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BJP to have an alliance with JD(U) for Karna polls
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) BJP will have an alliance with the JD(U) for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka, notwithstanding the state units's desire to go it alone.
Top BJP sources made it clear that the party will have a tie-up with JD(U) but said the finer details of the adjustment are yet to be worked out.
The party's state leadership is reluctant to have an alliance with any party, including the JD(U), as it wants to contest in as many seats as possible to increase its tally.
On the other hand, the central leadership is of the view that the party cannot antagonise JD(U), a key NDA constituent and its ruling partner in Bihar.
Last time, the BJP had an alliance with JD(U) and an understanding with AIADMK. While JD(U) won five out of the 25 seats it had contested, AIADMK bagged two.
Party sources said the central leadership has conveyed to the state unit that the JD(U) has to be accommodated, but all indications are that it might not be given the same number of seats given last time.
Karnataka BJP leaders argue that JD(U) has weakened much in the state with several of its leaders, including Basavaraj Bommai, joining the party. Basavaraj is the son of JD(U)'s founder president S R Bommai.
However, no decision has been taken on whether to have a seat adjustment with the AIADMK.
The Jayalalithaa-led party has a significant presence in at least ten seats where there is a sizable chunk of Tamil population.
The AIADMK had in the past won couple of seats in areas like Kollar and Bangalore city. PTI
Kannada groups call for boycott of Rajni films
Bangalore, Apr 5 (PTI) Irked by comments of Rajnikant supporting the Hogenakkal water project, pro-Kannada groups today appealed to people for boycott of Tamil movies starring the superstar.
"We will not allow screening of Rajnikant movies in Karnataka and also not allow him enter the state," Vatal Nagaraj, heading a conglomeration of the groups coming under the banner of the Karnataka Border Protection Committee, said here.
Rajnikant does not belong to Karnataka as he is a Maharashtrian, he said after the committee's meeting adding it was Karnataka which gave him shelter earlier. PTI
SA beat India by an innings and 90 runs
Ahmedabad, Apr 5 (PTI) South Africa defeated India by an innings and 90 runs on the third day of the second cricket Test here today.
South Africa lead the three-match series 1-0.
Brief scores: India 76 and 328 (S Ganguly 87, M S Dhoni 52, I Pathan 43 n.O.; M Ntini 3/44, D Steyn 3/91).
South Africa 494 for 7. PTI
India fighting hard to stave off big defeat
Ahmedabad, Apr 5 (PTI) After being blown away for 76 in the first essay and then conceding a huge lead of 418 to South Africa, hosts India were struggling hard to stave off defeat in the second cricket Test at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera here today.
After the visitors declared at their overnight first innings total of 494 for seven, aided by A B de Villiers unbeaten 217, the home team were tottering at 95 for three at lunch on the third day.
Openers Virender Sehwag (17) and Wasim Jaffer (19) and Rahul Dravid (17) were the batsmen to be dismissed in the first session, once again beaten by the extra pace and movement extracted by the visiting team's fast bowlers even on the slow-paced track on which the home team's batsmen had toiled hard.
At lunch V V S Laxman, who struck some superb straight drives for fours in his attractive 19 in 22 balls with four fours, and Sourav Ganguly (10) were at the crease to try and execute what looked a daunting task.
The hosts needed to score 323 runs to avoid an innings defeat with eight sessions left.
The weight of having been buried under the huge lead, the biggest ever gained by the Proteas over India, also seemed to be working on the Indian batsmen's minds.
Sehwag, who struck two sixes in the first over of the innings off Dale Steyn and a four in his short stay of 32 minutes in which he faced 20 balls, was trapped leg before by the other new ball bowler Makhaya Ntini. PTI
Arjun Singh tied 21st at Philippine Open
Manila, Apr 5 (PTI) India's Arjun Singh fired a round of one over 73 to be placed tied 21st after the third round of the Philippine Open here today.
