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Mayawati sworn in as UP CM
Lucknow, May 13 (PTI) Bringing to an end 14 years of coalition raj in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati today assumed reins of power in the state heading a single party government inducting 19 others, including many from the upper castes, in keeping with the rainbow coalition she stitched to get a majority on her own.
The 51-year-old leader, who became the chief minister for a fourth time, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor T V Rajeshwar at simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan.
The ceremony was attended by her arch rival and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav along with the outgoing UP Assembly's Speaker Mata Prasad.
BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, who helped Mayawati in roping in Brahmin support for her, was the only political leader sitting on the dias along with her during the ceremony.
Those inducted include Naseemuddin Siddique, Sudhir Goel, Ramvir Upadhayaye, Lalji Verma, Indrajit Saroj, Sukhdev Raj, Thakur Jaiveer Singh, Swami Prasad Maurya, Meghram Bhatti and Lakshmi Narain.
Others are Rakesh Dhar Tripathi, B S Kushwaha, Jai Narain Rai, Babu Chouhan, Nakul Dubey, Daddu Prasad, Narain Singh, Ram Prasad Choudhary and Dharam Singh Saini.
Mayawati, who became the first Dalit chief minister in India in 1993, is the 40th chief minister of the largest state of the country and shares the record of becoming the chief minister for four times in the state with Congress leader N D Tiwari. PTI
Maya to root out crime; favours quota for economically weak
Lucknow, May 13 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh's new Chief Minister Mayawati today gave a stern message to her opponents that the BSP government would not brook communal violence and withdraw security of "criminal elements" and came out in support of reservations for economically backward sections.
In a clear reference to the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav's government, she announced that all the decisions taken by it since February after the elections were declared have been scrapped and a probe ordered into it.
"All investigations into these decisions will be done without any political vendetta," the BSP supremo said but made it clear that no leniency will be shown against the guilty.
The Industrial Development Council set up by the previous government will be scrapped and a new policy evolved.
Her top priority will be to establish an injustice-free, fear-free, crime-free, corruption-free and development oriented government, Mayawati said.
"Law and order will be established. The life and property of people belonging to all religions will be protect and nobody will be allowed to indulge in violence in the name of religion," she said.
"Goonda tax will not be allowed to be extracted as was done during the SP government," Mayawati said adding that a special drive will be launched to track down criminal elements and end the jungle raj.
"Security given to criminal elements will be withdrawn and they will be behind bars where they should be," she said.
In keeping with her new social engineering, she said she favoured reservation for poor among the upper castes along with the weaker sections. PTI
Mulayam elected SP Legislature Party leader
Lucknow, May 13 (PTI) Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was today unanimously elected leader of the 97-member SP Legislature Party at its meeting here.
Emerging out of the meeting, SP leader Azam Khan told reporters here that "Mulayam is not just the leader of our Legislature Party but also the leader of our hearts." The Samajwadi Party was trounced in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls garnering only 97 seats. PTI
No decision yet on Presidential poll: Maya
Lucknow, May 13 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati today said her party has not yet devised any strategy for the next Presidential election.
"I have taken oath today. We have not yet taken any decision in this regard," Mayawati said at her maiden press conference after assuming reins of power in the state.
"We will discuss the matter and whatever decision is taken will be conveyed to you (media) definitely," she said. PTI
Rising Re puts RBI in dilemma; exporters not impacted much
Mumbai, May 13 (PTI) The rise in Rupee value to a nine-year high has put the government and Reserve Bank in a piquant situation as exporters are crying hoarse despite it making oil imports cheaper and narrowing the trade deficit.
This has prompted the Commerce Ministry to shoot off a letter to RBI Governor Y V Reddy seeking the Central Bank's intervention to bail out exporters, but trade analysts say the impact on export is exaggerated as 80 per cent of India's merchandise exports are value-added products.
The Rupee appreciation has impacted slightly the margins of services exports such as IT and BPOs, but merchandise exports, which accounted for USD 125 billion in 2006-07 may not have been hit as 80 per cent of it are value-added products.
Barring textiles and auto parts, most Indian exports are made out of imported raw materials and intermediaries, which have become cheaper because of the appreciating Rupee.
Rupee, which was hovering at Rs 47.04 in July 2006, started appreciating and touched a high of Rs 40.55 on May 7 before depreciating to Rs 41.34 to a dollar on May 11.
Corraborating trade analysts' view, Exim Bank Chairman and Managing Director T C Venkat Subramanian said, "As far as our export clients are concerned, we have not received any adverse comments in respect of Rupee appreciation." PTI
Australia wins Azlan Shah Hockey
Anand Philar
Ipoh, May 13 (PTI) Olympic champions Australia overcame a spirited but disjointed Malaysia 3-1 to win the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today.
Goals by Edward Ockenden (39th, 41st) and Russell Ford (53rd) set up the Australian victory while the Malaysians drew some consolation from Jiwa Mohan's penalty corner in the last minute of the game.
