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British PM-designate to give high priority to ties with India
London, May 27 (PTI) Exactly a month from today, James Gordon Brown will take over as Britain's new Prime Minister and he has already pledged to accord "very high priority" to strengthening and deepening relations with a "pulsating, dynamic India." The 56-year-old son of a Church of Scotland preacher was recently described by a leading British newspaper as a "blank sheet of paper" because he has not given any specific outlines of the policies he will follow at home and abroad. But his excitement about India is palpable.
The Prime Minister-designate recalls that he had been brought up on stories of India's great history, its struggles, achievements and "essential greatness." An uncle in his family was a Professor of electrical engineering at IIT and introduced him to India "from my youngest days." Five months ago, Brown, said to be a reluctant traveller, paid his first visit to India and has come back hugely impressed. "I had a wonderful visit. India is, indeed, a very dynamic country which is moving ahead very fast," he told PTI here.
"There is so much that impresses one about India, particularly its vibrant democracy," said the Chancellor of Exchequer who will succeed Tony Blair as Prime Minister on June 27.
How much importance would his government give to Britain's ties with India? "Undoubtedly it will be a high priority," Brown said recalling the "astonishing speed of change and progress in India as it claims its rightful place in the emerging new world order." PTI
India beat Bangladesh by an innings and 239 runs
Dhaka, May 27 (PTI) India defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 239 runs on day three of the second cricket Test here today.
After following on, Bangladesh were all out for 253 in their second innings.
Brief scores: India 610 for 3 decl beat Bangladesh 118 and 253 (M Mortaza 70, M Ashraful 67; R Powar 3/33, S Tendulkar 2/35). PTI
I support party decision on suspension: Kerala CM
Thiruvananthapuram, May 27 (PTI) A day after his suspension from CPI(M) Politburo, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today said he fully supported party's decision, which was like "punishing children" when they "commit mistakes".
"The party is like a parent or a teacher, who will punish their children when they commit mistakes. It is part of the correction process. We wholeheartedly support the party decision," the 84-year-old Marxist veteran, who faced severe action along with state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, told reporters on the sidelines of a function here today.
It was natural to commit occasional mistakes while serving the people and the country. It was for the party to detect mistakes and lead partymen in right direction, he said.
Asked if the action was due to the prolonged infighting in the state unit of CPI(M), he said the suspension was for issuing public statements.
The long-drawn factionalism in state CPI(M) took a bitter turn last week when Achuthanandan and Vijayan engaged in a wordy duel over leaking of the party and LDF deliberations to the media.
Sending out a strong signal, the politburo suspended both from the highest party body yesterday. PTI
India, Russia to hold talks to break impasse on arms deals
A K Dhar
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) With deliveries of frontline Sukhoi fighter planes and aircraft carrier Gorshkov in a fresh price-related logjam, a high-level Russian defence delegation is arriving here in a bid to sort out the differences.
The delegation comprising top officials from Russian land forces, Navy, Air Force, Ministry of Defence and armament export agencies headed by General of Army Alexi Fedroovich Maslov would be arriving here on June three on a five-day visit.
The visit is significant in the wake of reports that Russian manufacturers have sought a review of defence contracts with India demanding millions of dollars more in sale of the carrier and SU-30 fighter aircraft claiming drop in the value of dollar.
The Russians are also keen to tie up new defence deals which include sale of 350 more upgraded T-90 tanks and clear the decks for signing of an agreement for the joint development of a multi-role transport aircraft. The tank deal is expected to be readied in the next two months.
The tri-service delegation headed by Maslov, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian land forces would hold talks with Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, three service chiefs Gen JJ Singh, Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major.
He will also call on the Defence Minister AK Antony. PTI
Very difficult to restore peace in Nandigram: Basu
Kolkata, May 27 (PTI) It is very difficult to restore peace in Nandigram despite Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee's best efforts, veteran CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu said today.
"As I understand, it is really very difficult. But the Chief Minister has stated that he is trying hard," Basu, the former West Bengal chief minister, told newsmen in response to a query if he was hopeful that peace would return to Nandigram soon.
On the role of opposition parties, he said "Their attitude is not correct. They know that there is a court case and an administrative inqury is on. They are alleging that there have been incidents of rape, but who are those raped and what are their names? Basu, who attended a meeting of the party's labour wing CITU, however, stressed the need to bring peace in the area.
"How is it possible that one part of the state is outside the purview of the state administration?. About 200 of our party supporters have been evicted from their homes," he said.
