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UP youth dies after beating by fellow commuters in train
Mumbai, Oct 29 (PTI) A young Uttar Pradesh migrant labourer died after being severely beaten in a local train here by fellow commuters following a squabble in a violent attack against the backdrop of the anti-north Indian campaign in Maharashtra.
The incident yesterday coming close on the heels of the death of Rahul Raj, a youth from Patna, who was gunned down by the police in a Mumbai bus on Monday, fuelled anger against the Congress-led coalition government in the state by UPA allies like Lalu Yadav's RJD, Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi party and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti party(LJP).
UP Chief Minister Mayawati wrote a letter to the Centre and Maharashtra government to immediately ensure that attacks against north Indians were stopped.
Atleast 20 persons involved in the death of 25-year-old Dharam Dev were detained by the Government Railway Police (GRP), police said amid reports that some of them may be activists of Raj Thakceray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Dev was working in a construction site.
Before the detentions were made, A K Sharma, Commissioner of GRP, told PTI "We have filed a case of rioting and murder against 10 to 12 unknown persons at the Karjat railway police station." The victim was onboard a Mumbai CST-bound local train from Khopoli along with the three friends yesterday when the incident occurred. The four were going home for Diwali.
As a fresh controversy erupted over the attack, Maharashtra government sought to downplay the incident with Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil saying initial reports suggested that there was no no angle of language or involvement of any local outfit in it. PTI
Chandrayaan-1 gets closer to Moon
Bangalore, Oct 29 (PTI) The fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-1 was carried out today which took the lunar spacecraft closer to the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation said here.
During this operation at 0738 hours, the spacecraft's 440 Newton liquid engine was fired for about three minutes, the Bangalore-headquartered space agency said in a statement.
"With this, Chandrayaan-1 entered into a more elliptical orbit whose apogee (farthest point to earth) lies at 2,67,000 km while the perigee (nearest point to earth) lies at 465 km. Thus, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's present orbit extends more than half the way to the moon," ISRO said.
In this orbit, the spacecraft takes about six days to go round the earth once.
The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here with support from Indian Deep Space Network antennas at Byalalu near here.
ISRO said all systems on board the spacecraft are performing normally.
One more orbit raising manoeuvre is scheduled to send the spacecraft to the vicinity of the moon at a distance of about 3,84,000 km from the earth, it said. PTI
SP mounts pressure for judicial probe into Batla encounter
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Mounting pressure on the UPA government over the Batla House encounter issue, Samajwadi Party has said it would be difficult for it to "share the dais" with Congress if its demand for a judicial probe was not met.
Party general secretary Amar Singh, however, did not set any deadline for the demand to be met.
"If there is no judicial probe, it will be difficult for us to share the same dais with Congress," Singh told PTI here but did not elaborate.
The SP leader, who has been raising the demand for long, however, said he continued to have hope that a judicial probe will be announced until the government categorically rules it out.
He particularly pins his hopes on UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in this regard.
"Although there has been no response from the government on our demand for a judicial probe, I have hopes from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi," Singh said.
Samajwadi Party has raised the demand for a judicial probe even at its Coordination Committee meeting with Congress but failed to get any positive response.
Questions have been raised over authenticity of the September 19 encounter at Batla House in Jamia Nagar in which a police inspector and two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed. (MORE) PTI
Ton-up Gambhir guides India to 296 for 3
Amlan Chakraborty
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) A sedate Gautam Gambhir (149 not out) slammed his second successive century against Australia as India weathered a wobbly morning session before finishing day one of the third cricket Test on a strong note here today.
Squirming at 27 for two inside 11 overs with two of the premier batsmen back in the hut, India seemed in a spot of bother before Gambhir raised 130 runs with Sachin Tendulkar (68) and another unbroken 139 with VVS Laxman (54 not out) to help the hosts reach a comfortable 296 for three wickets at stumps.
Gambhir and Laxman will resume tomorrow to consolidate India's position in the match.
Gambhir's career-best 285-ball knock was studded with 20 boundaries and a six, while Laxman hit three fours en route to an unbeaten fifty.
