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No slashing fuel prices till companies stop making losses: PM
Ammar Zaidi
On Board PM's Special Aircraft, Nov 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared to rule out cutting prices of petrol and diesel till oil companies stop making losses on fuel sales.
Contending that there were "limits to which Government can go on subsidising", Singh said it will wait till oil companies stop making losses before considering cutting petrol and diesel prices.
"When we see that the Indian oil companies are able to sustain a reduction, that will be the right (time for such a) decision," Singh told reporters late last night on way back to New Delhi from his three-day maiden visit to energy rich Gulf countries.
Oil companies have started making profit on sale of petrol but they continue to incur losses on diesel sales.
"Oil companies have to bear a very heavy burden (and) there are limits to which Government can go on subsidising," he said.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum currently make a profit of Rs 4.12 a litre on petrol but lose Rs 0.96 per litre on diesel.
Together with domestic LPG and kerosene they are expected to lose Rs 128,135 crore in revenues this fiscal. PTI
Cong leader Margaret Alva resigns, leaders flay her
New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Apparently facing disciplinary action, Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva today resigned from her post after creating a storm by her stinging criticism of the party in election ticket distribution, drawing sharp criticism from various leaders.
The morning after she met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and A K Antony, Chairman of the party's Disciplinary Action Committee, Alva sent her resignation to Gandhi this afternoon.
During the meeting with Gandhi last night, the 66-year-old veteran, who is also a member of the Congress Working Committee and Central Election Committee, is believed to have offered to resign from her post if her criticism had become an embarrassment.
Apparently not not wanting to be seen as leninent on indiscipline with elections round the corner, leaders were unsparing in criticism of Alva, a member of various high-level fora of the party.
Rahul Gandhi rejected her charges saying he was "not not unhappy" about ticket distribution. Those who attacked her included Congress' chief spokesman M Veerappa Moily, who said she had committed serious breach of discipline, Digvijay Singh and Ashok Ghelot.
There were also voices of support from senior leaders including Yogendra Makwana from Gujarat and R L Jalappa from her state Karnataka.
Last week, Alva, who is in charge of party affairs in several including Maharashtra and Punjab, had stirred a hornet's nest by saying that tickets during Karnataka assembly elections were sold and questioning the denial of ticket to her son Nivedith. PTI
Pirates attack Indian ship, Navy intervenes
New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) In the first-ever action after being deployed in the Gulf of Aden, Navy today thwarted an attempt by pirates to capture an Indian merchant vessel in the region.
The ship, M V Jag Arnav, has recently crossed the Suez Canal and was eastward bound when it was surrounded by pirates, who tried to board and hijack the ship, Navy sources here said.
When the 38,265-tonne bulk carrier, owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, raised an alarm, it caught the attention of the Indian Naval warship, INS Tabar, which was patrolling in the Gulf of Aden waters.
The Navy warship rushed its commandos on an armed helicopter to intervene and they successfully repulsed the pirates attacking the commercial carrier, sources added.
"An armed helicopter with marine commandos was launched from the naval warship to intervene and prevent the pirates from boarding and hijacking the merchant vessel. This timely and successful intervention led to the pirates aborting their attempt," sources said.
The attack took place around 10.30 hours about 60 nautical miles of Aden, when the pirates came on speed boats armed with automatic weapons, they said.
Later, INS Tabar, which was about 25 nautical miles away from the place of pirate attack, closed in on the merchant vessel and escorted it to safety.
In the wake of several incidents of merchant vessels coming under attack from pirates, India has on October 23 decided to deploy her warship in the Gulf of Aden on patrol duties with a mandate to intervene if any Indian vessel was in distress. PTI
Ranji tie: Rajasthan staring at innings defeat against Punjab
Mohali, Nov 11 (PTI) Rajasthan's batting collapsed yet again and they were reduced to 57/6 in their second innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite group match against Punjab at the PCA stadium here.
At the end of the day's play, Rajasthan's top order batsman Vineet Saxena (36) was waging a lone battle with Sumit Mathur (6) as his partner after the visitors witnessed a batting collapse yet again.
