UAE footballer Awana Diab scores 'best ever penalty' with back-heel strike

Fans were not amazed with the result of the match as UAE beat Lebanon 6-2, but what stole the show was Arab footballer Awana Diab's astonishing back heel penalty.
Football enthusiasts have termed Diab's penalty kick as the ' best ever strike into the goal post', The Daily Mail reports.
With the hosts leading 5-2 at Al Ain's Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Diab strode up to the 12-yard spot to convert past Lebanon goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh in the country's emphatic 6-2 victory.
The 21-year-old ran up like any other spot-kick but moments before he was about to make contact he quickly spun around and took the penalty backwards leaving the goalkeeper wrong footed.
But Diab's celebrations were cut short when he was booked for showboating and substituted by his manager, who had only brought him on three minutes earlier - for showing a 'lack of respect'.
"This is not respect. He's a young guy and he knows he made a mistake immediately. I just want him to show respect, not just on the field but off it as well," UAE coach, Srecko Katanec was quoted, as saying.
The bizarre goal has become an Internet hit, with football fans heralding it as the 'best and the most innovative penalty ever'.

We are strong, but not the best batting side,' says Dravid

Senior Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has described the country's batting line-up as strong, but not yet the best in the world.
Speaking ahead of the Lord's Test between India and England here on Tuesday, Dravid said: "I don't like to say that we are the best batting side and they are best bowling side in the world. At the end of the day it is contest between India and England. That is the important thing. Who is the best and who is not the best? At the end of the day, we have got a strong batting line up, the series will be decided may be that contest."
The 38-year-old batsman said it was important to get off to a good start, as it could set the tune for the high-profile series.
He admitted that the team had been lacking on this aspect at times in the recent past.
"Starting well for us will be important. It is an area of our game that, we do recognize that sometimes we have not been as good as we would like to be. So it is something we want to do well. If we can start well then we see that it makes a big difference," said Dravid.
India is currently the number one side in the world and England is hoping to assume that mantle by beating the visitors by at least a two-test margin. By Praful Kumar Singh

Swann says Dhoni's wicket more important than Sachin's

England off spinner Graeme Swann has said he will target Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rather than Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming test series which begins tomorrow.
"He (Dhoni) leads from the front, is a very dangerous cricketer and is possibly the most charismatic player India have ever had, with the sway he holds in that country now," Swann was quoted, as saying by The Daily Express.
"If we can get at anyone he is probably the key man," he added.
Swann also said an incomplete 'Decision Review System' (DRS) in the test series will hamper his chances of getting more 'leg before wicket' decisions in his favour.
"In my opinion it (DRS) has been a great addition over the last couple of years and it works, but the powers that have been decided, we are only using it for caught behind decisions" Swann was quoted, as saying by the paper.
"I am sure in a year or two it will be used across the board for all decisions," he added.
The Lord's clash is the 100th between the sides and the 2,000th in Test history, and Swann wants to relish the occasion of playing against the world's number one Test side.
"We are playing against the number one team in the world and we are striving to be number one. It is the current number one against a team biting at their heels," Swann said.
England will make a decision on the make-up of their XI on Thursday morning, with Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad fighting for a place in the side.

Luxury gifts for Harper Seven flood entire room in Becks' LA mansion!

Victoria and David Beckham's newborn daughter, Harper Seven, is reportedly being flooded with presents.
Her celebrity parents are said to already have filled an entire room in their lavish Los Angeles home with the luxury gifts.
Their famous friends, including Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, honoured her arrival with luxury gifts, including designer hampers, a silver Tiffany's teething ring and expensive cashmere blankets, reports Stuff.co.nz.
Current and former teammates of David including Cristiano Ronaldo and Victoria's friend Eva Longoria are also believed to have sent presents.
Even before Victoria had left the hospital, a bodyguard was spotted struggling to bring all the gifts to her.
"The gifts have not stopped coming," the paper quoted an insider as telling Closer magazine.
"They're all beautifully wrapped, and Victoria has been very touched," the source added.

Tiger Woods' ex-wife's new beau denies sleeping with Rachel Uchitel

Tiger Woods' ex-wife is reportedly fuming over allegations that her boyfriend of six months had also allegedly slept with the former golf champion's ex-mistress, Rachel Uchitel.
Unnamed sources told TMZ that Elin Nordegren's new boyfriend Jamie Dingman hooked up with Uchitel while the two were vacationing at a mutual friend's house in Miami in 2009, reports the New York Daily News.
According to the original report, the two hooked up twice - even though Dingman was dating someone else at the time.
Friends of the wealthy investor have however hit back at the claims, saying that Uchitel is lying about the affair.
But others have allegedly told the daily: "Jamie came into Rachel's room late at night twice and the two hooked up ... and they heard Rachel discussing it with Barish the morning after each liaison.

Swann believes DRS absence will hurt his lbw claims

England spinner Graeme Swann has said an incomplete 'Decision Review System' (DRS) in the test series against India will hamper his chances of getting more 'leg before wicket' decisions in his favour.
The DRS will be available to umpires on only 'caught behind' decisions for the four-Test npower series between England and India, which begins on Thursday at Lord's, The Telegraph reports.
"In my opinion it (DRS) has been a great addition over the last couple of years and it works, but the powers that have been decided, we are only using it for caught behind decisions" Swann was quoted, as saying by the paper.
"I am sure in a year or two it will be used across the board for all decisions," he added.
The Lord's clash is the 100th between the sides and the 2,000th in Test history, and Swann wants to relish the occasion of playing against the world's number one Test side.
"We are playing against the number one team in the world and we are striving to be number one. It is the current number one against a team biting at their heels," Swann said.
England will make a decision on the make-up of their XI on Thursday morning, with Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad fighting for a place in the side. (ANI)

Sachin Tendulkar eyes 100th century in 2000th test

Sachin Tendulkar at the peak of his considerable powers can mark the 2,000th test at Lord's starting on Thursday with an unprecedented 100th international century at the headquarters of world cricket when India face England.The only other comparable landmark is not promising.Australia's Don Bradman, who endured the same pressures and publicity which accompany Tendulkar, needed just four runs to finish with a test average of 100 at the Oval in 1948.Bradman was bowled without scoring in Australia's only innings, the most famous duck in test cricket, to finish with an average of 99.94, still 40 runs better than anybody before or since.In addition, Tendulkar's record at Lord's is abject with a highest score of only 37 in seven innings. It compares to an overall test record of 14,692 runs at an average of 56.94 with 51 centuries in tests and 48 in one-day internationals.Mumbai, Tendulkar's home town, seemed the perfect setting for Tendulkar to reach a hundred hundreds in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on April 2 this year. Instead he was out for 18, a failure soon overlooked after India's dramatic victory.
The game is bigger than any individual and Tendulkar, revered by team mates and opponents alike, remains the ultimate team man.At the age of 38, he is batting better than ever in a career stretching back to 1989 scoring 1,562 runs at an average of 78 last year. He now combines the dazzling strokeplay of his youth with the technical solidity of his middle years and with a tour of Australia in the offing later in the year the 100th century is only a matter of time if he does fall short at Lord's."He's phenomenal to still be going now and on the verge of his 100th hundred in international games," England off-spinner Graeme Swann said on Tuesday."But hopefully he'll have to wait six or seven months for that, because we don't want him to get one in England."A number of other statistics make Thursday's test already memorable before a ball has been bowled.The first in a four-test series is the 2,000th test match in history and the 100th between England and India. If England win the series by a margin of at least two matches, they will overtake India as the world's top-ranked side.On the surface the match is a straight battle between England's four-man attack and the talented and prolific Indian batsmen.The rain which afflicted the recent series against Sri Lanka has not subsequently relented and the cool, damp conditions will suit England's leading strike bowler James Anderson.Swann acknowledged that the pace bowlers are likely to dominate this week."The trick is to put enough runs on the board as a team to then allow our bowlers to bowl them out twice," he said.India's batting has been weakened by the loss of opener Virender Sehwag to a shoulder injury for the first two tests. They still have Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order and Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in the middle followed by Dhoni.Wicketkeeper Dhoni has been an immensely impressive leader, taking India to the first Twenty20 World Cup, this year's 50 overs World Cup and to the top of the world rankings.
He symbolises the brash, new face of Indian cricket as displayed to the world in the Mumbai triumph and the Indian Premier League with a host of commercial endorsements which have made him a wealthy young man."It's not the rankings that are important to us. What is important is to play good cricket and enjoy the sport," Dhoni said during India's sole warmup match last week."The rankings will take care of themselves. When you represent India and 1.2 billion have expectations from you, I think every series is important."

Arunachalee women break police stereotype

Breaking another male bastion, women in large numbers have joined the police force in Arunachal Pradesh.
A majority of people in the Himalayan state are still against women entering the profession and largely regard policing as a strictly male affair, but more and more women are contesting the stereotypical view.
Today there are as many as 376 women in the Arunachal Pradesh police force holding such diverse positions as inspectors, sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors and constables.
"Many young women are these days willingly opting for a career in the police force," Doimukh police station in-charge Chuku Nanu Bui, a woman who joined the police department as a sub-inspector in 1988, said.
She said job in the police department was tough and hectic, but she enjoyed her calling. "There is full cooperation and support from my husband which gives me courage and encouragement."
Incidentally, her husband Make Bui is also a police officer and officer-in-charge of Itanagar police station.
Rejecting the notion that a lady cannot make a good police officer, Bui cited that lady police officers on duty in plain attire tend to collect more information than their male counterparts.
"Today women are doing exceptionally well in all fields. They are at par with their male counterparts. The police force is no exception," another lady sub-inspector Inya Ete said while encouraging more women participation in the police force.

