CHICAGO: A team of Indian investigators arrived in the US on Tuesday to interrogate for the first time David Coleman Headley, accused of helping Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carry out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The team comprises officers of the National Investigation Agency and a law officer. This will be for the first time that 49-year-old Pakistani-American Headley will be facing direct questions from Indian investigators since his arrest in October last year.
Besides the Indian team, those expected to be present during the questioning would be Headley's lawyer and an officer of the FBI.
The questioning of Headley, currently being held in the federal lock-up Metropolitan Correctional Centre here, is going to revolve around the places he had visited after the Mumbai terror attacks and the people he had remained in touch with during his stay in India.
Sources in India said the four-member team has prepared questions about his stay in the country especially during March 2009, his last visit to India.
The travel details of Headley, the globe-trotting prized asset of the LeT, are being sought mainly as investigators believe that this visit may have been to finalise the synchronised terror strikes on Jewish houses located in five cities, the sources said.
They said the government has kept 'backup staff' in readiness if the team needed any assistance.
The statement of Headley would be recorded by the Special Law Officer of India after which the NIA, which has registered a case against Headley and Pakistani-Canadian national Tahawwur Rana for waging war against the country and Unlawful Activities Prevention (Act), may file a chargesheet against him.
Headley, a Chicago-based American with roots in Pakistan, has already confessed to have conducted several reccees as part of the planning for the ghastly attacks that killed 166 people in the country's financial capital in November 2008.
After being arrested in October last year, the 49-year old entered into a plea bargain with the US government in March this year, wherein he offered to be available to foreign investigators through deposition, video conferencing or letters rogatory.
However, further details like for how many hours or days the Indian team would get access to Headley, were not yet given.
Headley's lawyer John Theis said last week he would not comment on any specific details of such an access and "would not be able to share specific information at this point" as to when and for how long the team from India can question Headley.
The team has been sent following a communication from the US Justice Department that all concerned officials and the lawyer of Headley will be available during their visit to facilitate their access to Headley.
Gunmen storm Lahore hospital, 12 dead
Lahore: At least four gunmen attacked a hospital in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday morning, killing up to a dozen people and holding several hostage before escaping, a senior doctor said.
"They barged into the hospital building and opened indiscriminate fire," said Javed Ikram, chief executive of Jinnah hospital.
He said at least 12 people were killed in the firing while some had been held hostage.
Senior city government official Sajjad Bhutta said, "They were four gunmen clad in elite police uniform, and entered the hospital building and opened fire. Then they ran toward the intensive care unit where their companion was being treated."
Police guards fired back, he said, and they fled. One of them was wounded.
He added that five people were killed, which included three policemen, a woman and a private security guard.
Dozens of people wounded in Friday's attacks on two mosques of a minority religious community in the city were being treated in the hospital, which is a major institution in the city. More than 80 people were killed in those attacks.
The attackers were either trying to rescue or kill a wounded attacker from Friday's assault who was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit of Jinnah Hospital, said Punjab police chief Tariq Saleem Dogar.
"There are blood patches at the entrance of the hospital building," a report said. "Pillows, biscuits and other food stuff and shoes are strewn on the floor."
People and patients who were able ran from the hospital and television footage showed exhausted looking women climbing over security fences to escape.
The attackers themselves fled after the mayhem, officials said.
"They escaped from the scene," Lahore commissioner Khusro Pervez Khan said. "We are in hot pursuit. We are chasing them. One of them was wounded."
A witness said that a police commando team had stormed into the hospital.
Did police moles double-cross state by helping Reds?
KOLKATA: Officers involved in counter-insurgency operations in Maoist areas have come under the scanner after the Jnaneswari Express sabotage, not just because they failed to decipher the rebels' coded chatter in time but also because they were let down — or betrayed — by the moles police have planted in the Maoist and PCPA ranks.
The train carnage has busted police claim that they have built a strong information network in the PCPA militia, even penetrating their leadership — particularly the Lodhashuli-Manikpara-Sardiha unit that carried out the sabotage and killed nearly 150 people.
Investigation has revealed that either the moles have gone beyond the control of their handlers or the Maoists have identified them and are using them to mislead or dodge security forces. There is a third scenario: the moles may be playing double agents.
The Maoist expansion in the Manikpara-Lodhashuli area came to light when the local militia hijacked the Bhubaneswar Rajdhani at Banstala halt in October 2009, five months after joint forces started operations in Lalgarh. After the incident, Dhanapati Mahato of Hadhadi village near Manikpara was identified as an important PCPA leader. He was arrested on January 15 this year and booked under UAPA, which allows police to hold an accused in custody for at least 180 days without submitting a chargesheet.
