Friday, May 28, 2010

Daily Latest News

Daily Latest News

Cleaning teeth twice a day can prevent heart attack

Posted: 28 May 2010 12:17 PM PDT

London, May 29 (IANS) Brushing your teeth twice day can help protect against heart attack, reveals a new study.

According to scientists, those who fail to keep their teeth clean have a higher chance of suffering heart problems. The study found that those who never or rarely brush their teeth were 70 percent more likely to suffer heart disease.

During the study, researchers from University College London analysed data for more than 11,000 people with an average age of 50 taking part in the Scottish Health Survey.

The findings revealed that 62 percent visited their dentist every six months while 71 percent said they brushed their teeth twice a day.

Over the next eight years, there were 555 cases of serious heart problems, of which 170 were fatal. The experts found that those who never or rarely brushed their teeth were 70 percent more likely to suffer heart disease than those who brushed twice a day.

“Our results confirmed and further strengthened the suggested association between oral hygiene and the risk of cardiovascular disease,” dailymail.co.uk quoted researcher Professor Richard Watt as saying.

Furthermore inflammatory markers were significantly associated with a very simple measure of poor oral health behaviour.

“Future experimental studies will be needed to confirm whether the observed association between oral health behaviour and cardiovascular-disease is in fact causal or merely a risk marker,” Watt added.

The study was published online in the British Medical Journal

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Nepal averts crisis by hair’s breadth

Posted: 28 May 2010 12:07 PM PDT

Kathmandu, May 29 (IANS) The nascent republic of Nepal averted an unprecedented constitutional crisis by a hair’s breadth Friday midnight after the opposition Maoist party agreed to bail the coalition government out and extend the term of the interim parliament by a year.

In return, embattled Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is expected to step down, though it was not immediately clear when.

Only 17 minutes before midnight, Nepal’s endangered parliament, that was to have convened at 8 a.m., sat to decide the fate of the country.

After nearly 15 hours of last-minute negotiations, the opposition Maoist party decided to withdraw its objection to the government’s proposal to extend the term of interim parliament and the proposal was passed unanimously.

AS per a peace agreement, Nepal was to have promulgated a new constitution by Friday midnight. However, the statute could not be unveiled due to protracted disputes between the ruling parties and the Maoists for over a year.

The impasse triggered fears that in the absence of a new constitution, parliament would be dissolved automatically at Friday midnight along with the government, unleashing an unprecedented crisis and vacuum.

But now, the house has been given a new lease of life for a year. The new constitution will have to be tabled within that.

Coopers Beach (Southampton, NY): Coopers Beach

Posted: 28 May 2010 12:05 PM PDT

coopersbeach

coopersbeach

Coopers Beach (Southampton, NY): Coopers Beach here on 13-05-2010 the pristine white sand  waves. With space parking and amenities, in addition to nearly no remove  on the beach, Coopers beach was selected as America’s execelant  Beach in a case  released on May 28. Top 10 Beaches is produced annually by coastal expert Stephen P. Leatherman, also known as ‘Dr. Beach,’ director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research.

Somalis spotted in Lakshadweep, three arrested

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:55 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Many Somali nationals were spotted in Lakshadweep islands Friday, a day after three of them were found in an unconscious state on Minicoy Island and arrested, an Indian Navy official said.

The official said more Somali nationals were detected Friday afternoon about 100 km south of Kavaratti Island of the Lakshadweep, and aircraft and ships of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have launched intense search operations to nab them.

On Thursday, a navy patrol in the Lakshadweep found three Somalis lying in an unconscious state on Minicoy Island after they swam ashore abandoning their boat.

“The men were exhausted and dehydrated. They had managed to swim ashore after abandoning their boat. It is also learnt that a fourth man drowned,” a navy spokesman said.

An abandoned boat was found in the Arabian sea near the island, he said. The three were taken to a hospital.

The spokesman said the navy, the Coast Guard and police combed the waters around the Lakshadweep Thursday evening after a suspicious boat was spotted around five km off Minicoy Island.

Minicoy is the southernmost Island of the Lakshwadeep.

