bold decision to let them join a force entrusted with guarding one of the most

difficult and challenging borders of India."

Marching to the tunes of 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Jaa...', the women staged an impressive parade as they became the first combat counterparts to their male colleagues in the 48 years of the history of the force.

Chidambaram said, "It is always a proud moment when you are the first. These 209 woman constables will always cherish this day even as today is written in golden letters in the history of the ITBP."

He lauded the women, who took the oath of duty dressed in blue beret caps and khaki uniforms, for "successfully completing the rigorous and gruelling training schedule of 44 weeks."

The women, drawn form various states of the country, started their training in February last year and are now adept in unarmed combat, weapon firing, commando tactics, map reading and other security-related drills.

ITBP Director General Vikram Srivastava said the women personnel would be further trained in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare and a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad will also be formed in order to raise an independent women's battalion.

The women contingent took their oath before the tricolour besides the force's insignia and an array of weapons like Light Machine Guns, Under Barrel Grenade Launchers, INSAS rifles and rocket launchers.

The 50,000 personnel-strong Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) guards the 3,488-km long Sino-Indian border. It is also protecting the Indian embassy in Afghanistan and securing VIPs.

Business News

Equities erased early losses and nudged 0.3 per cent higher on Friday after the RBI kept key interest rates unchanged, but still posted their worst monthly loss in three months.

The 30-share BSE index fell 6.3 per cent in January, its biggest drop since a 7.2 per cent slide in October.

For the week, it was down nearly 3 per cent after losing 4 per cent the previous week.

Bank stocks led the pull back after the market fell as much as 2 per cent at one stage.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept short-term interest rates steady at its quarterly policy review on Friday but lifted banks' cash reserve requirements by more than expected and warned of mounting inflation.

"There were some expectations built that the RBI could hike rates at the policy, after we saw yesterday the food inflation data had accelerated," said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi Financial Services.
"Since, that didn't take place, the policy seems to be better than expectations," he said.

ICICI Bank gained 5.3 per cent, its biggest one-day rise in more than 4-½ months, to Rs 830.40.

Bigger rival State Bank of India firmed 2.7 per cent, while No. 3 lender HDFC Bank added 2.3 per cent.

The BSE index closed up 0.31 per cent, or 51.09 points, at 16,357.96. Thirteen of its components gained.

"The next key event to watch for is the budget. I am optimistic that overall 2010 should be good, on the back of economic growth and corporate earnings growth," Rawal said.

Export-driven outsourcers, which get around half of their revenue from the United States, dropped on continued concerns over the order flow from US banks.

Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services shed 0.7 per cent each, while Wipro dropped 3.8 per cent.

Metal makers Sterlite Industries and Hindalco dropped 1.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively, hurt by a sharp fall in base metal prices.

A firm dollar and concern over the pace and scope of credit tightening in China drove Shanghai copper down nearly 4 per cent, following a drop in London prices in the previous session.

Tata Steel, the world's eighth-largest steel maker by output, fell 2.8 per cent to 569 rupees. It had rallied 4.8 per cent on Thursday after forecast-beating third-quarter results.

"Valuation looks expensive, coupled with structural demand concerns in the European market and poor returns on a long-term basis," brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said in a note.It maintained its "reduce" rating on the stock.

In the broader market, 1,484 gainers led 1,370 losers on volume of 442 million shares, below last week's daily average of 534.4 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index closed 0.3 per cent higher at 4,882.05.

RBI hikes CRR by 75 bps, holds key policy rates

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Friday raised by 75 basis points the cash reserve ratio - the amount lenders need to keep with the central bank - to suck Rs 36,000 crore out of the system and cool down the surging inflation.

The RBI's move to absorb a large amount of liquidity is expected to have a bearing on interest rates, although bankers ruled out an immediate hike in lending rates as there is excess liquidity in the system.

The apex bank in its third quarter monetary policy review, however, refrained from raising short-term borrowing and lending rates (repo and reverse repo), primarily to encourage growth which is "is yet to fully take hold".

Encouraged by 7.9 per cent growth in the second quarter (July-September 2009), the RBI raised the economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.5 per cent, up from 6 per cent projected in October.

Promising to take more action to tackle the price rise, the RBI said inflation is likely to firm up to 8.5 per cent by March-end from 7.3 per cent in December. The Reserve Bank had earlier projected the inflation to be around 6.5 per cent by fiscal-end.

"Reduction in excess liquidity will help anchor inflationary expectations. The recovery process will be supported without compromising price stability," RBI Governor D Subbarao said in his policy statement.

Sensex rebounds, closes up 51 points

Mumbai: In a highly choppy trade, the benchmark Sensex recovered the sharp decline it suffered after the RBI announced a more-than-expected CRR hike by closing 51 points higher as the central bank raised the growth forecast and kept the key policy rates unchanged.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange barometer, which sunk below the psychological 16,000-level after the Reserve Bank raised the amount of money that banks have to park with RBI (CRR) by 75 basis points--25 bps more than the market view--bounced back to close 51.09 points up at 16,357.96 as the RBI spared key policy rates such as banks buying and borrowing rates, and raised GDP growth outlook to 7.5 per cent from 6 per cent.

In a highly volatile trade, the key index dwindled between 16,390.31 and 15,982.08 points during the sessions.

Still, for every one stock that fell there was an equal number that gained. And among the 30-Sensex counters, 17 closed with gains while 13 ended with losses.

Banking, realty and capital goods sectors-- the sectors which are more interest sensitive and hence battered for long now--were the winners on Friday.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty 50, after dipping below the 4,800 level, closed in the green with gain of 14.80 points to 4,882.05.

The RBI increased the cash reserve ratio to 5.75 per cent from 5 per cent but kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged while raising its inflation estimate to 8.5 per cent by March end from 6.5 per cent. It has also revised upwards its GDP estimate from a low 6 per cent to a high 7.5 per cent for this fiscal.

Sports News

Fedex reaches final after demolishing Tsonga

MELBOURNE: Roger Federer cruised into his 22nd Grand Slam final with an effortless straight sets win over listless Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open on Friday.

The Swiss top seed had no problems disposing of the 2008 runner-up and 10th seed, winning 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour 28 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

Federer will chase his fourth Australian Open title and 16th Grand Slam against British fifth seed Andy Murray in Sunday's final.

Tsonga looked a pale shadow of his best form as Federer did what he pleased to claim his 18th appearance in the last 19 Grand Slam finals.

The Frenchman had won their last encounter, in three sets at Montreal last August, but it was never a contest at their third career meeting.

"I'm very happy, you always have to deal with how your opponent plays and sometimes he plays exactly the way you want, so it's nice going through a match like this," Federer said.

"It won't be the same story in the next match I play here.

"Against top players it's always a huge bonus if you can win the first set because after that it always becomes more difficult.

"Maybe he was more mentally fatigued than physically, and that showed at the end."

Tsonga appeared to be physically struggling after his back-to-back five-setters against Nicolas Almagro and Novak Djokovic and Federer quickly capitalised.

The big Frenchman parked himself well behind the baseline as the cool Swiss dictated the rallies and controlled the points.

Federer, a renowned front-runner, broke Tsonga twice in the fourth and eighth games to capture the opening set in just 31 minutes and was quickly after the lethargic Frenchman in the second set.

The world number one was rolling through his service games and had Tsonga under pressure on his and broke him in the sixth game.

Federer, well in his comfort zone, raced to bring up two set points in the ninth game and served out for a two sets lead just over the hour.

It got worse for the ailing Tsonga in the final set, Federer breaking him again in the third and fifth games to stroll to victory.

Federer will now face Murray, who holds a 6-4 lead in their matches.

Paes-Black in final of Oz Open mixed doubles

Melbourne: Leander Paes earned a chance to equal the record for most Grand Slam title wins by an Indian after reaching the final of the Australian Open mixed doubles event with partner Cara Black, following a hard fought semifinal win here on Friday.

The top seeded Indo-Zimbawean pair came from behind to edge past seventh seeds Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie 6-7 7-6 (5) 10-7 at Melbourne Park. After losing the first set, Paes and Black were trailing 2-4 in the second set but their tenacity paid as they were successful in stretching the match to a Super Tie-breaker.

American Raymond and South African Davis Cupper Moody pushed the top seeds to limit but could not stop them from going into the title clash. Paes and Black will take on 10th seeds Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Jaroslav Levinsky of Czechoslovakia, who beat seventh seeds Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-0 4-6 10-8 in their semifinal match.

Paes has so far won 10 Grand Slam titles, including six men's doubles trophies.

Paes' estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi has won the highest number of Grand Slam of titles -- 11 -- for India with seven mixed doubles and four men's doubles trophies.

