Yekaterinburg (Russia):"My mandate is to tell you that Pakistani territory should not be used for terrorism against India," was the blunt message Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed to President Asif Ali Zardari here on Tuesday.
The message, conveyed in front of television cameras when the two leaders shook hands before their closed-door meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral-forum deliberation, was so sharp that the President was apparently embarrassed. "Please let them go," Zardari remarked to Singh, wanting the journalists to leave before they could carry on with their conversation in the first top-level contact between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks in November.
Noting that terrorism is haunting the Asian and Central Asian regions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined the need for "genuine" cooperation among countries on a global scale to resolutely defeat the menace.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday, he said India is seeking a conducive external environment for its sustained high economic growth which is necessary to meet its developmental objectives.
"We wish to see peace, prosperity and stability in the region that the (SCO) Organisation represents. We have a lot to gain and learn from each other. It is in this spirit that we approach our engagement with the Organisation and its different organs and bodies," Singh said.
"We seek an external environment that is conducive to meeting the aspirations of our people," he said, marking the first address by an Indian Prime Minister at the six-nation grouping in which India is an Observer.
26/11 report slams Gafoor, state govt rejects findings
Mumbai:In a severe indictment of the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, a government- appointed committee that probed the 26/11 terror strikes has held that he failed to lead the force from the front and that standard operating procedures were not followed during the crisis situation.
The two-member Ram Pradhan Committee in its report said there was "lack of coordinated and visible control" in the police force.
It also did not spare the the DGP A N Roy when it said he did not have any limitation in using his powers in Mumbai during the attacks that left over 180 dead.
The Maharashtra government, which came under attack from opposition in the assembly for not tabling the panel's report, rejected its findings on Gafoor when it placed only the Action Taken Report (ATR).
"During the whole operation, he was stationed at only one location near Hotel Trident. There was lack of co-ordinated and visible control due to which a message went to the public that police were ineffective in handling the situation," the Pradhan committee report said.
The ATR tabled in the state Legislature questioned how the committee called the head of Mumbai police a failure when it, in its report, had lauded the entire force for handling of the 26/11 attacks.
Gafoor, who was last week removed as the Police Commissioner, had "failed" to lead the force during the strikes last November, the report said. He has been shifted to a low profile post as Director General of Police (Housing).
Medical report confirms Shiney's maid raped
Mumbai, June 16: Medical reports of the 18-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, have confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, police said.
"We have received the medical report of the victim and it has corroborated with what the victim has alleged against the actor in the FIR," deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Niket Kaushik said.
Ahuja's house, where the alleged offence was committed, was also sealed by the police after a special forensic team visited the house to obtain more evidence from the spot.
Rubbishing reports that the police is giving special treatment to Ahuja considering his social status, police sources said that the actor is being treated like any other accused in the lock-up and interrogation is on.
Meanwhile, around 200 domestic maids are likely to gather outside suburban Oshiwara police station to protest against Ahuja and adequate security measures have been taken, police said.
Ahuja was arrested on Monday for allegedly raping his domestic maid and was produced before a metropolitan magistrate which remanded him to police custody till June 18.
Arun Jaitley quits as BJP gen secy
New Delhi:Keeping with the party rule of 'one-man, one-post', Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday resigned from the post of party general secretary.
Sources close to Jaitley confirmed that he had sent in a 'one line resignation letter' to Rajnath Singh which said, following party's "one-man, one-post" rule, he's resigning from the post of general secretary after being chosen as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha.
Jaitley, who was BJP's chief election strategist, received a lot of flak from senior BJP leaders like Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha after party’s shocking performance in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
It was only yesterday that senior party leader Sushma Swaraj likened the situation within the party to a volcano, while Yashwant Sinha had called for all party office bearers to quit their position in the wake of party’s defeat in LS election on Monday.
Asked if the resignation has anything to do with the criticism levelled by other party leaders on the way people like Jaitley were being rewarded despite election defeat, BJP President Rajnath Singh said the resignation had nothing to do with the latest developments in the party.
Arun Jaitley is currently in London and could not be reached for comments.
Indian Business News
India key market for us: Yahoo!
Singapore:Internet search giant Yahoo! said India is a key market for the company and it will launch a host of new features for its mobile application to expand its userbase.
"India was one of the first markets where we launched our mobile application and is a key market for us given the huge mobile base...We plan to launch a series of products for such mobile users that will help us increase userbase," Yahoo! Mobile Senior Vice-president David Ko told reporters.
