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Arunachal CM urges Centre to take up visa issue with China
New Delhi, May 28(PTI) Describing as unfortunate Chinese embassy's decision to deny visa to an IAS officer from Arunachal Pradesh, state Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu today asked the Centre to take up the issue with China at an "appropriate level".
"It is quite unfortunate that China refuses to accept the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India," Khandu said in a statement here.
Last week, Government had called off a visit by over 100 IAS officers to China for a training programme after the Chinese mission here refused visa to an officer belonging to Arunachal Pradesh who was part of the visiting team.
The team was to go for a two week training to Beijing to understand the functioning of the Administration in that country.
Just ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit here, its Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi had in November last triggered a diplomatic row contending Arunachal Pradesh as "Chinese territory", a claim strongly rejected by India.
Khandu contended that the visa denial implied China's insistence of Arunachal Pradesh being its territory.
"One would be naive to ignore the inherent and latent message in China's refusal....That they refuse to accept Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India," he said.
The Chief Minister asked the Centre to "take up the issue with China at appropriate level in right earnest to get the issue clarified in order to remove the prevailing doubts about the real intention of China by not issuing visas to Arunachalis." PTI
CBI directed to submit final report in Dera case by July 31
Chandigarh, May 28 (PTI) Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the CBI to submit the final report relating to the cases against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda by July 31.
A Division Bench comprising of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and M M S Bedi issued the direction after the CBI sought more time on the ground that investigations were at a final stage in the cases relating to the Dera and its Chief Sant Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.
The cases relate to the murder of a Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chatterpatti and Dera Manager Ranjit Singh besides other related cases.
The CBI submitted that they have to evaluate the material which they have for which they need more time.
Earlier the CBI submitted the status report to the court in a sealed cover. PTI
Captain is the boss, says Whatmore
Dhaka, May 28 (PTI) Outgoing Bangladesh cricket coach Dav Whatmore, who is eyeing the top job in India, believes the captain is the boss of a team.
"Definitely, captain is the boss. He is in-charge of the team," Whatmore said at a media interaction here.
Pointing out that the job of a cricket coach was still evolving, Whatmore said, "it's the players who make a coach. They are the ones who have to go to the battlefield. The coach creates an environment where the best in the boys come out." Asked if it was proper to put the blame on the coach if a team loses, he said, "when a team wins, the players get the accolades. And so, when a team loses, everyone should share responsibility." To a query if he was in favour of the coach having the voting right in selection committee meetings, the former Australian batsman said he had a flexible stand on that.
"I had a vote in selection meetings in Bangladesh. But if you ask me whether I subscribe to that, I will say I don't. It all depends on the situation in a particular country," he said.
Whatmore, on how he would handle the Indian superstars and their varying egos, said a coach should be able to communicate to all sorts of players.
"Part of the coach's job is to be able to communicate differently with all sorts of players with the single aim of enabling the team to win," he said. PTI
Maharashtra could face 11,000 MW power shortage
New Delhi, May 28, (PTI) Power-starved Maharashtra could face electricity shortage of 11,000 MW over the next five years if there is no capacity addition is undertaken, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said here.
"The demand-supply gap in power in Maharastra excluding Mumbai will reach 11,000 MW by the end of 11th five year plan," he said addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on Power Sector.
Two years ago the state was facing a peak shortage of 2500 MW that had shot up to 6800 MW in April, leading massive loadshedding and violence in many parts of the state.
Deshmukh said his government was gearing up to meet the demands of additional power supply through some projects that are near completion and others in the pipeline.
"These efforts would add a total capacity of 6425 MW which would become available in stages starting from 2009 and up to 2012," he said.
MahaGenco, the state-owned power generating utility, has completed one 250 MW unit in Parli and another unit of similar capacity is fast nearing completion in Paras.
The utility is also in the process of obtaining environmental clearance and fuel linkages for a new 1600 MW capacity at Koradi and 800 MW at Chandrapur, Deshmukh said.
The Dabhol power plant is generating 700 MW power and is likely to generate another 700 MW by end of June and attain its full capacity of 2140 MW by December this year, he said.
Deshmukh said over five thousand villages out of 41,095 villages in the state are yet to be electrified. PTI
ICC to appoint acting president soon
Dubai, May 28 (PTI) The International Cricket Council will soon appoint an acting president in place of Percy Sonn, who died of complications from a colon operation.