Rajasthan, who were bundled out for 133 yesterday with speed duo of Manpreet Gony and Gagandeep Singh taking four wickets each, repeated the script and four of their batsmen Shubhanshu Vijay, Gagan Khoda, skipper Venugopal Rao and Ashok Meenaria failed to even open their accounts.
Both the Rajasthan openers were today removed by Gagandeep while V Rao fell LBW to Gony and three others fell victim to Ankur Kakkar.
Earlier today, Punjab resumed their innings at an overnight score of 115/2, with opener Sunny Sohal (66) and Uday Kaul (9) at the crease.
Playing on the home ground Sohal, who found empty stands at the PCA when he brought up his 100, showed his class hitting 16 boundaries.
His innings took Punjab to 262 all out earning them a vital lead of 129 runs. V Rao was rewarded with his crucial wicket.
Uday Kaul (31) also made some useful contribution, but skipper Pankaj Dharmani (15) could not make any impact and got out when Punjab's score was 5-213, the middle-order and tail enders failed to last long.
For Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh was the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets.
Ponting has tough words for his players
Sydney, Nov 11 (PTI) Under-fire Australian skipper Ricky Ponting today had stern words for his teammates, saying it was imperative for them to "play at a higher level" following the humiliating series defeat against India and that nobody should take his place in the team for granted.
Ponting said there was no reason why Australia could not bounce back and win all the six home Tests this summer despite the setback in India and it was time for his team to make a "positive statement".
"We have to play at a higher level than we did through the India tour, there's no doubt about that, and there's no excuses and there's no reason why we can't," Ponting told reporters at the airport shortly after arriving from the tour of India where they lost the Test series 2-0.
He said he would not allow the defeat to have a bearing on his captaincy.
"I will continue to be a ruthless captain and a ruthless player and I expect all my other teammates are in exactly the same boat. And if they're not now, having lost a Test series in India 2-0, we have to look around for some other guys, he warned.
"I've got total confidence that we can bounce back and that we can win every Test we play in Australia this year," he said.
Ponting was adamant Australia deserved to retain their No.1 ranking despite the series loss and predicted his team would play "some of the best Test cricket we've seen for a while" in the upcoming home Tests against New Zealand and South Africa. PTI
Nasheed takes over as Maldivian President
M V Meenakshisundaram
Male, Nov 11 (PTI) Promising to uphold the multi-party system in Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, a longtime political prisoner, was today sworn-in as President of the island nation, a fortnight after an emphatic win in the country's first democratic Presidential poll.
"The only antidote," for Maldives is the multi-party system, Nasheed said, soon after taking over the office ending the 30-year reign of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia's longest serving President.
It is for this multi-party system, Nasheed said "for which we have striven so hard and which entrenches the freedom of expression and protects the right to dissent".
The colourful swearing in ceremony was attended by a galaxy of dignitaries, including Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and India's Vice President Hamid Ansari.
But the country's outgoing President Gayoom -- the man who jailed him for long years -- was conspicuous by his absence at the function.
41-year old Nasheed, known as 'Anni' to Maldivians, took office on the country's Republic Day.
Maldives' Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed administered oath of office to Nasheed, who said the country's march to democracy would stand as a "fine example to the international community".
"A government that does not fulfil its pledges forfeits its right to govern. Those who do not deliver electoral pledges cannot take pride in their electoral success," the new President said in his address to the Members of Parliament, after the ceremony.
He said the outcome of the freely expressed wishes of the people was a genuine transition to democracy. PTI
Obama could open talks with Iran to settle Afghan issue
Washington, Nov 11 (PTI) The incoming Barack Obama's administration is exploring a new legal strategy to the war in Afghanistan, that could include possible talks with Iran and favouring nascent dialogue between Kabul and "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban.
Media reports quoted Obama's top National Security advisers as saying that new President also intends to renew focus on hunting Osama Bin Laden wanted for dead;y September 11, 2001 attacks in US.
For this purpose, Obama intends to move ahead with a planned deployment of thousands of additional US troops in Afghanistan.