Arjun had a steady front nine as he made pars from the first to the ninth. He then dropped a bogey on the 10th and knocked down a birdie on the 12th.
The Delhi-based professional closed with another bogey on the par four 18th at the Wack Wack Golf & Country Club.
After three rounds, Arjun's total stands at three over 219.
The lead is currently held by Filipino Angelo Que who shot an impressive 66 in the third round to total six under 210.
Himmat Singh Rai, the other Indian in the fray, slipped from overnight tied 52nd to tied 60th with a total of 11-over 227 after he shot 78 in the third round. PTI
Cautious approach needed on FTA with China: Assocham
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) India should be cautious while signing free trade agreements (FTAs), especially with China as it could affect the interest of domestic industry, a report released by industry chamber Assocham said today.
According to the report titled 'India's FTAs and the Indian Industry', India Inc should be taken into confidence before the government went ahead with FTA with China.
"Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) should first be concluded before FTAs are finalised to protect interests of Indian Inc. Trade and comprehensive economic agreements have been signed in the past with various countries and regional blocks that have resulted into a few fallacies and hurt economic interest of domestic industry," Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot said while releasing the report here.
He said the mistake should not be repeated in case of the proposed FTA with China.
"Since India's tariff levels are much higher than China, any reduction in tariff will open the floodgate of cheaper imports from China. Also, a large share of Singapore's exports is in form of re-exports of the products from other countries," he added.
"The high tariff regime in India at about 12.5 per cent and low tariff regime of China of less than 6 per cent, and FTA between India and China might affect the economic efficiency between these countries as they would exclude and discriminate other counties," Dhoot said.
This discrimination will work against India because of high tariff barriers. When India gives duty free access to China, tariff revenue previously collected on import from China turns into export revenues for export firm from China.
In the process, Chinese firms will gain more compared to Indian exporters as Indian exporting firms have less to gain from the tariff free access in China, he said. PTI
India planning to introduce visa on arrival for tourists
Jaishree Balasubramanian
Singapore, Apr 5 (PTI) With the the aim of increasing tourist arrivals, India plans to introduce visa on arrival facility for foreigners, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said here today.
The proposal, if endorsed by the Home Ministry, can be implemented with regard to certain select countries on pilot basis, she told reporters after inaugurating the incredibleindia@60 cultural extravangaza.
"One of our thrust areas is to get visa on arrival but there have been concerns. We feel the Home Ministry could introduce it on a trial basis," Soni said.
Soni said visa on arrival was "one sure way" for facilitating tourist arrivals into the country and expressed confidence that the government would implement the scheme once the work on major airports was done.
"It can be introduced to visitors from some countries to begin with," Soni said adding that her ministry was also pushing for permits to visit North East.
"We can access many areas which could not be done earlier," she added.
Elaborating her "vision plan" for the future, Soni said 20 destinations have been identified in way of a pilot project which she felt would greatly help state goverments.
She said these included a trail followed by the British from Calcutta to Varanasi along with wildlife and river trails.
Noting that the tourist arrivals touched five million last year, Soni said in India's case it was not just in numbers that it was competing. PTI
India, Turkmenistan ink MoU for cooperation in oil, gas sector
Sunil Gatade
Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Apr 5 (PTI) Giving a major boost to bilateral ties, India and Turkmenistan today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for facilitating cooperation in oil and natural gas sector at a time when New Delhi was looking towards Central Asia to meet its growing energy needs.
Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed and Tukmenistan Deputy Prime Minister for Oil and Gas Tachberdy Tagiev inked the MoU that would facilitate contacts between Indian companies and those of this hydrocarbon-rich country.
The MoU was the highlight of the Vice President Hamid Ansari's visit to this Central Asian country which is among the top ten countries with gas reserves.
Ansari said that India regards itself as the "natural partner" of Turkmenistan for meeting its requirements of energy.