“Subsequently, three Somalian nationals were discovered….,” the spokesman said.

~ Rest Continues Below ~

They will be brought to Kochi in Kerala for interrogation to ascertain their identity after they regain their health, he said.

Jaya Bachchan’s no to Mulayam’s Rajya Sabha offer

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:53 AM PDT

Lucknow, May 28 (IANS) Actress-politician Jaya Bachchan has turned down the Samajwadi’s Party offer to re-nominate her to the Rajya Sabha, which party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav Friday blamed to her husband and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan’s “opposition to politics”.

Bachchan, who was renominated for a second term by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, sent a message from Istanbul, declining the offer due to “family reasons”.

The nomination for a second term was seen as a rebuff to Mulayam Singh’s one-time close aide Amar Singh, considered a member of the Bachchan family. Amar Singh was recently expelled from the party.

Virtually holding Amitabh Bachchan responsible for Jaya’s refusal, Mulayam Singh said: “Amitabh Bachchan was always opposed to politics and Jaya Bachchan’s decision to turn down our offer was clearly on second thoughts.”

“We had finalised her name only after making a formal request to her to which she gave

her consent,” he told reporters here, adding the grounds for her refusal “shows that she had chosen to take a holiday from politics at least for the time being”.

Bachchan’s sudden decision to decline the party’s offer was also seen as influenced by Amar Singh, who had criticised the nomination offer on his blog.

Playing down the whole affair, Mulayam Singh did not even mention of Jaya Bachchan’s “change of mind” while addressing a press conference minutes before the news hit the headlines on some TV channels. “Yes, Jaya Bachchan has declined to accept re-nomination to the Rajya Sabha,” he admitted only when reporters rushed back to him and sought his reaction.

He promptly announced senior party leader Mohan Singh as a substitute for Bachchan.

Widely known as a “true socialist of the Lohia order”, Mohan Singh is staunch Mulayam Singh loyalist, and had been appointed party spokesman after Amar Singh’s expulsion.

Canada has deeply regretted visa row, says Krishna

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:52 AM PDT

Bangalore, May 28 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday said Canada has issued a statement “deeply regretting” the language used by its officials while rejecting visas to Indian defence and security agency officers.

“We have received a copy of statement made by Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Kenney has written that Canada has the highest regard for India, Indian institutions and processes,” Krishna said.

“They have deeply regretted that the letter drafted by the public official to routine visa rejections casts aspersion on the legitimate duties carried by the Indian defence and security agencies which operate under democratic processes and rule of law,” he added.

Over the past two years, Canada rejected visas of some senior serving and retired Indian Army and intelligence officials with adverse comments, which has sparked outrage in India.

“As far as the issuance of visa is concerned, I think the Canadian government is governed by its own procedures. So, we go along with whatever procedures that are according to their constitution and immigration laws. And we have no quarrel with that,” Krishna clarified.

In a statement to the external affairs ministry, Kenney said that Canada had the highest regard for India, its government and processes.

“The language of inaccurate impression in no way reflects position or policy of the government of Canada, so I think they have realised the mistake they have made. I think we should consider the chapter closed,” Krishna added.

Last week, the Canadian high commission here refused visa to Fateh Singh Pandher, a retired Border Security Force constable, on grounds that he was associated with a “notoriously violent force”.

Lt. Gen. (retd) A.S. Bahia, a decorated Indian Army officer, was denied visa in May on grounds that he had served in a “sensitive location” of Jammu and Kashmir.

In yet another case, two brigadiers were denied visas in 2008 and another in 2009.

S.S. Sidhu, a retired Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, was denied visa March 26, with the high commission in New Delhi contending that he belonged to the “inadmissible” category of persons.

In the rejection letter, the Canadian high commission said Sidhu could not be given visa as he had served in an organisation like IB and, therefore, he could “engage in an act of espionage or subversion” or “violence that would or might endanger the lives or safety of persons in Canada”.

Krishna late Thursday termed denial of visa to Indian nationals as unacceptable and hoped the Canadian authorities would address the issue appropriately.

