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BSP set to form government in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI) Mayawati's BSP today emerged the single largest party in a fractured verdict in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections as she prepared to assume the reins of power for the fourth time.
Five hours after the counting of votes began, the BSP had won 18 of the 39 seats for which results were declared and was leading in nearly 175 of the 402 constituencies for which elections were held.
The party's strategy of wooing Brahmins and other upper castes in a big way in a rainbow coalition helped add to its traditional vote base of Dalits and Muslims.
Victory celebrations began at the Mall Avenue residence of Mayawati, where party workers distributed sweets among themselves and to hordes of journalists. Elsewhere in the state, BSP workers set off fireworks.
The ruling Samajwadi Party suffered severe losses, winning 10 seats so far. It was leading in about 100 seats. Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who won from Gunnaur, conceded defeat in the wake of his party's drubbing and said he would resign once all the results were out.
The BJP, which had hoped to do well capping its victories in polls in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Mumbai corporation, also suffered reverses, winning eight seats along with its allies.
Chief campaigner Rahul Gandhi's electioneering appeared to have helped the Congress only retain its existing number of seats. The party was placed fourth, winning two constituencies with its allies while others accounted for one seat.
The Congress, which was leading in about 30 seats, indicated it was open to backing Mayawati in forming a government for which she may need about 20-25 seats to cross the half-way mark of 202. PTI
All illegal acts of SP govt to be probed: Mayawati
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI) The BSP government will probe all the "illegal actions" of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, party supremo Mayawati said today.
Addressing a press conference here after her election victory, she said the probe would be done not ot of "political vendetta" but in the interest of the people. PTI
Mulayam resigns as UP Chief Minister
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today resigned in the wake of reversals in the assembly elections but attacked the Election Commission for what he alleged hurting the prospects of his party.
"I have resigned in deference to the mandate of the electorate," Yadav told reporters after submitting his resignation to state governor T V Rajeswar.
The governor, however, asked Yadav to continue till the new government takes oath of office and secrecy. PTI
SC bench declines direction to EC on disabled persons plea
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court today declined to give any specific direction to the Election Commission on providing special facilities at polling booths to physically challenged persons to enable them cast their votes without any inconvenience.
A bench of Justices S B Sinha and Markandeya Katju said though it can direct the Commission to provide adequate facilities at the booths for physically challenged persons, the manner and the type of facilities can be decided only by the EC in consultation with the Government.
However, later the bench said it was posting the matter for hearing before another bench.
"The Election Commission is a Constitutional body and we are also a Constitutional authority. We do not want to usurp the power of the other," Justice Katju remarked while dealing with a PIL relating to the issue.
Justice Katju made the observations when Javed Abidi, convenor of the Disabled Rights Group complained that no special facilities had been evolved for physically challenged persons despite an earlier direction from the apex court in April 2004.
Incidentally, the apex court had in 2004 treated as a PIL, the letter written by some physically challenged persons to the Chief Justice of India complaining that no proper facilitates are being provided to them at the polling booths to enable them exercise their franchise in a convenient manner. PTI
Tendulkar, Sehwag make the Asian ODI squad
Dhaka, May 11 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are among five Indian players in the Asian one-day cricket team to play three matches against Africa in the Afro-Asian Cup to be held next month at Chennai and Bangalore.
Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are the other Indians in the 14-member squad to be led by Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene, Asian Cricket Council Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Huq announced today.
The team also includes five players from Sri Lanka, three from Pakistan and one from Banlgadesh.
Notable absentees in the team are Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, Sri Lanka's lethal spinner Mutthiah Muralitharan and Pakistan batsman Younis Khan.
While Dravid opted out seeking rest in view of India's rigorous schedule of 14 months of continuous cricket, Murali and Younis have their assignments in English County cricket, Haq said.
The matches would be played in Banglore on June 6 and in Chennai on June 9 and 10.
The selectors -- A F N Farooque (Bangladesh), Chetan Chauhan (India), Mohsin Khan (Pakistan) and Lalith Kaluperuma (Sri Lanka) -- also announced the mens' and women's twenty-20 teams for taking on Africa.
The Twenty20 matches will be played in Bangalore on June 5. PTI
Eight Indians in quarters at Istanbul boxing tourney
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) Five Indian women boxers, along with three of their male counterparts, entered the quarterfinals of the International Open Boxing Championship being held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mandakini Chanu (48kg), Sunita Yadav (54kg), Jyotsana (75kg), Lata Rani (50kg) and Aswathy Mol (70kg) won their second-round matches to make it to the last eight from the nine-member Indian women's team.
