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PM asks Patil, Ramadoss to resolve differences on gay sex
New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The tug-of-war between Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Health Minister A Ramadoss over legalising homosexuality today reached the Union Cabinet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking them to sit together and sort out the issue.
"The Prime Minister has directed the two ministers to sit together and discuss the matter and sort out differences," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
He said the cabinet deferred a decision on the issue which was being argued before the court.
The Delhi High Court is hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the legality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which bans sexual relations among the people of the same gender.
"Whatever the court decides, we will agree," Sibal said.
The court had yesterday pulled up the Centre for relying on religious texts to justify the prohibition on gay sex in the country and asked it to come up with scientific reports to justify it.
The issue has become controversial with Ramadoss saying that he would take up the matter with the Prime Minister after his ministry was ticked off by the Home Ministry before the court. PTI
Labour Ministry looking into Jet retrenchment issue: Fernandes
New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The Chief Labour Commissioner has been asked to submit a report on the sacking of 1,900 employees by Jet Airways, Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, said today. "There is a problem in the aviation industry, particularly in Jet Airways. Definitely, I am looking into it. I have asked the Chief Labour Commissioner to submit a report (on the Jet Airways sacking staff)," he told reporters.
He said he has sought an immediate report into the issue.
Earlier in the morning on his arrival from Bali in Indonesia, where he had gone to attend a labour conference, he said he was not aware of the entire development and would have to study it before he could comment. PTI
India, Australia renew bitter rivalry in Mohali
Amlan Chakraborty
Mohali, Oct 16 (PTI) Australia had the edge in Bangalore while the brownie points belonged to India but both the bitter rivals would seek something more tangible, an outright win to be precise, when they collide head-on in the second Test here tomorrow.
If the see-saw first Test, spiced up by some on-field banters and post-match jibe, is any inklings of things to come, a high-strung humdinger is very much on the cards and both Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting are desperate to ensure they don't end up on the wrong side of the five-day drama.
And if still anyone felt it would not be rivetting enough, Sachin Tendulkar will feature in the sideshow on the sidelines as he tries to knock off those 15 runs to topple Brian Lara from the top of the highest run accumulator's chart in the longer version of the game.
The jury is still out on which side gained most from the drawn tie in Bangalore after both returned with honours more or less even.
Apparently, Australia did have the hosts on the mat for a while but in the end, it was Kumble's men who claimed a moral victory by forcing a draw.
For India, lot of positives came out of the Bangalore match where the pacers rocked, one half of the spin attack stung, tail wagged and the senior players dug deep into their vast reserve of experience and batted out the tricky fifth day to save the match.
The lone blot was Kumble going wicket-less, a rarity at home, and then compounding his crisis by injuring his shoulder. PTI
We did not get the team we wanted: Pak skipper and coach
Karachi, Oct 16 (PTI) The skipper and the coach of the Pakistan cricket team have revealed that the squad selected for the the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Toronto was not of their choice.
Pakistan lost the final match of the tournament to Sri Lanka early this week.
Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson interacted with media after reaching Lahore from Toronto last night.
"The team that went to Canada was different from the one the selectors, Shoaib and I discussed. The selectors picked that team and it is their responsibility. Their Chairman has resigned so you should ask the selectors what happened between them," Lawson said.
Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed had resigned before the tournament in protest to a change made in the selected squad without the consent of the selectors.
The selectors had picked off spinner Saeed Ajmal in the squad but he was replaced by the rookie batsman Shoaib Khan in the last minute change.
The batsman from Quetta played in all four games in Toronto and flopped in three including the final.
"I was there when we discussed the team but we didn't discuss who to take and who to drop. Certainly the team that went to Toronto was not the one I had in mind," Malik said.
Malik added that as per the terms and conditions of the players' central contract, the 15 players are decided by the selectors along with the 11 for a home series. PTI
EU,G-8 want India to join emergency summit on financial crisis
Washington/Brussels, Oct 16 (PTI) Leaders of the European Union and Group of Eight major industrial countries want India to join in an emergency global summit to devise strategies to tackle the global financial crisis and overhaul the world's financial system.
