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Rahul asks BJP to introspect on Malegaon blast
Amitabh Shukla Amritsar, Nov 18 (PTI) Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi today asked the BJP to introspect on the links between the Malegaon blast suspects and its affiliates and said the government was doing a good job in containing terrorism.
"BJP should have a look into the links which the Malegaon accused have with the party," Gandhi said at a press conference here to announce the schedule of the organisational elections to the Indian Youth Congress in Punjab.
Replying to a question on the allegations of BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani that Congress was "politicising" terror, he said, "I have no response".
"Advaniji has the view that the Congress is politicising terror. May be the BJP should take a look into what it does," Gandhi, who was in a rarely combative mood, said.
Asked about the remarks of BJP President Rajnath Singh that he was a "bachcha" (child) in politics, Gandhi candidly admitted that he indeed was a 'bachcha'.
"As compared to Rajnath Singh and others, I admit that I am a complete bachcha. But fortunately or unfortunately, 70 per cent of the country is bachcha," he said in an apparent to the country's youth.
"I do not have even half the experience which he (Rajnath) has," the young MP said.
The word "bachcha" could be defined as the way you look at things, Gandhi said. "He (Rajnath) would not have the desired impact as the country looks at the things in a different manner. It is the way of looking at things differently," the Amethi MP said. PTI
India, Egypt decide to establish strategic dialogue
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Seeking to "rekindle" their ties in tune with the contemporary realities, India and Egypt today decided to establish a strategic dialogue at Foreign Minister level and agreed on a slew of other measures in political and economic field to "make up for the lost time".
The two sides signed five pacts, including an Extradition Treaty and an MoU for cooperation in trade and technical field, after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak here.
The two leaders also discussed the global financial crisis and agreed to work together to meet the challenge posed by it.
Singh and Mubarak, whose trip marks the first Presidential visit from Egypt to India in 25 years, agreed that the two countries needed to speed up efforts to "make up for the lost time" in their engagement.
In an effort to upgrade their ties, the two sides decided to set up a strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers.
"The visit has opened a new chapter in our relations. We have both agreed that all the conditions are ripe for transforming our relations to correspond to contemporary realities," Singh told reporters in presence of Mubarak after their talks that also covered regional and global issues.
"It is my firm belief that the time has come for India and Egypt to rekindle the special nature of our bilateral relations based upon the immense goodwill that exists between our two peoples," the Prime Minister said. PTI
EC objects to violation of poll norms by media in J-K
Srinagar, Nov 18 (PTI) The Election Commission today took serious note of violation of its guidelines on photography and video coverage by the media inside polling stations during yesterday's first phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir.
The commission made its displeasure known to B R Sharma, the chief electoral officer of the state, after several local dailies in Kashmir carried photographs taken inside polling booths, official sources said.
In some photographs, it was clear as to which candidate the voter was casting his/her vote, while a local cable channel last night aired footage taken inside a polling station in Bandipora district.
The Directorate of Information and Public Relations of the state govenrment had also issued a full-page advertisement in an Urdu daily, in which some voters were seen casting votes.
As per the commission guidelines, photography and videography are not permitted inside polling stations.
The chief electoral officer said he has directed the district electoral officers not to allow any such activity inside polling stations during the rest of the remaining six phases of elections.
"I have also sought an explanation from the secretary of information about the advertisement issued by the department in today's paper," Sharma said. PTI
Dhoni and Co better suited for T20 than Tests, felt Ponting
Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Nov 18 (PTI) Blissfully unaware of the series bashing that awaited him in India, Australian captain Ricky Ponting considered Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men better-suited for Twenty20 cricket rather than Tests after their World Cup triumph in South Africa.
Recalling the success of Indian team in the Twenty20 World Cup, Ponting wrote in his book 'Captain's Diary 2008' that Dhoni was a "classic example" of a player who could damage the opposition in the shortest version, which offers little scope for a batsman to showcase his technique.
"Teams that are outclassed in five-day matches and even 50-over games are much more competitive in Twenty20. India offer a good example of this. The shorter the format of the game the more dangerous they become," Ponting said.
"Some of their batsmen -- Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni are classic examples -- can hurt you more in shorter games, because their is less opportunity to find ways of picking apart their techniques," he while adding that "Form in Twenty20 really doesn't count for all that much".