Among the men, S K Beliwal (51kg), Diwakar Prasad (57kg) and Sanjay Kolte (48kg) were the only ones to enter the quarters from a seven-member team in the fray.
The tournament will conclude on May 13. PTI
Australia reach Azlan Shah hockey final
Anand Philar
Ipoh, May 11 (PTI) Olympic champions Australia extended their supremacy over Asian Games gold medallists Korea scripting a 6-2 win to enter the final of the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup eight-nation hockey tournament, here today.
It was Australia's fourth consecutive entry into the final of this tournament that they have won as many times and a repeat of last year's World Cup semi-final that the Aussies had won 4-2.
Goals by Desmond Abbot (9th, 69th), Andrew Smith (22nd), Liam Deyoung (37th), Eli Matheson (51st) and Grant Schubert (60th) set up the Aussie victory while Korean replies came from Jeong Yun Sang (11th) and Lee Sung Min (57th).
As the scoreline suggested, the Australians were a far superior side as they played a brilliant tactical game to check the Koreans whose shaky defence on the night was cruelly exposed their ruthless opponents.
Barring the lone penalty corner they conceded, the Australians maintained a vice-like grip on the first-half proceedings that had the Koreans pinned in their own half.
The Australians were superbly organised in the midfield where they had the Korean schemers under close scrutiny. Consequently, the Koreans could barely make a pass before an Australian was on the ball.
The scoring began in the ninth minute when Abbott swept home a clearance by goalkeeper Lee Myung Ho who had blocked Deyoung's try off a Bevan George free-hit.
The Koreans retaliated and forced a penalty corner against the run of play with Sang finding the net with a powerful drag-flick for the equaliser in the 11th. PTI
Paes-Damm in Rome Masters quarters without playing a match
Rome, May 11 (PTI) They are yet to play a match but the third seeded Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Martin Damm has already reached the quarterfinal of the men's double event at the Rome Masters tennis championship.
Paes and Damm got a bye in the first round of the Euro 2,082,500 event and were scheduled to meet the American pair of James Blake and Mardy Fish in the pre-quarterfinals.
But with Fish down with a fever, the Americans gave a walk over to clear the Indo-Czech pair's quarterfinal passage.
In the quarterfinals, Paes and Damm will lock horns with eighth seeded Romanian Andrei Pavel and his German partner Alexander Waske.
Another Indo-Czech pair, Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek, however, did not have the same luck and crashed out of the event with a first round defeat.
Finland's Jarkko Nieminen and Swede Robin Soderling beat Bhupathi-Stepanek 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 before losing to the Pavel-Waske pair in the pre-quarterfinals. PTI
Indian Railways bag honours in Kabaddi tournament
Mumbai, May 11 (PTI) Indian Railways bagged the top honours in both the men's and women's section during the 27th Federation Cup Kabaddi Tournament which culminated here last night.
Reigning champions Railways, who had an unbeaten run in the women's category while never really being tested, were hardly troubled in the finals too where they outclassed hosts Maharashtra 55-15 to retain the title.
However, what drew attention on the final day of the tournament was the inspired showing by the Railways men's team who successfully defended their title by overcoming the threat of in form side Services in the final.
Determined to maintain their supremacy and gain revenge for their league defeat, holders Railways propelled by the efforts of ace raider Rakesh Kumar and captain Sanjeev Kumar got the better of Services 32-18.
Going into the final, Services were understandably the slight favourites considering their fine form and the subsequent results they obtained.
However, Railways for whom defender Shashank Wankhede too played a prominent role in shaping the victory path, turned things around with a sustained performance.
The winners received Rs 51,000 in both the sections while the runners-up had to settle for Rs 31,000 each.
Delhi and Karnataka came through against Maharashtra and Andhra respectively to secure the third place in the men's and women's section.
Awards: Women: Best Raider: Gauri Wadekar (Maharashtra); Best Catcher: P Shyamala (Indian Railways); Best Player: Tejaswinibai (Indian Railways); Men: Best Raider: Rakesh Kumar (Indian Railways); Best Catcher: Shashank Wankhede (Indian Railways); Best Player: Naveen Kumar (Services). PTI
Petroleum sector drives infrastructure growth in 2006-07
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) A turnaround in crude oil output and higher production by refineries pushed the growth of six infrastructure industries to 8.6 per cent in 2006-07 as against 6.2 per cent in the previous year.
The crude production, which had declined 5.3 per cent in 2005-06, increased by 5.6 per cent in 2006-07. Similarly, the output of refineries grew 12.6 per cent in FY07 as compared to 2.4 per cent in 2005-06.
In March 2007, the growth of the core sector was 10 per cent as against 7.1 per cent in the same month last year.
