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BJP asks UPA to reconsider decision to field Pratibha
New Delhi, June 26 (PTI) Stepping up its attack on Pratibha Patil, BJP today asked UPA to reconsider the decision of fielding her to avoid a "tainted occupant" in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and called for a 'conscience vote' in favour of Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Senior party leader L K Advani told the BJP National Executive meeting here that "never in the past nearly six decades has a candidate for the election to the highest Constitutional office faced grave allegations".
Noting that the BJP as also the NDA went to Rashtrapati Bhavan on several occasions seeking action against "tainted Ministers" in the UPA Government, he said "but what if Rashtrapati Bhavan itself gets a tainted occupant? "This is a question the entire nation must seriously ponder over", he said adding that whatever adverse said about Patil "anti-dates" her choice as Presidential nominee.
"I, therefore, urge all constituents of the UPA to reconsider their decision", he said adding that the BJP and its allies should organise a mass awareness campaign soon to mount public pressure on MPs and MLAs of the UPA constituents to cast a 'conscience vote' in favour of Vice President Shekhawat, contesting as an 'independent' with NDA backing.
He said in 1969, Indira Gandhi had given a call for a 'conscience vote' to split Congress. "In 2007, let us appeal for a 'conscience vote' to unite all pro-democracy forces," he added.
Advani prefaced his statement recalling the Emergencey days and said that the country was passing through an "ominous phase" in its political history. He said that the Emergency was imposed 32 years ago, "principally because there was a pliable President in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, who signed on the dotted line". PTI
Advani says UP debacle serious, requires attention
New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) A day after BJP chief Rajnath Singh called the Uttar Pradesh debacle an opportunity to be "more alert and stable", party veteran L K Advani today said the election results from the key state were a matter of serious concern.
In his address to the BJP's national executive, the former Deputy Prime Minister suggested the party was required to set up different committees on a variety of programmes to prepare itself for the 2009 general elections, party sources said.
His comments followed Singh's remarks to the conclave yesterday that the BJP's success in a Uttar Pradesh assembly by-election barely 15 days after the state polls showed that the party's support base does exist in every village. PTI
No respite for VS, Pinarayi as suspension from PB continues
New Delhi, June 26 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan get no respite with the CPI(M) Central Committee, the party's highest decision-making body, endorsing their suspension from the Polit Bureau for indulging in a public spat.
The two-day meeting of the Central Committee approved the suspension and decided to take stock of the situation in its next meeting, which has not been scheduled yet.
Sending a strong and clear signal that it will not tolerate indiscipline, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau cracked the whip against two of its senior members on May 26 after holding that their conduct of openly criticising each other through the media was unacceptable.
The suspension was seen as an attempt to rein in the two top leaders, the protagonists of the much-publicised factional feud which has come as an embarrassment to the party that prides itself on discipline.
The action came after differences between Vijayan and Achuthanandan reached a flash point last month when the octogenarian Chief Minister without naming his arch-foe in the party, accused him of leaking debates in the Left front meetings to the media.
Vijayan, who have been blaming a "media syndicate" for spreading false stories against the party, strongly reacted saying that his senior colleague should have specified whom he was talking about when he made such a serious charge.
Differences between the two leaders following the recent demolitions of unauthorised constructions in Munnar hill resort also sparked a row. PTI
Two Indian firms raise over USD 4 bn from US mkt in a week
New York, Jun 26 (PTI) Two Indian companies, including the country's largest private lender ICICI Bank, have raised over four billion dollars last week from the US market.
ICICI Bank, in the biggest offering by an Indian company, raised 4.3 billion dollars in a global follow-on issue, half of which was in the form of American Depository Shares.
The ADS issue of 2.14 billion dollars, including a green shoe option of 0.32 billion dollars, was priced at 49.25 dollars each, translating into a price of about Rs 1,002.5 per equity share and representing a premium of about 6.6 per cent over the domestic issue price.
Each ADS represents two equity shares of the Bank.
Trading of the additional ADS began on Monday at the New York Stock Exchange. Yesterday, ICICI Bank ADS closed at 48.45 dollar down 2.40 per cent at the NYSE.
Earlier, Vedanta group's Sterlite Industries, a non-ferrous metal and mining firm, raised 1.75 billion dollars through an initial public offering on the NYSE.
Each ADS represents one equity share of the firm and the were priced at 13.44 dollars each.
On its first day of trading the Sterlite Industries ADS price rose over nine per cent to 14.70 dollars on volume of 28.5 million ADSs. Yesterday, the ADSs ended at 14.67 dollar down 0.88 per cent on the NYSE.