Sir John Anderson of New Zealand and Malaysian Prince Tunku Imran are said to be in the running for the post vacated after the demise of the 57-year-old South African.
The acting chairman would chair the ICC's annual meeting in London in the third week of June.
Sonn was critically ill for the past few days and was admitted to the Durbanville clinic in Cape Town last 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 President Sharad Pawar and ECB Chief David Morgan last year. PTI
Tendulkar opts out of Afro-Asia Cup; Zaheer, Ganguly in
Kuala Lumpur, May 28 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar today made way for Sourav Ganguly while Zaheer Khan was included as the sixth Indian in the revised 14-member one-day Asia cricket team for the Afro-Asian Cup beginning in Bangalore on June 6.
Sri Lankan Dilhara Fernando and Mashrafe Mortaza of Bangladesh were the other two new faces in the squad after Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar and Sri Lankan pacemen Chaminda Vaas and Lasitha Malinga made themselves unavailable for the three-match series.
Selectors of the second Afro-Asia Cup - ASM Farooque, Chetan Chauhan, Mohsin Khan and Lalith Kaluperuma -- named the revised squad after the four cricketers made themselves unavailable for the series.
"Following the unavailability of some players named in the original squads on May 11, the selectors have named their final squads for the three ODI matches in Bangalore and Chennai on June 6, 9 and 10 and the Twenty20 match on June 5," a statement said today.
Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are the other four Indians who were named in the original squad announced earlier this month.
The 11-member squad for the Afro-Asia Twenty20 tournament also saw one change as S Sreesanth replaced Munaf Patel, who was called back from Bangladesh series due to lower back pain.
Sreesanth, who was also earlier recalled from Bangladesh owing to a calf muscle injury during the ODIs, has recovered to make a come back to the international scene. PTI
Indian team returns from Bangladesh
Kolkata, May 28 (PTI) Indian cricket team today returned here from Dhaka after a successful tour of Bangladesh where they won both the one-day and Test series.
Most of the players left for their home destinations taking different flights and Sourav Ganguly drove home straight while team manager Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, batsmen Wasim Jaffar and Dinesh Kaarthick will travel in the evening. PTI
South Africa President pays tribute to Sonn
Durban, May 28 (PTI) South African President Thabo Mbeki today paid glowing tribute to late ICC President Percy Sonn, describing him as a "prolific administrator" who unified cricket.
The 57-year-old Sonn passed away at a health clinic in Cape Town yesterday following complications after he underwent a colon operation.
Mbeki said in addition to playing a vital role in cricket administration, Sonn, who was also a lawyer, was an important official in the transformation of the justice system in the new South Africa.
"Sonn will be remembered for his passion for justice, his outstanding role in the management and unification of cricket", said Mbeki.
"In recognition of his diligence and commitment to excellence, Sonn has been rightly described in the cricket fraternity as a prolific administrator. He embodied the best qualities of what South Africans are and ought to be," he added.
Former South African Cricket Board chief, Dr Ali Bacher, also joined in saying that Sonn had played a significant role in promoting cricket unity in the country.
"He was strong on democracy and non-racialism but at the same time he was pragmatic enough to realise that cricket transformation will not be achieved overnight," said Bacher. PTI
PM warns power sector may trip economic growth
New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Warning that slippages in power sector may trip economic growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked both states as well as the Power Ministry to reduce thefts, raise generation capacity and attract private investment to provide electricity to all households by 2012.
"The scene in the power sector does not look very promising... In fact, time is running out, and unless we are able to arrest the growing shortages, the effect on our economy may well prove disastrous," he said at a conference of state chief ministers on power sector.
Singh said electricity was vital for sustained economic growth and a commensurate growth in power supply was required to ensure that the economy keeps growing at 9-10 per cent.
Listing his priorities, he said the states and the Centre must take effective steps to check losses during transmission and distribution (T&D) of electricity.
"The current level of T&D losses, ranging between 30-45 per cent in many states, threatens the financial health of the sector... Theft is the cancer of power sector," he said.
The Prime Minister also expressed concern over the slow pace of capacity addition, with only half of the 10th plan target of 41,000 MW being met in the five-year period.
"This reflects poorly on the planning process as well as the implementation capability of the various agencies in the states and the Centre, who were entrusted this task," he said.