Having said so, Ponting also dismissed India's successful journey to the T20 world title, attributing it to more luck and little skills.
"I am not as cynical about the game as I once was, but some negatives still nag at me. There is so much luck involved in this shortened form of the game; it's not always going to be the best team that wins.
"I guess that's true of all sport but it seems to be accentuated here... Little wonder, then, that the tournament has been unpredictable, with many locals stunned that previously unbeaten South Africa was eliminated so comfortably by India," he said. PTI
Indian men beat Austria, women lose to Hungary
From our Chess Correspondent
Dresden (Germany), Nov 18 (PTI) Indian men bounced back with an easy 3-1 victory over Austria in the fifth round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad now in progress here.
Aided by fine victories by former World Junior champion P Harikrishna and National Champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the Indians took their points tally to eight points out of a possible 10 to be placed joint seventh.
As many as six teams emerged as joint leaders on nine points in the 11-rounds event after the summit clash between Germany and Russia ended in a 2-2 draw with peace being the order of the day on all four boards.
This result enabled England, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Armenia to catch the two overnight leaders atop the tables after all these four teams scored victories over Italy, Norway, Hungary and the Netherlands respectively.
In the women's section, World Junior Girls' champion D Harika proved expensive as the 11th seed team succumbed to a 1.5-2.5 loss against eighth seeded Hungarians.
The loss against Hungary proved expensive to the eves as they slumped to joint 14th spot on seven points.
Nisha Mohota was on the receiving end against Vajda Szidonia on the second board while Tania Sachdev, Swati Ghate and Mary Ann Gomes played out draws against Hoang Thanh Trang, Eldiko Madl and Veronica Schneider respectively.
China emerged as the sole leader in this section after scoring a thumping 3.5-0.5 victory over Poland on the top board. Hungary solely occupies the second spot on nine points while 11 teams including top seed Russia now have eight points and share the third spot jointly. PTI
Dhoni will be tested once luck runs out: Younis
Karachi, Nov 18 (PTI) The success of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Indian cricket captain is a combination of some skill and loads of good fortune, feels senior Pakistan batsman Younis Khan, who says it would be interesting to see how he fares once his luck runs out.
Younis, who returned with the Pakistan team from Abu Dhabi last night, said Dhoni has been very lucky as captain so far.
"But I would like to see how he fares and handles the pressure when the luck runs out. That will be his real test," he said.
He stated that Dhoni had been very lucky so far in that everything he has done has turned out right.
"But in cricket one also has to be prepared to face hard situations when luck does not seem to smile on a player at all," he added.
Younis, who is Pakistan's top batsman in 21 one-day internationals this year scoring 865 runs at 54.06, also urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to give Shoaib Malik more time as captain.
"From what I have observed, Malik I learning the skills of captaincy with every match and he is a good learner," Younis said.
"I would suggest that the Pakistan board give him time and I can see Malik leading the team for the next few years without any major issues." Younis, who will return to Australia to play in their domestic circuit, said he was not interested in the captaincy anymore. PTI
Russian Navy not to lease Nerpa nuke submarine to India
Moscow, Nov 18 (PTI) The Russian Navy will keep the accident-hit K-152 Nerpa nuclear attack submarine rather than lease or sell it to India with which negotiations were held about a possible deal worth millions of dollars, a top defence official here said today.
"The sum of USD 650-780 million, which Rosoboronexport and the Amur Shipbuilding Plant had negotiated over a long period of time with the Indian Ministry of Defence, will now be found in Russia, either within the state weapons procurement programme or somewhere else," Chief of the General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov, told the government daily 'Rossiiskaya Gazeta'.
The construction of the Akula II class Nerpa nuclear attack submarine started in 1991, but was suspended for over a decade due to lack of funding. A toxic gas leak aboard the vessel during sea trials recently had left 20 people dead.
Under the larger Gorshkov package, the construction of the submarine was partially financed by India at the cost of USD 650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-tonne Akula-II class vessel considered the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines.
General Makarov's statement came shortly after the local media reported that Russian Navy was interested in keeping Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier in case Moscow and New Delhi fail to agree on final price of the refit of the Soviet-built vessel. PTI
Prachanda, Maoist hardliners lock horns over ideology
Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Nov 18 (PTI) A serious row has erupted between Nepalese Premier Prachanda and Maoist hardliners on whether to consolidate the democratic republic or pursue a Communist- style dispensation, with the former guerrilla chief finding it difficult to get his views on the multi-party system endorsed.
