BEIJING/NEW DELHI: 21 Indians have been detained in the Shenzhen region of China for alleged diamond smuggling.
The detentions were made on Friday last and the Chinese authorities are moving to press charges of diamond smuggling against them, sources said.
Indian embassy in Beijing immediately took up the matter with the Chinese government and sought consular access to them, they said.
The consular access has been granted for Thursday. In New Delhi, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said a report has been sought from the embassy in Beijing.
"I am aware that some Indians have been taken into custody by the Chinese authorities in Shenzhen. I have asked our ambassador in Beijing for factual report on this matter," she said.
Rao said Ambassador S Jaishankar "is in touch with the Indian consular general in Guangzhou, which covers Shenzhen and we are awaiting the full facts from the Ambassador."
Chinese media claim that the diamond smuggling racket was busted by Shenzhen Custom's officials. The ring is said to have sourced diamonds in Hong Kong and hired Indians and local carriers to smuggle them into Shenzhen before distributing them to factories, which, in turn, sold them on the open market.
The incident comes at a time when Chinese nationals working on various infrastructure projects in India have complained of a host of problems, including issues relating to their visas.
Three Chinese engineers were arrested in Korba town in Chhattisgarh on Monday for chimney crash in the Balco plant in which 41 workers were killed in September last year. The Chinese were on Tuesday shifted to a district hospital in Korba town after they complained of health problems.
A day after assurance, another Indian beaten in Australia
MELBOURNE: A 28-year-old Indian man living in Australia for more than a decade on Tuesday claimed that he was beaten up by a group of locals on a beach in Sydney.
The man, who refused to be named apparently due to safety reasons, said that he was kicked and punched by the group near Coogee beach on Monday.
He said he had been living in Australia for the past 11 years and had never experienced such a thing before.
Police arrived 40 minutes after the incident and caught one person, he told PTI.
While the man did not receive any external wounds, he said he was having severe pain in his neck, back and head. He did not give any other detail.
However, police have not issued any statement on the attack.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that India and Australia shared an "excellent relationship" and did not want the issue of attacks on Indians, mostly students, here to disturb the ties.
Smith said he rang up his Indian counterpart S M Krishna yesterday after returning from holidays to brief him about the investigations.
"We both agreed this was an issue we did not want to disturb or get in the way of what the External Affairs Minister (Krishna) described as an excellent relationship," he was quoted as saying by AAP today.
"I undertook to keep him (Krishna) informed of any developments in the investigation. I relayed to him personal condolences on the death of the Indian student (Nitin) Garg and ... to Garg's family," Smith said.
He said he told Krishna that the Victorian police continued to treat the case as one of "its highest priorities" and outlined the steps that had been taken by authorities in terms of community policing.
Garg, a 21-year-old student, was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants earlier this month while he was walking towards a restaurant, where he worked part-time.
"Minister Krishna and I agreed India and Australia have an excellent relationship following on the Prime Minister's (Kevin Rudd's) visit last year to India, when we increased the level of our relationship to a strategic partnership. We agreed we have an excellent relationship," Smith said.
Crisis deepens, HI issues fresh ultimatum to players
PUNE: The crisis in Indian hockey on Tuesday deepened with the striking players walking out of an inconclusive meeting with Hockey India officials, prompting the establishment to serve a fresh 48-hour ultimatum to the players to resume training or get axed from the World Cup squad.
While HI said it did not have the required money to pay the players, who are demanding Rs 4.5 lakh each apart from a graded contract system, the campers were in no mood to relent at the meeting which ended with no immediate signs of an early settlement to the payment dispute.
HI president AK Mattoo said it was a sad development that the players chose money over national colours at a time when the February 28 - March 13 mega-event is knocking at the door.
"Any player who is in the complex has to train but it seems for them (players) money is more important than playing for the country," Mattoo said.
"No one has been thrown out of the camp. The players have been given 48 hours time to resume training. If they decide not to attend the camp within 48 hours then the camp will be shut," he said.
Mattoo said a new set of players will represent India in the forthcoming World Cup if the revolting players did not report to the camp within the stipulated deadline.
"We are not saying that we are sacking or suspending them but they will not be able to take part in the World Cup," the HI chief said.