The President-elect believes that Bush has played down after years of failing to apprehend the al-Qaeda leader and the most wanted fugitive in the world.
The advisers quoted by the Washington Post felt that the Bush administration had been "hampered by ideological and diplomatic constraints and an unrealistic commitment to the goal of building modern democracy in war-torn nation.
The paper said that the emerging broad strokes of Obama's approach would be welcomed by senior US military officers who advocate the more aggressive and creative course for the deteriorating conflict in Afghanistan.
The daily said that the Taliban attacks had mounted this year as causing more US casualties-- the highest since the war began seven years ago.
The paper said that as Obama begins to formulate his Afghan war policy, some senior military strategists have begun to question the US commitment to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is expected to run for the election next year. PTI
Qatar to invest USD 5 bn in energy, fertiliser in India
By Ammar Zaidi
Onboard PM's Special Aircraft, Nov 11 (PTI) Qatar may invest USD 5 billion in energy and fertiliser projects in India as part of New Delhi's efforts to use surplus funds from the energy-rich Gulf region to shore up slowing economic pace.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on his way back from the three-day maiden visit to the region, said he discussed with the Qatari leadership the modalities of setting up the USD 5 billion fund dedicated for investments in India.
"We discussed the modalities of Qatar investing about USD 5 billion in India. In the next 2 or 3 months, we will work out modalities (and) identify projects in the area of energy, power, fertiliser and related activities," he said.
The discussions over the next couple of months would enable the Government of Qatar to decide where it wants these funds to be invested in.
Discussions on the Qatar Investment Fund followed India and Oman signing an agreement on November 8 to set up a USD 100 million joint investment fund for financing projects in telecom, infrastructure, utilities, health and urban infrastructure.
The India-Oman Joint Investment Fund, with an equal contribution from each side, would eventually go up to USD 1.5 billion, the Prime Minister said.
From Qatar, India is keen to source a minimum of 2.5 million tonnes of additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) and buying fertilisers on a long-term contract.
"We also discussed the possibilities (of Qatar) supplying fertilisers (to India through) either investments in fertiliser plants in India or expanding production fertiliser plants in Qatar with assured buyback in India. And it was agreed the two countries will explore possibilities," he said. PTI
Sensex dips below 10k level; Nifty below 3,000-mark
Mumbai, Nov 11 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex dipped below the 10,000-points level at midsession today on aggressive selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks led by RIL and Infosys.
The 30-share index tumbled by 546.02 points at 9,988.14 at 1245 hrs. It had fell below the crucial 10,000-level on November 6.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange's index Nifty also cracked 3,000 level by dropping 157.40 points at 2,990.85 at the same time.
Shares of Reliance Industries dropped by Rs 90.05 at Rs 1,213 and Infosys Technologies by Rs 77.30 at Rs 1,261, together having nearly one-fifth weightage on the Sensex. PTI
I am not troubled by controversies: Nandana Sen
New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Playing the muse of Raja Ravi Verma is a childhood dream come true for actress Nandana Sen, who is not troubled by the controversies that surround the yet to be released film 'Rang Rasia'.
"I have no fears about it," says Nandita, whose sensual portrayal of Sugandha has already created a buzz. The film had problems with the sensor board which had objected to some scenes. However, it was passed after some minor cuts.
"Indian mythological figures have fascinated me since my childhood and through the character of Sugandha I will be portraying all these immortal characters in the movie," says Nandana, who is the daughter of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.
Controversies and historical films have a very close relationship. Mehta's last period film "Mangal Pandey" starring Aamir Khan had also faced debacle by various quarters.
Asked about her latest film facing similar fate, Nandana says,"We are not trying to sensationalize the subject. It is a very serious film and we have tried to bring the struggles of Raja Ravi Verma very sensitively.
"It would be ironic if something like that happens to this film as it would be a repeat of what Raja Ravi Verma and Sugandha faced 130 years ago," she says.
Talking about her character and what fascinated her to sign the film, Nandana says she was drawn to the charm that Sugandha possessed as the muse of Raja Ravi Verma.