Bust stress, conquer sky - the virtual way

Vaibhava Srinivasan, 33, was flying a Boeing 737 over the picturesque Himalayan mountain range on his way to China, when he had to suddenly cut short his sortie for an urgent board meeting at office.
No, he wasn't daydreaming.
On weekdays, the Bangalorean works as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, but on weekends, he brings out the aviator in him and 'flies' all kinds of jetliners all over the world with the help of a software -- Microsoft Flight Simulator. The software, priced at $40 (Rs.1,700), commands the lion's share in the virtual flying software market.
'This software is for enthusiasts and has been constantly upgraded over the years. It provides you a virtual experience of flying a jet and is easily available at any electronic gadget or video game shop,' Srinivasan said.
Srinivasan, in fact, went one step further by installing a Boeing 737 cockpit at his home with hardware and software procured from various countries over a period of two years. The cockpit boasts of an imitation panel, yoke, throttle quadrant, multi-functional displays, auto-pilot and auto throttle panels and original captain seats.
'After slugging the whole week I need an effective stress-buster on weekends to relax and the simulator is just the perfect solution. In fact, many of my friends often visit my place just to lay their hands on it,' he quipped.
Srinivasan may be an extreme case, but budding aviators can also consider softwares like X-Plane, which costs around $25-40, depending on the features one opts for.
Virtual flying enthusiasts also have another option -- the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), the biggest non-profit community of virtual flyers and air traffic controllers, based in Belgium.
'IVAO provides a platform for virtual pilots and air traffic controllers from across the globe with real time data on weather and traffic conditions of the destination that you are headed towards,' said Srinivasan, who is also IVAO's director of public relations.
After a free registration at IVAO, one can download software for pilots or air traffic controllers and get started immediately.
Agreed Sanket Deshpande, a media professional from Mumbai, who termed the experience as 'out of this world.'
'Once you start flying, it's difficult to believe that it is just a simulation. The most amazing thing is that you can interact with fellow pilots who are flying with you in the virtual airspace,' the 26-year-old told IANS.
Delegated with the responsibility of coordinating operations of air traffic control and new members joining IVAO, Deshpande said 25-30 enthusiasts are joining them every month.
'The age group usually wavers between 16 and 45. We also have retired air force pilots as our members,' said Deshpande, who is in the process of building a cockpit at home.
Some also say the flight simulators can be the first step towards a career as a pilot or an air traffic controller.
'The problem in India is that parents think that it is just another video game and discourage their kids from using it, whereas it can very well be a beginning for a kid to shape his career as a pilot,' Hyderabad-based Ajit Menon, a sales manager with Dell, said.
'Although it's a rage in the West, it is growing at an equally healthy rate here,' added Menon, 40, who claims to have more than 2,000 hours of virtual flying under his belt.
Menon's views were corroborated by 32-year-old Rohit Dalaya, a captain with Air India, who admits that it was his hours spent flying virtually which egged him on to realise his dream of becoming a pilot.
'I started using the flight simulator in my college days way back in 1996. Although I did my training from the US, the simulator played a major role in helping me achieve my goal,' said Dalaya, who has been flying with the national carrier for more than 10 years.

Sunny morning in Delhi, rains expected

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) A sunny morning greeted Delhi Wednesday, but rains were likely later in the day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The minimum temperature settled at 28.9 degrees Celsius, two notches above the average for this time of the season, an IMD official said.
'Partly cloudy sky accompanied with rain and thundershowers is expected later in the day,' he said.
The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 37 degrees Celsius.
The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 77 percent.
The maximum and minimum temperature Tuesday settled at 36.3 and 27.5 degrees Celsius respectively.

Wipro net up by one percent in first quarter

Bangalore, July 20 (IANS) Wipro Ltd posted net profit of Rs.13.35 billion (Rs.1,335 crore) for the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2011-12), registering a marginal year-on-year-growth (YoY) of one percent.
In a regulatory filing Wednesday, the IT bellwether said its total revenue, however, increased 18 percent YoY to Rs.85.64 billion (Rs.8,564 crore).
Under the International Financial Reporting Standards, net income grew marginally one percent to $299 million and total income $1.92 billion, up 18 percent YoY.
Revenue from the company's global IT services business increased 16 percent to Rs.64.05 billion (Rs.6,405 crore) in rupee terms and 17 percent to $1.4 billion in dollar terms.

From guns to Buddha to enlightening others, a monk's story

He was a soldier who dropped the gun to be a monk - but even that didn't give him peace of mind. So Bhikkhu Sanghasena decided to work towards educating the underprivileged in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to help them match steps with the rest of the world.
'I was a soldier and our instructors used to say, what do you know about the world? You are a 'pahadi'. My blood used to boil on their comments,' Sanghasena, 53, who believes education is a weapon that can help people win the world, said.
'I joined the army at the age of 17 in 1974 and served for four and a half years. After meeting a Buddhist monk and hearing the preaching of the Buddha, I felt I was not leading a pure Buddhist life. I decided to quit the army to be a monk.
'But living a monk's life was not enough,' said Sanghasena, who is from Timisgang in Ladakh. He returned to the state in 1986 and realised that progress had bypassed the region.
His first step was to start the Mahabodhi Residential School, an educational institution in Devachan, Leh, in 1992 with 25 girls from farflung areas as he believes in empowering girls. Five years later, he started admitting boys too.
Sanghasena has opened three more branches - one in his hometown of Timisgang where 130 students are studying, Bodhkharbu with 116 students and Nye with 36.
The monks and nuns at the centre are given formal education 'so that if they plan to return to normal life, they have the skills to earn their livelihood,' said Sanghasena who also runs a school for the blind.
Many of the first batch of girls who studied at the Mahabodhi Residential School, which is up to Class 10, are back after completing higher studies from places like Bangalore as well as Malaysia to take their guru's dream forward.
Tsewang Dolma is just 25 and she has already taken charge as principal of the main school, which is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and has 480 students. The difference between this school and others in the region is that here education is free.
'Four of us have joined here. One is a meditation and yoga guru and two are hospitality managers and both are trained in Malaysia,' said Dolma, adding the alumni are pursuing teaching, MBBS, aeronautical engineering and nursing in various parts of the country.
Earlier the girls were sent to Bangalore for higher studies, but now a hostel has been set up in Ramgarh near Mohali in Punjab, and after completing Class 10, the girls stay there for higher education.
Ladakh has a population of 117,232 with a literacy rate of over 60 percent and its capital Leh is growing commercially -- many schools have come up, the market has expanded, new roads, guesthouses and office buildings are being constructed. And Sanghasena is part of this growth.
In two decades, Devachan has been turned into a small town and the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre, spread over acres, has a meditation centre, which is quite popular among foreign tourists, a hospital, an old age home and hostels for boys and girls. It is in this campus that the school is located.
'The old age home came in 1995 and right now we have 35 elderly people, hailing from remote areas, staying there. Old people's requirement is less, but they are the happiest lot,' said Sanghasena who travels across the globe to raise funds for the organisation.
'In the beginning, I even collected 50 cents and $1. Even today, fund-raising is a task and I feel because of some miracle or the blessings of Buddha I have managed to do it so far. In the beginning, I used to travel to Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan for talks on dharma and meditation and collect 50 cents, $1...,' he said.

Indian handicrafts get contemporary twist

Modern clutches with zardozi embroidery, halter-neck kurtis with kantha work, handblock print lampshades with stylish stands - arts and crafts from the length and breadth of India are now being mixed with modern designs by an organisation that hopes to keep the charm of Indian handicrafts alive.
'We work with over 400 artisans from all across India right from the beginning of the design process to conceptualising of the colour schemes and traditional prints... and try to mould them into modern sensibilities,' said Indu Sabharwaal, chief executive officer of Craft Traditions.
The company has joined hands with skilled artisans, weavers, craft societies and even self-help groups like SEWA, Sadhna and Sandur Kala to produce handicrafts ranging from ethnic jewellery, home linen, garments, paintings, wall hangings, carpets and decorative items in wood, marble, stone, papier mache and Dhokra craft.
'We source handicrafts from Hoshiarpur to Karnataka, as far as we can through the country, and pick those craftsmen whose families have been involved with the handicrafts business for three to four generations,' said Sabharwaal.
The collaborative effort of the design team with the artisans helps create artifacts with a fresh new look, design and pattern to suit contemporary and urban homes and tastes.
'The colour combinations used in old times were very typical. We use those colour combinations sometimes, but style them differently. We use vegetable dye for printing and basically try to marry the traditional and the modern to make it more appealing to the urban people,' she added.
These handicrafts are available at live entertainment destination Kingdom of Dreams as well as at the newly-launched flagship store at The Galaxy Hotel and Spa here.
Sabharwaal hopes to launch such a store in 'three to four' more metros.
Several emporiums in the capital offer a wide variety of artifacts and handicrafts too, so what is the edge that Craft Traditions provides?
She claimed: 'Our quality and price point is better. Our items can be as cheap as Rs.100 and our costliest item is a bronze statue which is priced at Rs.800,000. I am sure even if the price is same, our quality is better.'

Karuna asks Jaya govt to greatness and implement USSE

Counselling the Jayalalithaa Government against moving the Supreme Court on the issue of uniform system of school education introduced by his previous regime, DMK President M Karunanidhi today said the government should take immediate steps to implement it keeping the interest of students and anxiety of parents in mind.
"The government should show greatness... keeping in mind the interest of the Tamil Nadu students and understanding their parent's anxiety, it should not move the Supreme Court. Instead it should ensure that text books were made available by July 22 and the students were able to continue their education," he said in a statement tonight.
Quoting portions of yesterday's Madras High Court judgement striking down an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Uniform System of School Education (Amendment Act 2011) to put on hold the scheme, Karunanidhi said the court itself had said the scheme was introduced by the erstwhile government for the purpopse of achieving social justice and quality education.
A deep study of the judgement would show why the AIADMK Government brought the amendment to the act, he said.
He said leaders of various political parties, including AIADMK's allies, have asked the government to implement the scheme in the wake of the high court order.
In a blow to the Jayalalithaa government, a bench comprising chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam in their order held that Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Uniform System of School Education (Amendment Act 2011) was "unconstitutional" and ultra vires of Article 14 of the Constitution.
Tamil Nadu has over 1.23 crore students in four streams of school education - 45,000 state board schools, 11,000 matriculation schools, 25 oriental schools and 50 Anglo- Indian schools, all with separate syllabus, textbooks and schemes of examinations.
The scheme, aimed at bringing about uniform education, was shelved by Jayalalithaa in one of her first acts of reversing several pet schemes of the Karunanidhi regime.

