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Left to set time-frame for N-panel at next meeting: Karat
Hyderabad, Sep 15 (PTI) The CPI(M) today said the Left would set a "time-frame" for the government to complete evaluation of concerns over the Indo-US nuclear civilian deal and implications of the Hyde Act after its meeting with the UPA on September 19.
"The real work (on studying the implications of nuclear agreement) is yet to start. We will discuss the identified issues in the next meeting and the time-frame can be decided then," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.
He said the first round of the UPA-Left Committee meeting on September 11 had identified the agenda for discussions at the next meeting.
"We hope that after the discussions, the situation will become clear about the implications of the deal over our foreign policy and security," he said.
He said the Left parties had asked the government not to proceed with operationalising the agreement till all the objections and implications of Hyde Act, the US legislation related to the deal, were properly evaluated. "Let us see what findings will come out," he said.
Asked whether he foresaw possibility of early polls, Karat, whose party is providing outside support to the UPA government, said "I cannot answer that question. I do not know. All I can say is that we want the committee to look into all the aspects and implications of the deal." He also hoped the UPA Government would "reconsider all the issues" which the Left parties, who are vehemently opposed to the atomic deal in its present form, would raise during the coming discussions. PTI
Culture Ministry seeks reply from ASI DG; Soni meets Sonia
New Delhi, Sept 15 (PTI) Faced with a major controversy over the Ram Setu affidavit, the Centre has sought a personal explanation from the ASI chief on her role in the filing of the document in the Apex Court as Culture Minister Ambika Soni today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the issue.
Soni, who returned from her visit to Japan yesterday, met Gandhi and is understood to have briefed her about the inquiry into the matter.
The Minister had a brief ten-minute meeting with the Congress President and did not talk to the waiting mediapersons.
Having ordered suspension of two senior officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) yesterday, the Ministry has sought a personal explanation from the Director General of ASI Anshu Vaish to explain her role in the filing of the affidavit, official sources said.
Vaish has to give her reply to Culture Secretary Badal K Das by Tuesday.
The two senior officials, Chandrashekhar, Director (Administration), and V Bakshi, Assistant Director (Monuments), were found to be responsible for not carrying out the corrections in the affidavit as directed by the Culture Ministry, the sources said. PTI
GNEP to discuss peaceful use of N-energy
Lalitha Vaidyanathan
Vienna, Sep 15 (PTI) Civil nuclear cooperation will come up for discussion at the second ministerial meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) chaired here by the United States.
Partner countries China, France, Japan, and Russia will take part in the meeting to be co-chaired by US Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman which begins tomorrow, a day ahead of the General Conference of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.
India is not a partner to GNEP, however, the ultimate aim could be to bring it into the fold once the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is signed, experts said here.
A brainchild of US President George W Bush, GNEP aims at forging an alliance to reprocess spent nuclear fuel for peaceful use and not for nuclear weapons.
Some new countries are expected to attend the ministerial and sign the GNEP Statement of Principles, which establishes broad guidelines for participation and provides a framework for all future involvement in the initiative.
On May 21, the first ministerial brought together some of the leading nuclear fuel cycle states -- China, France, Japan, Russia and the United States which discussed th GNEP and issued a joint statement in support of nuclear energy cooperation.
Through GNEP, the US wants to work with other nations possessing advanced nuclear technologies to develop new proliferation-resistant recycling technologies in order to produce more energy, reduce waste and minimise proliferation concerns. PTI
29 killed in fresh Lanka violence
Colombo, Sept 15 (PTI) At least 29 people were killed in a roadside bomb blast and clashes between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka's embattled north, military officials said.
Two soldiers were killed when a roadside blast carried out by the Tigers targeted a military bus in the Jaffna peninsula last night, they said.
The attack came as the military shot dead 10 Tiger rebels who tried to break into an army defence line in the same area, the officials said.
In a separate incident, six Tiger rebels and three soldiers were killed in a gunfight in the district of Vavuniya, where another eight guerrillas died in two separate clashes, they said.
The latest upsurge in fighting came as the security forces strengthened their hold in the east of the island. PTI
Commodity markets in bearish mood this week
New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Commodity markets showed a bearish mood during the past week as select pulses, grains, spices and dry fruits subsided from their recent high levels on stockists offering amid government decisions to import to check a surge in prices.
The government's step to import the cereal checked wheat prices and started easing as stockists off-loaded part of their holdings to cut losses.
The trading volumes were satisfactory while turnover of the commodity markets remained weak on falling prices.