"I am not suspending the camp, I am closing the camp for the time being and restart it after some days.
"India will participate in the World Cup irrespective of the fact that whether they play or not. We will look for fresh players from across the country and train them under Jose Brasa and Harender Singh to make them fit for the World Cup. The technical people will look into this matter," he added.
He said that the players refused to budge from their stand despite the assurance that their grievances would be looked into after the HI elections scheduled for February 7.
"I told the players that I have 'X' amount of money in my hand. If I give it to you, I have to give it to the women's as well as junior team. I told them their all demands we will take it forward to new body and see what we can do best for them," Mattoo said.
"We pleaded with them. Tony (FIH vice president Antonio von Ondarza) even told them nowhere in the world a player plays for money but unfortunately our pleads were not heard," Mattoo said.
"They said unless their demands were met they will not train. Its not done anywhere. I told them you get into the field and we will see what we can do for them now and for their future as well.
"There is no question of salary. They are not paid employees of HI. We offered them Rs 25,000 each which we can afford right now but they refused. I have invested so much time and effort on these boys, so I would like to see them play in the World Cup," he added.
Mattoo also said that as per promise HI would be giving away Rs 25,000 each to players of women's team and Rs 15,000 to the junior side.
International Hockey Federation (FIH) vice president Antonio von Ondarza expressed shock over the development and said with just six weeks left for the World Cup, the players should concentrate on training instead of indulging in pressure tactics.
"I came to India to finalise the alleged discrepancies in Hockey India's election process and I'm happy to say that we were able to solve that yesterday. The news of players' strike shocked me. HI officials asked if I would be interested to talk to the players and I said 'why not?".
"I heard allegation from both sides. It's really a very sad story. If you come to a negotiation and refuse to move, it's not going to succeed," Ondarza said.
"Hockey India has just come into being and it's an interim body. How can it commit for future? That would be a fraud thing to do. With just 10 weeks to go before the World Cup, players should not put pressure on HI. They should concentrate on their training," he added.
Ondarza, who is also the FIH-appointed observer for HI polls, said it was sad to learn that the present set of Indian players prefer money over the nation.
"They went out of the meeting and when they returned, I asked what is more important for them, the national shirt or the money. They said money was more important to them. It's very sad. I myself have played the game and representing the country was above everything else for us," he said.
The FIH vice president said that hockey is not a cash-rich sport like cricket or football and with time it will grow in stature.
"The players have to remember that hockey is not like cricket, basketball or soccer where dollars roll in. I explained them that situation is improving and we have a new product," Ondarza said.
"This is an unfortunate scenario but I'm hopeful that India would field a strong team in the World Cup. It was not right on the players' part to come out all guns blazing against HI. HI can't do any thing more than it has promised", he said.
"India must be having more than 22 players. Even if some of the best players are not ready to play and don't feel obliged to don the national shirt, you have to find youngsters who would be keen for the honour. They may not win medals but at least they can be competitive. Whatever team represents India, has to play their heart out, he said.
The players are indefinitely boycotting the World Cup preparatory camp demanding their match dues, incentives, a graded payment structure among other things.
The standoff is likely to have a bearing on the preparation for the World Cup to be held in Delhi from February 28 to March 13.
Ruchika case: High court denies Rathore interim bail
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday did not allow interim bail to disgraced former Haryana state police chief SPS Rathore and slated the hearing of his anticipatory bail for Jan 18.
While taking up Rathore plea for anticipatory bail and his petition to quash fresh cases registered against him, the high court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its reply in this case on Jan 18.
Justice Sabina, in whose court the petition was heard on Tuesday, did not allow Rathore interim bail against arrest till the next hearing. Rathore was convicted last month by a CBI court here for molesting teenaged tennis player Ruchika Girhotra Aug 12, 1990, in Panchkula town.
This means that the CBI, which has taken over the case involving Rathore and re-registered three fresh first information reports (FIRs) against him on Monday evening, can any time arrest the former Haryana director general of police (DGP).
CBI counsel told the high court that the investigation agency had taken over the case only on Monday evening and needed to study the material before it states its opposition to Rathore's plea for anticipatory bail and quashing of the new FIRs.