Bright morning in Delhi, rains in store

New Delhi, July 19 (IANS) It was a bright morning with clear skies in New Delhi Tuesday but rains were likely later in the day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 27.5 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, an IMD official said.
The sky will be partly cloudy towards the evening and there is a possibility of thundershowers in some parts of the city, he said.
'The maximum temperature will hover around 34 degrees Celsius,' he added.
The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was recorded at 86 percent.
The maximum temperature recorded Monday was 33.2 degrees Celsius while the minimum was

Sensex subdued in morning trade

Mumbai, July 19 A benchmark index for Indian equities markets was subdued in morning trade Tuesday, while broader market indices nudged up.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,521.38 points, was ruling at 18,560.34 points, up 53.3 points or 0.29 percent from its previous close at 18,507.04 points.
The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was also trading lacklustre at 5,574.4 points, up 0.13 percent.
Broader markets saw moderate gains. The BSE midcap index rose 0.34 percent and the BSE smallcap index was up 0.47 percent.

Clinton, Krishna to hold US-India strategic dialogue

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will lead their respective delegations in the Second US-India Strategic Dialogue to be held here on Tuesday.
The dialogue is likely to focus on a host of issues, including ways to expand counter-terror cooperation, speeding of implementation of their landmark civil nuclear deal, enhancing bilateral cooperation in energy, agriculture, commerce and monsoon data sharing etc.
Clinton arrived in New Delhi late on Monday night from Athens, Greece, on what is her second visit to India as Secretary of State. She received by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, India's Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar and other senior officials.
During her visit, she will also call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
India and the US will discuss an entire gamut of issues including strategic cooperation, counter-terrorism, energy and climate change, education, science and technology, health and defence, officials said.
Both sides are likely to sign key pacts in the areas of cyber security and civil aviation after the talks, said sources.
"The depth of the US-India Strategic Dialogue demonstrates the United States' strong support for India as an important actor on the world stage," a statement from Clinton's office said before the visit.
India is likely to seek from the US assistance in probing the 13/7 bombings. Though it is unclear what kind of cooperation may be sought.
Clinton will be assisted at the talks by US Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper and Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute, besides others.
Krishna would be assisted by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Adviser to the Prime Minister Sam Pitroda, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary-designate Ranjan Mathai, the secretaries of home, commerce and environment ministries and Nehchal Sandhu, Director, Intelligence Bureau.
Implementing the landmark nuclear deal and fresh complications arising from the new guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group which deny access to enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies to countries which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are set to figure in the discussions, Doordarshan and All India Radio reports.
India is also expected to seek a fresh assurance from the US that the new NSG guidelines will not impinge on Washington's commitment to implement full civilian nuclear cooperation that includes the transfer of ENR technologies, to New Delhi.
The volatile situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region will be an important part of the discussions.
Clinton is expected to brief India on its negotiations with a section of the so-called moderate Taliban and assuage New Delhi's worries that the reconciliation will give Islamabad an upper hand in shaping a future dispensation in Kabul that may be hostile to Indian interests. Clinton is also expected to address India's concerns arising from the phased drawdown of 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by next year which New Delhi fears could led to the re-emergence of a hostile Taliban.
Clinton is expected to underline India's critical role in Afghanistan's reconstruction, said sources.
India is expected to brief the US on the forthcoming foreign minister-level talks it will have with Pakistan later this month.

Arun Shourie: Threshold of pain (IANS Books)

New Delhi, July 19 (IANS) The compassion of the Buddha and personal suffering combined to script a religion of pain and redemption for journalist-politician-writer Arun Shourie, who recalls the trauma of bringing up his disabled son and taking care of his ailing wife in his new book.
Shourie fell back on the teachings of Abraham and the Buddha when waves of desolation swept through him, and they helped him cling on to his moorings, he writes in the book, 'Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion'.
He began to write the book, published by Harper Collins India, in the winter of 2009 after moving to Lavasa near Pune in Maharashtra. The move came after Shourie 'lost interest in what he had been doing in Delhi'.
'Your neighbours have a son. He is now 35 years old. Going by his age, you would think of him as a young man, and on meeting his father and mother would ask almost out of habit, 'and what does the young man do?'. That expression 'young man' does not sit well as he is but a child,' Shourie says of son Aditya (known as Adit), suffering from cerebral palsy.
Adit cannot walk. 'Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot stand, he cannot use his right arm. But he speaks only syllable by syllable,' Shourie, 69, says in his book.
The father shouts at the child, curses him. 'You are the one, who brought misery into our home. We knew no trouble till you came. Look at you, weak, dependent and drooling...,' he lashes out.
But what if that father in question is 'god', Shourie wonders. The perspective suddenly changes with the awareness that 'father' is god, he says. 'There must be some reason God has done this,' he says.
Adit, he says, has a very high threshold of pain...'He has taught himself to bear unbelievable amount of it,' Shourie says.
'He (god) says in his book that he alone knows what is in the womb; and how it is progressing,' the writer says. Quoting ancient scriptures, he says: 'God doth know what every female womb doth bear, by how much the womb falls short (of their time and number) or do exceed. Every single thing is before his sight; in due proportion. It is he who brought you forth from the wombs of your mother.'
The writer, once a hard-nosed journalist who was editor of both the Times of India and the Indian Express in the late 1980s, recalls moving to religion while rushing a frequently ailing Adit to hospital. But another personal loss accelerated the spiritual journey.
'...One day as (wife) Anita was driving Adit and herself to school, a jeep coming from the opposite direction lost control. It rammed into Anita's little fiat. She and Adit were tossed inside the car. Soon after the incident, Anita began to feel peculiar sensations on her left side. Soon the stiffness developed into tremors; eventually she was diagnosed with having developed Parkinson's disease. She was around 42 at the time..,' Shourie looks back in time.
It prompts him to question god's ways and infer a few eternal truths, which to the writer are strangely comforting.
For dealing with life and what it sends us, the Buddha's position is the most helpful, the writer suggests.
'Buddha explains whether the world is finite or infinite or both; whether the Tathagata survives after death or not...there is birth, there is aging, there is death, there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. They have to be dealt with...,' Shourie says.
Shourie, who held portfolios like disinvestment, commerce and industry and communications in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime (1999-2004), has written at least 20 books, dealing with issues such as Indian law and polity, national security, religion, economics, and journalism.

Congress takes potshots at Hazare

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) With Anna Hazare announcing he was going on an indefinite fast from Aug 16 over his demand for a strong Lokpal bill, the Congress Monday took potshots at the social activist, saying he should reply to comments by the Justice P.B. Sawant panel about a trust he is associated with.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said the Justice Sawant committee had raised some questions about Hazare's organisation. However, he did not name the organisation.
'People who preach morality to the country need to see their face in the mirror... It is not a question of how the government acted (on the Justice Sawant panel report). When morality is preached and when a probe panel raises questions then a reply must be given,' Tewari said.
Replying to questions about plans by Hazare to move court against the government's plans to 'suppress' his fast, Tewari said that if Hazare had been a part of a political agitation he would have liberated himself from fear of police.
'It seems there is excessive fear of the police baton,' Tewari said.
Sources said the Justice Sawant committee had listed improprieties in the running of Hind Swaraj Trust founded by Hazare. The Sawant committee was set up by the Maharashtra government in 2003 to probe Hazare's allegations of corruption against four state ministers, but one of the ministers made counter allegations against the social activist.
Hazare said the government should institute an inquiry against his trusts if it found any corruption.

Wife, lover arrested for husband's murder

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) A married woman and her lover were arrested Monday for murdering her husband, police said.
'Rani, 26, and her lover Manoj, 25, were arrested for murdering Rani's husband Guddu in Delhi Cantonment July 12,' a senior police official said.
Police began investigations after an unidentified corpse was found near the Metro Line, near the domestic airport in Palam. The face of the deceased, who seemed to be in his 40s, had been smashed brutally.
A driver by profession, Manoj lived in Mahipalpur and was close to Rani.
'The two were from the same village in Uttar Pradesh. Manoj often visited Rani which brought them close,' added the official.
Rani alleged her husband of beating and abusing her, the police official said.