Hundreds of villagers - mostly owing allegiance to CPI-M - have been evicted from their homes in Nandigram in recurring violence between Marxist supporters and those of the Trinamool Congress-led Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee.
Roads are still dug up and the police is yet to enter Nandigram since violence began on January seven resulting in seven deaths over the proposed land acquisition for setting up a SEZ by Indonesian business house Salim Group, Basu said. PTI
Opening stand was key for us, says Dravid
Dhaka, May 27 (PTI) Indian skipper Rahul Dravid said Dinesh Kaarthick and Wasim Jaffer's rollicking opening stand was the key to the convincing Test win against Bangladesh here today.
"It was good effort from everybody.. A good Test match as we piled up a huge score and then knocked them off twice," Dravid said after India thrashed Bangladesh by an innings and 239 runs to win the two-match Test series 1-0.
"The key was the (175-run) opening partnership. Kaarthick and Wasim set up the match. They batted in tough conditions and the kind of start that they gave us put the opposition on the back foot," the visiting captain said.
Asked about Jaffer's hundred after his pair in the first Test, Dravid praised the Mumbai batsman for his fighting spirit.
"I hope he makes it a habit (scoring runs). He has all the attributes of being a good cricketer and it is upto him to come up with more such knocks," Dravid said.
On makeshift opener Kaarthick, Dravid said, "he has staked a claim as an opening batsman. We gave him an opportunity and he utilised it. Now the onus is on him to keep performing." Dravid said playing the match with five bowlers proved to be an important and right decision.
"We needed five bowlers here because the conditions were tough. We needed to rotate them and the team management came out with the right decision," he said. PTI
ICC President Sonn passes away
Dubai, May 27 (PTI) International Cricket Council President Percy Sonn, who was critically ill for the past few days, died in Cape Town today.
Sonn, 57, was admitted to the Durbanville clinic in Cape Town on Monday after developing complications from a colon surgery.
A former president of the South African cricket board, Sonn took over as ICC president from Ehsan Mani of Pakistan in June 2006.
His tenure, which was original to end in 2008, was extended till 2009 after the Executive Board had a split vote between Indian Cricket Board chief Sharad Pawar and ECB head David Morgan last year.
"Percy (Sonn) was never afraid to speak his mind but his great skill, especially in meetings where discord was possible, was to do so in such a way that he got everyone together and pulling in the same direction," ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said in a statement issued by the ICC.
"Percy was utterly committed to the game at all levels and his mantras were that the game had to be inclusive rather than exclusive and that it had to be played the right way, to be true to the Spirit of Cricket." Sonn's predecessor Mani said: "As a cricket administrator and a man, Percy Sonn was a giant.
"In all the circles in which he moved, he commanded a huge amount of respect and that was never more obvious than when he was in an ICC Board meeting." PTI
No naxal threat to Dhoni: Jharkhand DGP
Ranchi, May 27 (PTI) Jharkhand Director General of Police J B Mahapatra today denied reports that cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni faced any naxal threat.
"There is no danger or threat to Dhoni," said Jharkhand's top police officer.
Mahapatra was responding to a query as to whether Dhoni had become a target of naxalites as published in a national English daily here today.
According to the report published in the daily, Jharkhand police were probing the authenticity of a letter that stated a joint group of naxalites from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh intended to eliminate Team India skipper Rahul Dravid and three Indian Cricket Board officials -- Sharad Pawar, Niranjan Shah and Rajiv Shukla, besides Dhoni.
The letter, the report further claimed, was found during a raid on a naxalite hideout in Dantewada region in neighbouring Chhattisgarh on friday.
"We don't know anything about it," the DGP told PTI when asked whether any such letter was being investigated by the Jharkhand police. PTI
Sasikiran wiser after playing in Mtel Masters
Sheelpa Kothari
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Krishnan Sasikiran, the next big thing after Viswanathan Anand in Indian chess, has learnt the most important lesson to survive in the elite league after finishing second at his first Mtel Masters tournament -- any difficult position could be defended.
Sasikiran -- with three wins, three losses and four draws -- was on the brink of creating history in Sofia in Bulgaria but lost his final round game against eventual winner Veseline Topalov after squandering a drawish position at one stage to miss the crown by just half point.
Sasikiran, only the second Indian after Anand to touch ELO 2700, was invited to play in the prestigious tournament after his senior compatriot and some other top-10 players opted out of the event for various reasons.
"It was a fantastic experience to play in the Mtel Masters. Only top-10 players feature in the event but I was invited despite being ranked 25th as others were not available for the tournament," Sasikiran told PTI in an exclusive interview.