Paes won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open in 2003 with Czech-American legend Martina Navratilova and finished runner-up the following year.

PCB cancels NOCs for Pak players for IPL

Karachi: In an apparent retaliation to the snub at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday revoked all the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) issued to its players for participation in the third edition of Twenty20 event.

The decision effectively means that no Pakistani cricketer can now take part in this season's IPL even if the franchises want to rope them in as substitutes. A statement from the board said all the NOC's issued to players for IPL-III stand revoked.

"In future, if any player receives an invitation for participation in IPL events, PCB will decide the matter on a case to case basis after consulting relevant government authorities," the statement said.

The announcement comes on the same day that the Indian hardline party Shiv Sena said it would not allow Pakistani players to play in the IPL and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi also said that no franchise could pick Pakistani players without his knowledge and approval.

All the 11 Pakistani players, including star all-rounder Shahid Afridi went unsold in the January 29 auction in Mumbai, prompting angry reaction in Pakistan.

The auction fiasco threatened to snowball into a diplomatic row between the two countries with top ministers also being drawn into the controversy.

Latest News of India

Telangana committee to be announced by next week: Govt

New Delhi: The much-talked about committee to examine the demand for separate Telangana will be announced next week, Home Minister P Chidamabaram said on Thursday.

"We are almost at the end of concluding that exercise. If all goes well, we should have a committee by the end of this week. We will announce the committee by next week," he told reporters declining to give out the names.

The Home Minister said the government would have more or less finalised the names and will do by the end of this week. "Perhaps by the next week, the committee will be announced," he said.

Chidambaram in the meeting with political parties from Andhra Pradesh on January 5 had said that its agenda was to "deliberate on the mechanism and lay down a road map for consultations" on the Telangana issue.

The meeting followed Chidambaram's statement on December 23, 2009 when the government put on back burner the formation of the separate state for which it had on December 9, 2009 promised to initiate the process.

On law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh, the Home Minister said much of the agitation has cooled down while there are some protests here and there.

"My greatest regret is that a couple of students reportedly committed suicide. That, I think, should have been completely avoided. Why should children commit suicide. Parents, teachers have responsibility to stop this. But keeping that apart, by and large, things are peaceful there.

There is no major law and order violation. We are sticking to our words," he said.

China mulls setting up military base in Pakistan

BEIJING: China has signaled it wants to go the US way and set up military bases in overseas locations that would possibly include Pakistan. The obvious purpose would be to exert pressure on India as well as counter US influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"(So) it is baseless to say that we will not set up any military bases in future because we have never sent troops abroad," an article published on Thursday at a Chinese government website said. "It is our right," the article said and went on to suggest that it would be done in the neighborhood, possibly Pakistan.

"As for the military aspect, we should be able to conduct the retaliatory attack within the country or at the neighboring area of our potential enemies. We should also be able to put pressure on the potential enemies' overseas interests," it said.

A military base in Pakistan will also help China keep a check on Muslim Uighur separatists fighting for an independent nation in its western region of Xingjian, which borders the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Beijing recently signed an agreement with the local government of NWFP in order to keep a close watch on the movement of Uighur ultras.

"I have personally felt for sometime that China might one day build a military base in India's neighborhood. China built the Gadwar port in Pakistan and is now broadening the Karokoram highway. These facilities can always be put to military use when the need arises," Ramesh V Phadke, former Air Commodore and advisor to the Institute of Defense Studies told TNN.

Phadke said the article in very significant. "The purpose may be to see how the international community reacts to it," he said.

China, which has no military bases outside its territory, has often criticized the United States for operating such overseas bases. It has not just changed its standpoint but also wants to enter the lucrative protection business.

"With further development, China will be in great demand of the military protection," the article said. Pakistan, which buys 70% of its military hardware from China, is likely to be an eager buyer for such protection. Beijing may also be able to pressurize Islamabad to accept its diktat using the threat of withholding military supplies.

A Pakistani expert on China-Pakistan relationship has a different view on the subject. "The Americans had a base in the past and it caused a political stink. I don’t think it would be politically possible for the Pakistani government to openly allow China to set up a military base," he said while requesting anonymity. Pakistan might allow use of its military facilities without publicly announcing it, he said.

A Chinese military base can tackle several international relations issues, it said. One of them is "the relationship between the base troops and the countries neighboring to the host country." This is another indication that Beijing is considering Pakistan as a possible base. China’s argument is that a foreign base would actually help regional stability.

"If the base troops can maintain the regional stability, it will be probably welcomed by all the countries in the region," the article said. Beijing is conscious that the move might result in opposition from the US, UK and France which has overseas military bases.

“Thirdly, the relationship between the big countries in the world. The establishment of the troop bases is sensitive to those big countries which have already set up the bases abroad," the article said.

Arms sale to Pak justified as India buys from US: Chinese official

BEIJING: A senior Chinese defense official has justified Beijing's sale of warships and submarines to Pakistan on the ground that India was buying similar systems from Russia and the United States. He indicated that China was conscious India might be worried about the sales.

"The initiative may invite concerns from its neighboring countries. But the doubts are unnecessary," Zhai Dequan, deputy director of China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, was quoted as saying in the official media.

The statement came in the midst of efforts by Norman Bashir, chief of Pakistan's naval staff, to persuade Beijing to sell higher capacity ships as compared to the F22P frigates that China begun delivering last June.

Zhai said Pakistan’s desire for high capacity systems is normal for an independent nation seeking to bolster its security. India has also entered into large deals for military hardware from the US and Russia, he said.

"India's aircraft carrier has already cost it billions of US dollars," Zhai said.

Bashir, who met Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie on Friday, said Pakistan was keen on buying bigger ships and more JF-17 fighter planes from China apart from the submarines. Pakistan will buy more weapons including missiles from China in future, he said.

"The F22P frigate is about 3,000 tons, and now we are talking about 4,000-ton ships. These are very big projects and we think the cooperation is important for both countries, especially Pakistan," he said.

Pakistan booked four F22P frigates from China in 2005 and the first one began sea trials last year. Islamabad followed it up with another order of four more ships of same kind in 2007, the Chinese media said.

Bashir showered fulsome praise on Chinese warships saying they use the latest technology, and have the all-round capability to target surface ships, aircraft and submarine.

"The F22P frigate can be deployed to complete multitasks. The ship is balanced for offense and defense, and can be used in both peace and war time, if there is a war," he said. This is his third visit to China this year.

Fonseka attempted to assassinate Rajapaksa: Ministry

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan government on Thursday hit back at defeated opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka, alleging he had attempted to "assassinate" President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.

A day after Fonseka charged the Army with attempting to kill him and was seeking India's protection, the Defence Ministry today claimed there was "ample evidence" to prove that the former Army Chief Fonseka hatched the conspiracy from two hotels in Colombo.

Director of Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hullugale claimed that the President and his family were to be assassinated along Galle Road in Colombo or at the Lake House Junction in the commerce hub of Fort.

He claimed nine army deserters, who were arrested from outside a hotel in the capital yesterday, were part of the plot and investigations into this are now underway.

In his letter to the Election Commission yesterday, Fonseka accused Rajapaksa of using the state media to attack him and of misappropriating public funds for his campaign and of preventing displaced minority Tamils from voting.

"The enthusiasm of the people we noticed during the campaign is not reflected in this result," Fonseka told reporters here. "We will never accept this result. We will petition (the court) against it."

Pak dragging feet on bringing 26/11 accused to justice: PC

New Delhi: India on Thursday said it would have to conclude that Pakistan is dragging its feet on bringing terror accused in Mumbai attacks to justice if it does not put on trial people including Hafiz Saeed, founder of terror group Lashker-e-Taiba.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, while reacting to Pakistan's claim that India had not provided any evidence against Saeed, said "Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is one of the masterminds. There are others. We know their names and Pakistan also knows their names.

"If they do not bring the others to trial, then I would have to conclude, reluctantly and regretfully that they are dragging their feet," Chidambaram told reporters here.

He was responding to questions that Pakistan had spared Saeed in its chargesheet filed in an anti-terrorist court accusing seven other Lashker terrorists including Lakhvi.

India has been demanding trial of Saeed, against whom Interpol also issued Red Corner Notice for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai attack. Islamabad, however, claims that India had only shared information about Saeed and no evidence.

Pakistan Federal Investigating Agency, in its report to the court conducting the trial of seven accused, including Lakhvi, states that there is "sufficient incriminating evidence on record against those arrested for orchestrating the Mumbai attacks."

India dismayed over new attacks in Australia

New Delhi: India on Thursday expressed "dismay" over new incidents of attacks against Indians in Australia with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna once again expected to raise the issue with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith on the margins of a conference in London.