Combining ICICI Bank's 2.46 billion dollars offer and 1.75 billion dollars of Sterlite Industries India Ltd, the two firms have mopped up over four billion dollars from the US market. PTI
Sensex gains 13 pts; settles above 14,500-level
Mumbai, June 26 (PTI) The stock market today continued with its volatile swings on alternate bouts of selling and buying activities, but managed to close in the positive with a modest gain of 13 points in its benchmark index.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share barometer index, Sensex, settled at 14,501.08 points, up 13.36 points from its previous close of 14,487.72.
The index closed above the 14,500-points mark for the first time in more than two weeks, even though a marked volatility was noticed on the bourses ahead of the expiry of futures and derivatives contract for the current month, brokers said.
After opening on a weak note, the Sensex rose to as high as 14,560.48, about 160 points away from its life-time high of 14,723.88 hit earlier on February 9, but pared gains as the trading session progressed.
The Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange closed 26.30 points higher at 4,285.70 points, as against its previous close of 4,259.40 points.
Significant buying was seen on select capital goods counters such as ABB, BHEL, Areva, BEML, Bharat Bijlee, Crompton Greaves, LMW, Kirloskar Brothers, Praj Industries and Siemens.
Among the Sensex blue-chips, ONGC, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Grasim, Tata Motors and Tata Steel were the major gainers, while IT stocks surrendered their initial gains and ended with marked losses.
According to market participants, the domestic market has ended higher in the last two days despite bearish global cues, denoting that the undertone is still positive here. PTI
SBI may raise Rs 50,000 cr, holding co for non-bank biz
Mumbai, June 26 (PTI) Country's largest lender SBI today said it is likely to raise Rs 50,000 crore capital for its expansion plans in domestic and overseas markets in the next three years and proposed to form a holding company for its non-bank subsidiaries.
"In the next three years roughly Rs 50,000 crore of capital may be needed by SBI in addition to normal plough back of profits to meet our challenging business growth and expanding role overseas," State Bannk of India Chairman O P Bhatt told the Annual General Meeting here.
SBI is also planning to float a subsidiary to manage pension funds under the New Pension Scheme for government employees, he said.
To achieve better financial planning and reduce the demand on SBI for capital infusion in some of its subsidiaries, Bhatt said, "we are considering setting up a holding company for our non-banking subsidiaries." To begin with, the bank's shareholdings in the asset management and insurance companies would form the holding company.
The holding company can be listed separately and capital raised for the use of the two companies, he said adding "this will enable the bank to capture the value that was available in these businesses." The bank has been shortlisted by PFRDA as one of the four players, he said adding pension funds offered a huge business opportunity as only 11 per cent of the current workforce of 45 million is covered by employment benefits.
In some countries pension funds assets are as large as 65 per cent of GDP. PTI
One Day Cricket: South Africa wins toss, to field against India
Belfast, June 26 (PTI) South African captain Jacques Kallis won the toss and elected to field in the first cricket one-dayer against India at Stormont here today.
The Indian team, which was struggling to find 11 fit players yesterday as several of them were down with viral flu, left out Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar and S Sreesanth.
Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan returned to the Indian team after missing the match against Ireland. He replaced the unwell Sreesanth. Off-spinner Ramesh Powar came in for Agarkar.
Dinesh Kaarthick will continue to keep wickets as Dhoni, who also missed the firat match against Ireland, is still unfit.
The teams: India: Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh.
South Africa: AB de Villiers, Morve van Wyk, Jaques Kallis (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Andrew Hall, Vernon Philander, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini. PTI
Politicians influence cricket in Pakistan: Sikandar
Chennai, Jun 26 (PTI) Former Pakistan off-spinner Iqbal Sikandar feels political interference is keeping away the country's former cricketers from taking up the job of national coach.
Sikandar, training the Asian Cricket Council's players from seven countries at the MRF Pace Foundation here, said politicians often influence the selection process in Pakistan.
"In Pakistan, the politicians are known for forcing their way into everything. They would telephone and insist on getting their boys picked for the national team whether they deserve a berth or not," Sikandar told PTI.
"Though communication problems do exist among former players, the main cause for them not volunteering to take up the job as coach is the political interference," he added.
Sikander, however, believes a foreign coach would be immune to this problem.
"This (interference) has been the problem for former cricketers, who will not have a choice but a foreigner will not allow such interference.
"There is a clamour for a foreigner to do the job and Dav Whatmore is the right person to put Pakistan back to their winning ways," he said.
Sikandar said Whatmore was capable of changing fortunes of their cricketing side.
"Whatmore has not played as many Test matches as Greg Chappell. But Greg was not successful with the Indian team. Whatmore is one of the best amongst the coaches available in the cricketing world today. He never seeks media attention but makes sure that players are on their toes always," he added. PTI
Anand looks forward to his first win after the rest day
From Our Chess Correspondent
Dortmund (Germany), Jun 26 (PTI) Having drawn both his games so far, Viswanathan Anand would use the early break today to prepare for wins from the third round onwards in the Dortmund Super Grandmaster Chess tournament underway here.