Hazare writes to PM on fast from Aug 16

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) Social activist Anna Hazare said Monday he has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informing him about his decision to go on an indefinite fast from Aug 16 if a strong anti-graft Lokpal bill is not brought in parliament.
'I have written to the prime minister about our fast at Jantar Mantar from Aug 16. It is our constitutional right to protest, so when the government says that it will crush our andolan (agitation) like (yoga guru) Baba Ramdev's, it is not right,' Hazare said at a press conference here.
Calling upon the government to present the Jan Lokpal bill, drafted by civil society activists in parliament, Hazare said that if a strong bill is not introduced, he would not have any other option but to start his indefinite fast.
'I hope the government will bring strong a bill in accordance with feelings of people,' he said.
He said the activists were willing to get arrested if prevented from going on the fast.
'We are ready to get arrested and be beaten up but we have had enough of corruption. We are ready to sacrifice our lives...that is what I have written to the prime minister,' he added.
The Congress, however, took potshots at Hazare and said that he should reply to comments of Justice P.B. Sawant panel about an organisation associated with him.
In his three-page letter to the prime minister, Hazare said that meetings of joint drafting panel had not yielded much and the civil society and government still continued to have two different drafts.
'The draft presented by five ministers of the joint drafting committee is a joke on people. Its mandate is so limited that it does not include corruption faced by the common man,' Hazare said.
He also referred to scams and scandals, including the 2G controversy.
Hazare said there was no need for the government to consult chief ministers on the bill. 'You are throwing the ball at chief ministers and they are throwing it at you,' he said.
Rejecting the argument of the government that including all central government employees under the Lokpal bill's purview would make it unwieldy.
He said that corruption was as serious a crime in the eyes of law as was rape or murder. 'No government can say that we are incapable of ridding society of crime... your government will have to take strong steps to fight corruption and we are not ready for anything less,' he said.
Hazare said that some ministers and Congress party office bearers threatened that if he sat on fast from Aug 16, it would be crushed the way the agitation by Ramdev was.
'Such statements by senior office-bearers are unfortunate...peaceful demonstration is our right...but if your government crushes the agitation we are ready to face the situation. We are ready to court arrest, face batons. Our agitation will be peaceful,' he said.
Swami Agnivesh, a member of the Hazare team, sought to question Manmohan Singh's honesty, saying that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha after becoming a resident of Assam and renting accommodation in the house belonging to a former chief minister.
He said the prime minister's native state was Punjab. He said that people of Assam wanted bringing the prime minister under the Lokpal.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari took pot shots at Hazare and said he should reply to comments by Justice Sawant panel about an organisation associated with him.
Tewari said Justice Sawant committee raised some questions about Hazare's organisation. However, he did not name the organisation.
'People who preach morality to the country need to see their face in the mirror...When morality is preached and when a probe panel raises questions then a reply must be given,' Tewari said.
Sources said Justice Sawant committee had listed improprieties in the running of Hind Swaraj Trust founded by Hazare.
The Sawant committee was set up by the Maharashtra government to probe Hazare's allegations of corruption against four state ministers, but one of the ministers had made counter allegations against the social activist.
Hazare has said that the government should institute an inquiry against his trusts if it found these were corrupt.

Government keen to reduce loan rate for self help groups: Ramesh

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) The government is keen to bring down interest rate on bank loans to Self Help Groups (SHGs) and make it on par with that for crop loans, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said here Monday.
The minister, who witnessed signing of a credit agreement worth Rs.4,600 crore ($1 billion approximately) with World Bank for National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP), said the government was also moving towards creating a dedicated bank for women SHGs.
He said the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) would be renamed 'Aajiwika' and will endeavour to include seven crore poor rural women in SHGs in the next 10 years.
He termed NRLM as the most important flagship programme in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-II and compared it with UPA-I's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The NRLP, which will be run under aegis of NRLM, will support specific investment in 12 states that have the highest number of poor people.
These states include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal account for about 85 percent of India's poor.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had launched the NRLM from Rajasthan last month.

Aide blames Amar in cash-for-votes scam, Amar denies

New Delhi: Sanjeev Saxena, arrested in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam, has told police that the former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh had provided him money to bribe MPs in 2008, sources said. Amar Singh denied that Saxena was his aide.
Saxena - a former private secretary of Amar Singh - was Monday brought before a Delhi court, which sent him to 3-day police custody.
However, Amar Singh told reporters Saxena wasn't his employee at all.
'He works for (Bharatiya Janata Party leader) Arun Jaitley,' he said.
Saxena, who said he was working as Amar Singh's secretary for three years, is understood to have told the police that the leader's driver Sanjay had gone along with him to deliver the money - a fact confirmed by the two BJP MPs Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora.
The two were among the three MPs who had alleged they had been paid to abstain from the trust vote sought by the Manmohan Singh government after the Left withdrew support over the Indo-Us nuclear deal.
The MPs have told police that Amar Singh had introduced Saxena as his secretary.
The case, which has been activised by the recent intervention of the Supreme Court, is turning into a into a political slug-fest with the BJP and Congress trading charges.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad Monday called for a thorough probe into the case
However, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters that it was 'inappropriate to make any comments as the investigations are on'.
Police will widen the probe to find out whether the the entire sum of Rs.1 crore was provided by Amar Singh or was there anyone else behind the corruption saga.
Police are trying to recover Saxena's phone which was used to make all the calls at that time, the sources said. They are also looking for Sanjay, the driver.
Saxena was caught on camera paying BJP MPs Kulaste, Bhagora and Ashok Argal bribes ahead of the confidence vote.
Kulaste, Argal and Bhagora had waved several bundles of notes inside the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008 alleging that they were offered Rs.1 crore to abstain.
A seven-member parliamentary committee was set up soon after the cash-for-votes scam. The committee had directed the Delhi Police to investigate the case.

Clinton begins India visit: Terror, AfPak, n-deal top agenda

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched down here Monday night to begin a three-day visit during which India and the US will hold their second strategic dialogue to expand counter-terror cooperation and seek to fasten implementation of their landmark civil nuclear deal.
Clinton, who is coming to India for the second time as President Barack Obama's Secretary of State, was warmly received at the airport by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, India's ambassador to the US Meera Shankar and senior officials.
Clinton's special flight, which was supposed to land at 8.40 p.m., touched down an hour late as it took off late from Athens, sources said.
She will co-chair the second strategic dialogue with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday before she heads to Chennai, India's southern city which is becoming a hub for American investment.
She will also call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Clinton's visit takes place barely a week after the triple bombings in Mumbai that killed 19 people and injured over 130. Unlike on earlier such occasions, India has eschewed pointing finger at elements from Pakistan linking them to the blasts. However, terror networks that are active in Pakistan are expected to figure in the discussions.
At the second strategic dialogue Tuesday, India and the US will discuss an entire gamut of issues including strategic cooperation, counter-terrorism, energy and climate change, education, science and technology, health and defence, officials said.
India and the US are likely to sign key pacts in the areas of cyber security and civil aviation after the talks, said sources.
'The depth of the US-India Strategic Dialogue demonstrates the United States' strong support for India as an important actor on the world stage,' a statement from Clinton's office said before the visit which is expected to expand the US' trade ties with India, a $1.6 trillion economy which has fared well in the aftermath of global recession.
With the July 13 Mumbai blasts putting the focus on increased security cooperation, India is likely to seek from the US assistance in probing the bombings. It's not yet clear what kind of cooperation India may want from the US on this.
Top US counter-terrorism officials, including US Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper and Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute are among those accompanying Clinton to India.
The Indian delegation, headed by Krishna, would include Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Adviser to the Prime Minister Sam Pitroda, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary-designate Ranjan Mathai, the secretaries of home, commerce and environment ministries. Nehchal Sandhu, director, Intelligence Bureau, will also participate in the discussions.
Implementing the landmark nuclear deal and fresh complications arising from the new guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group which deny access to enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies to countries which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are set to figure in the discussions.
India is also expected to seek a fresh assurance from the US that the new NSG guidelines will not impinge on Washington's commitment to implement full civilian nuclear cooperation, that includes the transfer of ENR technologies, to New Delhi.
Besides bilateral issues, the volatile situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region will be an important part of the discussions.
Clinton is expected to brief India on its negotiations with a section of the so-called moderate Taliban and assuage New Delhi's worries that the reconciliation will give Islamabad an upper hand in shaping a future dispensation in Kabul that may be hostile to Indian interests. Clinton is also expected to address India's concerns arising from the phased drawdown of 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by next year which New Delhi fears
could led to the re-emergence of a hostile Taliban.
Clinton is expected to underline India's critical role in Afghanistan's reconstruction, said sources.
India is expected to brief the US on the forthcoming foreign minister-level talks it will have with Pakistan later this month.
Clinton will also go to Chennai Wednesday, the hub of high-value American investments. She heads to Bali Thursday morning to attend the meeting of foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Congress distances from Digvijay's remarks on RSS

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) The Congress Monday distanced itself from the remarks of party leader Digvijay Singh about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) making 'bomb factories' and advised against unnecessary speculation and 'communalisation of terror'.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari did not take questions on Singh's controversial remarks, but answering another query said that investigations were on into the Mumbai blasts and unnecessary speculation was tantamount to rubbing salt into the wounds of those who will have to carry the cross of the terror act for the rest of their lives.
'It would be better if you put this question to him,' Tewari said to a volley of questions on the party's response to Singh's remarks.
Asked whether he has information pertaining to the allegations made by Singh, Tewari said he did not head the National Investigating Agency or the CBI and it was not his job to substitute his opinion with that of the security agencies.
'I think we do a great disservice to the country by not allowing the investigations to pan out and reach appropriate conclusions. What has really been missing in the discourse over the past week is how do we build up those capacities to see that even one percent of those attacks are not able to get through,' Tewari said.
'In this process, unnecessary speculation when an investigation is on, I think, is a great disservice to this country,' Tewari added.
Singh had on Saturday courted controversy when he said that he does not rule out the involvement of the RSS in the Mumbai serial blasts, evoking strong reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Singh said Sunday that RSS was making 'bomb factories'. He also said that the role of all kinds of terror groups, including Hindu outfits, should be probed in connection with the Mumbai blasts.