However, a few commodity still maintained their higher levels on buying support to meet the demand for the upcoming season of marriage and festivals.
There was some demand from vanaspati manufacturers and supported the upsurge while palm and soyabean oils were distinctly higher on fresh buying triggered by reports of a steep-rise in their prices in Malaysian markets.
Precious metals were also better on firm global trend and gold prices zoomed to over five-months-high while in London, it touched 18-month-high level around 715 dollar an ounce. PTI
RIL helps Sensex to land in positive terrain during the week
Mumbai, Sep 15 (PTI) Stocks: A significant surge in the shares of petro-chemical heavyweight, Reliance Industries (RIL), propelled the benchmark Sensex to end in positive zone in the week under review.
RIL stocks recorded 3.73 per cent gains, soaring to historic high of 2069.50 on government's approval of its gas pricing formula and the company's plans to enter ship-building and dredging business.
However, fierce opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal by the key left allies of the UPA government, fears of US economic recession precipitated by its sub-prime crisis, remergence of worries over the mortgage problems in UK and steep fall in industrial production lent uncertainty to the market.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers during the week, pumping in nearly USD one billion this mont, which provided the required buffer to the market.
Realty, banks, auto and cement counters registered remarkable gains at the fag end on expectations of interest rate cut at home following reports of rate cut by US Federal Reserve in the next week meeting.
BSE 30-share barometer, Sensex, swung between 15,824.65 and 15,363.53 before concluding the week at 15,603.80, a net rise of 13.38 points or 0.09 per cent over the last weekend's close of 15,590.42.
Similarly, the broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) improved further to end the week at 4,518.00 from last weekend's close of 4,509.50. PTI
International Equity Fund from Birla Sun Life opens on Sep 17
Coimbatore, Sep 15 (PTI) The International Equity Fund from the stable of Birla Sun Life, with open-ended diversified equity scheme, will open on September 17, a senior company official has said.
"Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund has two plans- Plan A will invest in a diversified portfolio of International Stocks from across the world. Plan B will be a mix of domestic stocks (65 to 75 per cent) and International Stocks (25-35 per cent)," Raghevendra Nath, Vice-President, Marketing and Strategy, of the company told reporters here last evening.
The company has engaged the investment advisory services arm of Standard and Poor's (S&P). Its advisory services would design a model portfolio of international stocks, using S&P Equity research's proprietary Stock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), Nath said.
The fund could buy the potentially high performing stocks from any sector anywhere in the world. The efficacy of this methodology would lie in the fact that the US Stocks that have been ranked 4-Stars and 5-Stars have consistently outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 Index over a one, three and five year horizon, he claimed.
The fund does not have any geographical or market cap bias and would invest in growth-oriented portfolio of stocks from across the world, Swarup Mohanty, Head, Independent Financial Advisors of the company, said. PTI
Ian Chappell backs Laxman as Test captain, Dhoni in ODI
New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Rahul Dravid's out-of-the-blue decision to relinquish the captaincy of the Indian cricket team found a supporter in former Australian captain Ian Chappell, who believes India should ask VVS Laxman to lead the Test squad, while the ODI reins should be in MS Dhoni's hands.
Chappell, an astute captain of his era, who himself quit after leading Australia between 1971-75, said he could understand Dravid's mental state and suggested India should go for split captaincy, like Australia did at a point with Steve Waugh leading the Test side and Ricky Ponting at the helms in ODI.
"Because there is no obvious successor, the selectors may think about splitting the captaincy as a short-term solution. On that basis VVS Laxman would make a good Test captain; it may just be the confidence boost his batting needs, and it would give the selectors time to find a long-term, full-time captain.
"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been earmarked for future leadership and the one-day captaincy would be a good way to test his mettle," Chappell wrote in his column for Cricinfo.
The cricketer-turned-commentator dwelled at length on Dravid's decision and said though Dravid was certainly not India's best captain, he at least left the job head held high and dignity intact. PTI
PCB to launch Pakistan Premier League next year
Karachi, Sep 15 (PTI) Pakistan Cricket Board today announced that it will launch its franchised version of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket in October next year.
PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf said the Pakistan Premier League, featuring six teams, would be launched immediately after the ICC Champions Trophy to be hosted in the country.
Ashraf said the Pakistan League would be a franchised part of the Champions League, which was announced by the Indian Cricket Board earlier this week with Australia, South Africa and England as participating partner boards.
Ashraf said the top two teams from the Pakistan Premier League would take part in the Champions League to be launched by 2009.