Strangely, however, Dhanapati was released on bail 130 days later — perhaps the first in Bengal to get away relatively lightly after being booked under UAPA.
Police sources said releasing Dhanapati was one of their boldest moves yet to penetrate the PCPA ranks. He was a known politician before he joined the rebels during the Lalgarh upsurge and had good relations with CPM.
Lower marks in CBSE can get you higher grades
MUMBAI: At a time when the Central Board of Secondary Education has replaced marks with grades and a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), here's a glaring paradox. An analysis of the new system shows that it's possible for a student with a higher percentage in the CBSE Class X examination to get a lower CGPA than a student with a lower percentage.
The inference is only possible in a place like Maharashtra, where schools have been provided marks as well as grades and grade points. In other states where the CBSE board has not released students' marks, this would not have been possible.
According to the new system, a score of 91-100 in a subject is equivalent to A1 grade and a CGPA of 10. Similarly 81-90 equals an A2 grade and a CGPA of 9, 71-80 works out to a B1 grade and a CGPA of 8 and so on.
Avnita Bir, principal of RN Podar School in Santa Cruz, where 55 students scored a CGPA of 10, and 102 students scored 91% and above, carried out an analysis of the correlation between grades, marks and grade points. She has shared real-life examples with TOI —of the scores that students from her school got — to highlight the paradox in the new system. A student called Himani scored 91.2% in the CBSE exams with a CGPA of 9.4 while her classmate Akash scored 1% less and yet had a higher CGPA of 9.6.
The reason? While Hemani had scored exceptionally high marks in some subjects, and less in others, Akash's scores were more or less uniform throughout, pointed out Bir. There were subjects for which both scored the same grade and grade point, though Himani scored higher marks.
"There's an interesting inference to be drawn from this. With the new system, it pays to be jack of all trades and master of none. Those who perform uniformly across subjects get a higher CGPA than those who score very high in some subjects and less in others," said Bir.
While it's easy to correlate grades with grade points for an individual subject, it's virtually impossible to do so for the cumulative grade point average, which is the average of the grade points in each of the five subjects.
So, for instance, if a student gets an A1 in maths, the grade point works out to 10. But if the cumulative grade point average is in decimals (eg, 9.5) it's hard to figure out whether a student's overall grade is A1, which corresponds to a CGPA of 10, or A2, which corresponds to a CGPA of 9.
The solution, feels Bir, is to shift from percentages to CGPAs without worrying about an overall grade.
Congress, RLD tie up for Rajya Sabha polls
NEW DELHI: Congress and Ajit Singh's RLD have tied up for the UP Rajya Sabha elections in what can potentially lead to a larger political alliance between the two ahead of UP elections.
Sources in the Congress said Ajit Singh's decision to support Congress's Satish Sharma was only the beginning of the process and that negotiations between the two sides looked at the possibility of a long-term partnership.
The details are yet to be worked out, and given Ajit Singh's reputation as a tough bargainer, Congressmen will not like to risk guesses about the outcome. But the party is keen to rope in Ajit Singh before the battle for the 2012 UP polls is joined. "We don't know how it is going to unroll, but merger of RLD is a possibility that we are looking at," a source said.
Congress and Ajit Singh tried negotiating a power-sharing pact at the Centre but could not get very far because of the gap between what the Jat leader insisted on and what Congress was ready to offer.
RLD is a pale shadow of the once-formidable Lok Dal which, under Ajit's father Chaudhary Charan Singh, became an important challenger to Congress. Unlike the Lok Dal which commanded the allegiance of intermediate castes across large swathes of north India, RLD's support base has shrunk only to the Jat segment which still swears by the legacy of "Chaudhary Saheb".
But the party has also shown considerable tenacity, defying predictions of near extinction. Though confined to the Jat-dominated pockets of UP, its loyalist base can be a good strategic fit for Congress's plan to put up a vastly improved performance in UP polls whose outcome will have a bearing on Rahul Gandhi's career moves.
The tie-up is significant also because it shows that fears provoked among Congress's rivals after it retained power at the Centre is yet to crystallize into anti-Congressism. It also illustrates the ability of Congress to find allies from the Opposition column even when it is hardly coy about its intent to put an end to the "era of coalitions".