He said Turkmenistan is geo-strategically located and with its vast hydrocarbon resources it has an important role to play in world's energy security. "India, with its vast requirement of energy and dependence on imports to meet it, is Turkmenistan's natural partner".
Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov said the participation of Indian companies and enterprises in the oil-gas projects in Turkmenistan was to the benefit of both countries.
The Vice President thanked the Turkman leader for "the formal support we have received about our membership in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project".
The proposed project envisages a transnational pipeline that would carry gas from the Dauletabad fields here to energy hungry India. PTI
Gold, silver continue to rule firm
Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) Prices of gold and silver continued to rule firm on the bullion market here today on persistent stockists demand on the back of higher global advices and mild investment buying on inflation fears.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) shot up further by Rs 90 per ten grams to Rs 11,830 from Rs 11,740 previously.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) rose to Rs 11,885 from Rs 11,800 yesterday.
Silver ready (.999 fineness) also hardened by Rs 400 per kilo to Rs 23,665 from Rs 23,265.
Precious metals found support in New York on Friday after a weaker-than-expected payrolls report hurt the dollar, a dealer said.
June gold rose USD 3.60 to USD 913.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A third-straight sharp drop in the US payrolls added weight to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's recent warning that the US economy may be in recession, which helped in rising gold prices.
Higher oil prices also supported gold prices. May crude oil was up by USD 1.97 at USD 105.80 a barrel.
Silver futures also gained on a lower dollar following US non-farm payroll data. Comex May silver rose 27.5 cents to USD 17.755 an ounce. PTI
Jet-Mastermind visited Pakistan two months before his arrest
London, Apr 5 (PTI) The mastermind of the group which allegedly planned to blow up seven airliners bound to USA and Canada in mid air had gone to Pakistan from Britain just two months before his arrest in August 2006.
Assad Ali Sarwar, the mastermind of the group of eight Britons, had travelled to Pakistan, the Woolwich Crown Court was told yesterday.
A part of one of the martyrdom videos were played for the jury at the Court. It featured a man said to be defendant Umar Islam, who was shown speaking of a desire to kill non-Muslims. They also researched other targets including power stations and London's Canary Wharf, prosecutors said.
As the chilling martyrdom videos of six of the eight accused were played in the Court, the prosecution told the jury that Sarwar had travelled to Islamabad from Heathrow in June 2006, just two months before his arrest on August nine.
The seven other accused were also arrested at the same time. The prosecution told the court that Assad did not intend to die himself and had direct links to those overseas who may have a clear interest in the success of any such terrorist outrage in the name of Islam.
The trip to Pakistan was connected to the plot to detonate bombs on board transatlantic aircraft, the court was told.
All eight men deny conspiring to murder and endangering aircraft in 2006.
The court also heard how the alleged plotters stockpiled materials needed for their home-made liquid devices including 18 litres of hydrogen peroxide, wires and syringes, which the prosecution claims they intended to smuggle on to aircraft disguised as 500 ml soft drinks. PTI
Lord Paul to lead UK Par delegation to West Bengal
London, Apr 5 (PTI) A high-level British Parliamentary delegation led by Lord Swraj Paul will embark on a week-long visit to West Bengal tomorrow to explore possibilities of enhancing two-way investment and trade.
"For me it is like going home. We plan to discuss investment from Britain to West Bengal and from West Bengal to Britain," Paul, leading NRI industrialist, told PTI shortly before emplaning for Kolkata.
"We will also discuss other issues including terrorism and environment." Other members of the delegation that is visiting the state at the invitation of the West Bengal Assembly include Ashok Kumar, Labour MP, Lord Bhatia and Baroness Varma.
During their stay in West Bengal, the delegation will meet members of the FICCI, visit Shantiniketan where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded Viswa Bharati, Mother Teresa's mission and the Belur Mutt, made famous by Swami Vivekanand.