"It was first time that I was playing in such a big tournament. I was a bit nervous to play a big player everyday during the tournament. I was under pressure.
"But what I learnt there is that top players are ready to defend their worse positions. It is possible to defend any difficult position which I would earlier try to avoid. My defensive techniques have improved after the tournament," he said. PTI
Miandad open to coaching Pak cricket team again
Karachi, May 27 (PTI) Former Pakistan captain and coach Javed Miandad is ready to give a serious thought to coaching the national team again if the Cricket Board offered him the job.
Miandad, who has coached senior team on three separate terms but was removed acrimoniously on all occasions, said he had always kept national interest above everything else.
"It is a hypothetical question but I can only think about it if the offer comes to me. I have to think about various options if any offer comes through," he said.
Miandad did not apply for the job, for which PCB advertised in newspapers after the World Cup keeping May 15 as the deadline for interested candidates to submit their applications.
The former Test batsman said the Board had devalued the post of Pakistan coach by openly advertising the position.
Miandad, the country's highest run-getter with 8832 in 124 Tests, last worked with the team in 2004. He was asked to step down as coach after his team lost a historical home series to arch rivals India.
He was replaced by Bob Woolmer, who died during the World Cup in mysterious circumstances a day after Pakistan's shock defeat at the hands of Ireland following which they were knocked out of the tournament.
Miandad, who will turn 50 next month, said he had served the country with honour and dignity and it was always his wish that Pakistan team perform well in the international arena.
PCB Chief Naseem Ashraf, in a recent statement, had said they (PCB) were looking for a foreign coach, who would be appointed within next few months. PTI
Coke prepares for robust investments in India
Sunil Batra
Atlanta, May 27 (PTI) Putting behind the worst ever controversies of pesticide in cola, American beverages giant Coca Cola today said the company has a robust investment plan to boost operations in the Indian market.
"We have a very robust and healthy investment plans for the Indian market and major part of investment will go in marketing and setting up of infrastructure to support the system," Coca Cola Co COO Muhtar Kent said.
He, however declined to specify the investment figures but said it would be substantial.
"India did not grow to our expectations in the last couple of years but it has started growing positively since in last three quarters, specially in the first quarter of 2007," he said.
Kent said the future outlook on India was bullish and the company was hoping the country to emerge the third largest market for Coke in the long term. India is not even the top ten countries right now. In its first quarter results, Coke had said growth in India was in 'mid-single' digit.
Speaking on the inauguration of the new world of Coca Cola here, the company's worldwide CEO Neville Isdell said: "Controversies (like pesticides in cola in India) do follow us but we deal with them directly, openly and honestly and move on." PTI
RBI eases norms for BPOs setting up overseas centres
Mumbai, May 27 (PTI) The Reserve Bank has diluted norms for outsourcing firms in India to draw foreign exchange for buying equipments for new overseas call centres, enabling them to start their foreign journey on a sound note.
It has been decided that authorised banks may allow BPO firms to pay for equipments to be imported and installed at their overseas sites without physically bringing them to India, which was the requirement till now, said a recent RBI notification.
RBI has modified the procedure following such requests from BPO companies wanting to set up call centres overseas.
BPO companies would, however, be required to take necessary approvals from the Ministry of Information Technology in this regard.
Previously, BPO companies were required to produce the exchange control copy of the bill of entry for home consumption as evidence of import of equipments before taking them at overseas locations, which the importers were usually unable to furnish.
Also, RBI Governor Y V Reddy had, while unveiling the annual credit policy, proposed to relax the foreign exchange regulations and provide greater flexibility for such transactions. PTI
Govt to develop five ports as cruise tourism hubs
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) With a view to encouraging high-end tourism in the country, the government has identified five ports on the Indian coasts for developing as cruise tourism hubs.
The ports identified for the purpose are Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore and Kochi on the west coastline, and Tuticorin on the east coastline, official sources said.
Decision to develop these ports as world class hubs comes in the wake of setting up of a high powered steering committee with members from Ministry of Tourism and Minsitry of Shipping on the board for formulating the cruise tourism policy of the country.
Until now, even after the formation of the committee last year, the progress was rather tardy, as the committee in turn formed another "working group" to identify the ports.
"The ministry of tourism is ready to extend financial assistance for tourism infrastructure, development of specified tourism projects including projects related to coastal monuments and tourist spots of different states and the UTs," a senior official in Ministry of Tourism said.
The ministry will also extend assistance for procurement of cruise vessels or boats for promotion of this new tourism initiative, the official said. PTI
33 killed, 40 injured in fire, accident, mishaps in China
Beijing, May 27 (PTI) At least 33 people were killed and 40 others injured in a series of mishaps, including a road accident, a restaurant fire and landslide in China.