With fit-again captain Anil Kumble calling it correct at the toss of coin, India got just what they wanted -- leaving Australia with the dreadful proposition of batting last on the notoriously spin-friendly Ferozeshah Kotla track.
The decision to bat first, however, appeared to have boomeranged in the first hour itself with Virender Sehwag (1) and Rahul Dravid (11) cooling their heels in the pavilion.
Sehwag's stay at his home turf was cut short to just two deliveries. Brett Lee rapped the leaden-footed right hander with the one that came in and if lack of feet movement did Sehwag in, Dravid perished to poor shot selection.
Bowling only his fourth ball of the match, first change bowler Mitchell Johnson angled it across and Matthew Hayden collected Dravid's ugly poke at ankle height in the first slip. PTI
Gambhir, Watson get involved in a heated exchange
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) A tense moment cropped up on the opening day of the third cricket Test at Ferozshah Kotla ground when India opener Gautam Gambhir and Australia all-rounder Shane Watson were involved in a heated exchange minutes before the tea break.
Gambhir, who appeared to have been provoked by Watson while he was taking his first run off the Australian's delivery in the 51st over, nudged the bowler when he crossed him while completing the second run.
Gambhir's gesture left Watson shaking his head in wonder and skipper Ricky Ponting took note of it.
The young Delhi batman's gesture was a reaction to an earlier exchange that happened in the 18th over when Watson had deliberately walked down the wicket to Gambhir.
The enraged Delhi batsman later hit a towering six off Watson to complete his third Test century in the final session of the day.
It remains to be seen whether the match officials find Gambhir's gesture towards Watson offensive as per the ICC code of conduct. PTI
DDCA felicitates Tendulkar
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The Delhi and District Cricket Association today felicitated Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the highest run-getter in Tests.
In a simple function held before the start of the third Test between India and Australia at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, DDCA President Arun Jaitley presented the star batsman a pair of shoes and congratulated him on crossing 12000 runs in the longer version of the game.
Indian opener and Delhi captain Virender Sehwag was also present at the function.
The 35-year-old Tendulkar surpassed former West Indies captain Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs during the second Test against Australia which India won by 320 runs in Mohali. PTI
Rahul gets good start in Faldo Series Grand Finals
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Last year's All India Amateur winner Rahul Bakshi made a late recovery to end tied fifth with one over par 73 after the first round of the Faldo Series Grand Finals in Brazil today.
Rahul, who is six shots behind the leader Andrew Wallace of Scotland, got a bad start and was five over after the first eight holes. But, he clawed his way back soon and finished with a respectable score with the help of four birdies.
Two-time Indian Amateur Tour winner Rashid Khan, however, failed to live upto expectation and finished the round with seven over par 79.
Rashid, who was part of the Indian team for the Eisenhower Trophy, had as many as three double bogeys and could not recover to finish fourth after the first round in his age group.
Meanwhile, leader Wallace started his journey in style with a birdie on the first hole and then added five more, including one on the 18th.
With only one bogey on his card, the 19-year-old finished five shots clear of English players Andrew Palmer and Steven Brown -- joint second on level-par 72.
Both Rashid and Rahul earned their invite after finishing winner and runners-up respectively in the Faldo Series Asia Final held in China last December.
The tournament, being played at the Costa Do Sauipe Golf Resort in Brazil follows a 54-hole strokeplay format with the winner earning an invite for a European Tour event in Russia in 2009. PTI
At least 80 killed as quake hits southwest Pakistan
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Oct 29 (PTI) At least 80 people were killed and scores of others injured when a powerful earthquake rocked parts of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province today, officials said.
The temblor triggered landslides, flattened hundreds of houses and disrupted power supply. The region was first hit by a quake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale at around 4.33 am (local time) followed by a 6.1 magnitude temblor at 5.10 am, which lasted for 10 seconds.
The quake hit around 70 kilometres northeast of provincial capital of Quetta and 185 kilometres southeast of the Afghan city of Kandahar, the US Geological Survey said.
The jerks were felt in Quetta, Ziarat, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Mastung, Sibi, Bolan, Kuchlak and Loralai areas.