“We have made our position crystal clear to the Canadian authorities on the issue,” he said.

Taliban assault on Lahore mosques ends, 72 dead

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:52 AM PDT

Lahore, May 28 (IANS) Taliban guerrillas wearing suicide vests fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as they stormed two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect Friday, taking worshipers hostage and sparking gun battles with police that left at least 72 people dead before the attackers were neutralised, police and rescue workers said.

Ambulances and rescue vehicles rushed to the two mosques in the Garhi Shahu and Model Town areas to ferry the victims to hospital after the operation ended.

The distance between both the two mosques was 15 km and during the three-hour-long operation against the terrorists, Superintendent of Police (Civil Lines) Haider Ashraf was also injured, Online news agency reported.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Punjab claimed responsibility for the attacks, which occurred when some 1,500 worshipers were in the two mosques for the Friday prayers.

Heavy gunfire was interspersed with deafening blasts when the terror attack took place.

Television footage showed gunmen firing indiscriminately from the rooftop of one of the mosques. Gunfire could be heard as people ran to take cover outside the mosque.

Eyewitnesses at the Model Town mosque said that six to seven armed men entered the building and hurled hand grenades at worshipers offering the zikar remembrance prayer. They later opened indiscriminate fire, killing and injuring many.

The terrorists also exploded a vehicle packed with explosives, killing three police personnel and critically injuring some others.

According to a police officer, among the gunmen involved in the Model Town attack, “one terrorist is dead, one injured and one has been held”.

Seventeen dead bodies were shifted from the Model Town mosque to Jinnah Hospital, where 20 of the injured were also taken.

Suicide bombers had struck at a market in Lahore March 12, killing 45 and injuring over 100.

On Oct 15, 2009, the Taliban laid siege to Lahore with audacious and simultaneous attacks on three police establishments, including a training school just 12 km from the Indian border, that killed 25 people, including 10 of the attackers.

This was the second attack on the training school in 2009 after a March 30 assault that left eight attackers, an equal number of trainees and two civilians dead.

On March 3, 2009, five policemen were killed when gunmen attacked the bus ferrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to the Gaddafi Stadium for the Test against Pakistan. Four members of the Sri Lankan team were injured and the tour was immediately called off.

76 die as Maoist sabotage derails train in West Bengal

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:51 AM PDT

Jhargram (West Bengal), May 28 (IANS) At least 76 people were killed and about 200 injured Friday after the engine and 13 coaches of a Mumbai-bound train derailed and rolled over following Maoist sabotage and were hit by a freight train in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district.

As many of the wounded battled for life in hospitals, officials and doctors warned that the death toll will rise in the accident that occurred at 1.30 a.m. in an area where security forces have cracked down on Maoists.

More than 16 hours after the tragedy, soldiers from a nearby cantonment and railway officials were still frantically trying to take bodies out of two coaches that got badly mangled after being smashed by the goods train. Rescuers used gas cutters to rip apart the coaches.

The Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express went off the tracks after suspected Maoists removed 1.5 feet of rail track, rudely shaking the hundreds of sleeping passengers. Five coaches fell on a parallel track.

As ill luck would have it, even before the trapped passengers could realize what had happened, a speeding goods train coming from the opposite direction rammed into the coaches, crushing some of them.

It was the third worst train accident this year blamed on Maoist guerrillas and the worst bout of killings blamed on the rebels since they massacred 76 security personnel in Chhattisgarh April 6.

“It’s an act of sabotage,” West Bengal Home Secretary Samar Ghosh said in Kolkata, 155 km from the disaster site. “There are enough indications of that.” Speaking in the evening, Chief Secretary Ardhendu Sen put the death toll at 76.

Injured passengers screamed in pain even as they struggled to scramble out of the toppled coaches. Many, shaken and bleeding, searched for family members in the darkness. The incident took place in a rural area, between two small railway stations near Jhargram town.

As it happens in most train accidents, the first to come to the rescue of the victims were villagers who pulled out the first of the wounded men and women from the coaches.

“We heard a loud, screeching noise of the train braking and the coaches derailing,” said a male passenger who survived the ordeal.