Afghan govt tells pvt channels to stop showing Indian serials
Islamabad, Apr 5 (PTI) Afghanistan government has ordered private TV stations in the war-ravaged country to stop broadcasting popular Indian soap operas by April 15, a move that apparently reflected the growing influence of hardliners who criticised the serials as being "un-Islamic".
A spokesman for Afghanistan's Culture and Information Ministry said the decision followed a meeting with MPs and clerics. He said there were "numerous complaints" about the shows, BBC News reported.
There are six Indian soap operas running in Afghanistan, providing vital revenue for TV stations, but they have been criticised for being "un-Islamic" by hardliners in the country.
Several private Afghan TV channels, including Tolo, Ariana and Shamshad, broadcast the Indian soap operas dubbed in Pashto and Persian.
The first Indian serial to be aired in Afghanistan was the hit soap opera "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", which was launched by Tolo channel in 2005. Among other Indian soaps aired in Afghanistan are "Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki" and "Kasauti Zindagi Ki".
Afghan Information and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Khurram has said the action will be taken against TV channels that do not stop airing the Indian serials by April 15.
Afghanistan's Parliament recently passed a resolution seeking to bar TV programmes from showing dancing and other practices that are "un-Islamic". PTI
Amitabh Bachchan cleared in tobacco ad case
Panaji, Apr 4 (PTI) In a relief for superstar Amitabh Bachchan, a local court has cleared him in a case of an alleged violation of Goa's law against smoking after a poster showed him puffing a cigar.
National Tobacco Eradication Organisation (NOTE), an anti-tobacco organisation, had filed a suit against Bachchan along with others objecting to his poster on the hoarding which showed him smoking a cigar and accusing him of violating Goa Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Act, 1997.
District and Sessions Judge U V Bakre nullified the legal process against Bachchan initiated by judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) in the case.
NOTE had accused the actor of indirectly suggesting and promoting smoking on a multi-coloured billboard advertisement that depicted him puffing a cigar while endorsing a brand of electric appliances.
The board was prominently displayed on Goa's national highway.
NOTE had asked the court to prosecute Bachchan for violations the Goa Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Act.
Bachchan's lawyer had in a revision petition filed before sessions court said the criminal case was registered despite the actor conveying in writing that he was not a party to the hoarding. PTI
Mithun Chakraborty named lifetime trustee of Phalke Academy
Mumbai, Apr 4 (PTI) Actor Mithun Chakraborty was today named lifetime trustee of the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy.
The Mumbai-based academy is involved in preserving the legacy Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema. It is also involved in recognising old talent and encouraging newcomers in the film industry.
The academy already has film trade union leader Santosh Singh Jain, former Maharashtra bureaucrat Govind Swaroop, filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani, Sanjay Patel, Sangram Shirke, Neena Jalan and Ram Gopal Gupta as its lifetime trustees.
Chakraborty has been associated with film employees' union for several years.
A delegation of trustees and other members including noted character actors Chandra Shekhar and Ram Mohan met Chakraborty at his residence to chalk out a plan for the Dadasaheb Phalke Jayanti celebrations on April 30 and Phalke Academy awards presentation event, which will be held soon, a release issued here said. PTI
Rajnikant, Kamal Hassan join fast for Hogenakkal project
Chennai, Apr 4 (PTI) Superstar Rajnikant, Kamal Hassan and many Kollywood film stars went on an eight-hour fast here today to express solidarity with Tamil Nadu's stand on the Hogenakkal water project and denounced the attacks on cinemas screening Tamil movies in Bangalore.
The presence of Rajnikant, a native of Karnataka who attained stardom in Tamil film industry, added fizz to the strong response from the film fraternity, which transcended linguistic differences and joined hands to condemn the attacks on cinemas, buses and Tamil newspapers published from Bangalore.
Besides Rajnikant other popular actors like Murali and Arjun, also hailing from Karnataka, joined the fast, which was held in a specially erected stage in Chepauk here where thousands of fans converged to have a glimpse of their stars and to hear their speeches denouncing the attacks.