Sohail-ur-Rehman, the district coordination officer of the worst-hit Ziarat, said at least 80 people were killed in the earthquake and the toll is expected to rise.
Most of the casualties were due to a landslide triggered by the temblor, officials said. Panic-stricken residents, who rushed out of their houses as the quake struck, were sleeping on roads and open spaces in many areas.
Rehman said at least 500 houses were demolished by the quake in Ziarat. Many people were still feared buried under the rubble.
The army said soldiers, paramilitary troops and helicopters have been dispatched to the worst-hit areas. PTI
Russia looks at India, China amid global financial turmoil
Vinay Shukla
Moscow, 29 Oct (PTI) A key strategic plan prepared by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for Russia's foreign and economic ties in the next decade has identified India and China as priority partners, with most of the top western nations headed for recession.
The government of Prime Minister Putin on Monday adopted a strategy to develop former Communist nation's foreign economic ties till 2020, in which the world's most dynamically emerging India and China have been identified as the priority partners.
According to an unnamed official, quoted by the state-owned ITAR-TASS news agency, most of the strategic plan adopted by the cabinet is highly confidential; few passages for public consumption mention India and China as the priority partners, albeit Moscow will continue to look at the currant focal partner European Union for hi-tech, energy investments and acquisition of European assets.
With European markets falling and the continent slipping into a long recession, Moscow seems to be willing to grant India, as its priority partner, wider access to its energy assets.
The acquisition by ONGC Videsh of London-listed Imperial Energy operating in west Siberian region of Tomsk is expected to be speedily cleared by the government.
Russia seems to be willing for greater mutual investments in the energy sector and the issue is likely to be on the top of the bilateral agenda of the annual Indo-Russian summit in the first week of December, when President Dmitry Medvedev is to pay his maiden visit to India. PTI
Gayoom ousted after 30-year reign in Maldives
T V Sriram
Male, Oct 29 (PTI) After a record 30 years as the undisputed ruler of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom today lost power to a former political prisoner in the first-ever democratic presidential polls in the island nation.
Mohammed "Anni" Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had won 54.25 per cent of the votes cast in yesterday's presidential run-off as against 45.75 per cent by 71-year-old Gayoom, election officials said.
Conceding defeat to Nausheed, a prominent face of the pro-democracy protests in the country who has been in and out of jail, the long-time President said "I congratulate Anni".
"I thank the people of the Maldives for allowing me to serve them for 30 years," Gayoom, who has ruled the picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago since 1978, told Voice of Maldives radio station.
Nasheed indicated he was willing to bury the hatchet and that his priority was a smooth transition of power.
"I want a peaceful transition. I want my supporters to be calm," he told reporters as hundreds of opposition activists poured into streets to celebrate the victory.
Nasheed said Gayoom's political career did not end with this election and that he would like to promote pluralism in Maldivian society and not be "vindictive".
The 41-year-old opposition leader, a maritime engineer by profession, is expected to assume office in the second week of November after he is officially declared elected by the election commission.
The victory of Nasheed marks a watershed in the history of Maldives where a ban on opposition parties was effective till 2004. Gayoom had won the six previous presidential elections but never before faced an opponent. PTI
Sensex closes 36 pts up ahead of US Fed rate cut
Mumbai, Oct 29 (PTI) Mood swings on the bourses amid expectations of a rate cut announcement by the US Federal Reserve lead to a volatile trading session, and the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex ended over 36 points higher.
The Sensex, which commenced the Samvat year 2065 on a cheerful note yesterday, remained volatile by swinging between 9,297.76 and 8,894.34, before ending higher 36.43 points at 9,044.51.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 12.45 points at 2,697.05, after touching the day's high of 2,781.25 and a low of 2,631.90 points.
Marketmen said trading sentiment remained extremely volatile on expectations that the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rate, a measure to control troubled financial markets.
They said the market also remained jittery on reports of the Finance Minister meeting Reserve Bank of India and Security Exchanges of India chiefs later in the day.
Short-covering was provided support to the market, which dropped nearly 37 per cent this month, ahead of expiry of October month derivative's segment, they added.
Major support to the market came from metal, oil and gas, auto and information technology segment stocks.