"We have learnt with dismay on Thursday, of fresh incidents of violence against Indians residing in Australia, with the latest reports coming from Brisbane where four Indians, including three taxi drivers were attacked in two separate incidents on Thursday, 28th January," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said in a statement here.

"....In view of the latest incidents reported today, EAM (External Affairs Minister) is likely to raise this issue once again with the Australian Foreign Minister later today on the margins of the meetings in London," she said.

Krishna had met Smith on Wednesday and had conveyed that these attacks are particularly worrisome as the Indian community members appeared to have been singled out and it was becoming increasingly difficult to accept these attacks as mere opportunistic crimes devoid of any racial motives.

He also impressed upon Smith that there has been no visible progress so far in most of the investigations into previous attacks including in the fatal murder of 21-year-old Nitin Garg earlier this month.

It was the responsibility of the Australian authorities to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to book at the earliest and immediately put effective measures into practice to prevent any further attacks, Krishna had said.

Smith had informed Krishna that a high-level Working Group had been set up under his overall charge to deal on an urgent basis with this issue.

Kaur said meanwhile, the Indian High Commissioner in Australia is currently visiting Brisbane.

He "is meeting community leaders and members of the Queensland Police authorities to discuss and deal with the recent attacks, and to ensure that remedial measures are urgently undertaken," she said.

Business News

Obama-speak: Hello, war on recession; Goodbye, war on terror

WASHINGTON: Amid talk of fading allure and promises not kept, a feisty President Barack Obama, bruised by economic, political, and foreign policy crises in his first year in office, asserted that he was not a quitter and pledged he would deliver on the change he vowed to bring about in his rousing presidential campaign.

In his first state of the union address on Wednesday that was largely devoted to domestic issues, Obama also signaled to the international community that Washington intended to ease its way out of Iraq and Afghanistan while securing itself at home through better homeland security and preventing terrorists from getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction.

Only a few minutes and a bare 800 words of his 70-minute/7000-word address were devoted to foreign policy as the first African-American President in US history battled the perception that he has lost
his way in Washington. In sharp contrast to the many Bush speeches, he mentioned the word terror or terrorists only twice in his speech; there were nearly 50 references to jobs and economy, a clear indication of where the Obama administration’s emphasis will be in the remaining three years of its term.

As has now become the norm, the President invoked the growth of China and India to gee up the home constituency on the economic front, where a continuing slow-down and job loss has bedeviled his first year in office.

"Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse," he said, referring to the enervating political gridlock in the capital that he blames for stymieing some of his initiatives. "Meanwhile, China is not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany is not waiting. India is not waiting. These nations -- they're not standing still."

"These nations aren't playing for second place. They're putting more emphasis on math and science. They're rebuilding their infrastructure. They're making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs. Well, I do not accept second place for the United States of America," he added.

Obama also repeated the mandatory mantras about loss of jobs to foreign markets, saying to encourage businesses to stay within the United States "it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the USA."

In an elaborate appraisal of the state of the US economy, President Obama explained how government’s bail-out of big banks was inevitable despite everyone, including himself, hating it (he compared it to a root
canal). But now that the "worst storm has passed" it was time for Democrats and Republican to "overcome the numbing weight of our politics" and address issues such as health care and initiatives for job creation and economic growth.

The president set a target of doubling US exports over the next five years, a goal that will inevitably bring pressure on countries such as India to open its markets, as he pledged "to continue to shape a Doha trade
agreement."

"We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules," he said.

But it was his quick glossing over of the crises in Afghanistan and Iraq, including promise of a rapid withdrawal of US troops, that was most striking. "In Afghanistan, we're increasing our troops and training Afghan security forces so they can begin to take the lead in July of 2011, and our troops can begin to come home," he said. "We are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August."

"This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home," he said to repeated applause at a joint session of law-makers where 9/11 is a distant memory and there is clearly no appetite for continued attrition abroad amid severe domestic crises.

Oracle closes USD 7.4 bn Sun deal

New York: Software major Oracle Corp has completed the takeover of hardware company Sun Microsystems Inc for USD 7.4 billion.

The deal, which was announced nine months ago, would transform the IT industry, Oracle said in a statement on Wednesday.

The two companies, which have a significant presence in India, together employs more than 26,000 people in the country. Oracle has more than 25,000 employees in India while Sun Microsystem has 1,200 people.

The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle's largest business. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimise Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris.

"With the addition of servers, storage, SPARC processors, the Solaris operating system, Java, and the MySQL database to Oracle's portfolio of database, middleware, and business applications, we plan to engineer and deliver open and integrated systems¿from applications to disk where all the pieces fit and work together out of the box," Oracle said.

The European Union's antitrust watchdog has approved the Sun-Oracle transaction last week saying the deal would not would restrict competition in the database's market. The approval from the EU came after months of investigation.

In April last year, Oracle has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems for USD 7.4 billion or USD 9.50 a share in cash.

Ramalinga Raju declared 'pauper' in US court

New York: Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam Computers, who last year confessed to have inflated his company's assets by over USD 1 billion, was declared a pauper by a court exempting him from paying court costs.

New York judge Barabara S Jones approved 'pauper' status for Raju, his brother Rama Raju, Satyam's former chief executive officer, and Srinivas Vadlamani, the company's former head of finance.

In October 2009, the defendants filed an "in forma pauperis" and for the appointment for a pro bono counsel.

According to court documents, the accused stated they are "unable to engage an attorney in the US to defend (themselves) in the class action litigation and to pay any court fees or to meet any financial obligations which might be imposed by this court".

"The court finds that defendants have adequately demonstrated that they are unable to pay costs as described in the federal law," US District Judge Jones said.

The judge however denied the request for a pro bono counsel as the "defendants are incarcerated in a foreign country and it would be unusually difficult for the appointed counsel to meet and otherwise competently represent Defendants under the circumstances".

On 7 January 2009, Raju, 55, admitted that Satyam's accounts had been falsified by over USD one billion, in what became India's largest corporate scandal.

In November, the CBI said that fraud was 40 per cent larger than originally estimated. The former CEO of Satyam is being held in India.

"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," he said, after the scandal broke. The IT company was taken over by Tech Mahindra.

Sports News

Murray reaches Oz Open final, revives British hopes

Melbourne: Andy Murray has beaten Marin Cilic to reach the Australian Open final and is again only a win away from ending a long British drought at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Murray started slowly but picked up momentum Thursday night in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over the 21-year-old Croatian.

Murray is the first British man to reach the final in Australia since John Lloyd in 1977 and the first to reach two Grand Slam finals in the Open era. Cilic had an upset win over Murray in the fourth round of the 2009 U.S. Open, where the Scot had lost the final the previous year to Roger Federer.

Fred Perry, who won eight major singles titles in the 1930s, was the last British man to win a Grand Slam event.

Mithun, Saha named in India's Test squad

Mumbai: Rookie Karnataka paceman Abhimanyu Mithun and Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha were on Thursday named in India's 15-member squad for the first Test against South Africa beginning in Nagpur from February 6.

Ravaged by injuries to key players like Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and paceman S Sreesanth, the national selectors brought in Tamil Nadu middle order batsman S Badrinath while opener Murali Vijay retained his place in the sqaud.

Apart from Mithun and Saha's inclusion, there were no major suprises in the squad announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection committee here.

Rahul Dravid, who sustained a face injury in the second Test against Bangladesh, has been advised rest for three weeks while Yuvraj Singh has also been ruled out of the Test series due to an injury to his left wrist.

Uttar Pradesh paceman Sudeep Tyagi, who also featured in the squad that toured Bangladesh, has retained his place. Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has been dropped with the selectors opting for the young Saha in his place.

Stylish batsman VVS Laxman, who had also suffered a finger injury during the Test series against Bangladesh, has recovered sufficiently to be drafted into the squad.

Indian Team for the First Test: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wridhiman Saha.

It's Serena vs Henin at Oz Open final

Melbourne: Defending champion Serena Williams has advanced to her fifth Australian Open final and will put her 100 per cent record at Melbourne Park on the line against Justine Henin, who is only two tournaments into her comeback from retirement.

Both advanced over Chinese players on Thursday to set up a championship match involving two former Australian champions.

Top-ranked Williams wasted four match points before finishing off a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) semifinal win with an ace against Li Na on Thursday, a day after her sister Venus lost to the Chinese player in the quarterfinals.

Henin overwhelmed 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes, the shortest match of this tournament and the most lopsided semifinal at the Australian Open since Chris Evert beat Andrea Jaeger by the same score in 1982.

Williams leads Henin 7-6 in career head-to-heads, although they've never met in a Grand Slam final. Williams won their last match, at Miami in 2008, just before Henin retired suddenly while holding the No. 1 ranking.

