NEW DELHI: A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck under the Indian Ocean on Sunday, triggering a tsunami watch for nearby islands and causing tremors reportedly felt along India's eastern seaboard.
The quake hit at 1:26 am local time (1926 GMT) at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) with the epicentre around 160 kilometres west of India's Nicobar Islands.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Hawaii, initially issued a warning for the entire Indian Ocean region. This was downgraded to a warning for India only, when the magnitude of the quake was revised to 7.5 from 7.7, and later the centre cancelled the alert altogether.
India's ocean information centre issued a "tsunami watch" for 10-15 islands, but said it was expecting only a mild surge in sea levels of about 50 centimetres (20 inches).
"This is nothing alarming, but just a watch," Sriniwas Kumar, a spokesman from the state-run Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services said by telephone from the agency's headquarters in Hyderabad.
The tremors were felt more than 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre on mainland India, where many were shaken awake in the dead of night, causing some to flee their homes in panic, the Press Trust of India reported.
Moderate tremors were felt in the southeastern coastal city of Chennai, but there were no reports of casualties or damage to property, according to police.
The US Geological Survey initially gave the magnitude of the quake as 7.7 before revising it down to 7.5.
Indian Ocean islands were badly hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami which was triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra and sent giant waves crashing across the region.
The 2004 tsunami killed more than 220,000 people, most of them in the northern Indonesian province of Aceh. Thousands of people were also killed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and India.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of India's most easterly territories and more than 350,000 people live on the 572 islands flanked by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian tectonic plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench.
'India can't support Iran against UN sanctions'
NEW DELHI: India may not have any option but to implement the latest set of restrictions approved by the UNSC against Iran despite New Delhi’s constant assertions that it will not support any sanctions on that country which impact the common people.
Highly placed officials said that Tehran hasn’t answered questions raised by the IAEA over its nuclear programme and that it will not be possible for New Delhi to ignore the fresh sanctions.
‘‘We are still looking at how these sanctions are going to impact the people. We remain a responsible member of the UN and know our legal obligations,’’ said a senior government official. So far, there has been no official reaction from the government.
To many though, this would appear to be making a virtue out of necessity. Foreign minister S M Krishna had earlier described the Tehran Declaration, under which Iran had agreed to send enriched uranium to Turkey, as constructive. The declaration failed to convince the US and other P5 countries.
According to former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, even though there is no way India can avoid implementing these sanctions, New Delhi has nothing to be defensive about. ‘‘Since these sanctions are imposed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, I can’t see how we can avoid them. Also, as a responsible member of the UN and keeping in mind our aspirations for a permanent seat in the UNSC, we should not be seen as going against UNSC resolutions,’’ Sibal told this paper.
Sibal said that India did not have to fear any repercussion in its relations with Iran because the latest sanctions did not necessarily seem aimed at the common people. ‘‘Also, as for any impact on relations with Iran, the fact is that countries like China and Russia have gone ahead and voted in favour of these sanctions. This has now led Iran to accuse China of maintaining double standards,’’ said Sibal.
Don't do deals with Iran: US to India, Pakistan
WASHINGTON: The United States is "encouraging" India and Pakistan to not conduct transactions like their gas pipeline with Iran at a time when it's engaged in sensitive negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme.
The US "has encouraged our friends in the government of Pakistan to try to seek alternatives," assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs Robert Blake said on Thursday in a briefing about his recent trip to India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Asked if the issue of Pakistan signing a contract with Iran about a gas pipeline had come up for discussion in Islamabad, Blake said he had told Pakistanis that "people have been talking about this pipeline for a long time, but I think there continue to be many challenges, and to actually building the pipeline."
"So nonetheless we have encouraged our friends in the government of Pakistan to try to seek alternatives," Blake said noting, "Our concerns about the government of Iran are very well known."
"And given its current unwillingness to address its international obligations and international concerns about its nuclear programme, we don't think that this is the time for such transactions to be taking place with Iran."
Same goes for India, he said when asked to comment on India planning to resume talks with Tehran on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline after three years.
"This is a very sensitive time in negotiations with Iran, and we would prefer that all countries not conduct such transactions with Iran at this time,for the reasons that I already outlined," Blake added.
Under Siege: 20 yrs of AFSPA in J&K
No Army likes to wage war against its own people. Worse, if the fight drags on 20 years. The 1.13-million strong Indian Army is no exception. It would jump at the chance to leave the Valley and return to barracks, but only if policy-makers delivered their end of the bargain. Is the time right for this? Militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is at its lowest ebb since it erupted in 1989-1990. But there are two hurdles. First, will Pakistan’s real power centre, its army, turn off the terror tap? Second, can the paramilitary forces and J&K police take over from the Army? On both counts, the answer seems to be ‘no’.
