New Delhi:Reports just in suggest that the deadlock between Congress and DMK over ministerial berths in the Cabinet is over. Sources claim that DMK has agreed to go with three Cabinet berths.
Earlier amidst hectic parleys with senior party leaders on joining the UPA government, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi met National Security Advisor M K Narayanan for the second time and understood to have discussed the Sri Lankan Tamils issue in the aftermath of LTTE's decimation.
The NSA, who had met Karunanidhi last night and discussed the Sri Lankan issue, called on him again this morning at his residence here and held nearly half-an-hour long closed door talks, party sources said.
Narayanan was understood to have briefed him on talks held by him and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons in the island as well as the Lankan government's plans to work out a political package to grant equal rights to the minority Tamils.
However, there was no official word on the nature of this morning's discussions between Karunanidhi and Narayanan.
Karunanidhi also met senior party leaders, including state Ministers Duraimurugan, K Ponmudi and A V Velu and held talks on joining the UPA Government. His grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran and daughter Kanimozhi were also present during the meeting, party sources said.
Samajwadi Party expels Azam Khan for six years
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party on Sunday expelled senior leader Mohammad Azam Khan for six years for anti-party activities, capping weeks of bitter feud with SP leadership over its closeness with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh and its choice of Jaya Prada as candidate from Rampur.
"Azam Khan was involved in anti-party activities for a long time. Despite the national leadership's request he continued indisciplined behaviour and did not attend party meetings due to which he has been expelled from the party for six years," SP state president Shivpal Singh Yadav said.
60-year-old Khan, SP MLA from Rampur and a founder-member of the party, had actively campaigned against cine actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada in the constituency and made adverse comments against Amar Singh.
Khan had raised banner of revolt against the party leadership after declaration of Jaya Prada's candidature from Rampur and also Mulayam Singh Yadav's friendship with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh during the 1992 Babri mosque demolition.
He had termed Yadav's closeness with Kalyan Singh as against the sentiments of Muslims.
Khan alleged in Rampur that "the SP has been transformed into a party of brokers and capitalists, who have amassed black money to nurse their interests."
Mumbai: Crackdown on Shakeel gang, 7 arrested
Mumbai:With the arrest of seven alleged members of Chota Shakeel gang, Mumbai police have launched a crackdown on this underworld outfit to strike its network in India and South East Asia.
"Top members of Shakeel gang are in our custody. This will not only help us to know Shakeel's network in India and abroad but also to curb his activities," Joint Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria told PTI.
The first breakthrough came early this month following the arrest of five members of Shakeel gang who were allegedly on a mission to eliminate a lawyer.
They were idenfitied as Abdul Wahab Mohammed Hassan Faqeer, Mohammed Salaam Yakub Ali Hakeem, Ramesh Warkari, Salaam Mohammed Yousuf Kazi and Fazal-ur Rehman Khan. Later, Anil Mhatre, a shooter of this gang, was killed in a police encounter in south Mumbai.
Two sharp shooters and close aides of Shakeel, Gurpreet Singh and Rashid Malbari-- top rung members of the gang—are also in police custody. While Bhullar was extradited from Bangkok on May 14, Rashid was brought from Karnataka on a transit remand on May 18. The duo was arrested on their arrival in the city.
To a question on series of arrests only of Shakeel gang members, Maria said, "We are acting upon the information received from our reliable sources. It is not like we targeted only one gang and left other one."
China bigger threat than Pakistan, says IAF chief
NEW DELHI: India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijing's combat capabilities, India's air force chief told a newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
The world's two most populous nations fought a brief but brutal war over their 3,500 km (2,200 mile) Himalayan border in 1962, and both sides claim the other is occupying big but largely uninhabited chunks of their territory. India has also been pursuing closer relations with the United States, something that worries China.
China has a standing army almost three times the size of Pakistan's, according to official figures and defence industry estimates, but it is the lack of knowledge about China's military that concerned Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major.
"We know very little about the actual capabilities of China, their combat edge or how professional their military is," Major told a newspaper. "They are certainly a greater threat."
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947 and tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours rose sharply after last November's Mumbai attack, which killed 166 people. A slow-moving peace process was paused after the attack. Islamabad has acknowledged that the attack was launched from and partly planned in Pakistan, but rejected New Delhi's accusations that the gunmen had support from official Pakistani agencies.
Although India and China have signed a treaty to maintain "peace and tranquility" along their disputed frontier and agreed to find a political solution to the row, talks have hardly made progress even as their business ties boom. India blames the lack of progress on China's claim over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, in particular over its Buddhist enclave of Tawang.
New Delhi says it cannot part with populated areas to settle the border dispute. Major said the Indian air force was upgrading about five airbases, of which two would operate Russian Su-30 MKI fighters.
Indian Business News
Satyam may sack 8,000 non-billable staff
New Delhi:Satyam Computer is likely to sack most of its non-billable staff of up to 8,000 working in marketing, HR and administration wings, after Tech Mahindra takes charge of the company from June 1.
A Satyam official said there is no doubt that there will be large-scale sacking mostly of the support and non-billable staff (other than hardcore software engineers) once Tech Mahindra (the new owner of the company) directors come on board from June 1.