Ads by Google Tax Saving Made Simple Calculate tax in 5 mins. Save upto Rs.35,535 & Maximize returnswww.Simplyknowtax.coICICI Home Loans @ 8.25% Low EMI, Home search Assistance with Home loan Insurance. Apply!ICICI-HomeLoans.comPizza Hut Restaurant 30 Exciting Items. Pastas, Starters Drinks & More. Special Offer On!www.PizzaHut.co.in/D

"I can't wait for the final. It's such an amazing chance that I have to play another final in Melbourne," said Henin, who won the 2004 title in Melbourne and retired with stomach problems during the 2006 final against Amelie Mauresmo. "It's a very special occasion, but the dream continues.

"I'm going to play the No. 1 player in the world in a Grand Slam final. She's a real fighter."

Serena Williams has a 100 per cent conversion rate so far in finals at Melbourne Park, winning the title every time she's played for the championship since beating Venus here in 2003. The winning sequence has been every odd-numbered year so far.

Indian Latest News

Heavy firing at India-Pak border, army on alert

JAMMU: The Indian Army was put on alert following heavy exchange of fire at the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir early on Tuesday following a major infiltration bid, defence sources said on Tuesday as the country celebrated its 61st Republic Day.

The firing, at the Kanachak sector near Akhnoor, 30 km northwest from here, started at 2 a.m. and went on four hours. Officials said Pakistani Rangers provided covering fire to a group of infiltrators. The BSF men retaliated and the guns fell silent around 6 a.m.

The Indian Army has been put on alert along the border, where the first line of defence is provided by the BSF.

Army sources said troops were put on alert after the fire started from Pakistani side. They described the firing as heavy and said it was a clear attempt by Pakistan to push terrorists into India on Republic Day.

The exchange of fire was heavy for about two hours initially. "Thereafter, it was intermittent firing that lasted till 6 a.m.," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told reporters.

It was the 15th ceasefire violation incident and infiltration attempt from across the border this month.

"Pakistan is desperate to push terrorists to the Indian side," a senior army official said, adding that they wanted to strike on India's national day and were unhappy with the peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

First time in 19 years flag not hoisted at Lal Chowk

SRINAGAR: The national flag was not hoisted by security forces in Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar, on the Republic Day today for the first time in 19 years.

The usual hustle and bustle was not there in the heart of the city as people preferred to remain indoors in view of strike call given by separatists as well as tight security measures taken by the authorities.

The tricolour used to be unfurled on the clock tower, popularly known here as "Ghantaghar" in Lal Chowk on the Republic Day and Independence Day since 1991.

The first time the flag was hoisted at the clock tower was in 1991 when then BJP President Murli Manohar Joshi did it amidst rocket attacks by militants.

No official reason was cited for not hoisting the national flag in Lal Chowk, which recently saw a 22-hour terrorist siege.

The authorities last evening eased security restrictions in the city to lessen inconvenience to the people. Police and paramilitary forces remained deployed in strength but checking of vehicles and frisking of pedestrians was restricted to a few places.

"We have not lowered the guard but several steps have been taken to avoid unnecessary harassment of the people. Instead of random checking at every half a km in the city, the vehicles were searched at a few places particularly at the entry points," officials said yesterday.

However, tight security arrangements were made today in view of terror threat to the R-day function.

I have no idea about BJP's objection: Chatwal

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: US-based NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on Tuesday remained unfazed over BJP's demand to the government that the Padma Bhushan awarded to him be taken back in the wake of his controversial financial dealings.

Chatwal, who was earlier chargesheeted by the CBI for an alleged $9 million fraud case connected with the State Bank of India, said he was thrilled and "grateful" to the Indian Government that after such a long time they have really recognised his services towards strengthening Indo-US ties.

"I have really no idea about BJP's objection. I love my country and have been working for the past 30 years. I don't care for the parties. They will come and go," said Chatwal, considered close to former US President Bill Clinton and his wife and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

BJP's Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde had written a letter to the President and Prime Minister expressing disapproval over the government's decision to bestow the third highest civilian honour on Chatwal.

Munde alleged that due to Chatwal's controversial financial dealings he did not deserve the honour and it should be taken back.

In the wake of the BJP demand, Congress said the Home Ministry decides the awards and they might have their reasons for it. Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed however said that in general the party wants these awards to be given to people who enhance its prestige and not to those with a taint.

Chatwal said he was grateful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has recognised "my efforts and services for this award."

Chatwal is one of the 13 Non-resident Indians to be given Padma awards on the occasion of the Republic Day. He had recently announced that his Hampshire Hotels chain would set up 25 hotels in India by 2011.

We apologise for mistake in India map: CGF CEO Mike Hooper

NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Games Federation was embroiled in a controversy today because of a distorted India map put on its website earlier on Tuesday.

The map of India on www.thecgf.com showed some areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat as parts of Pakistan as organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games said they raised the issue with CGF officials.

"We have noticed it and told CGF officials about it. They have promised to revert back to us on the issue," Organising Committee secretary Lalit Bhanot said.

"They would definitely correct it. We were told that they would talk to the people who maintain the site and get back to us," added Bhanot.

"It was a mistake and we apologise for it," CGF CEO Mike Hooper said. Hooper said the goof-up was entirely unintentional. "It was not intentional but we have rectified the matter immediately. And we certainly apologise to all concerned," Hooper said.

"We generally use reliable sources for the territory of the Commonwealth countries but we are going to double check all of those again," said the CGF official.

The corrected version, uploaded within hours of a media storm, now shows these areas in Indian territory.

Military might, cultural heritage on display at R-Day parade

New Delhi: The country's vibrant cultural heritage, its impressive achievements and military might were on a majestic display on Tuesday as the country celebrated the 60th Republic Day.

Marching down from the Raisina Hills, the Republic Day parade showcased the country's 'unity in diversity' as well as the armed forces in full battle regalia. Despite the heavy fog, well turned out and synchronised military contingents marched proudly through the Rajpath where President and Supreme Commander of armed forces Pratibha Patil took the salute.

The march-past was watched by the Republic Day chief guest South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony and the country's top political and military brass, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Patil and her South Korean counterpart arrived at the Rajpath escorted by the President's 46 bodyguards riding well-trained, impeccably-bedecked horses. Minutes before the parade began, Singh, Antony and chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force laid wreaths at 'Amar Jawan Jyoti', the British-era World War-I memorial at India Gate, where an eternal flame burns in memory of those who laid down their lives while defending the nation's frontiers.

Ads by Google Properties in Hyderabad Search for a Dream Property made Easy only at Makaan.com.Makaan.com/PropertieTop MBA School in India Industry Oriented Syllabi. Great Placement-Build a Rewarding CareerAmity.Edu/AdmissionHP Pavilion Notebook PCs Sleek Liquid-Metal Inspired Design. The Ultimate Entertainment Notebookwww.HP.com/in/Notebo

A heavy security blanket was thrown around the capital for the Republic Day celebrations in the backdrop of intelligence inputs about militant outfit LeT acquiring over 50 para-gliding equipment which could be used to launch an air-borne suicide attack.

After the President unfurled the tricolour and a customary 21-gun salute, the parade led by Major General KJS Oberoi, General Officer Commanding of Delhi Area of the Army, started.

Tahawwur Rana is honest and innocent, says family

Chicago: The family of Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Tahawwur Rana, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, feels he has been framed in the terror plots and is “honest” and “innocent”.

“All I know is that Rana is innocent... He is very honest and god fearing. He will share his last morsel with a man in need. I do not know how he got involved in all this,” Rana’s father-in-law Rana M Akhtar told a TV channel here.

Akhtar said Rana had gone to Pakistan since his grandmother had died. Since he was in Pakistan, he decided to go to India as well. He applied for a visa and went to India after he got the visa, Akhtar said.

“Once there, he decided to visit the Taj. What is wrong with that? Everybody wants to see the Taj. It was closed because it was Friday and so he had to stay the night and now the Indian press has gone and harassed our family in India asking them all sorts of questions about Rana,” he said, adding all his five children are doctors and are all honest.

“They have never even smoked a cigarette. I do not know how this happened”.

Prosecutors allege that Rana was in Mumbai and traveled to Dubai five days before the November, 2008, attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people, including foreigners. They have also submitted as evidence an Al-Qaeda DVD recovered from Rana’s house that he says was given to him by Headley.

Indian Business News

India to grow at 9.2 pct in FY11: CMIE

Mumbai :India's economic growth is likely to return to pre-crisis levels in the next fiscal year, driven by strong industrial and agriculture growth, a recent review by a think tank showed.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) expects the Asia's third largest economy's GDP growth to accelerate to 9.2 per cent in 2010/11 from 6.9 per cent in 2009/10.