Advocating caution and restraint, Rajnikant, in his brief comments to the media, said politicians should resolve the differences and find a solution to the Hogenakkal water project being built by Tamil Nadu in the border town of Hogenakkal.
"This is a sensitive national issue and concerns the sovereignty and integrity of the nation," he said.
Several actors from Tamil film industry, including top Malayalam stars like Jayaram, addressed the gathering calling for restraint and understanding. PTI
Digest of domestic news for the week March 29- April 4, 2008
Saturday
New Delhi: Seven people, including two children, arekilled and several others injured when a four-storey under-construction building collapsed in North East Delhi.
Coimbatore: A six-day Congress of the CPI(M)begins withcalls for forging a "third alternative" to BJP and theCongress and a demand for dismantling of the Indo-US defencepact, topping its serious opposition to the civilian nuclear deal with that country.
Sunday
Kanpur: Sending mixed signals in Uttar Pradesh, Congresshints at a possible alliance with the Samajwadi party against BSP and accuses the state government of corruption saying Chief Minister Mayawati cannot be expected to give a"transparent" administration.
Panaji: The mother of rape and murder victim Scarlett Keeling says she will seek the help of Britain's Scotland Yardin probing the case, even as the National Commission for Womenheld that Goa police investigations were "completelymisleading".
Monday
Bhopal: Seven activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) are arrested on charges of providingassistance to their former chief Safdar Nagori and 12 othertop leaders nabbed last week in a major crackdown against theoutfit.
New Delhi: Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan gets a majorrelief from the Supreme Court which rejects Uttar PradeshGovernment's plea for ordering investigation into thecontroversial Barabanki land deal in which the actorrepresented himself as an agriculturist. Muzaffarnagar/Lucknow: Supporters of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Mahendra Singh Tikait clash with police trying to arrest him for his allegedly casteist remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Tuesday New Delhi: The rural job guarantee scheme is extended to all the 604 rural districts of the country to provide 100 days of employment to the "aam admi", a year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Chennai/Bangalore: The row over the Hogenakkal water supply project rages with pro-Kannada groups threatening to oppose screening of Tamil movies in Karnataka and called for a state-wide bandh on April 10 while the Tamil Nadu assembly demands Centre's intervention to stop violence in the neighbouring state.
Wednesday
Muzaffarnagar(UP): Ending three days of tension and drama, farmers' leader Mahendra Singh Tikait surrenders before a Bijnore court and immediately secures bail after night-long negotiations with the administration to avoid a forcible arrest.
New Delhi: Karnataka will have three-phased assembly elections on May 10, 16 and 22 that will require extension of the President's rule by a short spell.
Panaji: Under pressure on the credibility of the police investigation, the Goa government formally decides to seek a CBI probe into the death of British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling.
New Delhi: The income tax department accuses Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of evading payment of tax by showing "sham transactions" in the assessment year 2003-04 and challenges an IT appellate tribunal order giving her a clean chit.
Thursday Coimbatore: Prakash Karat, the hardline marxist in the midst of political brinkmanship over the Indo-US nuclear deal, is re-elected as CPI(M) General Secretary while it is curtains down for veterans Jyoti Basu and Harikishen Singh Surjeet.
New Delhi/Islamabad: India and Pakistan decide on early resumption of the stalled composite dialogue as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee called up his counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi to greet him on assumption of office.
Srinagar: Police arrest the chief spokesman of the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
Friday Chennai/Bangalore: The Hogenakkal water supply project, which sparked off violence in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu during the past few days, saw film industry of the two states shut work and hold fast endorsing their respective governments' stand.
New Delhi: The Centre announces a massive hike in rentals ranging from 200 to 500 per cent for use of land requisitioned for counter-insurgency deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.