The surplus staff is about 10,000-12,000 and the 'least painful' ways of sacking is asking the bench, non-billable and support staff to go.
The company spokesperson, when contacted, said that at the moment these are mere speculations.
Sources also said the outsourcer may opt for "virtual pool" sacking method whereby the company would ask some of the staff to take 75 per cent of its salary and take one-year off and look for a job elsewhere with the fragile assurance that they would be recalled, if required.
Tech Mahindra CEO Vineet Nayyar, who will also come on board of Satyam from June after it acquired fraud hit company last month, had said last week that Satyam has about 10,000 surplus staff and "we are looking at the least painful ways to tackle the problem."
CLB may withdraw Satyam board members in Q2
New Delhi:Tech Mahindra, the new owner of Satyam, is likely to have full-board representation on the scam-tainted company soon as the government withdraws its six board members anytime next month.
A board member of Satyam said: "We get the indication from Company Law Board that once the four Tech Mahindra nominees join the Satyam board in June 1, CLB may direct the government - nominated board members to resign and ask Tech Mahindra to have the entire board representation any day after that.
Sources in CLB said it may give the direction after getting status report from the company. But at the moment there was no such request either from the government or any of the board members appointed by it.
When contacted, Satyam Board Chairman Kiran Karnik said "Our (the government-inducted board's) job is done. There is a new owner now, there is stability in the company". The company, according to sources, is also looking at changing the brand of Satyam like name and logo as it perceives the word fraud is now associated with it forever. These are long term policy decisions and can only happen once Tech Mahindra fully takes over.
Once the government takes off its board members, Tech Mahindra along with its own members can also appoint independent members as per the requirement, said the member. On Saturday Venturbay Consultants (an arm of Tech Mahindra) appointed four nominees on the board of Satyam, which will make a total of 10 directors on the Board. The CLB in January had appointed Kiran Karnik, Deepak S Parekh, C Achuthan, Tarun Das, S Balakrisha Mainak and T N Manoharan to the Board and had said they would continue on the Board until further orders of Company Law Board.
Finmin Pranab vows to protect economy
New Delhi:India's new finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday he would take steps to protect the economy from the adverse impacts of the global slump and promised to return the country to a high growth path.
Growth is expected to slow to less than 7 percent in the year to April 2009 from rates of 9 percent or more in the previous three years. It is seen slowing further to about 6 percent in 2009/10.
"Major economic issues have to be addressed, and various efforts will be made to insulate the economy from the adverse impact of the financial meltdown," Mukherjee told reporters outside his house after he was appointed finance minister.
He gave no details but he said in February spending might have to be increased to shield the economy from a global slump and stem job losses.
India's Congress-led coalition government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sworn in on Friday after winning a decisive mandate in a geneRal Election this month.
Besides Mukherjee, Singh named Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, another Congress party stalwart, to be the new foreign minister at a time of mounting instability in neighbouring Pakistan.
The Congress-led coalition has a stronger Parliamentary majority than the previous administration, meaning the government could last its full five-year term and focus on policy issues without the pressures of a fragile coalition.
Unfettered by its former leftist allies, Congress is likely to push reforms such as raising the foreign investment limit in insurance and opening up the pension sector to spur growth in Asia's third-largest economy.
IPL News|IPL Cricket News|Indian Sports News
Johannesburg:Lusty hitting by Virat Kohli (24 not out) and Ross Taylor (17 not out) powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to a six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings and into the final of the Indian Premier League.
The duo hit a couple of sixes each towards the end to set up title clash with Deccan Chargers after youngster Manish Pandey (48 off 35 balls) and experienced Rahul Dravid (44 off 39) set the tone with a 72-run partnership for the third wicket.
Chasing 147 for victory, Bangalore, who finished second from bottom last year, put themselves in all sorts of trouble as Jacques Kallis (9) and Roelf van der Merwe (2) were back into the pavilion with just 22 on board.
But Pandey picked up from where he left off in the last match. The 19-year-old, who scored an unbeaten 114 against Deccan Chargers -- the first century by an Indian player in the IPL -- timed his shots to perfection as Royal Challengers gradually picked up steam.
At the other end Dravid too semed to be enjoying himself as he found the boundaries on both sides of the wicket.
Together they almost took the game away from last year's runners-up before a rush of blood brought an end to the youngster's innings that included seven fours.
Dravid played some exquisite shots before Muttiah Muralitharan put an end to his innings.
With the wicket slowing down, boundaries were hard to come but Kohli and Taylor ensured there were no further hiccups as they put on 39 runs off 22 deliveries to wrap up the match with seven balls to spare.
Bottoms up: Underdogs of IPL 2008 face off in final
NEW DELHI: The wooden spooners are now title contenders. In a dramatic turnaround of fortunes in the IPL, last year's bottom-placed teams Royal Challengers and Team Hyderabad will vie for the title in the grand finale of the second edition of the tournament in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Hyderabad, who finished rock bottom in 2008, have been enforcers from the start in IPL-2, looking a reformed outfit with Adam Gilchrist leading from the front. They seemed a little lost midway but their power-packed signings have won them the crucial moments.