"In fiscal 2010/11, real GDP growth will be propelled by a strong performance by the industrial sector and a robust recovery in agricultural and elite sector. Services sector too is expected to do well," CMIE said in the report.

"A revival in consumer confidence and investment activities will supplement growth in the commodities segment," it added.

India's GDP growth slowed to 6.7 per cent in 2008/09 from 9 per cent or more in the previous three years as the effect of global financial turmoil hurt demand, prompting the authorities to unveil a spate of measures designed to boost the economy.

The measures helped as the country's industrial output grew at its fastest pace in two years in November at 11.7 per cent, the economy expanded 7.9 per cent in the September-quarter and inflation jumped to a one-year high of 7.3 per cent in December.

CMIE expects the wholesale price index, the main price barometer, to steadily fall to 7.7 per cent in the June quarter and further to 3.8 per cent March quarter of 2011.

The drop in inflation which is seen across primary articles, fuel and manufactured products, is likely to be because of the high base value in 2009/10 and a good kharif (summer) crop production in 2010, it said.

Hero Honda Q3 profit up 78.34%

New Delhi: Two-wheeler maker Hero Honda Motors Ltd reported a jump of 78.34 per cent in net profit for the third quarter at Rs 535.77 crore.

The company had a net profit of Rs 300.42 crore during the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal, Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HMIL) said in a statement.

It also reported an increase of 32.82 per cent in its total net operating income for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, at Rs 3,827.03 crore against Rs 2,881.27 crore in the year-ago period.

HMIL's total two-wheeler sales registered a growth 29.56 per cent during the October-December period at 11,11,372 units, from 8,57,806 units during the corresponding period of 2008-09, the company added

China says Internet controls here to stay

Beijing : China has every right to punish citizens using the Internet to challenge Communist Party power and ethnic policies, a senior official said Monday, pressing Beijing's counter-offensive against Google Inc.

The defense of China's curbs on the Internet came nearly two weeks after the world's biggest search engine provider said it wanted to stop censoring its Chinese Google.cn website and was alarmed by online hacking attacks from within China.

The dispute has stoked friction between Beijing and Washington, two global economic heavyweights already wrestling with tensions over trade, US weapons sales to Taiwan and human rights.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week urged China and other authoritarian governments to pull down Internet censorship, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.

In the latest volley, a spokesperson for China's State Council Information Office said the country "bans using the Internet to subvert state power and wreck national unity, to incite ethnic hatred and division, to promote cults and to distribute content that is pornographic, salacious, violent or terrorist."

The comments from the unnamed spokesperson showed scant room for compromise with Google and Washington on censorship policy. They were issued on the central government's website.

"China has an ample legal basis for punishing such harmful content, and there is no room for doubting this. This is completely different from so-called restriction of Internet freedom," the spokesperson added.

The State Council Information Office is the cabinet arm of China's propaganda apparatus, which is steered by the Communist Party, and is one of several agencies that shape Internet policy.

Indian Sports News

Tamim resists India with blistering knock

Mirpur (Bangladesh): Tamim Iqbal’s blistering 151 exposed India’s bowling frailties as Bangladesh batted out of their skin to put up some resistance in the second and final cricket Test here today.

Left-handed opener Tamim (151) blasted the fastest century by a Bangladeshi player and starred in a record 200-run partnership with Junaid Siddique (55) as the hosts finished day three at a fighting 228 for three.

Mohammad Ashraful (2) and Shahadat (2) were in the middle at stumps with the hosts still trailing by 83 runs behind India, who had declared their first essay at 544 for eight.

Even if his team had their back against the wall, Tamim played positive cricket and took the Indian attack by the scruff of its neck.

The opener needed 101 balls to hammer the fastest Test century by a Bangladesh batsman -- eclipsing teammate Mushfiqur Rahim’s 112-ball effort in the previous Test in Chittagong.

He and Junaid then went on to add 200 runs for the second wicket -- highest by a Bangla pair for any wicket and against any opposition -- to lead the home side’s resistance.

Zaheer Khan (3/63), who had removed Imrul Kayes (5) in the morning to draw first blood, dismissed both Junaid and Tamim in his successive overs towards the end.

Tamim’s attacking 183-ball had 18 fours and three sweetly-timed sixes in it while Junaid hit five fours during his patient 144-ball stay.

Modi denies govt role in IPL snub to Pak

New Delhi: Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi on Tuesday denied any government role in Pakistani players' non-selection at the auction and said cricketers from across the border still have chance to be a part of the cash-awash Twenty20 event.

"Some teams have still not finished their quota of players and some players could drop out, franchises can choose Pakistani players as replacements or to fill vacancies," he said.

Modi refuted allegations that the whole issue was mishandled by the IPL.

"I don't think that there's any mishandling, the franchises decide on their own. We never said in the first place that the government in any which way nudged up in that direction. So, it was a decision that was taken by the franchises and let's leave it at that," Modi said.

All the 11 Pakistani players went unsold at the Mumbai auction earlier this month and Modi said it was the franchises' decision to not pick them.

"There was no pre-decision. They were all worried about the availability and that's why the Australians weren't picked up along with many other players and all that we keep hearing now is one story -- about not bidding for Pakistani cricketers," Modi said.

Home Minister P Chidambaram had yesterday criticised the IPL organisers saying that non-inclusion of Pakistani players was "disservice to cricket".

IPL invited flak from across the border as well with politicians, cricket officials and former players criticizing the treatment meted out to their players. When asked about PCB's decision not to release Pakistani players for the future IPL editions, Modi said, "We will discuss this with the Pakistan board officials when we meet them and I am sure the Pakistani players will return."

Yuvraj joins injury list, out of Test

Mirpur: Middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh was on Tuesday ruled out of the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh due to a ligament tear in his left wrist.

The left-hander is the second player from India's playing XI to have been ruled of the second and final Test.

Rahul Dravid was ruled out yesterday after a deadly blow from paceman Shahadat Hossain fractured his zygomatic arch (cheek bone). Administrative manager Arshad Ayub said the report of the medical examination done on Yuvraj last night at the Apollo Hospital in Dhaka revealed a ligament tear.

"The report of Yuvraj's injury shows he has a ligament tear on his left wrist. He will not take further part in the Test," Ayub said.

The injury has put Yuvraj's inclusion in the Indian squad for next month's home series against South Africa in doubt as the BCCI selection panel is meeting on Thursday.

Ayub said Yuvraj is staying put with the team, like VVS Laxman who is still with the team after suffering a split in his left-hand webbing.

Meanwhile, Dravid has been discharged from the hospital and senior orthopedic surgeon Fazal-ul Haque attending on him told a TV Channel that "Had it been two inches above, it would have been fatal."

Out of the 16-member squad, four players were injured. Paceman S Sreesanth was also forced to leave the Test series mid-way after suffering a hamstring injury.

Indian Latest News

National Film Awards: Priyanka gets best actress, 'Antaheen' awarded best film

NEW DELHI: Bengali film 'Antaheen' by director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury was chosen as the Best Film while Tamil filmmaker Bala won the honour of Best Director for his film 'Naan Kadavul' at the 56th National Film Awards announced here on Saturday.

'Antaheen', starring Sharmila Tagore, Rahul Bose, Aparna Sen and Radhika Apte, is a relationship drama.

The award for Best Actor went to Upendra Limaye for Marathi film 'Jogwa', which also fetched the trophy for the Best film on social issues. Hindi film 'Oye Lucky Lucky Oye' by Dibakar Banerjee was adjudged as the Best Popular Film.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actress award for her role of a aspiring model in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion' which also bagged the Best Supporting Actress Award for Kangana Ranaut who played the role of a troubled model.

Actor Arjun Rampal won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of a failed rocker in 'Rock On'.

Shreya Ghoshal won the Best Female Playback award for 'Antaheen' and 'Jogwa', which also brought the Best Male Playback Singer award to Hariharan.

Kannada film 'Gubbachigalu' was adjudged the Best Children's film. The award for Best Special Effects went to 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'.

Malayalam film 'Bioscope' won the Best Jury Award while the trophy for Best Child Actor (rpt) Best Child Actor went to Shams Patel for Hindi film 'Thanks Maa'.

Krishna's remarks on terror attacks 'immature': Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Doing away with diplomatic niceties, Pakistan has dubbed as "immature" external affairs minister S M Krishna's reported remarks that any future terror attack on India could impact bilateral ties.

Pakistan foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit claimed that the Mumbai attacks would not have happened without local support and that Krishna should "understand the realities" and avoid such statements.