“They are all dead,” a middle-aged man kept moaning. He had boarded the train with his family just hours before the tragedy.

“Mera bachche ka inteqal ho gaya (my child is no more),” wailed a young mother, sitting on a platform at the Sardiha station nearby.

Once rescue efforts began in real earnest, the Indian Air Force pressed helicopters to circle overhead.

West Bengal officials said the Criminal Investigation Department would probe “all aspects of the incident”. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said at the site that “it is a bomb blast case”.

Initial reports did say that a loud blast had preceded the derailment. But police did not find any explosives on the tracks.

West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh said a portion of the track as well as fish plates were found removed.

He said police found two posters put out by the Maoist-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities at the site, claiming responsibility for the sabotage.

The injured have been admitted to two hospitals in Kharagpur and one in Midnapore town.

This is the ninth major strike attributed to the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) this year.

“It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram said earlier in a statement.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Rs.200,000 as compensation for those killed and Rs.50,000 for the seriously injured. Banerjee declared Rs.500,000 to each family of the killed and a job for a family member.

The accident took place despite the railways sounding a red alert in five states — Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal — in the wake of a “black week” being observed by Maoists since Thursday midnight against a joint crackdown by central and state security forces.

Telangana activists call for shutdown against firing

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:23 AM PDT

Hyderabad, May 28 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh will see two shut downs Saturday, one by supporters of Congress MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy over his detention and another by Telangana supporters to condemn the firing by Reddy’s followers on an activist who suffered critical injuries.

The shutdown by Reddy’s supporters has been called in Kadapa district over their leader being taken into preventive custody Friday while he was on his way to a rally in Warangal in the Telangana regions.

The planned rally led to widespread violence in Warangal district as Reddy’s supporters clashed with those supporting the demand for statehood to Telangana. Reddy is opposed to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

A Telangana activist was critically injured near Mahbubabad railway station in Warangal district when Reddy’s supporters allegedly fired at the crowd gathered to prevent the Congress MP's entry. Police also fired to quell the violence.

To condemn the firing on the supporter, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have called for a Telangana shutdown.

Reddy has planned a state-wide tour to console the families of those who committed suicide or died of shock following the death of his chief minister father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash last year.

While Reddy has been escorted back to Hyderabad by police, the Kadapa shutdown is being organised by the district Congress committee.

Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, Anantapur, Chittoor and Kadapa districts in Andhra region of the state Friday saw widespread protests by Reddy’s followers following his detention.

Telangana political parties joint action committee convener M. Kodandaram said the Telangana bandh Saturday was against the firing on the Telangana activist.

Students' Joint Action Committees of Osmania University and Kakatiya University, which are in the Telangana region, have extended support to the shutdown.

Telangana activists also held demonstrations and burnt effigies of Reddy at Osmania University and in Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts in Telangana.

Jenson Button splits Jenson Button

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:20 AM PDT

Jenson Button splits Monaco Grand

Jenson Button splits Monaco Grand

London, May 28 (IANS) Formula One driver Jenson Button has broken up with his model girlfriend Jessica Michibata.

Button dated the lingerie model for around 18 months but decided to call time on the relationship just after the Monaco Grand Prix due to problems in maintaining a long distance relationship.

“Jenson is single again. He and Jessica have gone their separate ways,” thesun.co.uk quoted his spokesperson as saying.

A friend said: “Jenson had a great time with Jessica and it looked like things were moving in the right direction. But the logistics took their toll.”

“With her living in Tokyo and him all around the world to races it has been very tough. She was constantly flying out to meet him. And whenever there was a race in her part of the world he’d fit a visit to Tokyo into his schedule. But it’s impossible to maintain that in the long term.”

“Just over a week ago Jenson reluctantly decided that racing must be his main priority. He was forced to make the unpleasant decision to split to focus on his racing. There is no one else involved,” the friend said.

French Concorde trial closes

Posted: 28 May 2010 11:19 AM PDT

Paris/Pontoise, May 28 (DPA) A court trial resulting from the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde aircraft came to an end Friday in France, with a verdict expected in December.