The Royal Challengers, seventh last year with their much-derided ‘Test team', benefited from a change of guard midway.
With more or less the same team as last year, they have snubbed critics this time by rallying around Anil Kumble and scripting a remarkable tunraround in the late stages. They have relied less on individual heroics and instead found juniors and Test stalwarts rising equally to the occasion.
While Gilchrist single-handedly blew away Team Delhi on Friday to take Hyderabad to the final, the Challengers' skillful run chase took them past MS Dhoni's Team Chennai in the second semifinal on Saturday night.
Lalit Modi may have conceived of the idea of a grand Twenty20 spectacle in the Indian Premier League but one still has to wonder who is writing the scripts.
Last year, the team that wasn't even considered an underdog, criticised for poor player-selection, accused of spending the least among eight franchisees, won the trophy.
This year, two teams that had ended up as 2008's wooden-spooners have done the unthinkable. Bangalore and Hyderabad - last year's No. 7 and 8 - will clash in the final of IPL 2009.
The two IT cities have surprised the bookmakers, making this T20 extravaganza exciting for the second year in succession. They have ensured that anything is possible in this extremely unpredictable format.
It is hard to project a player-versus-player contest here. Will it be Adam Gilchrist's willow-power against Praveen Kumar and Jacques Kallis' new ball attack? Rohit Sharma's finesse or Andrew Symonds' belligerent hitting against Anil Kumble's precision?
This could also be a battle for youngsters like Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey competing with T Suman and Azhar Bilakhia.
On the face of it, this could be anyone's trophy. The atmosphere at the Wanderers can get quite intimidating when close to 50,000 spectators will fill up the stands.
On paper, Hyderabad definitely look the better side. The loss to Bangalore at Centurion on Thursday notwithstanding, they have a top-order boasting of some of the biggest names this format can think of.
Even if one of these players - Gilchrist and Gibbs or Symonds and Sharma - bats to his full potential, it will be enough to wipe out any opposition. Gilchrist showed precisely that in the first semifinal, cracking one of the best T20 knocks ever.
For Bangalore too, the batsmen have been at the helm in the last few matches. In fact, it has been at least one of the top-order men in every game delivering the goods.
Indians will handle pressure better at T20 WC post-IPL: Dhoni
Johannesburg:Youngsters gaining experience in handling pressure, emergence of match-winning part-timers and valuable practice are the positives Indians have taken from the IPL as they gear up to defend their Twenty20 World Championship crown next month, says skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"Well, the good thing if you see in this tournament that will really help us in ICC World Twenty20 will be the emergence of part-timers who have done really well. Especially in the field restrictions, you have Yusuf Pathan bowling at that point, Harbhajan (Singh) has bowled and (Pragyan) Ojha also has bowled," Dhoni, who captained Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, said after the semifinal loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
"Most of the spinners are part-timers who are a part of the side, they have bowled in that particular time when you as a bowler are under pressure. Not much of spin, maybe the ball holds on a bit over here. But overall the experience will really count, this tournament in the 55-60 games that took place, most of them went really close.
"Most of the Indian batsmen who were part of that winning side or maybe the bowlers who were part of that winning moment, were under pressure. They will handle the pressure well when it comes to an international T20 game also. Loads of positives that will help the players who were part of the side," he elaborated.
Dhoni said he was impressed with the domestic talent that came into limelight during the Indian Premier League. "...we have seen new domestic players also coming up and performing at this level. Overall you can say, a good tournament for us, last year's IPL did help the Indian team to perform better when it comes to T20 and even one-day format. Hopefully this year's tournament will take us to the next level," he said. Chennai were the runners-up last year but crashed out in semis this season. Dhoni said the team was done in by injuries to some key bowlers, which made their attack fragile. The wicketkeeper-batsman was also not too happy with the fielding of his team.
Shoaib set to challenge PCB medical report
Karachi:Mercurial pacer Shoaib Akhtar is on collision course with the Pakistan Cricket Board after deciding to challenge a medical report that led to his ouster from the Twenty20 World Championship squad. Shoaib has already made it clear that he would be leading the Islamabad team in the national Twenty20 championship which begins in Lahore on Monday.
Indications are that he would attack the PCB and team management here tonight at a function being organised by former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif. "Shoaib is very upset with team coach Intikhab Alam, assistant coach Aaqib Javed and manager Yawar Saeed for not supporting him and believes that they conspired to have him dropped from the T20 World Cup squad.
"He is very angry and he has decided to take on the board by playing in the domestic tournament and he might even come out in the open against the team management soon," one source close to him said. The 33-year-old was dropped from the squad after a medical panel of the board examined him for a skin infection and concluded that he was suffering from Genital Viral Warts and he needed to be rested for 10 to 12 days before another re-examination in first week of June.
The PCB ordered the medical examination after Shoaib skipped the conditioning camp in Bhurban and was treated by a private doctor and then also missed the practice matches in Lahore. "I don't know what he wants. Because we simply followed the advice of the medical panel of the board," coach Intikhab said.
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