Company Law Board to hear dispute on The Hindu newspaper chief

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday directed the Company Law Board (CLB) to hear the dispute involving the members of the family owning The Hindu newspaper over the naming of a new editor-in-chief.
The newspaper's senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan has been named as the successor of N. Ram, the current editor-in-chief.
While directing the CLB to commence hearing on day-to-day basis, an apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Panikar Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatantar Kumar, refused to stay the July 1 Madras High Court interim order that cleared the way for the appointment of Varadarajan as editor-in-chief after Ram retires.
'As the impugned order of the high Court is an interim order, we see no reason to interfere at this stage,' said the court.
'Since the day-to-day working of the newspaper was likely to be affected on account of the dispute, we are of the view that the matter needed to be expeditiously heard and disposed by the CLB,' the court said.
'We direct the CLB to place the matter for final hearing in the week commencing from Aug 8. We make it clear that CLB will proceed to hear the matter on day-to-day basis,' the order said.
The court said that the CLB will hear the matter without being influenced by what has already been observed in the earlier proceedings on the matter before the high court.
The differences within the family came into the open Ram appointed Varadarajan as his successor.
The newspaper's editor N. Ravi, executive editor Malini Parthasarthy and managing director N. Murali, moved the apex court challenging the high court verdict which cleared the way for the appointment of Varadarajan as the next editor-in-chief.
The court was told that the decision to appoint Varadarajan to succeed Ram was against the convention and practices of the family owning the more than 100-year-old newspaper.
The court was told that under the convention and practices only a member could hold the position of editor-in-chief. The court was told that there were many competent and qualified people in The Hindu family to succeed Ram.
Arguing for N. Ravi, counsel Mukul Rohatgi tried to make out a strong case for a stay on the high court order.
He said that for a hundred years now, The Hindu has been a family-run company, with four branches of the family who have 25 percent stake each having a member in a top position.
This was being sought to be overturned to bring in a rank outsider to become editor and decide the 'heart' and the 'mind' of the paper, he said.
The family members, all of whom were eminently qualified for the posts, were also being sought to be ousted simultaneously, he argued.
The CLB, acting on a plea by Ravi, stayed a resolution of May 20 that had named Varadarajan to succeed Ram. But on appeal, the high court July 1 stayed the CLB decision.
The apex court has now sent back the matter to the CLB.

Russia not to exploit space shuttle monopoly

Moscow, July 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia will not take advantage of its temporary monopoly on flying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), the country's space agency has said.
Russia has signed a number of contracts with NASA on the delivery of US astronauts to the ISS until 2016. The contracts take into consideration annual inflation rates and rising cost of materials in Russia.
NASA is paying space agency Roscosmos more than $1 billion for crew transport services over the next four years.
'We are not going to play around with prices despite the fact that we have become the exclusive participant in this market and only we have the capability to deliver crews to the ISS,' Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said.
Once the US shuttle fleet is retired after the end of the current Atlantis mission to the ISS, Russia's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft will take the bulk of crew rotation and cargo missions to the space station until at least the middle of the decade.

UN chief urges political solution to Libyan crisis

New York, July 19 (IANS) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged to keep dialogue channel open between the Muammar Gaddafi government and the opposition to find out a political solution to the Libyan crisis, Xinhua reported.
During a visit to Finland Monday, Ban stressed that the UN will continue the political dialogue with the Gaddafi government and the representatives of the provisional government of the opposition.
In an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Ban said he was maintaining contact with Gaddafi through his special representative, and he has had discussions many times on phone with Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi.
Ban called for a consensus in the international community for a solution to the Libyan crisis.

Ukraine sold $1 bn worth of weapons in 2010

Moscow, July 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Ukraine's arms exports in 2010 reached almost $1 billion with the bulk of weapons sold to African countries, a newspaper said.
'The portfolio of contracts signed by state-run arms exporter Ukrspetsexport increased in value from $799.5 in 2009 to $956.7 billion (in 2010),' the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper reported citing data from the State Service for Export Control.
The leading buyers of Ukrainian weapons were Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ukraine sold a total of 250 T-55 and T-72 tanks to both countries.
Sudan also bought Grad multiple rocket launchers, 122-mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, 152-mm 1S3 Akatsia self-propelled howitzers, D-30 howitzers, 82-mm mortars and a variety of small arms, including 10,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Ukraine sold a T-80BV main battle tank - built in 1985 - to the US and 14 air-to-air missiles commonly used by Libyan MiG fighter jets to Italy.
Former Ukrspetsexport director Sergei Bondarchuk dismissed the figures as 'unrealistic'.
'I don't trust these figures. As far as I know, we only signed an option for a previous contract with Sudan last year and the rest are ongoing deliveries under contracts signed by the previous team,' Bondarchuk told the paper.
There has been no comment from Ukrspetsexport so far.

Not stopping PlayBook tablet, says BlackBerry

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) slipped to almost $25 Monday after rumours that the Canadian wireless giant is planning to discontinue its WiFi-only PlayBook tablet.
Launched in April, the first BlackBerry tablet has failed to make its presence felt in the tablet market, leave alone challenge the leader iPad from Apple. The RIM tablet sold just 500,000 units in the first six weeks of its launch, compared to one million iPads sold by Apple within the first month of its launch April 2010.
RIM Monday dismissed reports about stopping the production of the PlayBook, calling them 'pure fiction'.
In a statement to the Canadian media, the Waterloo-based company said, 'Over the past month, the PlayBook has launched in 16 additional markets around the world and further rollouts are planned for Southeast Asia, Western Europe and the Middle East in the coming weeks.''
The BlackBerry tablet has been trashed as it cannot connect to the internet over next-generation cellular network. A user cannot access email and content unless unless he is a BlackBerry subscriber because only then can he tether it to his smart phone via BlackBerry Bridge software.
RIM has promised 4G PlayBooks later this summer. Apple also offers three WiFi-only as well as WiFi-only+3G iPads.
WiFi-only models are good for consumers as cost less but carriers prefer to support cellular-equipped tablets as they earn additional revenue by selling monthly data plans.
Despite RIM's denial about stopping production of the PlayBook, analysts here said RIM could possibly do that as it is now more focussed on its new line-up of BlackBerry smart phones to be unveiled later this year.
Its new smart phone line-up will run on the BlackBerry 7 Operating system unveiled last year. But from next year, all BlackBerry smart phones - as well as 4G tablets - will use the powerful QNX operating system.
The PlayBook tablet is the first RIM product to run on the QNX operating system.
At its last week's annual shareholder meeting, BlackBerry co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie announced seven new BlackBerry smart phones in the coming months.

US officials meet Gaddafi envoys

Washington, July 19 (IANS) US officials had met representatives of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the weekend in a bid to press him to step down, media reports said.
The meeting took place Saturday in an undisclosed third country and involved three senior US diplomats - including Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman - and four senior members of the Gaddafi government, Xinhua reported.
The US' purpose for the meeting was to deliver a 'clear and firm message' that Gaddafi must step down.
A spokesman of the Libyan government said the meeting was held in Tunisia, said the reports.
Musa Ibrahim called the talks 'a first step'. 'We welcome further steps,' he said.
'We are ready to discuss ideas to move forward, make sure that people are not harmed any more, that this conflict comes to an end and that the damaged relationship between Libya and the US and other NATO countries can be repaired,' Ibrahim was quoted as saying by CNN.
An unnamed US official said the meeting was not for negotiation and there were no plans to meet Gaddafi representatives again, CNN said.
In Washington, the official said the purpose of the meeting was 'for us to convey directly that Gadhafi must go'.
A senior State Department official called the three-hour session in Tunis 'a one-time meeting to send a clear message', and not the start of negotiations.
The US has recognised Libya's opposition National Transitional Council as the sole and legitimate representative of the Libyan people

US Senator questions US' aid to India

Washington: Arguing that borrowing from countries which receive aid from the US is dangerous, a Republican Senator questioned the decision of the Obama Administration to give financial assistance to nations like India that has bought USD 39.8 billion of American debt bonds.
"Borrowing money from countries who receive our aid is dangerous for both the donor and recipient. If countries can afford to buy US debt, they can afford to fund their own assistance programmes," Tom Coburn said in his report 'Back in Black: A deficit Reduction Plan', unveiling the most ambitious plan yet to break the debt ceiling stalemate.
In his 621-page report, Coburn referred to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) which revealed that the federal government gave USD 1.4 billion in foreign aid to 16 countries, including India and China, to whom the US owes USD 10 billion each.
According to the US Treasury Department, the largest holder of US debt is China, owning USD 1.1 trillion Treasury bonds and having received USD 27.2 million in foreign aid in FY2010. "Brazil held USD 193.5 billion in Treasury securities and received USD 25 million in foreign aid, Russia had USD 127.8 billion and received USD 71.5 million, and India held USD 39.8 billion and received USD 126.6 million from the US," the Senator said.
In a letter to Coburn on May 13, the CRS said India in 2010 received USD 126.6 million -- this includes USD 2.5 million for counter-terrorism, USD 700,000 for combating weapons of mass destruction, USD 30 million for fighting HIV/AIDS, USD 22 million for family planning, USD 19 million for maternal and child health and USD 13.7 million for fighting tuberculosis.

Cheryl Cole ditches Ashley again

London, July 19 (IANS) Singer Cheryl Cole has called off her reconciliation with ex-husband Ashley following claims he slept with a flight attendant last month.
According to reports, Ashley slept with flight attendant Kerry Meades in Los Angeles last month.
'Once again Ashley appears to have outdone himself. Just as Cheryl's getting back on track ... he does this. She is humiliated,' contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying.
'Ashley had organised a family gathering, a barbecue, for when he got back from pre-season training in the Far East. This has now been scrapped. Cheryl told him on the phone yesterday that clearly Ashley isn't yet ready to be a committed family man. At one point they had a blazing row and Cheryl basically said she was through with him and told Ashley to delete her number and leave her alone,' the source added.
However, Cheryl is still not sure about her fate with Ashley.
'Cheryl is determined to keep her head down now and focus on work. What will be with Ashley will be. But it can wait. Although, in his defence, they weren't officially back together when he had this fling so technically they were free agents then,' said a source.

US soldier dies in non-combat incident in Iraq

Baghdad, July 19 (IANS) An American soldier has died in a 'non-combat incident' in Iraq, the US military said here.
'A US service member died Sunday in a non-hostile incident in central Iraq,' Xinhua reported citing a military statement.
The statement, however, did not give details about how and where the incident took place.
The name of the deceased was withheld pending notification of next of kin, it said.
This brought the number of US soldiers who have been killed or died in Iraq this month to five.
The latest casualty takes the overall US toll in Iraq since March 2003 to 4,474, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.
The US forces are to pull out completely from Iraq by the end of 2011.