Singh said the sector required a "crash programme" for capacity addition to eliminate shortages by 2012 and pegged the investment needs at over Rs 600,000 crores during the 11th Plan period. PTI
High attrition, property prices to impact BPO sector: Assocham
New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) The growth of India's BPO industry is likely to get adversely impacted due to high attrition rate and unprecedented hike in property prices, industry body Assocham said today.
"High attrition rate of around 40 per cent and almost 100 per cent hike in property prices in metros, BPO firms might have to satisfy at 25 per cent growth rate in next two-three years as against the projected rate of 35 per cent," the chamber said.
High attrition rate experienced by 60 per cent of BPO units are because of higher salary expectations, a study on `Rising property prices and high attrition in outsourcing industry' showed.
Over 80 per cent of the respondent BPO companies felt their attrition rates in future will rise even over 40 per cent whereas the remaining 20 per cent firms were optimistic that it will drop down and should stabilise between 20-25 per cent.
"The impact of attrition would be increase in expenditure of training and development, loss of clientele, failure to attract more business based on high output, inconsistent delivery and loss of productivity, high turn-around-time, costly recruitment process which would create a dearth of 300,000 professionals by 2009," Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot said in the statement.
Following the sealing drive, the property rates in the capital and its suburb has gone up. During the last six months, the rentals have increased by 20-30 per cent in Delhi.
About 80 per cent of the BPO companies believe that the property prices have grown by nearly 100 per cent in the last decade. PTI
Coke to invest $250 mn in 3 years in India
Sunil Batra
Atlanta, May 28 (PTI) Within days of acquiring vitamin water Glaceau, American giant Coca Cola today said it will invest 250 million dollars in India in next three years and said its bottling operations would turn profitable in 2008.
"In bottling operations, the business will move into profitability next year. In one of the months in 2007, we broke even but on the full year basis we are expecting to be in profits in 2008," Irial Finan, Head of Coke's Bottling Operations world wide, told PTI in an exclusive interview.
He said most of the investment will stay within India as the required infrastructure like coolers and trucks are manufactured in India.
Along with the 250 million dollars by Coke, franchises of the company's bottling operations in India are also likely to put in between 50-100 million dollars to ramp up infrastructure.
Of the 60 bottling plants in India, Coke owns 25 while 24 are owned by the franchises and the remaining are with the co-packers.
Finan said the company is also open to divest in the bottling business and move towards more and more in the hands of franchises. PTI
Pak worried over smugglers trying to push illegals into Greece
Islamabad, May 28 (PTI) The Pakistan Embassy in Athens has warned of a diplomatic disaster in the making as an estimated 10,000 illegal immigrants believed to have been taken to Turkey by a gang of Pakistani human traffickers are likely to be pushed into Greece and Italy in coming months.
After the mission in Greece raised the alarm, Pakistani security agencies have been treating it as a crisis situation, but so far no strategy has been worked out to counter the smugglers' moves, daily 'Dawn' reported today.
This is by far the biggest challenge related to human smuggling that the Pakistani security agencies are facing outside the country, as never before such a large number of people were illegally taken to a country with the aim of pushing them into Europe.
The crisis has been compounded with the revelation that the gang included not only a few "influential" people in Pakistan, but it is part of a network linked to powerful gangs behind human smuggling in Iran, Turkey and Greece, Dawn said.
It is learnt that the Pakistani mission in Athens has told the authorities in Islamabad that, based on information provided by some illegal immigrants, it had reasons to believe that a few police officials in Greece were also part of the network, the newspaper reported.
The alarm about the new influx of illegal immigrants was raised following a recent relaxation in Greek immigration rules, which the smugglers considered to be a golden opportunity to push more people through the Turkish border.
The Embassy's real worry is that these people are likely to create major problems for the Pakistani mission and the country by their unauthorised presence in Greece. PTI
India to take part in Asia-Europe Meeting for the first time
Hamburg, May 27 (PTI) India is joining the Asia-Europe Meeting as a new member, participating in the 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers consultation which opens here today to discuss issues like nuclear proliferation, terrorism, climate change and the situation in Iraq.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will lead a high-level Indian delegation to the two-day meet that brings together Foreign Ministers from 43 nations in Europe and Asia.