Yahoo! also launched a new homepage which can be customised by users who access the website through their mobile handsets. The new interface allows users to customize his/her landing page and provides localised content, he added.
Yahoo! Mobile is now available in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Mexico and Spain, along with United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Ko said the focus in India would be on presenting localised content that would help Yahoo! Mobile to build its user base in the country.
He, however, declined to comment on the number of Indian users who access Yahoo! through their mobile.
Govt won’t meddle in Satyam layoffs
NEW DELHI: The government virtually distanced itself from any controversy around layoffs or job losses at fraud-hit Satyam after its sale to Tech Mahindra, saying it was not ready to “meddle” into the affairs of the company.
“Are we going to give them jobs? We have no jobs to give. So why should we meddle,?” corporate affairs minister Salman Khursheed said when asked whether government would interfere in case of mass-scale layoffs initiated by the company’s new owner, a figure that is believed to be around 10,000 in number.
Khursheed’s statement is a volte face considering that he had earlier said that the government would not turn a “blind eye” to any such move initiated by Tech Mahindra “as we have a relevant presence in decision making.” He also said that post its sale to Tech Mahindra, government was now in an “active disengagement mode” from the affairs of the company.
“Our job has been well done... and now they are the ones who are going to find ways and means to revive the company entirely and be responsible for decisions. So we do not come in the picture at all,” he added.
He said the “adverse market conditions” were forcing all companies to take drastic measures. “Every company has got excess staff, every software company... but there is nothing that calls for a special government attention,” he said.
Indian Cricket News|Indian Sports News
BCCI hits out at Kirsten for IPL remarks
NEW DELHI: Reacting to coach Gary Kirsten's comments that the IPL was one of the reasons for India's early exit from the T20 World Cup, the BCCI,Rajiv Shukla on Tuesday, said it had not forced anyone to play in the IPL and players were free to ask for rest if they feel fatigued.
The BCCI said players could opt out of any tournament if they were tired or were not fit.
"BCCI has made it clear that whenever a player feels he is fatigued, he can always let it be known to the board and he will be given rest. After rest and if he is fit, he can be considered for selection again," BCCI Media and Finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said.
"We are not forcing any player to play any series or tournament," he added.
Asked pointedly on Kirsten's comments that the Indian players lacked intensity after playing in the IPL which could be a reason for their early ouster from the Twenty20 World Cup, Shukla said, "These are all suggestions made for the improvement of the game in the country. The president (Shashank Manohar) himself is now in London and he will look into it".
India lost in T20 WC due to bad luck, feels Vishy Anand
New Delhi:Three-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand made light of India's failure to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title, terming it as just "bad luck" along with the pressure to perform on cricketers.
"They (cricketers) just had a bad luck. I think they might have a good chance but you also need some good luck," Anand said when asked what according to him could have prevented Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men from emerging triumphant.
Sachin, Zaheer not to tour West Indies
NEW DELHI: Batting sensation Sachin Tendulkar has decided not to tour the West Indies for India's One-Day International series later this month.The batting maestro is hesitant to tour as he has not trained with the team for quite a while.
Tendulkar played his last ODI in Christchurch, New Zealand where he scored a match-winning 163 before retiring hurt.
The West Indies series begins with the first ODI on June 26 at Jamaica which hosts the second game too. While third and fourth matches will be played at St Lucia.
Meanwhile, India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the upcoming West Indies tour due to injury.
The pacer's injury was carried to the T20 World Cup from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Indian left-arm-seamer suffered a left shoulder injury while playing in the IPL in South Africa on May 3 and didn’t figure in any of the games for Mumbai Indians after that.
Anand, who has won the World Championship in almost all formats of the game -- round-robin, knock-out and matchplay, and also clinched back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008, said a lot is said and written before the tournament which can add pressure on a player.
"The main thing is pressure. So I block myself from many things and isolate myself with chess for a month and a half before the tournament," Anand said on the sidelines of a function in the capital.
"I was aware of the danger and my paranoia was justified. It's good that people follow you but at the end of the day you can't play for people.
The 39-year-old chess ace also felt one needs to concentrate on constantly learning new things in the competitive world to do the same thing differently.
"The basic focus should be on keep learning new things and I enjoy doing new things on the board. Because no matter what your last position was but you start with the same 16 pieces in the new game," he said.
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