At the EU summit that ended today in Brussels, France, the current chairperson of the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc, and the UK pushed for participation of emerging economic powers like India and China in the global finance summit expected to be held in New York sometime next month.
A joint statement released by the White House said the leaders of the Group of eight wealthy powers(G-8) -- the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia -- would meet "at an appropriate time in the near future." The statement indicated that the G-8 nations would include other major nations in the discussions, which are to be aimed at drafting "an agenda for reforms to meet the challenges of the 21st century." British Premier Gordon Brown said the meeting devoted to a complete overhaul of the financial system could be held as early as November. He said the discussions "to take common action... For very large and very radical changes" should include not only the world's richest nations but also such major emerging economies as China and India.
At the EU summit, Sarkozy said emerging economies such as China and India outside the G-8 should also participate because "no one should feel excluded from what we are recasting." The summit was dominated by the current global financial crisis.
Sarkozy said the meeting to forge common action to prevent another economic meltdown should be held in New York "where everything started" and lead toward "a new capitalism." PTI
Pak govt says not aware of Musharraf-US deal; PML-N seeks info
Islamabad, Oct 16 (PTI) Pakistan government has said it has no knowledge of any secret deal between former President Pervez Musharraf and the Bush administration on countering terrorism, a contention rejected by main opposition PML-N which demanded "full information" on the war on terror.
During the special joint session of the National Assembly and Senate, Information Minister Sherry Rehman told lawmakers yesterday that the government was not aware of any secret deal between Musharraf and the US administration.
Rehman also insisted that the PPP-led government had no written accord with the US on rules of engagement for the war on terror, sources were quoted as saying by Pakistani newspapers. There was no official word on the briefing though the local media has extensively reported on the in-camera session of Parliament.
"If the government does not know what commitments were made, who else would know?" senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said today. "There must have been some agreement and (I) don't know why this is not being shared with Parliament." Violations of Pakistan's airspace and territory by US-led forces in Afghanistan had become a "routine matter" and this could not have happened unless there was "some kind of understanding" between Musharraf and the US, he said.
Iqbal said the opposition felt it had not been given "full information" on the war on terror. He renewed PML-N's demand for the government to halt military operations and hold talks with militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt.
The PML-N also demanded summoning of Musharraf to Parliament to answer questions from lawmakers. PTI
US attack inside Pakistan kills six
Islamabad, Oct 16 (PTI) Six persons were killed and five injured in a missile strike today by a suspected US drone in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, a stronghold of the local Taliban led by Baitullah Mehsud.
Local residents and witnesses told Dawn News channel that at least three missiles were fired at two houses, including that of a tribesman named Ghazi Khan Mehsud, in Tabargai village of South Waziritsan.
The witnesses said they had seen four bodies being pulled from the rubble of the houses. They said they feared the toll could rise as a number of people were present in the house at the time of the attack.
Some residents said they believed foreign militants were hiding in the houses. A vehicle of the local Taliban was destroyed in the attack, they said.
People kept away from Ghazi Khan Mehsud's house and did not immediately launch rescue operations as two drones were seen flying over the area even after the explosions occurred.
This was the first time suspected US drones have struck an area inhabited by the Mehsud tribe and under the control of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud.
Today's attack was the latest in a series of missile strikes by US drones in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. PTI
Sensex rebounds to prune early losses
Mumbai, Oct 16 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today closed lower by more than 227 points, but managed to erase huge intra-day losses caused by negative cues from Asian and other markets.
The 30-share Sensex, which dipped by over 790 points to a more than 2-year low in intra-day trade, ended with a loss of 227.63 points at 10,581.49.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 69.10 points at 3,269.30.
The market remained weak following reports of more European governments offering blanket bank deposit guarantees, as regulators from Washington to Seoul scrambled to contain the fiancial crisis, brokers said.