Besides partnering Ajit Singh, Congress managers can hope to attract support also from Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party to ensure Satish Sharma's smooth election to Rajya Sabha. It has also worked out an arrangement with Ramvilas Paswan for RS elections in Bihar in a move to keep options open for the state which goes to polls later this year.
Talks are on with H D Deve Gowda's JD(S) as well. Though the former prime minister is giving some tough moments to Congress, the party wishes to have more options than observers thought it would have after the 2009 results.
Gorshkov to be handed over to India by Dec '12
NEW DELHI: After closely examining the ongoing refit work on Admiral Gorshkov in Russia, the Navy is now confident the aircraft carrier will be ready for harbour trials by early-2011 to ensure it can be handed over to India by December 2012 or so.
This comes after a naval team, led by controller of warship production and acquisitions Vice-Admiral N N Kumar, recently visited Russia to examine the 44,570-tonne Gorshkov at the Sevmash Shipyard.
"There has been substantial progress since the last examination in September 2009. Around 99% of the structural work and almost 50% of the cabling work has been completed on the carrier. Almost all large-size equipment, like engines, diesel generators and the like, has been installed,'' said an officer.
With India earlier this year agreeing to the revised refit cost of $2.33 billion for Gorshkov, after three years of bitter wrangling since the earlier agreement inked in January 2004 had earmarked only $974 million for it, Russia has appointed a high-level apex committee to oversee the work on the carrier.
Along with the fresh Gorshkov agreement, India also inked a contract with Russia for 29 more MiG-29Ks for $1.46 billion in March this year. These fighters will be in addition to the original 16 MiG-29Ks ordered through the $1.5-billion package deal for Gorshkov signed in January 2004.
The Navy plans to deploy two carrier-battle groups (CBGs) by 2014-2015, as reported by TOI earlier. The first CBG will be centred around Gorshkov, rechristened INS Vikramaditya, while the second will be on the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being constructed at the Cochin Shipyard, which Navy hopes to get by 2014.
As of now, the Navy is "stretching'' the operational life of the 50-year-old 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, even though it's left with only 11 of its Sea Harrier jump-jets.
Business News
Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday opened 86 points lower on weak Asian cues.
The 30-share index, which gained over 922 points in the previous four sessions, shed 86.75 points, or 0.51 percent to 16,857.88 points in the first five minutes of trading.
Metals, realty, technology, IT and banking sectors stocks were trading in the negative with losses extending up to 1.13 percent.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 31.30, or 0.61 percent, to 5,055.00 points.
Marketmen said trading sentiment was dampened after selling by funds at existing higher levels.
A weak Asian trend further fulled the downtrend, they said.
British Airways heading for more disruption
London: The beleaguered British Airways is heading for more strike and disruption to its flight services throughout this summer with its cabin crew set to ballot for fresh industrial action.
Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, BA's major union, said a new ballot for strikes could be only a week or so away, as the five-day walkout by union members entered its third day on Tuesday. The union said the series of strikes since March had now cost BA almost 100 million pounds, with eight further days of action planned.
BA, however, said it had operated more services than planned on Sunday and yesterday, including the re-introduction of all of its services from Heathrow to New York's JFK
airport, adding that it would continue to add to its schedule where possible.
Meanwhile, Woodley claimed the union had paid out about 1 million pounds in strike pay, pledging that Unite would not allow the airline to "starve" staff back to work. He told
Unite's annual conference in Manchester the "hard man" stance of BA chief executive Willie Walsh will plunge the airline into a prolonged and "totally needless" summer of disruption.
A fresh ballot will be needed because the 12-week protective legal period for taking industrial action ends in early this month.
Woodley said if crew were forced to seek a new mandate for industrial action the blame for this will lie "firmly" with Walsh and his "persistent refusal" to permit a peaceful settlement.
Unite said it believed a deal on cabin crew costs had already been agreed between both parties, adding that the airline could be restored to full operation in time for thepeak summer season if the outstanding row over travel concessions was resolved.
Woodley told the 700 delegates that the dispute could be summed up in one word - bullying.
"Bullying that imposes radical changes on our members without agreement, that has seen other BA employees incited against cabin crew with, to their lasting shame, the collusion of scab pilots, that has meant more than 50 of our brothers and sisters suspended or sacked for the crime of sending a text or posting a remark on Facebook, that forbids them fromtalking about their own dispute in public and that victimises trade unionists by branding them second-class employees for life.