I married secretly: Daniel Craig

London, July 19 (IANS) James Bond actor Daniel Craig, who tied the knot with actress Rachel Weisz in a surprise low-key ceremony, says he will never speak about the big day publicly because he wants to keep his private life out of the spotlight.
'I did it secretly - I can't tell you how I pulled it off. My private life is incredibly important to me, and certainly that aspect of it is more than incredibly important to me,' contactmusic.com quoted Craig as saying.
Daniel and Rachel, who star in horror movie 'Dream House' together, began dating in December last year and tied the knot last month in front of just four people.

Russian Navy to get new air defence system

Moscow, July 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Russian Navy will soon receive a new ship-based missile air defence system, the developer of the system has said.
KBP Instrument Design Bureau said the system is dubbed Pantsyr-M.
'Pantsyr-M will replace the Kortik air defence systems and will be installed on all new classes of Russian combat ships, from corvettes to cruisers,' said Alexander Zhukov, a senior KBP official.
The system has a response time of 3-5 seconds and can track and destroy simultaneously up to four targets.
Its missiles have a range of 20 km and can hit targets at altitudes from two metres to 15 km, while its guns have a range of four km and can hit targets at altitudes up to three km.

Greater cooperation on sharing water needed: UN

Boosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia's longest river, could be key to future peace and security in the region, a new report launched on Monday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says.Big hydropower projects planned upstream, demand for irrigated agriculture downstream and growing concern that climate change is shifting weather patterns are emerging as major natural resource challenges for the four main nations involved - Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to the report, Environment and Security in the Amu Darya Basin.The report says water resources in the region are already depleted by decades of often unsustainable development dating back to the Soviet era, when large-scale engineering projects diverted flows from the river into cotton, wheat and fodder farming in arid and desert regions.Water levels in the southern part of the Aral Sea, which relies in part from water from the Amu Darya, have dropped by 26 metres and the shoreline there has now receded by several hundred kilometres. Pollution from mining, metals, petroleum and chemical activities along the river and air pollution in the form of dust and salt from dried out parts of the Aral Sea are challenges to human health."From a security perspective climate change, water, energy and agriculture constitute the main areas of interest for this report as they reveal the potential for increasing instability and even confrontation as more flows are impounded upstream reducing those water availability and quality downstream," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.The report says the ratification of the UN Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes "would benefit the riparian countries by providing a common framework for the use of the Amu Darya River."Dialogue over a common framework for managing water and energy would "strengthen trust among States, and ultimately to common understanding and operational agreements," it says and modernization of regional energy systems and electricity grids would "improve long-term access to energy.""The burden of maintaining water infrastructure shared among countries or valuable for several countries should be shared among the stakeholders," it says."There should be consultation within and among countries on all that contributes to the cost of a fair, properly operated and balanced water system."

Lucky Ali ready to hit the road with new album

Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) He personified soulful music and took the pop music genre to a different pedestal. Lucky Ali continues the trend with his new album 'Raasta-Man'. The singer-actor plans to a 25-city road show to promote the his latest offering, which personifies that life is a journey and not a destination.
''Raasta-Man' is dedicated to all my fans who have greatly supported me all through my career and have displayed their love for my music. The music of this album will take people on a soothing journey, which inspires one to live every moment to the fullest. Life is a journey and not a destination and this album personifies that sentiment,' Lucky told IANS in an interview.
The 52-year-old musician, who has married thrice, has dedicated the new album to his children. He has two children from his first wife, two from his second and his third wife is currently pregnant.
'This album is basically five years of doing nothing and everything. It's a journey of love - love lost, love gained, everything. It's about the present state of mind that has been expressed through lyrics and music. I have dedicated this album to my children, because this album is not only about love of a romantic nature. It is a lot more,' revealed Lucky.
The album has 11 songs of various genres and will be released not only on CDs but will also be available online for free.
Lucky will hit the road in the first week of September and during his three-month tri p he will have concerts in cities like Hyderabad, Mysore, Mangalore, Pune, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Shillong and Goa.
When the singer launched his first album, Sunoh, in 1996, muisc lovers lapped it up and Lucky, who has worked as a playback singer in films and sung songs like 'Kyun chalti hai pawan', 'Ahista ahista', 'Bekarar' and 'Hairat hai', alos released albums like 'Sifar', 'Aks', 'Kabhi Aisa Lagta Hai' and 'Xsuie'.
'All my music has been exploratory. I have tried a lot under the sun, but not everything. There is still a long way to go. It's a long journey. Consciously we do try to keep it simple. I'm happy that my sound has a lot of genres. In this album there is a funky track, then a jazzy track, then a nice slow song,' informed the singer, who is the son of Bollywood comedian Mehmood.
'We wanted more and more people to listen to this music. So that's why along with the CD we will also make it available online for free download.
'Obviously people associated with this album...I didn't want it to be commercial in that sense, taking out CDs and stuff, in fact I didn't want any CDs, but there are many fans of mine who said that they want a physical copy, so that's for them. Otherwise we have concerts and that involves commercials,' he added.
Finally, when asked him about his interest in films, since he has acted in projects like 'Sur', 'Kaante' and 'Kasak' among others, Lucky said: 'I'm sure people are not missing my acting. Films are not on my agenda right now. If something nice comes up, I'll see.'

Home gets new junior minister in Rahul aide

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The union home ministry Tuesday got a new junior minister in little known Jitendra Singh, a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan and one of the closest aides of party general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
The 41-year-old Congress leader was inducted in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's council of ministers after it was rejigged.
Singh replaces Gurudas Kamat as a minister of state for home affairs and will work under P. Chidambaram, who is among the top four ministers who remained untouched in Manmohan Singh's much awaited cabinet reshuffle.
He hails from the erstwhile royal family of Alwar, from where he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009.
His is the grandson of Tej Singh Prabhakar, the last ruler of Alwar.
One of the secretaries of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), he is among Rahul Gandhi's closest political aides.

Teaching dance steps to three pairs is a challenge: Farah

Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) Choreographer-director Farah Khan was assigned the task of choreographing a song with Asin Thottumkal, Zarine Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez along with their partners Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Riteish Deshmukh for 'Housefull 2' and she says it was not easy.
The song for the film, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan, was shot in in Petersborough in England.
'...Doing a song with two heroes and two heroines in 'Housefull' was gruelling enough. Here I'll have to 'sambhalo' three pairs. And during the song the pairs get inter-changed also. It's quite a challenge. 'Lekin kya karoon'? I can't say no to the two Sajids in my life. One is my brother. The other is my husband's producer and also like my brother. Main to phans gayi,' said Farah.
As a source said: 'It's bad enough handling dance steps of two leading ladies. But three? Asin is an expert dancer and she is opposite the biggest star of the film (Akshay). So she'd be within her rights to expect the best steps.
'On the other hand Zarine, Salman's blue-eyed babe thinks she's the hottest item girl after 'Character dheela'. Unka to haq banta hai. Jacqueline, of course, is the new 'It' girl and therefore a star in her own right. Besides she shot 'Apni to aise taise with Farah for the two Sajids' Housefull.'

Neil's first composition tribute to grandfather Mukesh

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, who comes from a family of singers, has finally composed a song and says it is a tribute to his grandfather, the legendary singer Mukesh.
'Just got back from recording my first song composed and sung by me! Feels good have got papa's nod which felt great. 1 down 5 to go,' Neil posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.
'My first composition is a tribute to my grandfather,' he added.
The 29-year-old, who earlier sang in films like 'Aa Dekhen Zaraa' and 'Jail', has joined hands with music director Gaurav Dasgupta for the new song.
'I'd like to thank Gaurav Dasgupta and Roshan (singer) who helped me make this happen. They are the producers of the song,' wrote Neil.
For now, the actor has wrapped up shooting for Abbas-Mustan's 'Players'.

'Mausam' was written for Shahid: Pankaj Kapoor

Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) Actor-turned-director Pankaj Kapoor admits that the story of his directorial debut 'Mausam' was specifically conceived for his actor son Shahid, but he had no specific names in his mind for the female lead.
'The film was specifically written keeping Shahid in mind. It's not that I had written the script and then decided on Shahid,' Pankaj told reporters at the launch of the first look of 'Mausam' at PVR here Monday.
'I had other scripts and we wondered whether Shahid could be part of them or a fresh script should be written for him? We decided to write a fresh script and that's how the birth of 'Mausam' took place,' he added.
'Mausam', a love story, will see Shahid as a pilot and he has teamed up with Sonam Kapoor in it.
'While writing, there was no girl in my head, it was the character that was in my head. I think Sonam was the very first actress who was approached for the role,' Pankaj said.
The 57-year-old, know for his work on television like the comedy show 'Office Office' and his performance in movies like 'Maqbool', 'Dharm' and 'Blue Umbrella', says he has been longing to direct a film.
'I had wanted to direct a film for a long time. I have directed on television for five years. So there was this desire to direct. I was writing for a long time. There were talks about my directing a film for a long time and here came a moment where we decided to go for this film,' said Pankaj.
He claims his movie will set new standards in filmmaking.
'It has its own comment to make. Though the endeavour is to make an entertaining film, which reaches to almost everyone and yet have a certain level of presentation that appeals to one and all. It will be able to set some kind of a standard of work,' he said.
He maintains that being an actor himself had helped him extract exactly what he had conceived from the lead pair.
'When I am in the shoes of a director, I don't think like an actor. I am only there to support my actors and take out the best from them. I happened to be aware of it as I had been an actor and it sort of helped me to take work out of them and to convey what I actually wanted from them,' said Pankaj.