"Each of the six teams will feature four foreign players, four local players of the region and under-21 players whose services can be obtained for a fees. The six teams will also be franchised by corporates," he said.
Ashraf said the Premier league would be managed by former Pakistani players and the eventual idea was to allow players to benefit monetarily.
He denied the Indians had launched the Champions League concept and its franchised versions to counter a looming threat from the rebel Indian Cricket League launched by the Essel group in India.
"No this concept of the Champions League franchise was in the pipeline by the Indian Board for the last one year and was discussed by the participating boards. It will be an official event and it will allow players to play for their countries as well as earn from playing I the Twenty20 leagues," he added. PTI
ACA supports Champions League
Melbourne, Sep 15 (PTI) Australian Cricketers Association has thrown its support behind the lucrative new Champions League despite initially voicing concerns.
"We see this competition as a terrific opportunity for state cricketers," said Paul Marsh, chief executive of the association.
"We have some initial concerns regarding the possible involvement of Australian and international guest players. (But) We have commenced discussions with Cricket Australia about all aspects of the competition and will continue to work through this over the coming months," he was quoted as saying in 'The Age' today.
Australia, India, South Africa and England will hold domestic twenty tournaments and the two best teams will progress to the Champions League final, in October 2008.
The successful team will win $2 million prizemoney.
Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming are expected to play in the new Indian Premier League.
Cricket Australia is developing an operational blueprint for the worldwide league, which is expected to allow states to sign a couple of star imports, and to allow contracted Australian players such as Adam Gilchrist to appear for an Indian franchise in the tournament to determine the best domestic team in the world.
NZ Cricket yesterday said it liked the idea of adding provincial sides to the Australian Big Bash tournament the summer after next. PTI
Sivamani all set to bring alive magic in US
Zafri Mudasser Nofil
New Delhi, Sept 14 (PTI) Star percussionist Anandan Sivamani is known to create music out of strange objects like spoons, brass boards and suitcases. And come September 23 and the artiste, billed by many as modern India's cultural ambassador, will recreate some of his magic in the US.
Sivamani, along with Remo Fernandes, Colonial Cousins, Louis Banks and Niladri will showcase India's rich diversity on the musical front at Incredible India @60 -- the September 23-26 festival in Manhattan organised to celebrate 60 years of the country's independence.
"I am looking forward to my performance in the US. It is a great platform to showcase India's music in the US," he says.
Life has been on a fast lane for Sivamani, who began drumming at the age of seven.
"When I am not touring I am busy with my albums and compositions," Sivamani, whose new album "Mahaleela" will be released in December, told PTI.
"'Mahaleela' is basically an instrumental album but it has vocal elements in it too," he says.
He is also working on his dream project - a gurukool.
"I want to name it as 'Siva of Rhythm' and it will including everything related to music, including yoga." Sivamani has played drums for music composers like A R Rahman and Ilayaraja and in films like "Rang De Basanti", "Taal", "Roja", "Dil Se", "Guru" and "Kabul Express".
However, he says its too early for him to venture into a solo score for Bollywood.PTI
Newsletter: Polls in view, slugfest between Modi, rivals at peak
Parag Dave
Ahmedabad, Sep 12 (PTI) Political parties are going full blast to use all the conventional modes and also the new media for campaign like internet, television, short message services (sms) etc to woo the voters ahead of the polls likely to be held by December-end.
Internet is widely being used by pro and hate Modi campaigners. Modi's supporters have put up blogs and messages and even his detractors too are into the same technology.
Ahmedabad BJP Corporator Mayur Dave in his blog has praised Modi as a visionary leader, who according to him was a boon to the state.
The BJP maintains that it is yet to officially start its E-campaign and would do it when the election draws near.
Television is being widely used by both the main political parties--the BJP and opposition Congress-- to reach out to the electorate in the state.
The state government has in the meanwhile distributed some compact discs to almost all the cable operators and told them to air the CDs during prime time.
Through the CDs an attempt has been made to how Modi has put Gujarat on the path of progress in the last five years.
Flaying the BJP for using the government machinery for the propaganda, the Congress too set off a splurge of advertisements with anti-Modi slants, both in some national and local television channels. PTI
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Sensex: 15603.80, -10.64
The sensex closed at 15603.80, down 10.64
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______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = 40.375 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3502 INR
1 British Pound = 81.067 INR
1 Canadian $ = 39.172 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.737 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 10.992 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.766 INR
1 Euro = 56.018 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.092 INR
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