New Delhi: Two years after he quit BJP openly criticising L K Advani, veteran Delhi leader Madan Lal Khurana is re-inducted into the party after he expressed "regret" for his comments against the leader. PTI
Empowering women in Uttarakhand
Deepti Saxena
Dehra Dun, Apr 4 (PTI) They played an important role in the formation of the state. Women in Uttarakhand are now poised to play an even bigger role thanks to a new legislation reserving 50 per cent posts in Panchayats in the state.
Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to bring legislation on to accord 50 per cent seats in panchayats to wmen. The Uttarakhand Panchayat Law (Ammendement) Act 2008, was passed by the state assembly on March 13.
"This legislation will give due representation to the fairer sex in decision-making process as they deserve it being nearly half of the population," said Panchayati Raj Minister Bishen Singh Chufal after the passage of the bill. Socila activists believe that increasing the women's share in the Panchayati Raj system would bring a quiet revolution in the state.
"Our assessment is that women generally keep themselves away from corruption, a factor which is crucial for the proper utilization of funds," said Sunder Lal Bahuguna, renowned social activist and Chipko leader.
As per the statistics, there are 7,227 village panchayats, 95 block or intermediary panchayats and 13 district panchayats in the state. At present, there are a total of 50,966 women panchayat functionaries in the state out of which 47,306 are at gram panchayat level, 3,315 at block panchayat level and 345 at district panchayat level. PTI
Vote bank politics fosters illegal migration into NE: Book
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) Outwardly secular, politics in India is all about vote banks and keeping a party in power. No wonder the problem of infiltration of illegal migrants remains unresolved, threatening to snowball into major crisis, say intellectuals from the North East.
'Voice of Assam,' a collection of writings of 25 distinguised litterateurs fear a situation was developing which may lead to a major ethnic conflagration.
As a result of infiltration "few districts of upper Assam coming together and raising a demand for another separate state free from the domination of Muslims fundamentalists, cannot be ruled out," says the book.
The writers warn that unabated infiltration of illegal Bangladeshi migrants is turning the secular society of Northeast being divided into "religious, linguistic and tribal segments at the state and administrative levels, ostensible on the ground of opposing seccessionism and aversion to party politics." The book blames the vote-bank politics, both at the regional level and at the centre, for the situation.
"Each political party of the state, national or regional, has fallen victim to the 'Vote-Bank' politics which has so far proved to be the main hurdle against fighting the ever-growing menace of infiltration," says the book 'Voice of Assam,' edited by Satish Chandra Chowdhury and Harendra Kalita.
The problem is likely to overwhelm the entire northeast and her indigenous people in not too far distant a future, it warns.
(About the book: Voice of Assam, Publisher:Assam Sahitya Sabha, Edited by:Satish Chandra Chowdhury and Harendra Kalita, Price: Rs 200)PTI
Indian middle class leading a selfish life, says Aruna Roy
Sabi Hussain
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) She felt disempowered by the 'selfish' and 'worthless' ways of India's burgeoning urban middle class. It were the rural and urban poor, who taught her the true meaning of life.
Unlike the upwardly mobile upper middle class, the much neglected Indian backward class which struggles for a daily living knows better how to lead an enriched and harmonious life, believes Magsaysay awardee and eminent RTI activist Aruna Roy.
"India is today running on two different tracks followed by the backward class and the middle class. The former made me understood how to make your life better enriched and harmonised, while the latter only taught me how to make life worthless and selfish," Roy told PTI.
"India's backward class, which has always been neglected and considered as socially irrelevant has empowered me and taught me how to struggle in life, while the middle class disempowered me with its urbanised thoughts," she adds.
Roy, who is known as one of the pioneer figures to have advocated that RTI and NREGA be made a law, reiterated her view that women in India have always been subjudicated and urged the government to immediately bring in the "Women's Reservation Bill".
"In our country, women have always been devoid of rights. All political parties should make a consensus to pass the 'Women's Reservation Bill' in the parliament so as to strengthen women power and to redefine democracy in India," she says.
She also added that society needs to change its perspective on women, which is still under the grip of gender discrimination and considers woman as a liability.
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