Metal segment index gained the most by rising 298.19 points at 4,870.87 followed by oil and gas sector by 153.81 points at 5,678.33 as segment major Reliance Industries recorded a handsome gain of 12.07 per cent at Rs 1204.40. PTI
No move to cut retail fuel prices: PetroMin official
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The government has no proposal yet to cut retail fuel prices and such a move would depend on the stability in crude oil rates in the global market, Petroleum Ministry Additional Secretary S Sundareshan said today.
"We will have to watch the situation for a few more weeks before deciding on price reduction," he told reporters here.
Earlier, the ministry had said that a price reduction may be considered if crude oil falls to USD 57 per barrel. The basket of crude oil India buys was at around USD 64 per barrel as of last week.
World oil prices today advanced in Asian trade to quote 1.99 dollars higher at 64.72 dollars a barrel.
"Prices have to stabilise at current levels for four weeks before thinking of a price cut," Sundareshan said. PTI
No global financial pact possible without India, says Lamy
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) As global leaders engage themselves to grapple with the worst economic crisis since 1929, WTO chief Pascal Lamy wants India, among other emerging economies, on board for a new financial world order.
"As policy makers go about creating multilateral architecture in areas like international finance...No international agreement on finance or climate change is possible today without China, India, Brazil and Indonesia on board...," Lamy said in a speech posted on the WTO website.
While Europe and North America face an economic slowdown, the emerging economies of Brazil, India, Mexico, China, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa continue to grow, in large measure because of trade, he said at Stanford University on Monday.
The fast growing economies are of special interest to the US where exports are contributing significantly to GDP growth.
On an annualised basis, the second quarter export growth and slowing imports were responsible for the US' GDP growth of 2.9 per cent.
"Should growth slow in the emerging economies, US exports-- the most vibrant part of the economy today-- will be adversely affected. In this ever more interconnected world, prosperity in India, China, Brazil is very much in Washington's interest," said the WTO Director General.
Lamy praised India and China for using liberal economic policies to remove poverty. "Since opening their economies, the Asian giants China and India have lifted more than 400 million people from abject poverty - an economic success story without precedent," he said.
US President George Bush has convened a G-20 summit on November 15 for finding ways to deal with the economic turmoil triggered by the collapse of several US and European banks. PTI
Gold futures rises by 1.09 pc on firm global cues
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Gold futures rose by 1.09 per cent today in the futures market today as traders indulged in enlarging their positions in line with firming global trend.
Gold for December month contract moved up by 1.09 per cent to Rs 12,095 per ten gram with trading volume of 18,145 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange.
The metal for far February month also gained one per cent to Rs 12,174 per 10 gram with a trading volume of 365 lots.
Market sentiment turned bullish after reports of gold advanced for a second day in London as the dollar weakened against the euro, buoying demand for the U.S. Currency as an alternative investment.
Meanwhile, in London, gold added 2.83 dollar to 749.78 dollar an ounce. PTI
Indian film festival in Abu Dhabi from Nov 2
Abu Dhabi, Oct 27 (PTI) An Indian film festival will be held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, from November two in which Yash Chopra's cross-border love saga 'Veer Zaara' and Ashutosh Gowarikar's epic movie 'Jodha Akbar' are to be screened.
The ten-day festival is aimed to engage Emirati nationals to share the Indian culture and traditions and thus help in cementing ties between the two countries, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said here yesterday.
Shahrukh Khan starrer 'Veer Zaara,' which portrays a love story of an Indian officer and a Pakistani girl, will be the first film to be screened at the festival and its director Yash Chopra will also be present on the occasion, Ahmed said.
Besides, seven other films are also to be screened during the festival including Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer 'Jodha Akbar', 'Daatu' (Kannada), 'Anuranan: The Resonance' (Bengali), 'Kayyooppu' and 'Gul Mohar' (Malayalam), 'Paruthiveeran' (Tamil).