“We are trapped in the ‘hold’ part of the ‘shape, clear, hold and build’ strategy,” says a lieutenant-general, with extensive experience in J&K, speaking on condition of anonymity. He adds gloomily, “We will be stuck there for the foreseeable future. With so much money being pumped in, vested interests have developed all around. A political solution, with economic development, is needed.”
It has been an arduous task for the Army to ‘shape, clear and hold’ the internal security environment in J&K. Protracted counter-insurgency operations in J&K and the North-East have blunted its operational readiness for external enemies” and corroded its discipline and moral fabric. Last week’s suspension of a major and the removal of a colonel from command for an alleged fake encounter on April 30 is just the latest example of this. The Army has slowly moved away from using “kills” as the benchmark for evaluating a battalion’s performance for awards and citations, but the pressure to deliver results remains.
Consider cold statistics. More than 1,500 cases of human rights violations have been filed against the Army in the last two decades. Granted that a majority of them — the Army puts the figure at 97% — were found to be “fake or motivated” but what of the rest? The Army takes recourse to the iron-fisted Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to refuse to hand the accused to civilian authorities. It says it has its own “internal mechanisms” to deal with “aberrations” under the Army Act, 1950.
“We have punished 104 personnel, including 40 officers, in the cases found true. We have made human rights a top-priority in last five-six years. But we cannot allow soldiers battling terrorists, which cannot be equated with normal law and order duties, to get no legal protection and be left to civilian courts in the event of something going wrong. It will hit troop morale,” says a senior officer.
General V K Singh, who took over as Army chief in April, has declared that “any dilution” in AFSPA will “impinge adversely on the manner in which armed forces operate” in counter-insurgency duties. Consequently, the Centre consistently refuses to give permission to the J&K government to prosecute soldiers accused of human rights violations. During 2007-2009, there were 23 such requests but the ministry of defence did not permit any one of them to go ahead.
This does not, of course, detract from the Army’s success in controlling militancy in J&K. Militancy is not quite dead. Pakistan may be acting against the Taliban on account of US pressure but it has let the anti-India terror factory remain active. There are at least 32 terrorist training camps, with an estimated 2,200 militants, operational in Pakistan and PoK. Unsurprisingly, the Army contends no one should rush to assume all is well in J&K.
According to estimates, there are just about 500-600 hardcore terrorists — half of them of “foreign origin” — in J&K at present. They still pose a threat, but it is marked reduction on the numbers — more than 2,500 — bandied about in the 1990s.
“With the CRPF (which has around 70,000 troops in J&K) and police forces still not really trained or equipped for the swift operations required, coupled with their poor leadership, any large-scale de-induction of Army troops will only weaken the counter-insurgency grid,” says a Rashtriya Rifles officer. “Whenever the Army has been removed from an area the militants and their over-ground workers begin to dominate there.”
Defence minister A K Antony also believes that the terrorist threat remains very real. “The quantum of troops deployed in J&K is continuously assessed and reviewed by the Army based on the changing threat perception,” he says. The Army has moved two mountain divisions of around 35,000 men from the state in the last few years but further reduction can only happen when conflict management turns to conflict resolution.
Stop death by hanging, go for lethal injection: most states to Centre
New Delhi: At a time when the Centre and President are still to take a final call on the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and others like him who have appealed against death sentences, the Ministry of Affairs (MHA) is set to put in motion a plan to provide an alternate mode of death to those on death row.
Sources said the MHA move draws strength from the unequivocal support from state governments to a suggestion that death by hanging be replaced by execution through lethal injection.
According to data compiled by MHA and accessed by The Sunday Express, barring a few states that didn’t respond to the query on whether a “humane mode” of execution of death sentence such as lethal injection should be adopted in place of the existing system of hanging, almost all states have come out strongly in its favour.
Most states which responded to the MHA query have also recommended that when cases involving death penalty come up before the Supreme Court, they should be decided by a bench comprising at least five judges. For this, the states want the Supreme Court rules suitably amended.
“We will take the matter (for changing manner in which death penalty is executed) to the Cabinet for approval as the same involves amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973,” said senior MHA functionary.
Under Section 354(5) of the CrPC Act, the mode of execution of death sentence now is “hanging till death”.
In fact, Tamil Nadu has gone a step further, saying capital punishment should be completely done away with as is the case in many countries worldwide. The government of Kerala, while supporting the proposal, has also suggested that cyanide could also be administered to put the convict to death.
Among the states that have supported a shift from the present system of hanging to death by lethal injection are Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Delhi.