Asian markets plummeted for the second day in a row, with key Japanese index Nikkei 225 reportedly falling over 11 per cent while Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng declined by 4.80 per cent to 15,230.20 points.
The marketmen added that a third cut of one per cent in cash reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank last night failed to influence trading sentiment this morning, as did lower inflation numbers released today.
However, later in the day, the market rebounded to prune early losses following reports of Europe emerging from lows and US stock futures indicating a higher opening.
The market recovered nearly 465 points during the day backed by surging realty, banking and FMCG stocks. The realty sector gained the most rising 137.79 points at 2,813.26 followed by FMCG index by 32.43 points at 1902.51.
Banking index gained 25.16 points at 5866.76. PTI
RBI provides another liquidity support to banks for MFs
Mumbai, Oct 16 (PTI) After opening a special repo window for mutual funds which are facing redemption pressure, the Reserve Bank has permitted banks to provide additional liquidity support of up to 0.5 per cent of their total net deposits to aid these funds.
"It has been decided, purely as a temporary measure, that banks may avail of additional liquidity support exclusively for the purpose of meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds to the extent of up to 0.5 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities," RBI said.
Earlier this week, the RBI has allowed banks to take money from apex bank against the government securities, up to a total of Rs 20,000 crore, to provide it to mutual fund industry.
The RBI is to conduct the special repo facility every day unless Rs 20,000 crore limit is exhausted.
The new facility would terminate 14 days from the closure of this special repo facility, the RBI said in a notification.
As such banks may fall short of meeting the requirement of keeping 25 per cent of their deposits in government and other approved securities.
Banks may write to Reserve Bank for not imposing penal interest for any such shortfall, the central bank said.
Air India may offer leave without pay; no job cuts
Amitabha Roychowdhury
Hyderabad, Oct 16 (PTI) State-owned Air India today said it was open to letting as many as 15,000 workers go on leave without pay for 3-5 years, but it would be voluntary action on the employees part.
"We are planning to offer leave without pay for three to five years. We can consider it for about 15,000 employees," Air India CMD Raghu Menon told PTI.
He said those who take up the offer to go on leave would be taken back, if they so desire, at the same seniority and last drawn pay.
An official of National Aviation Company of India Ltd, the holding company of Air India, clarified that this was not tantamount to retrenchment as was being done by private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.
Jet laid off 1,900 jobs as it tries to ward off the impact of the financial crisis in the aviation sector.
The official said that a proposal for leave without pay could be brought before the company's Board soon.
The government yesterday had ruled out any job cuts in Air India, which employs nearly 25,000 people, with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel saying that there were no plans to prune staff strength.
"No...Air India is not going to have any job cuts. Certainly it (the aviation crisis) will affect the growth plans, it will affect the future employment opportunities which would have come the way of Air India in case the aviation industry was in a much better financial health," Patel said.
"But as of now I do not have the luxury to say beyond the fact that those who are working for the Air India shall continue to do so and we shall not have any issue of people being laid off," he said. PTI
Amitabh to be discharged soon: Doctors
Mumbai, Oct 16 (PTI) Amitabh Bachchan's condition is stable and he is likely to be discharged in two to three days, doctors attending on the Bollywood superstar, who was admitted to a hospital on Saturday, said today.
"Bachchan is under medication and taking rest. He is likely to be discharged in two to three days," Vice-President Lilavati hospital Dr Naredra Trivedi told PTI here.
The actor was doing well and there had been no abnormalities in the test results.
"Since the last five days, occasional rumours have circled in the media that Bachchan's health has been deteriorating," he said.
The 66-year-old iconic actor was admitted to Lilavati hospital on his birthday on October 11 after he complained of restlessness and abdominal pain. PTI
Tamil film ind chips in to drump up support for Lankan Tamils
Chennai, Oct 16 (PTI) Known for its penchant for active involvement in political issues, the Tamil film industry is lending its support to the efforts by the state parties to bring focus back on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils by calling for a protest rally on Sunday.