The increase in growth during the last month of 2006-07 was due to better performance of steel, whose production increased by 15 per cent. Besides, electricity grew at eight per cent and refinery throughput at 13.4 per cent.
The growth in production of cement, however, fell in March 2007 to 5.5 per cent from 17 per cent in the same period last year. PTI
HDFC Chairman rings opening bell at NYSE
New York, May 11 (PTI) India's largest housing finance company HDFC's chairman Deepak S Parekh has joined the ranks of global business leaders to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) here.
Parekh rung the bell at the NYSE yesterday to mark the beginning of trading at the bourse. A number of corporate leaders from India such as Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju and Wipro chief Azim Premji have earlier done the honours.
The HDFC chief would also be honoured today by the American Indian Foundation (AIF), a non-profit group working toward accelerating social and economic change in India.
HDFC was listed on NYSE on July 20, 2001 after an initial public offer of its American Depositary Shares in the US.
The Foundation is hosting its annual Spring Awards Gala on May 11 to raise funds for its development work in India in the fields of education, livelihood and public health.
"With strong support from Indo-centric individuals and corporations in the US, AIF is in a truly unique and exciting position to have a meaningful and lasting impact in India," AIF Executive Director Pradeep Kashyap said in a statement.
Besides Parekh, AIF is honouring American International Group (AIG) Inc President and CEO Martin J Sullivan for their philanthropy and leadership.
The guests at the previous events of AIF include Hillary Clinton, Deepak Chopra, Richard Gere and A R Rahman and the foundation is expecting many high-profile guests this year.
AIF was formed in 2001 under the leadership of President Bill Clinton, who now serves as the Honorary Chair.
The AIF India Advisory Council comprises of ICICI Bank's K V Kamath and HDFC's Deepak Parekh as co-chairmen, Parmeshwar Godrej and R A Mashelkar among others. PTI
Inflation eases to 5.66 pc
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) Inflation eased to 5.66 per cent for the week ended April 28 as compared to 5.77 per cent for the previous week due to lower prices of some food products and manufactured items.
Prices of bajra, gram, barley, poultry chicken, wheat, raw rubber, raw cotton, raw jute, sunflower, fibres, sugar, lead ingots were down, according to government data released today.
The wholesale price-based inflation stood at 3.90 per cent in the corresponding week last year.
In food articles, prices of moong, masur and milk were costlier while in manufactured items titanium dioxide, building bricks, zinc, pan masala, beedi and biscuits moved up.
There was no change in fuel, power, light and lubricant segment. PTI
Growing awareness boosts mutual fund industry: AMFI
Mumbai, May 11 (PTI) Mutual funds are no longer looked down upon but seen as a healthy investment option and in April total investment in 33 funds crossed Rs 3.5 lakh crore, an industry official has said.
Also, the risk appetite too is growing with burgeoning young middle class, making mutual funds a preferred option compared to small saving schemes that is considered safe but give low returns.
"Main reason for the growth in assets of mutual funds is awareness which is increasing day by day and the returns they are giving," Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) Chairman A P Kurien told PTI.
"MFs are increasingly being recognised by households, in order to maximise returns," he said.
As per AMFI data, total AUM as on April 30 was Rs 3,50,441 crore as compared to Rs 3,26,388 crore a month ago.
"Investors risk appetite was growing for return on long term investments vis-a-vis small savings," said SBI Mutual Fund Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer R S Srinivas Jain.
"Systematic Investment Planning (SIP) which was introduced two-three years back is catching up by word of mouth," Kurien said adding "we have 12 lakh SIP accounts as of March 31." PTI
Rupee opens sharply lower against US dollar
Mumbai, May 11 (PTI) The rupee resumed sharply lower against the US dollar at Rs 41.45/47 due to good demand for dollars on the Forex market here today.
However, rupee recovered marginally to Rs.41.33/34 at 11:30 a.M. On mild selling of the dollar from banks and corporates. PTI
Pak plays down report on next generation nuclear missile
Islamabad, May 11 (PTI) Pakistan has played down a report by an organisation of American scientists that it is preparing its next generation nuclear capable ballistic missile for deployment.
"This is a speculative report, which contains part fact and part fiction," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
She was reacting to a report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) which said Pakistan is preparing its next generation nuclear-capable ballistic missiles for deployment, which will give it the ability to target facilities across most if not all of India.
Asked about US Secretary of Defence's statement that American military missions were in Pakistan's tribal areas to pursue Al Qaeda activists hiding there, Aslam said only Pakistani security forces are responsible for any military action against Al Qaeda and other militants who may have taken refuge in tribal areas.