Anand, who drew his opening round games with World Champion Kramnik and subsequently split point with Peter Leko, appears to be in good form but the event being very short spanning just seven rounds, the top seed Indian would be determined to soon score full points after the rest day.
The World number one player, placed joint second in the event, will play with black pieces against Boris Gelfand of Israel in the third round.
Kramnik must be quite happy with the start he has got. He has 1.5 points from 2 games having already drawn with Anand and beaten Boris Gelfand, Kramnik would certainly be optimistic about his chances.
Dortmund has been the scene of some of Kramnik's greatest triumphs and he has won the tournament seven times in the past. He is presently sharing the lead with Evgeny Alekseev who moved to the top with his second round victory over third seeded Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Alekseev got invited to the tournament by virtue of his victory in the Aeroflot Open earlier this year and he must be delighted to be leading such an exalted field.
Both leaders will play with the black pieces in the third round. PTI
Sasikiran slips to the bottom of list at Aerosvit
Yalta (Ukraine), Jun 26 (PTI) Krishnan Sasikiran slided to the bottom of the points table after suffering defeat at the hands of Grandmaster Alexey Shirov in the seventh round of the Aerosvit International Grandmasters Chess tournament here.
Shirov, with three points was at the third spot, and in contention for the title as other three games ended in draws and the players retained their standings.
On the top board, local hero Sergey Karjakin continued to lead the field with 5 points after a fine tactical victory over Dutch Grandmaster Loek Van Wely.
Karjakin's compatriot Vassily Ivanchuk scored over Pavel Eljanov to remain within striking distance of the leader.
Sasikiran engaged Shirov in a theoretical battle in the Queen's Indian Defence. The India came up with a new idea on the 31st move and forced his opponent into an endgame.
His passed pawn on the seventh rank gave him excellent winning chances but he made a terrible blunder on the 36th move. He suddenly found himself in an hopeless exchange down endgame. Sasikiran fought on for another 15 moves but the outcome was never in doubt.
Karjakin played a solid line against Van Wely's Sicilian Najdorf and the latter appeared to have equalised from the opening. Karjakin got his chance when Van Wely moved his knight away from the kingside and allowed an attack against his king.
Karjakin sacrificed a bishop to open lines against the black king. His attack was irresistible and he won in style by sacrificing a rook and catching his opponent in a mating net in 35 moves. PTI
Gulf Monsoon scooter rally attracts 25 riders
Mumbai, Jun 26 (PTI) The Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally, to be held on July 1 in the backwoods and dirt tracks of neighbouring Navi Mumbai, has attracted 25 entries.
The 125-km rally, beginning in Mumbai, will have transport and competitive sectors, event organiser Shrikant Karani told a media conference here.
The competitive sector on gravel-laden dirt tracks will be around 29 kms. It will be flagged off from Dadar before proceeding to the backwoods of Vashi, Kombadbhuje, Targhar, Vahal-Waghilwada and Ohvale (in Navi Mumbai) and finish at CBD Belapur, he said.
Last year's champion Kunal Rao has entered the event along with his father and is expected to face stiff fight from the likes of former winners Manjit Singh Bassan and Ganesh Lokhande.
Entries have come in from Mumbai and other cities of the Maharashtra including Pune, Nashik and Kolhapur. Besides, the last date of entry is tomorrow, Karani said.
Total prize money of Rs 40,000 is on offer with the winner taking home Rs 5,000 plus other trophies. There are other prizes too, he added. PTI
NASA plans to open ISS to outsiders
Seema Hakhu Kachru
Houston, Jun 26(PTI) NASA is exploring the possibilities to enable outsiders to use part of the International Space Station (ISS) as a national laboratory after it is completed in three years.
This move would reserve about half of the outpost's US science facilities for outside use by 2011. The plan hinges on the completion of the half-built USD 100 billion space station by September 2010, when NASA's shuttle fleet is due to retire, the space agency has said.
The planning comes in response to federal legislation in 2005 that designated the US part of the 16-nation orbital base as a national laboratory.
"There are still a lot of details that are not there yet," William Gerstenmaier NASA's associate administrator for space portions, said at a news briefing yesterday. "(But) we feel strongly if we don't begin some preparatory work on how we use the lab, we could not be in a position to utilise it." The National Institutes of Health has shown the greatest interest. Other agencies that may use the outpost for research include the Pentagon, National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the departments of Energy, Commerce and Agriculture.
Three years ago, US President George W Bush directed the space agency to finish the station's assembly in 2010 so that NASA can return to the moon.