Terming Indian cinema as the "influential reflection of contemporary India" to the outside world, the ambassador said, "The films chosen by us emerge from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, but explore themes that will resonate with discerning audiences anywhere in the world." UAE's Minister of Higher Education and Research, Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, will inaugurate the festival. PTI
Cake, bread or ice cream? Delectable poll symbols up for grabs
Archana Jyoti
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Seeking an election symbol to fight the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi? You can be a 'whistle' blower or 'hammer' the minds of voters with poll symbols like 'iron', 'coconut' or 'bat'.
One of the possible symbols can be a 'carrot' to be dangled before the voters to woo them or opt for the 'kite' symbol which would ensure voters' dreams are kept soaring high, of course till the results are out.
Then there are 'pressure cooker', 'railway engine', 'walking stick', and 'sewing machine' too on the platter offered by the Election Commission to the candidates keen to contest the polls scheduled for November 29 in the national capital.
For that matter, if you are keen to stand apart in the crowd of independent candidates there is a 'hat' to wear this polls or just carry 'candles' if you think elections are the means to dispel darkness around you.
"There are over 59 free symbols that one can choose from for the ensuing polls in Delhi," Deputy Chief Electoral Officer JK Sharma told PTI.
'Glass tumbler', 'cup and saucer,' 'cake,' 'ice cream' 'jug' and 'kettle' are also available as election symbols available to candidates or political parties to use as an identity at the electoral ballot when the voters cast their franchise on the D-day.
Among eatables 'bread', and 'banana' also figure as choices. Animals are no longer used as poll symbols due to a new order following protests by animal activists after the BSP had managed to bag the 'elephant' symbol. PTI
Are insurance firms fair to the fairer sex?
Jayasri Viswanathan
New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) They have conquered many a male bastion whether it is driving an auto-rickshaw or playing a role in the armed forces. Women, in India, however have little option when it comes to taking an insurance cover.
As a matter of fact, in a country where there are 930womenper 1000 men, Bajaj Allianz is the only company which offers insurance policies exclusively designed for women.
Recently, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) withdrew Jeevan Bharathi 1, a policy for women. "The policy wasn't popular. It didn't sell enough. So we withdrew it. We'll bring out a new policy soon", Says Devraj Kashyap, Development officer at LIC.
However, Vinit Vidyarthi, Principal Officer at Almondz Insurance brokers Ltd, says, "Jeevan Bharthi didn't do well because it was not pushed well by LIC." A Commonwealth Fund report 'Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap', by researchers at the National Woman's Law Centre, says that women are at a disadvantage because they have greater health care needs and lower incomes than men.
"Yes, We don't have policies that are exclusively for women. But we understand that Women are equally at risk due to modern urban lifestyle," Says Soumi Rao, Manager of Public Relations at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
"While most of the health risks women face are similar to men and hence the coverage required is similar, they are at higher risk for cancer and hence could look at buying cancer protection," he adds. PTI
EMI- a film on loans and recovery
New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) With credit cards, loans and a recovery agent- Easy Monthly Installments (EMI) the Bollywood movie starring Sanjay Dutt would hit theatres soon in the backdrop of a financial meltdown and a crisis looming large over banks and credit card industry.
"Liya Hai To Chukana Padega!" (If you have got the loan, you have to repay) depicts Sanjay Dutt in the role of a loan recovery agent and Urmila Matondkar as a super-sweet next door girl in a plot that portrays contrasting characters who spend without thinking." After playing a super-vamp in 'Karzzzz', Matondkar enacts a light hearted comedy based on a very serious issue.
"Both are different characters. In 'Karzzzz', it was a negative role but in this film I am playing Prerna, who's husband dies and she needs money to take care of herself and her daughter. So she takes a loan," she says.
"I have not done any film to prove myself as an actress. I chose roles from my conviction and self belief. Even I have not taken loans and don't know about EMIs much, I enjoyed doing the film and I am sure people will like it," she adds.
'Easy Monthly Installments' (EMI), which also stars Arjun Rampart, Aashish Choudhary and Maliaka Arora Khan, is a tale of the interconnecting characters coming from different strata and styles who live off credit cards and personal loans, and it takes recovery agent, Sattar Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) to make them realise their blunder.
Slated for release this month, the film is directed by debutante Saurabh Kabra and music by Chirantan Bhatt with Sanjay Dutt lending his voice to the title track. MORE
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