It was Australia's third title triumph in four years and their fifth overall, as they proved far too superior for the Malaysians who did a lot of running but precious little else.
For Malaysia, it was second time unlucky in the final. They had lost to India in 1985, the only other time the hosts had entered the final of this tournament.
Australia raised the level of their game when it mattered most and clearly, they were the quicker, fitter and better organised side than the Malaysians who simply did not have the ammunition to counter their mighty opponents.
Thus, the barren first-half during which the Malaysians kept up with the Aussies, gave no indication of what was to follow, but there were definite signs that the hosts would have to work harder to keep their rivals at bay.
Australia's big-match experience came into play in the second-half after failing to make any headway in the first session when they had only a couple of scoring opportunities.
The Malaysians defended for all their worth, but as the game progressed, the Aussies began to take a stranglehold on the proceedings. PTI
Woolmer died of heart failure: reports
Kingston, May 13 (PTI) Bob Woolmer was not murdered and died of heart failure, says a group of Scotland Yard detectives, who were assisting the Jamaican Police into investigations, a leading local daily claimed today.
The 'Sunday Gleaner' newspaper said that according to a pathology report submitted by the Scotland Yard team the former Pakistan cricket coach died of natural causes and not manual strangulation as was initially reported by Jamaican Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields.
"The Scotland Yard report specifically said Woolmer died of heart failure, contradicting earlier reports by the investigative arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and local pathologist, Dr Ere Sheshiah, who had conducted a post-mortem on Woolmers's body," the paper said quoting its sources in London.
The report said the Scotland Yard findings were disclosed last week during a meeting with Shields and Superintendent Colin Pinnace, who stopped over in London, en route to South Africa.
Earlier, two Pakistani detectives, who had travelled to Jamaica to assist in the investigations, had also informed their Interior Ministry that Jamaican Police were yet to find conclusive evidence that Woolmer had been strangled. PTI
India team arrives in Chittagong
Chittagong, May 13 (PTI) After clinching the three-match one-day series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, the Indian cricket team today reached this port city under heavy security cover for the concluding game to be played on Tuesday.
The Indians, who reached by a GMG Airlines flight, headed straight to the team hotel.
A large number of heavily armed police personnel, Rapid Action Battalion commandos, plainclothed cops as also intelligence sleuths were deployed to provide security to Rahul Dravid's team, which would be staying here till May 23.
There is a large police presence at the team hotel also, with every visitor being screened with metal detectors.
The Indian team would not be having any practice session today. The cricketers did some swimming and worked out at the gymansium.
They would have their first practice session here tomorrow morning.
Apart from the one-day match, Chittagong would also play host to the first of the two Tests between the two teams at the Bir Sreshta Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium from May 18-22.
The second Test would be played in Dhaka from May 25-29. PTI
India finish 3rd in Azlan Shah Cup
Anand Philar
Ipoh, May 13 (PTI) A 56th minute goal by Sardara Singh guided India to a 1-0 victory over Asian Games champions South Korea and finish third in the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup eight-nation hockey tournament here today.
The scoreline did not reflect India's total dominance, and but for some sitters that the forwards missed, they could have won the playoff for 3-4 positions by a bigger margin.
After a lacklustre first-half performance, the Indians picked up the pace in the second and showcased their talent to earn the approbation of the capacity crowd.
The Indians also owe the victory to goalkeeper Bharat Kumar Chhetri, playing in his first match of the tournament, who brought off three brilliant saves from penalty corners in the second-half.
An insipid first-half saw the Indians controlling the pace and exchanges without really looking sharp enough to breach the Korean defence that, barring conceding two penalty corners, hardly put a foot wrong.
The winning goal came in the second half with Roshan Minz bulldozing his way from the left and found Sardara Singh unmarked on top of the circle. The pass on the wrongfoot completely foxed the Korean defence and Sardara had enough time to trap the ball before sending it crashing to the boards.
Raghunath's two attempts with his drag-flicks did not have the power or variety to beat the Korean runners who literally put their lives on the line while charging at Raghunath to deny him the angles. PTI
ICL sign up biggies of cricketing world: report
London, May 13 (PTI) Some of the biggest names in world cricket like Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul Haq and Glenn McGrath have been signed up for the breakaway Indian Cricket League promoted by Zee Television, a magazine has revealed.
Zee TV, led by Subhash Chandra, announced a separate cricket league which will be launched with a Twenty/20 championship this year shortly after the World Cup of the newest version in South Africa in September.
"Shane Warne and Brian Lara have signed up for a breakaway Twenty20 competition taking place in India this October and are joined by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Glenn McGrath with many more big names to follow," according to the latest issue of 'Spin'.
"Zee have their eye on a series of other legends who have recently retired or are on the verge. Darren Gough has been linked with contracts in India before and would be an obvious candidate," the magazine said quoting insiders.
The Twenty-20 tournament will have six teams competing against each other in an unofficial tournament. Each team will feature two overseas stars as well as four current or recent Indian internationals.