Over 2,000 people, including top stars, directors and other film personalities, were expected to converge at Rameswaram island, which is in close proximity to Sri Lanka. The rally will demand a halt to the island army's ongoing offensive in the north of the neighbouring republic, the industry sources said.
Hectic arrangements are underway for staging the rally and the industry personnel would travel to the pilgrim town of Rameswaram by a special train from here, they said.
The move, ostensibly aimed at pressuring the Centre to arrange a ceasefire between the Army and the LTTE, is spearheaded by Director Bharathiraja and comes after the steady revival of the Sri Lankan Tamils issue in the past few weeks after a gap of 17 years.
Political parties, gearing up for next Lok Sabha polls, are attempting to whip up support for the ethnic Tamils apparently to make the emotional issue a poll plank.
The support for Sri Lankan Tamils gathered momentum as the island's army made successful forays into the Tigers' last stronghold of Killinochi, cornering LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and a vast network of his militant group.
However, unlike the Hogenakkal issue in which the film industry put up a united show in April to oppose the attempts by Karnataka to stall the drinking water project for two border districts in Tamil Nadu, differences have come to the fore over the Rameswaram rally.
A section of the actors have expressed reservation on participation in the agitation. PTI
Saif wanted to be a secret agent
New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan's childhood dream was to become a secret agent but a comment by his cricketer-father Mansoor Ali Khan seems to have changed his life.
"I wanted to be a secret agent but my dad told me I will get shot, so I became an actor," Saif told students of Ryan International School during a programme here.
Khan, the son of former cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Patoudi, said earlier he wanted to be an astronaut also as he loved reading about space.
Asked how naughty he was at school, the actor said, "a girl at my school had really long hair but she had to cut them short after I applied gum on her hair." He said his favourite subjects were Geography and English. "Geography because I was curious to know about the world but I hated Maths and Physics," he added.
Khan was interacting with students as part of oral hygiene awareness programme organised by Colgate. PTI
Wills Fashion Week opens, nostalgia reigns in DFW
New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) Trademark gowns in understated colours by designer duo Gauri and Nainika opened the first show at the Wills India Fashion Week here today on a vibrant note even as the rival Delhi fashion Week continued its fascination for nostalgic themes and black models on Day 2.
Tall and slim silhouettes with vivid colours and lush prints characteristic of the 1930s wowed an packed audience at the Spring Summer 2009 Collection of Gauri and Nanika that was showcased at the capital's sprawling Pragati Maidan venue.
"Our collection draws an inspiration from the Alix Gres and Madeleine Vionnet to Isadora Duncan and Jean Harlow, the lines incorporates a sense of ease with light-hearted silhouettes and effortless drapes reminiscent of the 30s," Gauri said post her show.
The duo's 'fun and light hearted collection' boasted of bright and refreshing colours with draped dresses and a wide range of designs from straight ones to halter and mermaid gowns.
Understated nudes and greys made their way into shocking greens, and oranges eventually leading to a crescendo of dreamy gowns in materials consisting heavy silks, delicate chiffons, tulle, crepe and satins. There was no embroidery, decoration or any accessories in their show.
"Our collection gives a fresh and feminine look with its bold and bright colours like greens and oranges," Nainika said. "The colours with which we experimented were themselves so bright that clothes alone will made the impact so we did not feel any need for accessories," Gauri said.
Tarun Tahiliani who stuck to a Greek goddess theme also was minimalistic about accessories. Friend and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty did not walk the ramp for the designer this time. Tahiliani is one of the designers who broke away from the FDCI sponsored WIFW. PTI
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Sensex: 10581.49, -227.63
The sensex closed at 10581.49, down 227.63
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1 U.S. $ = 48.840 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.4856 INR
1 British Pound = 84.137 INR
1 Canadian $ = 41.141 INR
1 Singapore $ = 32.978 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.297 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.041 INR
1 Euro = 65.961 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.410 INR
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