Appearing on Rathore's behalf, his counsel and wife Abha Rathore sought anticipatory bail for him and the quashing of the three fresh FIRs, saying that these had been registered due to media pressure.
Meanwhile, the district and sessions court in Chandigarh on Tuesday also admitted Rathore's appeal against his conviction by a CBI special court here on Dec 21 in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case.
The case will now be heard on Wednesday as Rathore did not appear before the court Tuesday, saying he was not well.
Major fire breaks out in Kolkata slum
KOLKATA: A major fire broke out in a northeast Kolkata slum on Tuesday, police said.
All the shanties and huts in the slum were on fire, with the leaping flames reaching up to about 15 feet from the ground.
A television channel said the sound of gas cylinders exploding could be heard from the area, close to the Bidhannagar station.
Three fire tenders have reached the spot after much delay, as the approachway was blocked by auto-rickshaw drivers, who have been agitating against insufficient LPG centres in the city.
There are no reports of any casualty.
Two Telangana ministers withdraw resignations
Hyderabad: The two Telangana ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and D Sridhar Babu withdrew their resignations from the Andhra Pradesh Council of Ministers.
The two had remained adamant on their resignations even after 18 of their colleagues withdrew their resignations after the Centre called an all-party meeting on the contentious Telangana issue on January 5.
However, following a fresh directive from the Congress high command, Venkat Reddy and Sridhar Babu relented.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President D Srinivas prevailed upon them to withdraw their resignation in line with the high command's directive.
Accordingly, the two announced their decision to take back the resignations and fight for achieving statehood to Telangana while "staying in power".
"We have confidence in the Centre and hope it will go ahead with the process of formation of Telangana in tune with its December 9 announcement," they said.
Indian Business News
‘Indian stocks becoming less interesting’
New Delhi: Indian stocks are becoming "less interesting" as their valuation vis-a-vis other markets in the Asian region have declined considerably, Swiss banking major Credit Suisse said in a report.
"We believe India is becoming less interesting from valuation perspective," Credit Suisse Research Analysts Sakthi Siva and Kin Nang Chik said.
In March 2009, India traded at a 40 per cent discount to the region (Asia), while currently that discount is just 2 per cent. The consensus EPS (earnings per share) revisions in India are also lagging in the region, the report added.
Though India is currently trading at a 2 per cent discount, it still looks favourable for the stocks compared to the 20 per cent premium the country traded at during the strong growth years from 2005-07, the report said.
Credit Suisse has, however, maintained an "overweight" status on the Indian market.
The benchmark index Sensex, which opened at 9,647 points in 2009 closed the year almost double at 17,464, up 7,817.50 points (81 per cent) from the year ago level.
The Sensex witnessed a historic 81 per cent rally last year, boosted by the UPA victory in May 2009 on expectations that the new government would introduce measures to boost economic growth. Another reason for the rally was the sooner-than-expected economic recovery of the country.
The year 2009 also saw Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) flocking in and buying Indian equities worth a whopping over Rs 80,000 crore after their flight away from the market previous year (2008).
Credit Suisse further said," in March 2009, India was the third most undervalued market in the region after Indonesia and Thailand. Currently, it is the sixth most undervalued." Elaborating further, the report said the EPS estimates for Indian companies were raised 1 per cent, 0.8 per cent and 0.1 per cent in the last three months of 2009, while for other markets in the Asian region it was 3.4 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent over the same period.
SBI to hire 20,000 clerical staff in FY11
Mumbai: State Bank of India will hire 20,000 clerical staff in 2010/11 and another 5,000-5,500 probationary officers in 2010, a top official said.
"We will need these people to drive our growth. We are looking at an average growth of 25 per cent both on credit and liability side," Anup Banerji, deputy managing director, head of national banking, said on the sidelines of a banking event organised by Indian Banks' Association and SBI.
The country's largest state-run bank had hired 28,000-30,000 clerical staff in FY10.
Banerji added that out of 5,000-5,500 probationary officers, 2,000 will be recruited for rural business.
SBI also intends to add 1,000 branches in 2010/11, Banerji said.
"Till now in FY10 we have added 550 branches, and we will take it to 800 by end of February".
The bank is also planning to launch a wealth management division to take care of high net worth individuals' needs, he said.