It is "an immature statement", Basit said while reacting to Krishna's remarks carried by a magazine that "any repeat of such (26/11 type of) attacks will have serious repercussions on bilateral ties."

Krishna's reported remarks came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's statement that his country could not guarantee that there would be no further attacks in India.

Earlier, US defence secretary Robert Gates had said India's patience would be "limited" if a 26/11-type attack was repeated.

Basit insisted that no country has been "as sincere as Pakistan" in the fight against terrorism as it was a "real victim" of the menace.

Pakistan would not be scared by any threat, the spokesman was quoted as saying by state-run APP news agency.

He claimed that Pakistan had extended all cooperation but India's response has been "lethargic" and "not positive".

The "deadlock between the two countries would only be beneficial for non-state actors," he said, adding both countries are nuclear powers and "to think about war is equal to suicide".

Pachauri admits mistake in IPCC report, rules out resignation

NEW DELHI: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman R K Pachauri on Saturday termed as a "human error" the findings in its report about melting of Himalayan glaciers, but ruled out his resignation on the issue.

Pachauri, who is under attack from various quarters over the IPCC's 2007 report that said the glaciers in the Himalayas will disappear by 2035 due to global warming, said the mistake was "unfortunate".

"I have no intention to of resigning from my position. I have a task. I am going to complete the Fifth Assessment Report," he told reporters here.

Pachauri said the IPCC is a body of hundreds of eminent scientists selected and nominated by different governments.

"There are huge problems on climate change. Climate change is not limited to Himalayan glaciers. Rational people will continue to repose faith in IPCC," he said.

The IPCC chief said the Fourth Assessment Report of the Panel was a "robust report" but the error with regard to the conclusion on Himalayan glaciers was "unfortunate".

"This was a human error. We will do everything to see that such mistakes are not repeated," he said.

Pachauri said the IPCC will not take action against any of the authors of the report.

"We have no right to take any action against any author. They are not employees of IPCC," he said.

The IPCC is under fire for having included in its 2007 report -- without proper peer review -- an assertion that glaciers in the Himalayas will disappear by 2035 due to global warming. It had retracted the statement just three days back.

Researcher Murari Lal was in-charge of editing the chapter on glaciers in the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC and had based the controversial finding on a media interview of glaciologist S I Hasnain.

Pachauri said IPCC is utilising the Noble Peace Prize money for starting a cadre of scientists in different developing countries who would assess the problem of climate change in their respective regions.

Telangana agitation at AP Secretariat; 50 activists held

Hyderabad: Fifty activists of Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) were arrested on Saturday when they tried to storm into the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat here, raising slogans demanding creation of a separate Telangana state, police said.

The activists, including PDSU President Ashok Kumar and Secretary Gautam Prasad were taken into custody after they squatted in front of the Secretariat main gate preventing people from entering in.

There was jostling between the protestors and the police when the latter tried to evict them following which cops canecharged to dispel the mob.

The police then closed the entrance gates of the Secretariat even as additional police forces rushed in to control the situation. The arrested activists have been taken to the Nampally police station.

Remote control of politics remains with me: Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Saturday turned 84 and used the occasion to make it clear that he remains at the helm of the saffron party's affairs.

"I have the remote control of politics and the remote control will continue to remain with me," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Five years ago, Thackeray had announced his retirement from active politics, making way for son Uddhav to take over reins of the party.

"The sapling (Sena) I planted 45 years ago has grown into a vine, which reached the power centre in Delhi," he said.

He emphasised that the 'Marathi manoos' was the centre of "our thoughts and will remain so".

In a letter to Shiv Sainiks, also published in Saamana, Thackeray said, "I don't have the energy I had earlier due to old age. I have just come back from illness, so won't be able to meet you at Matoshree....but I am close to you from my heart. You have Uddhav. He will greet you at Matoshree".

Matoshree is Thackeray's residence in suburban Bandra and Sena workers throng his house on his birthday every year. In an article in the newspaper, film actor Nana Patekar described Thackeray as a "steel personality".

"He calls me regularly.I have not seen such a person who is so sentimental despite being in politics," the actor said.

4 killed, 8 injured in Orissa landmine blast

Koraput, Orissa: Four civilians, including two women, were killed and eight security personnel injured when their trekker was blown up by a landmine triggered by Maoists in Koraput district on Saturday.

"Four civilians were killed and eight members of the Special Operation Group (SOG) injured in the landmine blast this morning," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Southern Range), Sanjeev Panda said.

The blast took place at Jogipalur area when ten personnel of the elite anti-naxalite force were returning to their barracks in the trekker.

The owner of the trekker, Uday Taringi, his wife Kausalya Kulusika, driver Totir Mahanandi and Narayanpatna area local Kumudini Sunamudi were killed in the incident.

The eight personnel were rushed to the hospital where they were found to be not seriously injured, Panda said, adding police have launched a combing operation in the area. Maoists also blew up a mobile phone tower in Machhkund area of the district and ransacked the tehsil office before setting ablaze official records and documents, Koraput Superintendent of Police Anup Kumar Sahu said.

Traffic between Machhkund and Lamptapur was disrupted as the rebels had blocked the connecting road by felling trees, he added.

Indian Business News

Maruti Q3 Net jumps 3-fold to Rs 687 cr

New Delhi: Boosted by robust sales, India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India reported over three-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 687.53 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.

The company posted a net sales of Rs 7,333.77 crore for the December quarter, up by 62.51 per cent from Rs 4,512.64 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Maruti Suzuki said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company will also invest Rs 1,700 crore to expand its capacity by 2.5 lakh units annually.

"In the October-December quarter 2009 favourable conditions in the domestic markets supported by the government's stimulus package and ease of automobile finance helped (the company) achieve good sales," it said.

The company sold 2.58 lakh units in the Q3, up 48.72 per cent from 1.73 lakh units it sold in the same quarter ended December 2008.

During the quarter exports led by the A-star continued to be strong.

On its expansion plan the company said it will invest Rs 1,700 crore to expand its capacity and the additional capacity will begin commercial production by 2012.

The company currently has a capacity to produce a million units annually from its existing facilities seven lakh at Gurgoan and three lakh at Manesar.

Gold prices recover; silver slides further

Mumbai: Gold prices recovered by Rs 50 to Rs16,485 per ten grams at the bullion market on fresh buying by stockists and jewellers despite weak trend in overseas markets.

On the other hand, silver dropped further on lack of demand from industrial users.

"Stockists grabbed the opportunity to buy the yellow metal at current level, which moved the prices moderately up on the domestic front," traders said.

"They are expecting further fall in gold prices internationally, seeing overall bearish global trend," they added.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) recovered by Rs 50 per ten grams to end at Rs 16,485 from yesterday's closing level of Rs 16,435.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) moved up by a similar margin to close at Rs 16,570 from Rs 16,520 yesterday.

However, silver ready (.999 fineness) declined further by Rs 355 per kilo to finish at Rs 27,415 as against Rs 27,770 previously.

In New York, gold for February delivery finished down by USD 13.50, or 1.2 per cent, to USD 1,089.70 an ounce on the Comex division of NYMEX.

Silver for March delivery fell by 40 cents to USD 16.93 an ounce.

Godrej Consumer Products Q3 net jumps 2 fold

Mumbai: FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products reported a jump of over two fold in its consolidated net profit at Rs 85 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period last year.

Total income rose to Rs 528.6 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, against Rs 353.9 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Godrej Consumer Products said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

On standalone basis, the company has posted a net profit at Rs 56 crore in the December quarter, up 43.95 per cent over the year-ago period.

The board of the company has proposed a third interim dividend for the year 2009-10 at the rate of Re one per share.

Obama wants answers from China over Google cyberattacks

Aboard Air Force One: US President Barack Obama is troubled by cyber attacks on Google and wants China to provide answers to charges of security breaches, his spokesman said on Saturday. The comment came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to conduct a thorough probe into cyber attacks on Google and other US companies, and lamented what she said was Beijing's increasing efforts to control what its 384 million web users can see.

"As the president has said, he continues to be troubled by the cyber security breach that Google attributes to China,"White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling to Ohio.

"As Secretary Clinton said yesterday, all we are looking for from China are some answers," Burton said. China has rejected the Internet censorship criticism by Clinton, saying it harmed relations. "We firmly oppose such words and deeds, which go against the facts and are harmful to China-US relations," Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Friday, in China's strongest comments since the Google dispute erupted last week.

Indian Sports News

India go down to Pak, crash out of U-19 WC

Lincoln, New Zealand: Defending champions India crumbled under pressure in the battle of sub-continental rivals as Pakistan sent them packing with a two-wicket triumph in a thrilling rain-hit Super League quarterfinal of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup here on Saturday.