Chhattisgarh Congress face in Lok Sabha is minister

Raipur, July 12 (IANS) Charan Das Mahant, the new minister of state for agriculture and food processing industries, is the lone Lok Sabha member of the Congress from Chhattisgarh.
The 57-year-old was born in Janjgir-Champa district and belongs to the other backward class (OBC) that makes up roughly 50 percent of the state's 2.55 crore population.
'He is a shy politician but finally realised his dream as a minister in the central government,' said a Congress legislator who is Mahant's diehard supporter.
A Ph.D, Mahant won the Korba Lok Sabha seat in 2009, defeating Karuna Shukla, niece of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a powerful face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Party insiders claim that Mahant has been made a minister with a view to luring OBC voters who have moved away from the party since 2003 when the Congress suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP.
Mahant, known as a strong critic of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, has considerable influence in the Janjgir-Champa and Korba districts but lacks a hold in the remaining 16 other districts.
He has been in active politics for nearly three decades. He was first elected to undivided Madhya Pradesh assembly in 1980. He became the Chhattisgarh Congress president in 2006 and served till 2008.
But party leaders say this stint was highly disappointing. Party morale went down as he failed to contain either intra-party rivalry or the rising hold of the BJP.
Chhattisgarh has 11 Lok Sabha members.

BJP says Cabinet reshuffle 'damp squib'

New Delhi: BJP today described the Cabinet reshuffle as a "damp squib" and insisted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has failed to reassure the nation and dispel the "gloom shadowing the UPA government".
"The Prime Minister's much acclaimed and awaited reshuffle has proven to be a damp squib. It is a futile exercise which inspires none and in no way dispels the gloom shadowing the embattled UPA government," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told PTI.
Singh today dropped five ministers and inducted 13 new faces into his Council of Ministers. However, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal have been left untouched. BJP had been demanding their removal.
"This is a wasted exercise which unreservedly attests that we have a dysfunctional government that is destined to sink. Apparently, the Prime Minister has failed to reassure the nation once again," Rudy said.
While there has been no change in the top four Cabinet posts of Home, Finance, Defence and External Affairs, ministries like Law, Rural Development, Corporate Affairs and Environment have new incumbents.
The opposition was expecting big changes in the Cabinet after it had cornered the government over the last several months on issues like corruption, price rise and bad governance.

Cabinet reshuffle: The seven who are out

New Delhi: Dayanidhi Maran and Murli Deora were among the seven MPs dropped from the council of ministers as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh carried out a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday.
Manmohan Singh fowarded the resignation letters of the two along with that of B.K. Handique, M.S. Gill, Kanti Lal Bhuria, A. Sai Prathap and Arun S. Yadav to the president with the recommendation that they may be accepted.

3 held in Punjab recruitment racket

Ferozepur (Punjab), July 12 (IANS) Three people, including a woman, were arrested here for allegedly running a recruitment racket, police said Tuesday.
Nirmal Kaur was running this racket in connivance with two others, said Surinder Kumar, the officer investigating the case.
Police conducted a raid at her institute in association with the sleuths of Border Security Force (BSF), he said.
'Nirmal Kaur had given an advertisement in local Punjabi newspapers, inviting applications for the recruitment of 60 women constables in BSF. Applicants had to buy a Rs.500 form from her institute before applying,' he said.
'We caught Nirmal Kaur red-handed while she was selling four fake forms late Monday,' he added.
Two other accused, identified as Tarsem Singh and Bhupinder Singh, were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy, the officer said.

India's industrial output down further

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) India's industrial production grew at a slow 5.6 percent in May, the pace dipping below 6.3 percent expansion seen in the previous month, primarily due to slow growth in the manufacturing sector according to official data released Tuesday.
The index of industrial production (IIP) rose 8.5 percent in May 2010. The data has been computed by keeping 2004-05 as the base year. The earlier series had 1993-94 as the base.
Manufacturing, which constitutes about 80 percent of the IIP, grew at a rate of 5.6 percent in May compared to 8.9 percent last year, while mining output up by 1.4 percent as against 7.9 percent in April 2010, according to the statement from the ministry of statistics and programme implementation.
Policymakers have been expressing confidence that industrial output will swing back from the lows it hit in the past few months, but the second successive decline in factory production levels will certainly cast doubts over the overall gross domestic product growth target of 8.5 percent.
Electricity generation, however increased by a robust 10.3 percent during the month under review.
Capital goods grew at a sluggish 5.9 percent, while intermediate products was almost stagnant, the production of which rose by 0.9 percent.
Consumer goods output rose by 5.4 percent, while consumer durables production slowed to 5.2 percent as against a whopping 14.7 percent in the like month of last year.
In terms of industries, 14 out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during the month.

Mukul Roy divested of railways, retains shipping

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy has been relieved as minister of state for railways Tuesday a day after he ignored Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's directive to visit a train derailment site in Assam.
The Trinamool Congress leader, however, retains his job as the junior minister in the shipping ministry.
The move comes a day after Roy openly defied Manmohan Singh's directive to visit the site of the blast in Assam that derailed a passenger train, leaving at least 100 people injured.
The prime minister on Monday also pulled up Roy for not taking charge of the rescue work after the Sunday Kalka Mail accident in Uttar Pradesh.

Trinamool MP accuses party leaders of influencing police

Kolkata, July 12 (IANS) Citing the assault on a woman social worker, singer-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman has accused some party leaders of 'influencing' police for their own selfish ends after coming to power in West Bengal.
Suman in his blog piece 'So Soon?' highlighted the trauma of a Muslim woman, Ayesha Khatun, who failed to get justice as a section of Trinamool Congress leaders and ministers prevented police from arresting her attackers.
The incident took place June 21 when Ayesha Khatun, a social worker and author, boarded a train from Santhia to Howrah. Khatun was allegedly beaten up by a group of women school teachers who refused to let her occupy a seat in the compartment as that would not let them lie down on the seats meant for sitting. The women also allegedly pierced safety pins into her head.
'Khatun lodged a complaint with police and she reports that the police issued warrants against some women who had been involved in the train violence. But police couldn't arrest the teachers as three of the school teachers have close ties with the TMC (Trinamool) party president of Birbhum district and probably also with a state minister,' wrote Suman.
'I, for one, had hoped that once the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) was ousted from power the new political leaders and functionaries would try to resist the temptation of influencing the police for selfish ends at least for some time,' wrote Suman.
Suman says in his blog that the inability of police to arrest the school teachers, against whom warrants were issued, brings home the disturbing feeling that the old story of powerful political leaders forcing their will upon police is being repeated.
'Police are being told by leaders not to arrest those against whom arrest warrants have been issued since they are close to the leaders. And who are those leaders? Both of them are local TMC heavyweights - one of them is even a member of the honourable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet,' wrote Suman.
Suman quotes Khatun as saying that Satabdi Roy, the Trinamool Lok Sabha member from Birbhum, tried to move the police to arrest the miscreants but police 'disobeyed her'.
'Sensible and practical citizens would say: Such things are mundane in our political world. Every political party that's in power would act in the same way. It may be true. But the question is: why so soon? Don't they see that the new paint is still wet?' questioned Suman who had once led the intellectual brigade of the Trinamool Congress during its fight against the mighty Left Front.
Suman has had a strained relationship with the Trinamool leadership after raising his voice against alleged corruption among a section of party leaders and openly condemning the joint forces' operation in the state's Maoist-hit districts

Jayanthi Natarajan: Articulate speaker, Gandhi family loyalist

Jayanthi Natarajan, the only woman face from Tamil Nadu in the Congress and a known loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, makes a comeback to the Union Council of Ministers after a gap of nearly 13 years.
Natarajan (57) has an arduous task ahead since she steps into the shoes of high profile and activist minister Jairam Ramesh who had given teeth to the environment ministry which he held as independent charge.
Grand-daughter of veteran Congressman and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Bakthavatsalam, Natarajan, was a practising lawyer in Chennai before she joined politics in the 1980s and has held a number of posts in Congress, including that of the party's national spokesperson for years.
She was noticed by the then Congress President Rajiv Gandhi who made her a Rajya Sabha MP in 1986. She was re-elected to the Upper House in 1992, 1997 and in 2008.
It will be a home coming of sorts for Natarajan, who will be the Environment and Forests Minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet, as she is back in the Union Ministry after a brief stint as Minister of State for Civil Aviation under I K Gujral as a member of the Tamil Maanila Congress(TMC).
Natarajan joined the TMC floated by late Congress veteran G K Moopanar in 1996 after differences with the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and was rewarded with a MoS berth for her loyality.
After their TMC merged with Congress in 2002 following Moopanar's death, Natarajan too joined the party and was made it spokesperson four years back.
An articulate speaker, Natarajan has often won kudos for communicating the party's views with ease and comfort before the cameras.
She had always been in the forefront fighting for women's rights and headed a Parliamentary Committee that looked into the Women's Reservation Bill.
She has also been involved with a number of social organizations including the All India Women's Conference, and the legal aid board

Trivedi is India's new railway minister

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress Tuesday became India's new railway minister. He fills a post that has been vacant since party leader Mamata Banerjee's exit in May.
Trivedi, 61, has been elevated to cabinet rank. Along with others, he will be administered the oath of office at 5 p.m., the Prime Minister's Office said.
Trivedi is an MP from Barrackpore in West Bengal.
An MBA, he became a MP for the first time in 1990 when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009.
Trivedi succeeds Banerjee, who stepped down in May to take over as the West Bengal chief minister.
Trinamool's Mukul Roy, who was minister of state for railways, now retains only the portfolio of minister of state for shipping.
Trivedi's elevation to the post comes two days after a train derailment in Uttar Pradesh left nearly 70 people dead.

Father out, son shines in ministry reshuffle

New Delhi: Accepting Murli Deora's resignation as corporate affairs minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday inducted his son Milind as one of the new faces in his council of ministers.
The junior Deora, 34, will be minister of state for communications and information technology.
The senior Deora had earlier this month offered to resign to Congress president Sonia Gandhi following media reports about his involvment in alleged irregularities during his tenure as petroleum minister from January 2006 to January 2011.
He had however cited 'personal reasons' for stepping down and denied he had 'anything more', including his son's inclusion in the council of ministers.
The son, one of the youngest members of the 15th Lok Sabha, was elected from the Mumbai South constituency for the second time in the 2009 elections.