Eleven people were killed and 16 injured in a restaurant fire in Chaoyang City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, local government reported today.
The fire broke out last night, engulfing the popular restaurant. The victims include diners and staff in the restaurant. The injured have been taken to two local hospitals and are in stable condition.
Four people were killed and five injured in a workshop explosion in suburban Shanghai last evening, the municipal public security bureau said.
The blast occurred in a mill processing wood fragments in Yangqiao village of Baoshan district, igniting a fire, Xinhua news agency reported.
The workshop was rented by migrant workers and started operating without necessary licenses.
Five people were killed and three injured in a landslide that occurred in Pengshui of Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, local officials said today.
Continuous rains caused a landslide in the Miao-Tujia Autonomous County of Pengshui on Thursday morning, which buried two houses.
The bodies of the five people killed in the accident were recovered yesterday. PTI
Britain to tighten anti-terror laws
London, May 27 (PTI) Britain plans to push through new tougher anti-terrorism laws, giving "war-time" powers to the police to stop and question people, before Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves office in a month.
Under the new laws, police will not need to suspect that a crime has taken place and can use the power to gain information about "matters relevant" to terror investigations.
John Reid, the Home Secretary, who is also quitting next month, intends to extend Northern Ireland's draconian police powers to interrogate individuals about who they are, where they have been and where they are going.
If suspects fail to stop or refuse to answer questions, they could be charged with a criminal offence and fined up to 5,000 pounds, media reported today.
Police already have the power to stop and search people but they have no right to ask for their identity and movements.
No general police power to stop and question has ever been introduced in mainland Britain except during wartime.
Ironically, the power is soon to be repealed in Northern Ireland as part of the peace agreement.
The disclosure coincides with a rare attack by Blair on Britain's judges for "emasculating" his anti-terrorism legislation.
In an article for The Sunday Times, the prime minister condemned those who say "civil liberties come first" before the security of the population. "I believe this is a dangerous misjudgment," he wrote.
The prime minister's article, and the new terrorism powers, come after it was revealed that three terror suspects who were subject to control orders have absconded, triggering an uproar. PTI
India, Pak make some progress on Kashmir issue: Kasuri
Islamabad, May 27 (PTI) Noting that there has been some progress on settling the Kashmir issue with India, Pakistan has, however, said the two countries are yet to reach a stage to finalise an agreement.
Public opinion would be given significant consideration before signing any agreement and any solution would also be debated in Parliament before it is finalised, Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri said in an interview to a TV channel.
Stating that some progress was made on the Kashmir issue with India, he added that the any agreement would also be discussed in the media and given importance to meet the "aspirations" of the Kashmiri people.
Asked about Emma Nicholson's report on Kashmir, which was approved by the European Union Parliament, Kasuri was quoted by the Online news agency as saying that the alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir should have been discussed in that report.
About remarks by foreign diplomats on Pakistan's domestic issues, he said they comment on internal affairs of this country only when they are asked questions in this context.
This proves that there are no restrictions on asking some questions and reflects that media is functioning freely in the country, he said. PTI
Chinese cities wooing Videocon to invest in LCD plant
Anil K Joseph
Beijing, May 27 (PTI) Chinese provinces and cities are competing with each other in wooing Videocon Industries Ltd with attractive polices as the Indian white goods conglomerate will invest USD 1.5 billion in the country to set up a sophisticated LCD facility, senior company officials said.
Confirming that Videocon is close to finalising the location of the proposed generation six (G-6) liquid crystal display (LCD) unit, the officials said the company was in touch with a number of Chinese cities including Shenzhen and Nanjing.
"We have decided to invest USD 1.5 billion in China to set up a state-of-the-art G-6 LCD plant. But we have not yet decided where to locate it," Managing Director of Videocon Industries Limited, Rajkumar Dhoot told PTI here.
Dhoot said many Chinese cities were offering "very attractive" policies, including tax-breaks and free land, so that the company will set up operations in their city.
"We are very keen on investing in China and will be deciding on the location very soon," Dhoot, also a Member of Parliament, said.
As part of its ambitious China strategy, Videocon has set up a research and development centre in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, he said.
Further, the company has two colour picture tube (CPT) manufacturing units at Dongguan and Foshan, which came with the acquisition of Thomson, one of the largest CPT maker.
Meanwhile, a senior official from the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) has also confirmed that Chinese side is engaged in talks with Videocon for the proposed LCD plant. PTI
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