"As regards military action Pakistan's security forces are solely responsible for such action in our territory," she said.
However, there is security cooperation and intelligence-sharing between our security forces and NATO-led ISAF, she was quoted as saying by the Dawn. PTI
Pak permits import of Indian cotton through land route
Islamabad, May 11 (PTI) In a bid to cut down costs for its dominant textile industry and make it more competitive, Pakistan has permitted the import of Indian cotton through the Wagah border.
Pakistan's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided to permit the cotton imports from India through the Wagah border and from its western borders to get the same from Uzbekistan.
The decision to import cotton would be implemented in phases under which long staple cotton would be imported from India in the first phase.
However, the decision to import short staple cotton would be taken after carrying out the study that will determine if the farmers' community in Pakistan will be affected or not, media reports here said.
The meeting also asked the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) to immediately install the quarantine facilities at Wagah border, required for import of cotton.
The Ministry would also install the quarantine facilities at Torkhum and Chaman border for the cotton to be imported from Uzbekistan.
Pakistan is presently importing cotton from India through sea routes. Owing to sea routes, the importers are incurring an additional cost of Rs 200 per mound.
Pakistan's requirement stands at 16 million bales of cotton against its production capacity of 13 million bales. PTI
Dhaka mayor blames top BNP leadership for state of emergency
Dhaka, May 11 (PTI) Dhaka's mayor and influential BNP leader Sadek Hossain Khoka has blamed the top leadership of his party for the current state of emergency in Bangladesh and sought decentralisation of power in the party led by former premier Khaldea Zia.
"BNP leadership, too, cannot shrug off the blame," for the installation of the military-backed interim government, he said.
"The power of the BNP chairperson should be cut down and decentralised. Under the present party constitution, the BNP chairperson enjoys unlimited power. The chairperson does not need so much power," he was quoted as saying in the media here.
Khoka's comments came days after another BNP and former minister in Zia's cabinet sharply criticised the party chief for her unilateral decisions escalating the growing debate on political reforms curbing authoritarian power of top leadership of major parties.
The reconstituted interim government was installed on January 12, a day after President Iajuddin Ahmed proclaimed the emergency postponing the general elections slated for 12th of the same month amid heightened tension and protracted political conflicts between BNP and Awami League of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.
Khoka told ATN Bangla television channel that his party had paved ways for the "current situation" increasing the retirement age of the chief justice apparently to install a "loyalist" former chief judge as the interim government chief resulting in a protracted street campaign by opposition parties. PTI
Sounds to come alive on Google Earth
New York, May 11 (PTI) Here's good news for Internet enthusiasts. Ethnic sounds -- right from the Brazilian rain forest to Arctic ice sheets -- will now accompany the location-sighting venture on Google Earth.
"Our objective is to bring the world alive," said Bernie Krause, whose California-based company Wild Sanctuary created the software to embed sound files into relevant locations on Google Earth.
Krause spent 40 years collecting over 3,500 hours of sound recordings from across the world, including bird and whale songs and the crackle of melting glaciers.
"We have all the continents of the world, high mountains and low deserts," Krause was quoted as saying by New Scientist.
He hoped it will make virtual visitors more aware of the impact of human activity on the environment in the years since he began making and collecting the recordings.
Users will be able to hear various modern-day sounds at a particular location, then travel back in time to compare them with noises of decades gone by.
Krause plans to have the software ready with 26 sounds for demonstration on May 29.
He promised his sound files are of a consistent quality and enriched with time, date and weather information. PTI
US House passes bill to fund Iraq war in instalments
Washington, May 11 (PTI) The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives has voted to fund the Iraq war on an instalment plan, a move quickly rejected by President George W Bush as "haphazard".
The House move came largely along party lines with a 221-205 vote which would allow USD 43 million in emergency war funding, but force Bush to show progress in Iraq by July before lawmakers vote again on freeing up a second USD 53 billion chunk of funds.
"This legislation ends the blank check for the president's war without end," Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi said moments before the vote, the latest round of a bitter and escalating constitutional feud for control of the war.
"I'll veto the bill if it is this haphazard, piecemeal funding, and I made that clear," Bush said after a meeting with officials at the Defense Department.
The White House may be hanging tough on the Iraq war supplemental but indications are that moderate Republicans are getting a bit tired with the ongoing operations in Iraq and are calling for a "Plan B" that may be needed in the absence of a clear success by September.
"We want a very candid report in September," Republican Ray LaHood said. "We don't want politics mixed into it. And the way forward after September, if the report is not good, is going to be very, very difficult." LaHood was one of the lawmakers who were in the White House for a meeting with the President on Iraq. PTI
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