Pakistan opted to bowl first in the match, which became a 23-overs-a-side affair due to overnight rain, and skittled out India for a paltry 114 for nine. In reply, Pakistan huffed and puffed their way to the target in 22.3 overs thanks to some valuable late order contributions to keep their unbeaten run at the event intact.

The Pakistani top order collapsed and the team score read 16 for three in just under seven overs.

However, Ahsan Ali brought them back into the match with a 45-ball 30 before being run out by Jaydev Unadkat. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals but Pakistan kept themselves in the hunt with some brisk scoring.

Rameez Aziz (28) and Hammad Azam (21 not out) turned out to be the heroes for Pakistan as they found the boundaries and sixes when it mattered the most in a cliffhanger of a match.

Azam hit Sandeep Sharma for a massive six in the 20th over to reduce the runs-required and balls-available margin. Needing 12 off 16 balls, Azam ensured a Pakistani victory with a couple of fours and some swift running between the wickets even as wickets fell around him.

Earlier, put in to bat, Indian innings was off to a disastrous start as they lost Rahul Kannaur off the very first ball of the match when Pakistan's wrecker-in-chief Fayyaz Butt castled him. Mayank Aggarwal didn't last long either and after contributing just two runs to the total, he followed his fellow opener back to the pavillion, edging one from Butt to wicket-keeper Mohammad Waqas.

Dhoni refuses to take Bangladesh lightly

Mirpur: After Virender Sehwag's deriding statement against the host side, regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday switched to damage control mode saying they will not take Bangladesh lightly in the second Test, beginning tomorrow.

Sehwag, who led the team in the first Test in absence of Dhoni, was blunt while saying that the Bangladesh was an "ordinary" side which cannot bowl India twice.

Asked whether Bangladesh can beat India in second Test, Dhoni said, "That is why they are playing. You should not take any side lightly in international cricket. At the end of the day it was the 10 balls that matters. There is no good reason why they (Bangladesh) should not take 20 wickets."

"If any side does not think that they can win, what is the point of playing. We don't think of losing and we always want to win. But we have lost matches against some good sides. So, anything can happen in cricket," he said at the pre-match press conference.

Dhoni however, said his side dominated the first Test match till the end after their batting collapse in their first innings.

"After the fourth day, frankly speaking everybody knew Bangladesh cannot win. Either We would win or the match could be a draw. Their bowlers did reasonably well in the first Test but they were supposed to that as an international side," he said.

Dhoni also said that Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were gradually growing into world's best opening pair.

"There can be arguments on this but I feel that Viru (Sehwag) and Guati (Gambhir) are shaping up as the best opening pair in the world. They have given strong starts many a times. That is very important in Test matches in sub-continental pitches," he said.

Federer leads victory charge for top seeds in Melbourne

Melbourne: Normal service resumed at the Australian Open on Saturday as Roger Federer and Serena Williams booked their places in the second week of the championship.

Nadia Petrova had given hope to the would-be giantkillers still left in the tournament when she upset Kim Clijsters on Friday but everything went according to the script in Saturday's third round clashes.

Federer, his confidence growing with each match, provided a masterful display against Spain's Albert Montanes, winning 6-3 6-4 6-4 to extend his incredible record of making it to the last 16 of every grand slam since the 2004 French Open.

Williams also turned in her best performance of the week, trouncing Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0 6-3 to remain on track to defend the title she won the fourth time last year.

Her older sister Venus had a tougher time but still managed to carve out a 6-1 7-6 win over Australia's Casey Dellacqua.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic showed that he was buiLding the kind of momentum that carried him to the 2008 title, giving up just four games in a 6-1 6-1 6-2 demolition of Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

Nikolay Davydenko is also continuing to impress those who tipped the Russian as a dark horse for the title after he eased to a routine 6-0 6-3 6-4 victory over Spain's Juan Monaco.

Yet to dropp a set this week, Davydenko will play Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round after the Spaniard was gifted a place in the last 16 when his exhausted Austrian opponent Stefan Koubek retired from the effects of a mystery virus.

Poland's Lukasz Kubot was also given a free ride into the next stage against Djokovic when a wrist injury forced Russia's Mikhail Youzhny to withdraw from their match.

Federer made a shaky start in his opening round match against Russian Igor Andreev but has gradually improved with each match. He plays either Lleyton Hewitt or Marcos Baghdatis next.

"I don't want to say I'm playing the best tennis of my life, because I haven't had to so far," the world number one said.

"I'm happy I survived a scare against Andreev. After that, I was able to come through comfortably in the next two rounds into week two.

"I feel like I'm obviously fresh and ready to take on the bigger names."

Latest News India

Lashkar readies para-gliders to launch suicide attack on India: Intel

NEW DELHI: Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba has acquired more than 50 para-gliding equipment from Europe, setting off alarm bells in the government that these could be used to carry out air-borne suicide attacks in the country.

The intelligence input which came barely days ahead of Republic Day celebrations has prompted authorities to ensure a tight air security around all vital installations, official sources said here on Friday.

The input about movement of overground workers, owing allegiance to LeT, in Europe led the sleuths to find out that they were on a shopping spree for para-gliding equipment, the sources said.

Security agencies have carried out mock drills in different areas in the country as part of the exercise to prevent any air-borne suicide attack by LeT terrorists.

The input bears significance in view of the fact that government has already put all Air India planes operating in the country's neighbourhood on high security alert following intelligence reports from Western agencies that the LeT and other terror groups were planning to hijack a flight.

Radars located at strategic locations have been tuned to intercept all low flying objects and authorities are not taking any chances, sources said.

A no-flying zone is already in place in capital's Luytens zone which houses the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister's Office and key ministries like home, defence, finance, external affairs, among others.

Ahead of the Republic Day, elaborate air defence measures, including deployment of anti-aircraft guns, have also been taken to check possible intrusion of air space.

Besides, helicopters of the Indian Air Force will hover over the areas around Rajpath and all along the route of the Republic Day parade.

Earlier, intelligence reports suggested that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence had directed the militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir to use explosive-laden 'Toy Planes' to hit VIPs in the state and the national capital.

Pak can't guarantee against repeat of 26/11 in India: Gilani to US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, which is experiencing "Mumbai-like attacks almost every other day", cannot guarantee there will not be a repeat of the 26/11 strikes in India, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has told the US.

"Pakistan is itself facing Mumbai-like attacks almost every other day and when we cannot protect our own citizens, how can we guarantee that there wouldn't be any more terrorist hits in India," Gilani was quoted by a source in the media here as having told visiting US secretary of defence Robert Gates on Thursday.

Gilani said the best safeguard against such incidents is delinking the bilateral peace process from action against terrorism.

The Dawn newspaper reported that the Pakistan prime minister told Gates about steps taken against militant groups, saying they had been outlawed and their network disrupted.

In an apparent reference to Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai attacks, Gilani said his government could not prosecute anyone without evidence.

He also sought "even-handedness" by the US in its dealings with Pakistan and India, the daily reported.

An official statement issued by the prime minister's office said Pakistan-India relations had figured in Gilani's discussions with Gates but did not say whether the premier had said Islamabad could not guarantee there would not be more Mumbai-like attacks.

The statement quoted Gilani as saying that "Pakistan is committed to peace in the region and, in this context, his government is making sincere efforts to resume the composite dialogue process with India."

While in India, Gates had warned that Pakistan-based militants with links to al-Qaida were planning strikes in India with the hope that retaliation would lead to a new conflict between the two countries. Gates also said that New Delhi might not show restraint as it had after the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

According to the official statement, Gilani "regretted that the response from (India) has not been encouraging."

"The relations between India and Pakistan should not become hostage to the activities of terrorists which (are) the common enemy. For lasting peace in the region, both countries should resolve the core issues, including Kashmir and water dispute," he said.

India put the composite dialogue with Pakistan on hold in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. It has linked the resumption of the peace process to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the terrorist assault.

Though JuD chief Saeed was placed under house arrest shortly after the Mumbai attacks in 2008, he was freed on the orders of the Lahore High Court last year.

The government is yet to challenge his release in the supreme court despite a pledge to do so.

Contrary to Gilani's statements during his meeting with Gates, the Pakistan government has not issued any formal notification banning the JuD, which has been declared a front for the outlawed LeT by the UN Security Council.

Chavan's U-turn is like Jackson's moon-walk: Thackeray

Pune: Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Friday lambasted Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for backtracking on his statement on making knowledge of Marathi mandatory for renewing taxi permits in Mumbai and likened the political turnaround to Michael Jackson's "moonwalk".