"Sugandha was a strange mix of child-woman. She was very passionate, loving and sensual girl. She was also a very complex character with a mix of vulnerability and strength, and the fact that she was so beautiful to inspire an artist like Raja Ravi Verma makes her a dream character," says Nandana. PTI
Madonna lets Guy meet children but with rider
London, Nov 11 (PTI) Madonna's estranged husband Guy Ritchie had an emotional reunion with his sons Rocco and David today after weeks of separation following their divorce announcement last month.
The pop singer has reportedly issued a list of conditions for the reunion which include that Guy must meet while the children are with him in London and a ban on TV and non-organic food for the children, the Daily Mail reported.
Madonna had whisked the children to the US, where she is touring for her Sticky and Sweet tour, after the duo announced their divorce in mid-October this year.
Eight-year-old Rocco looked delighted to be back in the company of his father and threw his arms around him after walking through the gates at Gatwick, the paper said.
Ritchie also shared a hug with David, three, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006.
The children seemed happy to meet their father after weeks of separation and hugged each other as they have barely seen their father after Maddona announced the end of her eight-year-long marriage with British director, it said.
According to the reports, the former couple are headed for a bitter battle over Madonna's multi-million property and the custody of the children.
While the pop singer is keeping herself busy with her tour, Guy is shooting his new film, "Sherlock Holmes" with actor Jude Law. PTI
Mining poses threat to Sahyadri Tiger Park
Archana Jyoti
New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) As the Maharashtra government awaits Environment Ministry's nod for notification on the newly created Sahyadri tiger park, there is a word of caution from the wildlife experts.
Worried over the ongoing bauxite mining activities on the periphery of the tiger park, they stress on adequate steps to curb the mining activity least the wildlife is threatened by people.
"The mines which are in proximity to the park have to be either stopped or controlled. Otherwise all efforts and money will go down the drain," Ashok Kumar of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) says.
He pointed out that the noise due to blasts and heavy machinery besides regular biotic pressure on the Reserve for fire wood and fodder from the mine workers will disturb the habitat as has happened in Panna Tiger reserve where Supreme Court has sought closure of the mines.
The Maharashtra government has submitted a draft notification of the newly approved reserve to the environment ministry for its nod so as to notify the entire area.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given in-principle approval to the park asking the state authorities to give a detail project report.
Maharashtra already boasts of three tiger reserves -- Melghat,Tadoba-Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves, drawing lakhs of tourists to the parks every year.
Sahyadri Tiger Reserve will include 317.67 sq km of Chandoli National Park and 423.55 sq km of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. The Chandoli National Park was formed in 2004 while Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary was formed in 1985. PTI
Newsletter: Kerala village declared first litigation-controlled panchayat
N Muraleedharan
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 9 (PTI): After its pioneering efforts in universal literacy, Kerala has scored another first with a sleepy hamlet of Cheriyanad in Alappuzha district being declared the country's maiden litigation-controlled and legal-literate panchayat.
Starting on a modest note in 1988, the campaign for the case-free panchayat has seen about 1500 disputes settled since then, which included 676 cases disposed off through conciliations by the specially set up panchayat court.
The civic body has received the support of the judges of the Kerala High court, the state Legal Services Society and several serving and retired legal luminaries in the quest for making the village virtually litigation-free.
"The cases settled included both civil and criminal. Many of them we could settle within the panchayat itself, where a specially designated sub-committee heard both sides and brought about conciliations. In the end, those who came as foes would disperse shaking hands over a cup of tea", Cheriyanad Panchayat President V K Vasudevan, told PTI.
A predominantly agrarian panchayat of about 7000 families, the process had been generally welcomed by the people though many of them had initial doubts about its success. "Now they know that they had been able to save money and time which would have wasted on if they went for litigation over petty disputes", a panchayat official said. PTI
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1 U.S. $ = 48.025 INR
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1 Canadian $ = 40.276 INR
1 Singapore $ = 32.049 INR
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1 Euro = 61.114 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.189 INR
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