It is being hosted by German Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier in his capacity as the current president of the European Council of Ministers. The biennial ASEM meeting is the biggest event during Germany's six-month presidency of the EU which expires at the end of June.
The situation in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East, the threats of nuclear proliferation, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the situation on the Korean Peninsula are among the themes on the agenda for discussions on the opening day.
Tomorrow, the Ministers will turn their attention to issues such as fight against terrorism, energy security and combating climate change, but no major decisions are expected to emerge from the meeting.
Hamburg city authorities have put in place some of the most stringent security measures to ensure the safety of visiting dignitaries following threats by anti-globalisation campaigners to disrupt the event.
The authorities fear that the anti-globalisation activists might try to use the occasion for a trial run of their massive protest demonstrations planned for the summit of the seven leading industrialised nations and Russia which Germany will be hosting in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm early next month. PTI
Wolfowitz proud of his time at World Bank
London, May 28 (PTI) Outgoing World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz today strongly defended his time in office and said he was forced to quit as emotions had got out of control over his girl friend's promotion.
Claiming that he acted in good faith and acted ethically, Wolfowitz said he was proud of his achievements and had few regrets.
Wolfowitz is to step down on June 30 in the "best interests" of the bank following weeks of furore over the generous pay and promotion package he arranged for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, a bank employee.
"I'm pleased that finally the board did accept that I acted in good faith and acted ethically and I accept the fact that by the time we got around to that, emotions here (Washsington) were so overheated that I don't think I could have accomplished what I wanted to accomplish for the people I really care about," he told BBC World Service commenting on the scandal.
When asked about his relationship with the Bank and the calls from current and former bank staff for him to go, he said: "I think it tells us more about the media than about the bank and I'll leave it at that. People were reacting to a whole string of inaccurate statements and by the time we got to anything approximating accuracy the passions were around the bend." Asked whether there was any damage to the Bank's reputation, Wolfowitz said "Hopefully people will look at some of the governance issues here and the human resources issues here and it could be a stronger place, it should be a stronger place. This kind of experience, actually exposes problems but you don't solve problems unless you expose them." PTI
Aus, India, Japan, US looking at issues of common interest
Melbourne, May 28 (PTI) Australia, India, Japan and the US are looking at issues of "common interest", but not aiming at creating a new security alliance, a top Australian Foreign Affairs official said here.
Jennifer Rawson, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), told a Senate Estimates Committee that officials from the four nations had met recently for preliminary discussions, 'The Age' reported today.
"Officials from these countries are looking at issues of common interest," she said.
But she said the discussions, which were sought by Japan, were not about creating a new security bloc.
"It is a meeting of four countries who share values and growing co-operation," Rawson said.
"The discussions are not about a security dialogue or alliance," she said.
There are suggestions that any move to add India to the security alliance among the US, Japan and Australia could be seen as a threat by China.
Australia, the US and Japan are already involved in a trilateral security dialogue. PTI
Bangladesh plans to import power from Myanmar
Dhaka, May 28 (PTI) Bangladesh is planning to import electricity from Myanmar to overcome the acute power crisis.
"Importing electricity from Myanmar, where possibility of hydro-electricity is immense, can be achieved quickly," the official BSS news agency quoted Energy adviser of the interim cabinet Tapan Chowdhury as saying.
He said a delegation was scheduled to visit Yangon early next month to open discussion on the matter.
His comments came as the New Age newspaper reported that the proposal to buy electricity from Bhutan was fading out as New Delhi and Thimpu have not responded to Dhaka's request of importing power from the Himalayan country through India.
Sources in the Power Division, however, said it might be difficult to get funds from lenders like Asian Development Bank (ADB) or the World Bank or any other development partners to set up power plants in army-ruled Myanmar because of the sanctions imposed by the US against the country.
Chowdhury earlier told reporters that the power ministers of both India and Bhutan had not replied to his letters for importing hydro-electricity from Bhutan through India.
The BSS report, however, quoted him as saying that Dhaka was still exploring the possibility of importing electricity from Nepal and Bhutan.
"But it appeared that Nepal and Bhutan are already having bilateral agreements on power with India. Bangladesh's success in negotiations may take time," he said.
Bangladesh is currently facing acute power crisis with an average shortfall of nearly 1000 megawatt. PTI
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