IIP to be much better in 2009-10: Montek
New Delhi: The Planning Commission said it expected industrial production to beat last year's growth and attributed the revival to various stimulus measures.
"Industrial growth this year is going to be much better than last year....whether it will be 11.3 per cent for the next six months that is difficult to say", Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth during November was robust compared to the dismal 2.5 per cent in the year-ago period. IIP grew by 2.6 per cent in 2008-09.
Attributing high industrial growth rate to stimulus provided by the government to combat the impact of the global financial meltdown, Ahluwalia said, "We have been saying that concerted action taken by the government will lead to revival".
Following the global crisis triggered by the collapse of America's iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the government has provided stimulus packages that entailed a burden of Rs 1.86 lakh crore for the exchequer.
The overall economic growth during the second quarter of the fiscal (July-September 2009-10) recorded a growth of 7.9 per cent, much more than anticipated by any analyst or think tank.
Indian Sports News
Strange that my first big test will be against SA: Simons
Johannesburg:India's newly-appointed bowling consultant Eric Simons said it was strange that his first big assignment with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side was against his own country South Africa.
"But that's how it goes in professional sport these days. (Fellow South African) Gary Kirsten is already with (the Indian team) for a while now and even Andy Flower of Zimbabwe coaches England," said the former South African coach, who was yesterday named as India's new bowling consultant for the two Tests against Bangladesh and the subsequent home series against South Africa. Simons said everything happened very quickly last week before the BCCI signed him up yesterday, adding that he would first see how things panned out before considering a more permanent appointment.
Present South African coach Mickey Arthur said Simons' appointment would "add a very interesting dimension" to his side's tour of India next month.
"Although we can share a couple of beers in India, we certainly can't use Afrikaans calls now too much," Arthur jested.
Sehwag resumes practice after break
Mirpur (Bangladesh): Vice-captain Virender Sehwag is back in action after skipping team training for the last few days as he turned up for practice today ahead of the cricket tri-series final against Sri Lanka here tomorrow.
Sehwag, who was rested for India’s last two matches, did not join practice on Saturday and was not seen with the team on Sunday and Monday but turned up today for an optional net session along with four other team-mates.
On his absence, he said he had got permission from the team management to rest but will play tomorrow’s final.
“I was given rest by the team management and I enjoyed my it (at team hotel),” he said after having around two-hour net session at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium indoor facilities along with Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“I will play in the final and I hope I will do well to win the series,” said the dashing opener who has scored 47 and 9 in the two matches he had played so far.
Sehwag did not agree that India’s bowling woes would affect their chances in the summit clash.
“We have been playing against Sri Lanka with these bowlers in the past two-three months and they have done well.
I think they will do well tomorrow with Zaheer Khan returning and he was brilliant in that match against Sri Lanka (on Sunday).” On Virat Kohli’s fine run in form, Sehwag said the youngster should not be put under pressure.
“He is in fine form. A century and a 71 and 91, but we should allow him to enjoy his game. He is young and we should not put him under pressure,” said Sehwag.
Karnataka-Mumbai Ranji final hangs in balance
Mysore: Tooth for a tooth, Nail for a nail. That is how the fast bowlers in the Karnataka and Mumbai ranks fought fire with fire on a lively deck in the Ranji Trophy finals at the Gangotri Glades here on Tuesday.
Having conceded a decisive 103-run lead, Karnataka hit back to have the Mumbaikars in a tizzy at 51 for five.
But, as in the first essay, Abhishek Nayyar (batting 32) and Daval Kulkarni (batting 35) pulled Mumbai out of the woods, posting 57 runs for unbroken sixth-wicket. At draw of stumps on Day Two, Mumbai had made 108 for five. In effect, Mumbai are 211 runs ahead with five wickets in hand.
Given the life in the hard and bouncy wicket and the determination of a pack of exciting fast bowlers, the five-day final is unlikely to last its course.
As many as 14 wickets tumbled in the absorbing contest between bat and ball today, with Avishkar Salvi, who produced his season's best figures of 5 for 31, and Abhimanyu Mithun producing outstanding spells with the cherry.
Mithun's second innings burst (4 for 30) saw him share the honour of being the season's highest wicket-taker with R Vinay Kumar. Both have bagged 44 wickets each.
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