Cabinet rank eludes defiant Mukul Roy

Kolkata/New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy, party chief Mamata Banerjee's Man Friday who had defied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was not only denied a cabinet rank Tuesday but also shunted out as minister of state for railways.
Roy now only retains the shipping portfolio as a junior minister. He proved controversial after failing to visit the sites of Sunday's two big train disasters - in Uttar Pradesh and Assam - in defiance of Manmohan Singh's directive.
Roy is also not believed to be on the best of terms with Dinesh Trivedi, who Tuesday became the new railway minister.
The low-profile Roy is seen as the key person who built the Trinamool organisation from scratch and in keeping the party intact despite a series of poor electoral performances between 2001 and 2006.
A party general secretary, 57-year-old Roy is the only Trinamool minister from the Rajya Sabha. He has been a minister of state for shipping since mid 2009, a post he got for his unflinching loyalty to Banerjee since the birth of the party in 1998.
A graduate, Roy has been a member of the upper house since 2006. He is an avid fan of soccer giant Mohun Bagan. His son Subhrangshu is a member of the West Bengal assembly.

UPSC aspirants can now choose Indian languages for interview

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has informed the Bombay High Court that candidates, who opt for an Indian language medium (other than Hindi) for the written Civil Services exam, can henceforth either choose the same Indian language, English or Hindi for the interview.
Similarly, even those candidates, who give the main exam in English, can now choose English, Hindi or any other Indian language for the interview, opted by them for the compulsory Indian language paper in the written part of the test, UPSC said, in an affidavit, recently.
The affidavit was submitted in response to a PIL filed by IAS aspirant Chittaranjan Kumar, challenging the existing rule that requires a candidate to give the interview in English, if he had appeared for the main examination in that language.
The candidates, who are, as per the present policy, exempted from the compulsory Indian language paper, will have to appear for the interview in English or Hindi only, the affidavit said, adding that these were the recommendations submitted by an expert committee, formed specially to look into the issue.
The recommendations had been accepted by the UPSC and forwarded to the Government with a request to send comments or observations. After hearing from the government, the UPSC would incorporate the necessary changes and implement them, the court was told.
Accordingly, Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice G S Godbole disposed of the petition. Kumar, who appeared for the written part of the 2008 civil services examination in English, wanted to give the interview in Hindi.

Bollywood lines up festival releases

Filmmakers are already looking forward to the festive season. Kicking it off will be Eid-ul-Fitr Aug 31, which will see Salman Khan's 'Bodyguard' hit the theatres as Bollywood keeps up with the belief that festival times are big money spinners.
A few weeks after Eid will be another big festival, Diwali, Oct 26, which will see the release of Shah Rukh Khan's long awaited 'Ra.One'.
Both the festivals fall on a Wednesday; so the movies will release mid-week instead of the traditional Friday, allowing for longer weekend viewing than usual, says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
' 'Bodyguard' is releasing on Eid, which falls on a Wednesday. So it becomes a five-day extended weekend and 'Ra.One' is also releasing on a Wednesday; so the extended weekend can reap a harvest for filmmakers. Weekend business is the most important thing nowadays. It decides the fate of the film in the long run,' Adarsh told IANS.
According to film trade expert Vinod Mirani, Diwali and Eid are popular dates for big films like the over-Rs.100 crore 'Ra.One' due to the perceived celebratory mood of the viewers.
But he says it may not always make business sense to release a film on these festivals.
'Everyone is happy on these festivals and wants to celebrate and spend. But one has to understand that Diwali and the day after Diwali are not great for collections. People have guests and relatives coming in throughout the day, some people also go to work for their bonus and in evenings they have ceremonies at home...so there's hardly time for a Bollywood movie,' Mirani told IANS.
'On Eid also people are busy with festivities, but almost 13-14 percent Muslims in India like going to the cinemas. So after days of fasting, movies are a mode of enjoyment for them,' he said.
He also notes that people do spend some extra money on weekends.
'Bodyguard' is not the only movie releasing on Eid.
Pakistani film 'Bol', directed by filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor of 'Khuda Kay Liye' fame, will also open to Indian audiences on the festival.
' 'Bol' is a hugely emotional film...so releasing it on a celebratory event like Eid enhances the stature of the film. By releasing it on Eid, we are giving the movie the respect it should be given,' said Ram Mirchandani, CEO, Eros International, the distributors. The film narrates the story of a girl who challenges discrimination against women.
Days around festivals and national holidays also seem to be a beneficial period - looking at the remaining Bollywood calendar for 2011 as well as that of early 2012.
Prakash Jha's much-awaited 'Aarakshan', on caste-based reservation in Indian society, is set to release Aug 12 - a day before Rakshabandhan, and three days before Independence Day. Even though it is not a national holiday, it brings on the festive mood.
'One has to do deep thinking for tapping the film business,' said Jha.
'I had decided on Aug 12 as the release date of 'Aarakshan' even before I started shooting it. By releasing it that day, we are getting Rakhi, Independence Day (Aug 15) and a week or so later, Janmashtami (Aug 22) too.
'With so many holidays and festivals, we hope to get a lot of footfall in cinema halls,' said Jha.
He also explained how the theme of the movie is in sync with Independence Day - as it 'deals with an issue that society needs independence from'.
The Friday before Janmashtmi has five movies lined up so far. These include 'Chatur Singh Two Star', 'Mr. Bhatti On Chutti', 'Not A Love Story', 'Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande' and 'Yeh Dooriyan'.
Later in the year, during Christmas and New Year time, Shah Rukh's 'Don - The Chase Continues' and Abbas-Mustan's 'Players' are set for a Dec 23 release.
The next year will have Karan Johar's remake of 'Agneepath', featuring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra, hitting the screens on Lohri Jan 13, while Reema Kagti's untitled project, starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor, is scheduled for release Jan 26, Republic Day.
So now you know how and where to spend your time and money during the festivals and holidays.

Infosys net profit up 16 percent in first quarter

Mysore (Karnataka), July 12 (IANS) Infosys Ltd posted net profit of Rs.1,722 crore (Rs.17.22 billion) for the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2011-12), registering 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth.
In a regulatory filing Tuesday, the IT bellwether said its income for the quarter under review (Q1) grew 21 percent YoY to Rs.7,485 crore (Rs.74.85 billion).
Under the International Regulatory System in dollar terms, net profit, however, grew 18 percent YoY to $384 million and income 23 percent YoY to $1.7 billion.

Delhi-Howrah rail route restored

Lucknow: Rail services were restored on the busy Delhi-Howrah route on Tuesday, two days after the Kalka Mail derailed in Uttar Pradesh, killing 69 passengers and leaving over 200 injured, officials said.
'Initially, our teams managed to restore the uplink track; later, the down track was also restored at around 9 a.m.,' Sandeep Mathur, chief public relations officer North Central Railways (CPRO, NCR), told IANS on telephone.
According to officials, 27 trains were cancelled and over 60 diverted after the tracks were damaged following the accident Sunday noon.
As many as 14 coaches of the Kalka Mail derailed when it was nearing the Malwan railway station in Fatehpur district, about 140 km from here.
The victims also include three Swedish nationals, two of whom were found dead during the rescue operation.

Prithviraj Chavan's wife robbed of her purse on train

Mumbai: Satvasheela Chavan, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, was robbed of her purse and mobile phones while travelling in the Maharashtra Express train near Manmad on Saturday.
Chavan, who took the train from Karad on Saturday evening to visit a medical college in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, was travelling in a two tier air-conditioned compartment.
Her purse contained cash of Rs 40,000. No police complaint was lodged

Include sports category for Bharat Ratna: Maken

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) India's Sports Minister Ajay Maken said Monday that he has requested the home ministry for the inclusion of sports as a special category for awarding Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.
'Unfortunately, sports is not a separate category for the selection of awards and thus no sportsperson has yet received a Bharat Ratna. I have written to the Home Minister (P. Chidambaram) in this regard,' said Maken.
The sports ministry does not select candidates for Bharat Ratna, he said.
'The prime minister selects the awards and the president approves them. The sports ministry is intervening only to help the sportspersons,' said Maken.
Maken said he took the decision after he became the sports minister and it should not be linked to the growing demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
'I took this decision after I became sports minister. This should not be linked to anything else. I would be pleased if any sportsperson gets a Bharat Ratna. If Sachin gets it, I will be happy that a sportsperson got a Bharat Ratna. The sports ministry's intervention is not name specific, it is only to help include sports as a category,' he said.

Stalemate in solicitor general resignation issue

New Delhi: Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the resignation of Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, sources said.
Though there was no official word on what transpired in the meeting, it is learnt that Manmohan Singh suggested that Subramaniam may be asked not to press his resignation, the sources added.
Subramaniam, the country's number two law officer, has not so far indicated whether he was inclined to retract his step or not.
Meanwhile, Subramaniam Monday stayed away from the apex court. He had conveyed to the Attorney General's office his decision not to attend the court, sources said.
Because of this, the hearing on the matter of infrastructure in subordinate courts, which was listed before the special bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice K.S. Radhakrishanan, could not be held.
In the 2G spectrum cases - the bone of contention for Subramaniam, senior counsel Rohington Nariman appeared for Communications Minister Kapil Sibal and argued the case on his behalf.
Subramaniam offered to quit Saturday after feeling upset over Kapil Sibal substituting him by senior counsel Rohington Nariman in the 2G scam case.
He sent the quit letter to Manmohan Singh's office as Moily was away in Bangalore.
Subramaniam told reporters Sunday that he had quit to protect the 'dignity of the office'. 'I feel it was unfair,' Subramaniam said about the appointment of Nariman by Sibal.
In his letter to Manmohan Singh, the sources said, Subramaniam has complained that Sibal didn't think it necessary to take him into the confidence before appointing Nariman.
He has also mentioned that he was personally asked by the prime minister to appear before the Supreme Court in the 2G matters but the minister chose to substitute him.