"Well, there is only one thing to do with bullies - that is stand up to them until they learn some manners. We all know there is a deal to be struck, one that recognises the real commercial needs and problems of the company as well as our members' legitimate interests.
But we are not and never will be prepared to see our members and our union humiliated, victimised and reduced to ruins, as Willie walsh seems to say."
Telcos pay Rs 6,7719cr 3G fees
NEW DELHI: Government received Rs 67,719 crore from nine telecom players, including BSNL and MTNL, on Monday as 3G spectrum licence fees. The licences were auctioned in a 34-day long process that ended on May 19.
The spectrum bonanza continues as on Monday, the bid for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum touched Rs 21,664 crore. As BWA auction is still on, the total amount is expected to rise further.
The government had earlier projected to collect Rs 35,000 crore from the sale of 3G and BWA spectrum put together. So far, the amount has already gone up to Rs 89,383 crore. So, government's fiscal deficit is likely to come down to 4.5% from the estimated figure of 5.5%. The government will get at least Rs 54,383 crore more than what it had estimated.
On Monday, Bharti Airtel paid the highest Rs 12,295.46 crore for 3G spectrum in 13 circles, followed by Vodafone (Rs 11,617.86 crore). State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) also paid Rs 10,186.56 crore and Rs 6,564 crore respectively for the radio waves. Earlier, it was being speculated that both BSNL and MTNL may not be able to pay the amount, considering their poor financial condition. Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications deposited Rs 8,585.04 crore. The company has bagged 3G spectrum in 13 circles, including Delhi and Mumbai.
All the successful bidders will get spectrum in September this year after it gets vacated by the Defence. 3G services will offer subscribers high-speed data on mobile phones and are expected to start by January-March. Among other private operators, Idea Cellular, Tatas, Aircel and STel have also paid their respective bid amounts to the Department of Telecom (DoT).
At the same time, competition in BWA is hotting up with pan-India bid for single licence touching Rs 7,221 crore. There are three pan-India slots for BWA spectrum. Going by the demand, which is more than availability in crucial circles, including metros, the bid is likely to increase further.
Among the individual circles, bid for Delhi and Mumbai is equal at Rs 1,012.96 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 943.17 crore. There was negative demand in 12 circles, excess demand in four, while six circles had equal demand and supply.
The government is auctioning two slots of 20 MHz of pan-India BWA spectrum. BSNL and MTNL, which have already been given the BWA spectrum ahead of private players, will have to pay the equivalent of the winning bid in each service area.
As many as 11 companies are bidding for BWA spectrum. Apart from Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Vodafone and Tata Communications Internet Services, the BWA aspirants has four new players — Augere, Tikona Wireless, Infotel Broadband Services and Qualcomm, and Spice Internet and Infotel.
BWA spectrum allows companies to offer high-speed Internet access as well as Internet telephony and TV services. It can also be used for voice and high-speed data services. The reduction in fiscal deficit will reduce borrowings of the government, which in turn will be able to cool down inflation.
Sports News
Lalit Modi replies to his 2nd showcause notice
Mumbai: Suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has sent his reply to the second showcause notice served on him, to the BCCI by e-mail.
Abdi is scheduled to go to the BCCI headquarters here to handover the hard copy of the reply which is expected to be just over 24 pages.
The showcause notice was pertaining to an e-mail sent to the BCCI by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chairman Giles Clarke in which he had alleged that Modi tried to damage the existing structure of international and English cricket.
Modi yesterday filed defamation notice on Clarke, mentioning that the ECB boss has accused the suspended IPL Chief of seeking to float a rebel league in England, violating International Cricket Council (ICC) regulations.
Modi was also served a third showcause notice yesterday by the BCCI over theatrical rights and 150-second commercial slot in between balls during the telecast of IPL-3.
Modi has already replied to the first showcause notice served on him with a staggering 15,000-page response.
The first showcause notice alleged that Modi had indulged in murky deals and bid-rigging in IPL.
Five-star Finn strikes as England beat Bangladesh
London: Steven Finn took five wickets on his home debut as England beat Bangladesh by a convincing eight-wicket margin in the first Test at Lord’s here on Monday to go 1-0 up in this two-match series.
That gave the 6ft 7in paceman, who played his first two Tests during England’s 2-0 series win in Bangladesh in March, match figures of nine for 187.
England, set 160 to win in two sessions, finished on 163 for two.
Andrew Strauss, the England captain, in his first international match for several months after resting from the tour of Bangladesh and missing the World Twenty20 triumph, as he no longer plays that form of the game, made 82 before he was out with England 13 runs short of victory.