Former Union Law Secretary and Adviser to Law Minister T K Vishwanathan feels while it is not possible currently in view of terror-related cases to completely do away with death penalty as has been done by many countries, replacing the mode of inflicting death would be a welcome step.
“When the matter was being discussed by the Commission, women organisations were opposed to any move to do away with death penalty, holding if this were to happen, rapists and murderers would get emboldened,” recalled Vishwanathan who has remained Member-Secretary of the Law Commission.
In 1982, the Supreme Court, ruling in the case of Bachan Singh versus State of Punjab, observed that physical pain and suffering which the execution of the sentence of death entails was also no less cruel and inhuman. The Law Commission in October 2003 also recommended that the law be amended to provide for an alternative mode of execution of death sentence by lethal injection until the accused is dead.
In its 187th report, the Commission also recommended that it should be the judge’s discretion to pass an appropriate order regarding the mode of execution of death sentence after hearing the convict.
The Commission also recommended that all death sentence cases be compulsorily heard by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court by way of a statutory right of appeal against the judgment of the High Court confirming or awarding the death sentence. It also favoured amendments to the Army Act, 1950, Navy Act, 1957 and Air Force Act, 1950 to allow appeal to the Supreme Court against the order of death sentence passed by a court martial.
BJP seeks JPC probe into CBI ‘misuse’
Patna: Looking to capitalise on the ruling front’s discomfiture over the Warren Anderson controversy, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari on Saturday demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into the functioning of the CBI.
In his inaugural speech at the two-day National Executive meeting here, the BJP president linked the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict to the disproportionate assets cases against Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Lalu Prasad Yadav, claiming that the CBI is being used as a political tool by the Congress. He added the Ottavio Quattrocchi and the CBI probe into the encounter cases in Gujarat to the list of instances to show the “mishandling of the agency”.
“While the nation is facing innumerable threats to its internal security, the government is forcing the CBI to work for its political designs. The CBI has become a tool of intimidation,” Gadkari said, demanding a JPC probe into the misuse of the agency. He made it clear that the party is going to launch a nationwide campaign on the Bhopal issue and target Rajiv Gandhi in the coming days.
“Why Arjun Singh is silent? There was a long discussion between Rajiv Gandhi and Arjun Singh. The Congress governments at the Centre and the state helped Anderson escape. The Congress must apologise to the nation,” BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The BJP is using the National Executive session to find ways to corner the Congress-led government on three fronts — price rise, Maoist situation and corruption. Gadkari said the political leadership of the UPA has no moral courage to seek answers from any of its partner ministers, be it Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel or Telecom Minister A Raja.
Gadkari talked about the Maoist situation and the party later passed a resolution, asking the Government to go for a three-pronged strategy to take on the ultras — involving coordinated and strong action, initiating developmental activities and waging an ideological battle. It once again pledged its total support to the government on this count.
Yashwant, Hema skip meet
The internal discord in the BJP came to the fore on Saturday with some senior leaders skipping the first meeting of the newly-formed National Executive here. Yashwant Sinha and Hema Malini were among the prominent missing leaders, reflecting the discontent in the party, a challenge to party chief Nitin Gadkari’s authority.
The selection of candidates for the Rajya Sabha election has proved to be a source of discord in the party. Sinha is apparently miffed at not being consulted while deciding the BJP nominee for the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand while Hema Malini lost out in the race to the Upper House. While sources close to Sinha said he was unwell and could not make it to Patna, the party chose to play down his absence. Hema Malini, who was earlier tipped to be renominated to the Upper House from Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, was said to be away on a shoot.
Sources said that former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was also missing from the closed-door two-day conclave.
Business News
RBI directs BoR to sack Deputy MD
Mumbai:The Reserve Bank asked troubled lender, Bank of Rajasthan--set to be acquired by ICICI Bank--to remove its Deputy Managing Director, Deepak Saruparia, charging him with violation of norms in certain property transactions related to the bank.
The RBI also directed that Saruparia "shall not in any way either directly or indirectly be concerned with or take part in the management of any Banking Company for a period of 5 years from June 12, 2010."
The apex bank, which had issued a showcause notice to Saruparia a few months back, is understood to have charged Saruparia with irregularities in property transactions during 2002-2004 including that of an office building at Lower Parel.
The RBI is also understood to have found irregularities in the handling of certain corporate accounts during Saruparia's tenure. Saruparia, who joined BoR in August 2004 was elevated to the post of DMD in 2007.
When contacted, Saruparia told PTI that imposing charges only against him was not proper as the decisions were not taken by him individually but collectively as they were approved by BoR's board. He added that the alleged transactions were executed prior to his taking over as the DMD of the bank.