The differences between Prachanda and Maoist hardliners like Mohan Vaidya surfaced after the latter presented his political document on "People's Republic", claiming that Prachanda's views on the issue lacked clarity.
A crucial meeting of the Central Working Committee of the CPN-Maoist on the issue, which was briefly held at Bharatpur near here yesterday, was postponed till tomorrow.
"We have postponed the meeting till Wednesday as further time was required to study both documents (of Vaidya and Prachanda) to start formal discussions" on the issue, senior Maoist leader and chief of party's Foreign Department C P Gajurel, a confidant of Vaidya, said.
Prachanda has presented three options in his document: the 'federal democratic republic' to be pursued immediately, 'transitional republic' for transitional period and 'people's republic' as the ultimate goal of the party.
But party's hardliners, currently in majority, were not satisfied by Prachanda's ideological document.
Political analysts termed the differences among leaders of Nepal's largest Communist party as serious. This was for the first time that the party workers were openly divided on the basis of ideology. Nepal, in the past, had witnessed split in Communist parties when such differences had cropped up.
However, Gajurel did not agree with the view. "It does not bring any serious crisis in the party," he said, adding, the differences would be sorted out after deliberations. PTI
Sensex closes below 9,000, IT, banking stocks major losers
Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Falling for the fifth day in a row, the benchmark Sensex today closed below 9,000 level after more than 20 days with funds intensifying selling after Citigroup announced plans to lay off over 50,000 people, indicating the deep impact of the global financial upheaval.
The BSE bellwether index closed the day at 8,937.20, down by 353.81 points from its last close. Sensex had lost more than 1,500 points in these five days of losing-spree.
The barometer last closed below 9,000 level on October 27.
National Stock Exchange index Nifty also lost 116.40 points at 2,683.15.
Brokers said the world's largest lender Citigroup's plans of massive job cuts mainly dampened trading sentiment. Besides, Japan sliding into recession also weighed against buying support.
Vikram Pandit-led financial services giant yesterday said it would cut more than 52,000 jobs in the coming months.
Marketmen said the investors drew little comfort from the finance minister's saying the government will take steps to stimulate the economy to offset the impact of the global slowdown.
Sluggish global economic conditions, particularly in the US, from where software companies earn a good chunk of their revenues, continued to cast a shadow on IT stocks whose index ended lower by 4.70 per cent Power and banking indices also bore the brunt of selling, and their respective indices closed down by over 4 per cent. PTI
Govt to rationalise foodgrain allocation
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Amidst complaints from various states regarding cut in foodgrain allocation, particularly in rice, the food ministry is considering a proposal to rationalise allocations for the APL category.
"We will rationalise the allocation for the Above Poverty Line (APL) category," a senior government official told PTI.
The official said that there might be an increase in the allocations, but it may not be to the extent as demanded by the states.
Kerala and Chhattisgarh are some of the major states that had complained of reduction in rice allocation to people covered under APL category.
The official pointed out that demand of foodgrain under APL category has increased in recent years because of sharp difference between in the market price and the Central Issue Price (CIP) announced by the government.
"There was less offtake of APL foodgrain some 3-4 years back as there was no major price difference between APL rate and market rate. But, as the government did not increase the issue price of foodgrain supplied under PDS in all categories including APL, offtake subsequently increased with the rise in market rates," the official said.
The Centre supplies rice to states at Rs 8.30 per kg and wheat at Rs 6.10 a kg for APL category. The Central Issue Prices (CIPs) of foodgrain for APL category have not been changed since 2002, though the government purchase rate (MSP and bonus) of paddy has grown to Rs 9 per kg from Rs 5.50 a kg and for wheat to Rs 10 a kg from Rs 6.30 per kg.
Market experts said that the re-thinking by the Centre is mainly due to a record procurement of rice in 2007-08 season (October-September) and wheat in 2008-09 (April-June).
The government has procured over 285 lakh tonnes of rice and nearly 227 lakh tonnes of wheat last season. PTI
Kidman hints at retirement to have more children
Sydney, Nov 18 (PTI) Superstar Nicole Kidman today said she was unsure about her acting career because she wanted to have more children.