"The inaugural tournament, featuring a series of big name stars at the end of their careers in the first class game, will start shortly after the first-ever ICC Twenty20 World Championship, taking place in South Africa in September, it said.
The India Cricket League will offer prize money of USD 1 million for the winner. It is slated to develop in forthcoming years, with more teams and different formats, including a 50-over version. PTI
India and China should work together to fight poverty: Rao
Anil K Joseph
Beijing, May 13 (PTI) Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao today said if India and China fight poverty and other common issues facing the two countries together, the entire continent of Asia will be benefitted.
"Once our two nations find the amelioration of poverty through our collective wisdom and focused endeavour, the clock of the Asian Century will begin ticking right away," Rao said in an address at the Shenzhen University in the southern Chinese town of Shenzhen.
"India and China have to work together to build the Asian Century. There is enough space for both of our countries to grow in harmony and mutual respect," the Indian Ambassador said.
Calling for greater communication between the two countries, she urged educational institutions, media and businesses to bridge the "communication gap" so that the people, particularly the youth are better informed about each other.
"Despite the two thousand year history of relations between our two countries, there remains a wide information gap between India and China. Stereotyped images of each other still crowd the minds of our people," Rao said.
"A dialogue on our respective developmental experiences has to be a substantive part of this communication process," she said, stressing that the two fastest-growing Asian giants could share their experiences in areas like environment and climate change, energy policies, food security and the access to modern education and efficient health care. PTI
Sri Lanka begins resettlement of war-victims
Colombo, May 13 (PTI) Sri Lanka is set to resettle about 125,000 people displaced by fighting in the island's east, officials said today even as international relief agencies expressed fear about their safety.
Government officials said the first batch of 4,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) will be moved tomorrow to their homes in Vellaveli under a programme that will be completed in about two weeks.
However, a consortium of international relief agencies coordinated by UN organisations said the situation in the eastern district of Batticaloa was still tense and the resettlement was risky.
"Military and civilian authorities have been registering IDPs in the southern divisions of Batticaloa in view of planned resettlement towards the western part of Batticaloa," the aid agencies said.
"However, the resettlement plan has not been presented yet and the humanitarian community fears that the lack of proper planning might put returnees in a situation where safety and dignity are not ensured in the villages." Heavy fighting in the region earlier this year saw over 125,000 people driven out of their homes. The military now claims it is in control of the area after having neutralised the Tigers. PTI
Prevent Harry from going to Iraq war, says bishop
London, May 13 (PTI) Prince Harry, third in line of ascension to the British throne, should be held back from fighting in Iraq to keep the royal family out of a political row over the war, a senior bishop in the Church of England has said.
David Stancliffe, bishop of Salisbury, believes that sending Harry with his unit to southern Iraq could jeopardize the constitutional neutrality of monarchy by appearing to lend support to the war.
"The Iraq war has divided the country in a way no other issue has in modern times," said Stancliffe.
"In these circumstances, can it be right for any member of the royal family, even if they are serving officers in the British Army, to be asked to enter this conflict directly?," he said.
Stancliffe's comments add to the controversy over Harry's imminent deployment to Iraq.
Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff, announced at the beginning of this month that Harry would go to Iraq with his regiment, the Blues and Royals, in command of a reconnaissance troop of Scimitar armoured vehicles.
The decision was taken despite threats to the prince's life from insurgents and fears that his presence would endanger other British soldiers.
Gerald Ward, Harry's god-father and a close friend of Prince Charles, has rebuked the Ministry of Defence for giving out so many details about the nature of the prince's deployment.
"I fear for anyone's life in that situation...It is very naive of the Ministry of Defence to spell out the type of work he may do and the type of vehicles he may drive," he said. PTI
Sharif urges Bhutto not to strike any deal with Musharraf
London, May 13 (PTI) Expressing fears that former Premier Benazir Bhutto might reach a political rapprochement with President Pervez Musharraf, deposed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has urged her not to strike any deal with the General.
57-year-old Sharif, the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), told 'The Sunday Times' that he feared Bhutto might be planning to trade her opposition to the military ruler for a chance to return to office.
"She told me we're not cutting any deal with the government but in interviews she has said, 'Yes, there are talks going on'. I'm pleading with her not to go down that road," he said.
For Sharif, any deal by Bhutto that prolonged the military ruler's tenure would be a blow. "I hope and pray we don't talk to people who are destroying the institutions of the country," he said.
Sharif, forced into exile by Musharraf in 1999, said he had a pact with Bhutto that they would not deal with the military-controlled government.
Sharif and Bhutto, who heads Pakistan People's Party (PPP), are the two most popular politicians of Pakistan and have each served two terms as Prime Minister.
Both are planning to return to contest the general elections, scheduled to be held towards the end of this year, despite a constitutional amendment passed by Musharraf barring anyone from serving a third term. They face threats of arrest and deportation. PTI
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