Jonathan Trott, whose Test-best 226 was the centrepiece of England’s first innings, was unbeaten on 36 after ending the match with a boundary.
Kevin Pietersen was 10 not out.
“In the first innings I thought Jonathan Trott played very well, we talked about getting big scores and he showed great temperament,” Strauss said.
“And Steven Finn bowled very well. He hit the deck hard and got good pace and bounce, and he got more out of the pitch than anyone else.”
But Strauss was far from completely satisfied, adding: “They made it hard work for us with the way they batted.
“Our bowling was not quite as good as it should have been in the first half of the game.”
The 21-year-old Finn refused to get carried away amid talk he’d already secured a place in England’s squad for the defence of the Ashes in Australia in November.
“The only reason I played here is because Stuart Broad is being rested and, while I haven’t done myself any harm, I am not kidding myself,” he said.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was disappointed his side could not hold out for what would have been a first draw against England.
“We lost too may wickets in the morning session,” he said. “If we had lost one or two wickets we could have batted another hour or two after lunch and got a draw.”
Strauss, like Finn playing on his home ground, square cut the first ball of England’s chase, from Shahadat Hossain for four, to spark several boundaries in quick succession.
The left-hander missed at slip against off spinner Mahmudullah, went onto complete a run-a-ball fifty with five fours before he was caught behind, by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, cutting against the spin of Shakib, to end a second wicket stand of 80.
Victory gave England their seventh win in as many Tests against Bangladesh and left the Tigers with just three wins from 67 matches at this level.
But there was no denying Bangladesh’s progress in this fixture.
Earlier, Finn took three wickets for eight runs in 15 balls on Monday to secure his place on the Lord’s honours boards.
Bangladesh began the last day on 328 for five having seen Tamim Iqbal make 103 off just 100 balls on Sunday.
Junaid Siddique, 66 not out overnight, and Shakib, unbeaten on two, took guard under cloudy skies favouring England’s seam attack.
England did not have long to wait for a sixth wicket with Shakib cutting Finn straight to the bowler’s county colleague Eoin Morgan at point.
Siddique had, like Tamim, made a first innings fifty.
But there was to be no second innings hundred.
The left-hander drove too soon at a clever Finn slower ball and was caught at mid-off by Tim Bresnan for 74 to end nearly four-and-a-quarter hours of resistance.
Bangladesh’s collapse continued when Mushfiqur was caught behind off Finn for nought before Bresnan polished off the tail.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 282 in their first innings, senior paceman James Anderson leading the attack with four for 78.
England’s first innings saw Shahadat beat Tamim to a place on the honours boards with five wickets for 98 runs.
The second and final Test of this series starts at Old Trafford on Friday.
Pakistan to host SA in the emirates in Oct-Nov
Karachi: Pakistan will host South Africa for a revised series of two Tests, five one-day internationals and a one-off Twenty20 match in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in October-November this year.
The series is being held in the emirates after the South Africans refused to tour Pakistan because of the prevailing security situation there.
Originally, the series had three Tests, three one-dayers and a Twenty20 match but Pakistan requested South Africa to revise the schedule keeping in mind next year’s 50-over World Cup.
“We felt that with the World Cup coming up, it would be better for both the teams to play an extra one-day match then a third Test match,” a Pakistan Cricket Board official said.
Pakistan has been isolated as an international venue since March last year when militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
The attack that shook the cricketing world killed five Pakistani policemen and a van driver and wounded six Sri Lankan players.
Since then no foreign team has agreed to visit the strife-torn nation, forcing Pakistan to play its share of home series at neutral venues.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai had already hosted Pakistan’s series against Australia and New Zealand.
PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said that he was grateful to the Cricket South Africa (CSA) for agreeing to play the series in the UAE.
“I am very grateful to Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka and Gerald Majola (CSA chief executive) for their understanding of our position and supporting us to make this series possible. I would especially like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for their unwavering support to Pakistan Cricket,” Butt said in a statement.
“This series will provide great entertainment for cricket fans as PCB and CSA have worked hard to bring this event about and we are very excited to be returning to the world class facilities in the UAE,” he added.
CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said, “The Proteas always enjoy playing Pakistan and CSA was glad to assist the PCB and ensure this tour happened. We are especially delighted that the fans will get to see top flight cricket between these two teams.”
With this series, Dubai Sports City and Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed stadium’s will make its debut as Test venues.
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