The actress said it was difficult decision for her and husband Keith Urban to leave behind their newborn daughter Sunday Rose to attend the premier of 'Australia'.
The USD 130 million film, which has been directed by Luhrmann, opens here today.
"In terms of my future as an actor I don't know." "I'm in a place in my life where I have had some great opportunities but I may choose to have some more children, She said in a press conference.
"...There are many things I want to do besides act." Kidman is the second famous actress after Angelina Jolie to express a desire to retire from and active career to become a full-time mother.
Her daughter Sunday Rose, was born in August and she has two children, Connor and Isabella, from her marriage to actor Tom Cruise, NEWS.Com.Au reported.
Talking about her latest film, Kidman said working on Lurhmann's movie was an opportunity she could not pass up.
It is Luhrmann's first film since "Moulin Rouge" in 2001 and has a budget of USD 130 million. The film is also being touted as saviour of the ailing local film and tourism industries.
The director said it was up to the film now to find the audience. "We've given it our all, we've done our best and now it's out in the world," he said.
"This is a once in a lifetime film," Kidman said at the press conference.
"This is a celebration for me and hopefully for the country. It's not meant to be the Second Coming but it's about let's have some fun and enjoy," she said. PTI
We lack spirit of adventure: Mandip Singh
New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) In India parents are too cautious to send their children for adventure tourism. In fact as a nation we lack spirit of adventure says Mandip Singh Soin, well known adventure sportsperson.
Soin, who got into Limca Book of Records in 1992 as 'India's Most Versatile Adventure Sportsperson' and honoured with the same this year, says, "Adventure tourism is popular in other countries. Spirit of adventure teach us to handle pressures of life better. But the irony is that we lack the spirit as a nation. Parents here are too cautious and apprehensive and do not take it as a sport."
However, the adventurer, who from the age of 16 has participated in adventure activities including Himalayan treks, ice-treks, cycling expeditions, camel and elephant expeditions and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, UK, however says that adventure tourism as a sport is slowly growing in the country with more and more youngsters showing interest.
"Its been a long journey. But now people are showing interest in it. With the corporates using this sports as a team building measure and college and schools also promoting it on higher level, the percentage of people who have shown active interest in the last 4-5 years has grown tremendously", he says.
Soin, who has done it all from climbing expeditions and treks to jeep safaris and mountain biking, now wants to conquer Mount Everest but not through the beaten track.
"My next target is to climb the Everest. But I would not take the normal route as all other mountaineers had done in the past. I want to reach there through an unusual route. I want to go through challenges but it does not mean that the normal route is easy." PTI
Russian designer keen to collaborate with Indian designers
Suktara Purkayastha
New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) Well-known Russian designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev is impressed by Indian fashion designers' ability to integrate global appeal with native culture in their creations.
"I am keenly looking forward to collaborate with them," he says.
Zaitsev, who was in India to promote his winter collection says Indian fashion designers are very popular in the West.
"Indian designers have successfully showcased their native culture through their dresses. The Indian women designers particularly are very talented," says Zaitsev.
The Russian designer says that in 2009 'Year 2009 India in Russia' he plans to collaborate with Indian designers and organise fashion shows in his country.
He is also keen to work with Indian models. "Models here are very beautiful I will surely work with them" he says.
Questioned about his favourite Indian attire, Zaitsev said he was captivated by the saree. "I saw some Indian women sitting outside Taj Mahal draped in sarees, they looked so beautiful." Though, the designer finds it difficult to drape a saree but has expressed a desire to create a fusion of Indian and Russian garments.
Zaitsev laments the fact that not many Russians are aware about the Indian fashion scene.
Interestingly, Zaitsev is against women wearing jeans or trousers.
"Women today have surpassed men in all spheres. So, they should atleast leave the trousers and jeans for men," Zaitsev says adding that women look good in their natural attires. PTI
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Sensex: 8937.20, -353.81
The sensex closed at 8937.20, down 353.81
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1 U.S. $ = 49.820 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.5176 INR
1 British Pound = 74.897 INR
1 Canadian $ = 40.507 INR
1 Singapore $ = 32.635 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.564 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.303 INR
1 Euro = 62.953 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.680 INR
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