"Within hours of making the statement, you withdrew it and have done a turnaround in style of moonwalk by Michael Jackson. Marathi manoos actually expected this U-turn from Congress rulers who do such backtracking as a matter of habit," Thackeray said in a signed open letter to Chavan in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The Sena chief said, "We are not against any language. But I would like to tell you that if you fail to respect Marathi in Maharashtra, you would face the wild fire of public rage in protest against your government".

"I ask you to stop this politics of U-turn letting down the Marathi people", he added.

Anti-Naxal operation satisfactory, says Chidambaram

Rajpur: Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram on Friday said that the progress of the on-going operation against the Maoists in the Naxal-hit states was "satisfactory".

"The joint operation against the Naxalites is few weeks old and the progress has been satisfactory," Chidambaram told reporters after a high-level meeting convened here to review the operation.

Besides Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Orissa, Naveen Patnaik and Home Minister of Maharashtra, R R Patil, attended the meeting that lasted for about two hours.

Senior police officials of the Naxal-infested states and para-military forces engaged in the operation were also present.

"The goal of the operation is not to engage in gun-battles," Chidambaram said, adding that the operation would re-assert the establishment of civil-administration in the affected pockets. The administration would be allowed to exercise the coordination of taking up development works in the areas," he said.

The Union Home Minister clarified that the government intended to avoid unnecessary violence and collateral damages through the operation.

"All that the operation will do is to move the security forces inside (the disturbed areas) and regain control from the Naxalites," he added.

The three states (Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra) have agreed to cooperate and coordinate in the joint operation. "As the operation continues, the progress is going to be more satisfactory," Chidambaram said.

The Union Minister said there was no such operation "Green Hunt going on in the country.

"For the convenience, a senior officer of a state had coined the name," he said. The joint operation is nothing but troop and technology that the Centre is providing to the states to deal with the Naxal menace, he added.

Terror alert: Plan to hijack Indian plane

New Delhi: India has put all Air India/Indian Airlines flights operating in South Asia on high security alert after specific intelligence was received on Thursday that Islamic fundamentalist groups aligned to the Al-Qaeda or the Lashkar-e-Toiba plan to hijack one such flight.

According to intelligence sources, the target is possibly an Air India/Indian Airlines aircraft operating to and from “any one of the SAARC countries” and that it can happen anytime “in the near future”.

Given the high credibility of the intelligence, the Home Ministry held an urgent meeting yesterday itself and issued a set of directions aimed at upgrading security, which included deployment of sky marshals on all flights of the carrier operating in the region.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued an advisory to all airlines to conduct a mandatory “100 per cent secondary ladder point check” until January 31 on all aircraft flying between these eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Besides this, other measures activated are: strengthening anti-hijacking measures and coordination with agencies concerned with the task and sensitizing security agencies of all countries where Air India/Indian Airlines aircraft operate.

Following an incident-free year in 2009 on the terror front, sources said, there has been pressure within anti-India terrorist groups to carry out a “sensational strike” soon. In this context, the hijack of an Indian commercial aircraft from foreign soil has been rated as a strong possibility. For, many of these terror groups do have associates in most neighbouring countries, said sources.

Indian Business News

RIL Q3 net up 14.48 pct to Rs 4,008 cr

Mumbai: The country's largest private sector firm, Reliance Industries, said its October-December quarter net profit jumped 14.48 per cent to Rs 4,008 crore on higher revenues from gas sales.

The standalone net sales of the petrochemical giant grew 80 per cent to Rs 56,856 crore, from Rs 31,563 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, RIL said in a filing to the National Stock Exchange.

During the quarter, the revenue from petrochemicals business rose 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs 14,756 crore.

Besides, revenue from oil & gas segment, which includes exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, more then trebled to Rs 3,530 crore during the December quarter.

Also, the revenue from refining business, which includes production and marketing of petroleum products, more than doubled to Rs 48,000 crore.

In a weak market, RIL was quoting at Rs 1,065, up one per cent over the previous close on NSE.

Tech Mahindra Q3 net profit falls 22 pct

Bangalore: Tech Mahindra on Friday reported a 22 per cent fall in quarterly profit, weighed down by interest costs on borrowings to fund its acquisition of Satyam Computer Services.

The company, a provider of information technology services to the telecoms industry, said net profit in October-December, its fiscal third quarter, fell to Rs 1.73 billion from 2.23 billion reported a year ago.

Ahead of the announcement, shares in Tech Mahindra, which has bought a 42.7 per cent stake in fraud-tainted Satyam Computer and later renamed it as Mahindra Satyam, ended 2.8 per cent higher at Rs 1,135.35 in the Mumbai market that fell 1.1 per cent.

Gold slips to Rs 16,483 per ten gram

New Delhi: Gold futures prices inched down by Rs 115 to Rs 16,483 per ten gram as traders indulged in reducing their positions on the back of weakening global trend.

Gold for far-month April contract fell by Rs 115, or 0.69 per cent, to Rs 16,483 per ten gram at the Multi Commodity Exchange with an open interest of 6,133 lots.

The metal for delivery in February also declined by Rs 113, or 0.68 per cent, to Rs 16,416 per ten gram in 14,484 lots.

Market analysts said fresh selling by traders in tandem with a weakening global trend mainly led to fall in gold futures prices.

Meanwhile, the gold in New York fell by USD 18.20 to USD 1,093.10 an ounce last evening.

Sensex slips below 17,000 mark

Mumbai : The BSE Sensex fell 2 per cent in early trade on Friday, dropping below 17,000 for the first time in a month after sharp falls in global markets, with Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries leading the losses.

At 9:00 a.m., the 30-share BSE index was down 2 per cent at 16,710.47 points, with only one component advancing.

The 50-share NSE Index was down 1.9 per cent at 4,997.40.

Indian Sports News

No conspiracy against Pak players, says Modi

Mumbai: Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi on Friday rejected allegations that Pakistani cricketers were deliberately snubbed at the players' auction and blamed the entire furore on media bias.

"The media is biased. No one talks about the players from countries like Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe being picked in the auction. There was no preconceived conspiracy to leave Pakistani players," Modi said in Mumbai.

All the 11 Pakistani cricketers, from a 67-strong pool of players, found no takers at the glitzy IPL III auction held on Tuesday. The matter has outraged players, politicians and fans across the border.

The Pakistani government has gone to the extent of saying that the country would give a befitting reply to the "humiliating" treatment meted out to its cricketers.

Bollywood actor and Rajasthan Royals team's co-owner Shilpa Shetty also denied any planned conspiracy against the players from Pakistan.

"I don't owe any explanation. We are not a small country and the decision was not a contrived one. There is nothing bigger than cricket but everything is getting murky," Shetty said.

"I am very hurt and there have been hate mails also. We have lost some of the greatest players in the world, but why doesn't anyone talk about Australia, England and so many others who were not picked in the auction?" she added.

Modi said he did not influence any of franchises' picks at the auction and there was never an intent to humiliate the Pakistani cricketers, as is being alleged across the border.

Kalmadi announces substantial pay packet for women’s hockey team

Bhopal: Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi on Friday announced that the Sports Ministry has collected Rs 1 crore for the women’s hockey team.

It is reported that the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has given the money to the Sports Ministry for the women’s team.

Earlier, the women’s hockey team had said that they wanted to meet Kalmadi to discuss their incentives.

The team staged an open revolt over non-payment of dues.

The team, which is in Bhopal, is reportedly wearing black armbands in protest.

Despite having a good run in 2009, the women’s team did not receive incentives from Hockey India on grounds of paucity of funds.

Hockey India President, Vidya Stokes January 19 statement that the women’’s team will not get any money angered the players, but they said they would continue to practice hard and bring laurels for their country in the upcoming tournaments.

Henin, Safina, Roddick advance in Aus Open

Melbourne: Justine Henin staged another memorable comeback Friday to advance in her first Grand Slam out of retirement, beating No. 27 Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open.

Facing two break points at 1-3 in the second set, it seemed as if Henin's dramatic win over Olympic gold medalist and fifth-ranked Elena Dementieva on Wednesday had sapped too much energy. After all, that was only the seventh match for the seven-time Grand Slam winner since she returned from 20 months off the tour.

But Henin managed to hold that game, hitting the lines with her groundstrokes instead of just missing them, and in the next game converted her first break-point chance against Kleybanova. As soon Henin found her range, the match was as good as over.

"I kind of survived a little bit today," Henin said. "It's always good to win this kind of match because I came back from nowhere.

"Physically I suffered a little bit in the last two days, but finally I did it. I'm very happy that I have another chance to get better in the next round."

U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro had a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Florian Mayer, then crossed himself, kissed his finger and reached for the sky.

"The crowd helped me a lot to give fight. I wanted to be alive a few more days here in Melbourne," said the 21-year-old Argentine, who is a reigning major champion for the first time.