NASA and its 15 partner nations, including Russia, Canada, Japan and European countries, plan at least 12 more space shuttle flights to complete ISS construction by 2010. Still awaiting launch to the station are the European Space Agency's Columbus module, Japan's three-part Kibo lab, additional Russian-built modules, as well as supporting solar arrays, connecting nodes and other hardware. PTI
Pakistan says outsiders should not meddle in Lanka
Colombo, June 26 (PTI) Pakistan's top envoy in Sri Lanka has said that outsiders should not meddle in the internal conflict here.
"No matter whether it is Pakistan, India or Norway, Sri Lanka should be allowed to solve its own problems," Pakistan High Commissioner, Shahzad A. Chaudhry told a media workshop here yesterday, the Daily Mirror reported.
"No outsider could solve internal matters of Sri Lanka," he said at the workshop on "Media Ethics" at the Sri Lanka Press Institute in Colombo.
His remarks came a month after India's National Defence Advisor M.K. Narayanan said in Chennai that Sri Lanka should not buy weapons form Pakistan and China.
According to Narayanan, India, being the regional power, was prepared to supply defensive weapons to neutralize the threat from the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's key international aid donors are meeting in Oslo today to discuss how to bring the Colombo government and Tamil Tiger rebels to the peace negotiating table they left in October last year. PTI
Ackerman to head panel on Khan network hearing
Sridhar Krishnaswami
Washington, Jun 26 (PTI) A prominent US lawmaker will head a hearing to examine whether the nuclear weapons technology network headed by disgraced Pak scientist A Q Khan has been dismantled as claimed by the Bush administration or has merely started operating under a different guise.
The prime focus of the hearing is to review the findings of International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) about the Khan cartel and see if the nuclear black market network has been truly dismantled or continues to be operated by his associates.
Congressman Gary Ackerman, the Democrat lawmaker from New York who maintains a sharp eye on the goings on with the Khan network will be in charge of a hearing "A Q Khan's Nuclear Wal Mart: Out of Business or under New Management?".
"Khan created the world's most dangerous nuclear network responsible for the single worst case of nuclear proliferation in the last 50 years. Kahn's network sold nuclear weapons technology to North Korea, Libya, Iran and perhaps other nations," he said.
"Although US President (George W) Bush claimed that Khan's nuclear trading cartel was shut-down, a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies raises fresh questions regarding whether Kahn's network is truly out of business. PTI
Political scene hots up in Punjab
Vijay Dabur
Chandigarh, Jun 26 (PTI) The political scene in Punjab is hotting up as the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP combine is entangled in a war of words against its main opponent Congress over alleged "political victimisation and witch hunting." High-profile media advisor to former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is cooling his heels in a jail in several cases registered against him.
While the Congress had charged the state Government with victmisation of its opponents, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was categorical in making statement on the floor of the assembly that there was "no vendetta." After over three months in power, the Badal Government which assumed charge of the state following a critical support by its ally BJP faced an "onslaught" by the Congress, which left no stone unturned, to rake the issue of political victimisation by the Government.
"Over 100 Congressmen, including former MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa, have been booked by the Badal Government on fabricated, concocted and false charge in order to settle scores with its political opponents," leader of opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal claimed.
Taking the "onslaught" of the ruling combine,she, however, projected a bold face while claiming that the party would not allow "police excesses"on Congressmen at the "behest" of SAD-BJP alliance leadership and counter it on all fronts by making general people aware of political vendetta. PTI
Resentment in ruling BJP cadre ahead of 2008 Assembly polls
Sidhartha Kanungo
Bhopal, Jun 25 (PTI) With the assembly elections due in 2008, it seems unlikely to be smooth-sailing for the ruling BJP at the hustings with growing signs of resentment in its cadre and anti-incumbency mood slowly setting in.
Notwithstanding claims being made by the party leadership about unity and discipline, fissures appear to have surfaced among workers, who are complaining that they are feeling alienated and ignored by the 'influential' section in BJP.
What came as a jolt to the saffron party was its defeat in the recent by-election in Shivpuri assembly constituency despite a high-pitch campaign by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar and several ministers.
Differences in BJP cadre came to the fore in the run up to the bypoll as party workers were up in arms against the candidature of Ganesh Gautam, a former Congress MLA, who was humbled by Congress nominee Virendra Singh Raghuvanshi by a margin of 7,781 votes.
Apparently unhappy over the selection of candidate, former state minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, who vacated the seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Gwalior, virtually kept herself away along with her supporters from electioneering.
Scindia's annoyance again came to open when she lodged a strong protest to the Chief Minister and police chief against alleged "spying" by CID personnel during a meeting she had convened at her residence in Gwalior. PTI
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Sensex: 14501.08, +13.36
The sensex closed at 14501.08, up 13.36
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1 U.S. $ = 40.850 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3315 INR
1 British Pound = 81.673 INR
1 Canadian $ = 38.192 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.559 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 11.122 INR
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1 Euro = 54.968 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.223 INR
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