India may attract more capital flows: RBI
Mumbai: India is likely to witness a surge in capital inflows as investors may find the country an attractive bet in the backdrop of an uncertain global environment, a top Reserve Bank official said.
"Money tries to come to places where it gets better returns. So from the point of view of capital flows, you do have the likelihood of more uncertainty in the rest of the world and therefore more money coming to India," RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat said.
Foreign Institutional Investors have, so far, invested around USD 5 billion in the domestic share market against a total investment of USD 17.45 billion in 2009.
Policymakers, worldwide, are watching the developments associated with the euro zone crisis, which broke out after Greece nearly defaulted on public debts.
To avert the deepening crisis, euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund formed a USD one trillion rescue package to bail-out Greece.
The Reserve Bank, which has started withdrawing emergency monetary stimulus measures of the crisis period, is in a dilemma about hiking policy rates next month to facilitate the exit while the recovery is still nascent.
Sports News
Green blunder pegs England back
Rustenburg: England's hopes of a winning start to their World Cup campaign were shattered by an extraordinary blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green that gifted the United States their equaliser in a 1-1 draw here today.
But Fabio Capello's men were sent back to square one when Green let in Clint Dempsey's tame, 25-yard shot five minutes from half-time.
England had gone ahead from their first foray into opposition territory.
Picking up a Glen Johnson throw-in from the right, Frank Lampard threaded a pass that was flicked on by Wayne Rooney to Emile Heskey on the edge of the area.
The Aston Villa striker got in front of Jay DeMerit and his first-time ball anticipated an untracked run by Gerrard, who prodded the ball past Tim Howard with the outside of his boot.
That might have precipitated a collapse from less resilient sides but the Americans were soon creating problems, particularly down the right.
England had a significant let-off when Jozy Altidore headed Landon Donovan's chip wide after outjumping Ledley King but they generally looked in control of the match until Green's 40th-minute blunder.
Gerrard was partly culpable, having allowed Dempsey to twist away from him on the edge of the area but still there seemed no danger as the West Ham goalkeeper knelt to gather a shot directed straight at him.
Somehow the man Capello had selected ahead of the more experienced David James allowed the ball to spin off his right glove and over the line.
England hit back through Glen Johnson, who tested Tim Howard after a mazy run to the edge of the area, but they were unable to restore their advantage before the interval.
Heskey should have done so soon after the restart, when Aaron Lennon's first-time pass sent him clear of a flat-footed American defence. But the striker's shot was unleashed too early and straight at Howard.
England's frustration was clear as Jamie Carragher, on as a second half substitute for King, and Gerrard picked up bookings in quick succession for late challenges.
Lampard made his presence felt with a left-foot drive that Howard had to touch over at full stretch.
But it was the Americans who enjoyed the clearest chance of a winner, Donovan releasing Altidore whose close range strike was touched on to the post by Green.
England's best chance of the second period fell to Shaun Wright-Phillips, but Howard was able to comfortably beat away the Manchester City winger's poorly directed shot from the left of the goalmouth and it was the Americans who finished the match pressing for a winner.
Messi's performance delights Maradona
Johannesburg: If Lionel Messi is enjoying himself, then so are the rest of us. That's how Argentina coach Diego Maradona put it on Saturday after Messi produced a mesmerizing performance in a 1-0 win over Nigeria in Group B at the World Cup that was unlucky not to have been rewarded with a goal.
"Football wouldn't be beautiful unless Messi is touching the ball all the time. He performed magic today on the pitch."
Messi made a string of trademark weaving runs and curled two left-footed shots that were brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who almost single-handedly kept the FIFA world player of the year at bay. Enyeama said he had done his homework on Argentina's leading man.
"I've been watching his games in the Spanish league. I got some inside information," Enyeama said. "But he's still the best I've faced in my career."
And it's not just the opposition who are in awe of Messi. "Incredible. Messi is fantastic. Unbelievable," said Argentina right back Jonas Gutierrez.
Heinze gives Argentina nervous win over Nigeria
Johannesburg: Argentina opened its World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Nigeria on Saturday, clinging nervously to an early goal from Gabriel Heinze after failing to convert a number of clear opportunities.
Heinze scored with a diving header in the sixth minute after taking advantage of slack marking to power in a header from 12 meters (yards) from Juan Sebastian Veron's corner.
The Nigerians boasted a clear height advantage, but struggled for much of the match to contain diminutive Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who tormented them with his piercing movement.
Striker Gonzalo Higuain failed to convert three good chances, including what seemed a certain goal in the fourth minute. Messi, too, came agonizingly close on several occasions.
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