The American airline Continental and five people face charges of manslaughter in connection with the crash, which killed 113 people.

The four-month long trial ended in the suburb of Pontoise with the defence for Continental presenting its side one last time.

Prosecutors have charged that the company and two of its employees were partly to blame for the crash, which saw the burning plane plummet to the ground, setting fire to a hotel.

Most of the dead were Germans who were planning to board a cruise ship in New York.

The prosecution has called for Continental to be handed a 175,000-euro fine and two of its mechanics to get a suspended 18-month jail sentence on probation.

It has also sought a two-year suspended sentence for the former head of the Concorde program, Henri Perrier, who is now 80 years old. He knew of the plane’s weaknesses, prosecutors have said.

Another top-level manager at Aerospatiale, the Concorde’s French manufacturer, and a former official with the French Civil Aviation Authority were also charged.

Prosecutors argued that the plane rolled over a strip of titanium metal that had fallen off a Continental aircraft just before takeoff, bursting a tyre.

Fragments of the tyre were then sent hurling into one of the fuel tanks, causing a fuel leak, a fire and the failure of the plane’s two port-side engines.

But Continental’s defence argued that the Concorde was already on fire when it rolled over the metal strip, which had been negligently fastened to a Continental DC-10.

The accident ultimately took another victim, the plane itself.

Only 14 Concordes entered commercial service, able to accelerate from 0 to 400 km per hour in 30 seconds and with a cruising speed of twice the speed of sound. They needed just 3 1/2 hours to fly from Europe to New York.

Grounded for nearly a year after the accident, the Concorde took to the air again only to be shelved for good in 2003 because it had become financially untenable for Air France and British Airways, the only two carriers that flew it.

For most of the relatives left behind after the crash, the outcome of the trial will have little significance.

Some 700 family members of the victims on AF 4590 settled with Air France and its insurers shortly after the crash, with the compensations estimated to have totalled 173 million euros.

Girls outshine boys in CBSE Class 10 exams

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:47 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Girls once again outperformed boys in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 exams results announced here Friday.

The board, which introduced the grading system in the exam for the first time, said 90.68 percent girls are eligible for the qualifying certificate as compared to 88.30 percent boys.

A total of 886,338 students from 9,439 schools across the country and abroad took the Class 10 exams this year. Of them, 522,107 were boys and 364,231 girls.

The percentage of students passing the exams, rechristened as ‘Eligible for Qualifying Certificate’, was 89.28 – up by 0.44 percent from last year.

However, a better performance was displayed by students in CBSE schools abroad as 98.05 percent of them qualified the exam. Among the disabled students, the qualifying percentage was 89.34 percent.

Among the regions, Chennai once again emerged as a winner with 96.18 percent students emerging eligible for qualifying certificate.

There were many happy faces – and many disappointed ones too – as results came out.

Tanya Makker, a student of the Delhi Public School (D.P.S.), R.K. Puram, said: “I have got A1 in all my subjects. The grading system is cool. It’s a stress reliever as the pressure over one or two marks is off our heads. There will be no crying over half a mark now.”

The new grading system ranks students on a nine-point scale ranging from A1 (excellent) to E2 (dissatisfactory), D being the minimum pass grade.

Those students who have obtained the qualifying grades (D and above) in all the subjects, excluding the additional subject, will be given the qualifying certificate.

A1 represents above 91 score. B1 is 81 to 90, while D is for marks from 33 to 40, and E1 and E2 are below 33.

The grades also have equivalent points which start from 10 for A1 to 4 for D. As the exact marks will not be revealed, these points can be multiplied with 9.5 to get the average marks represented by the grades.

Thus, A1 will be equal to 95, A2 – 85.5, B1 – 76, B2 – 66.5, C1 – 57, C2 – 47.5, and D will be equal to 38 average marks.

D.R. Saini, principal of D.P.S., R.K. Puram, said: “I am happy with the results. The grading system is good as there is a healthy competition among students now. A student getting 91 percent and another getting 100 percent will be in the same category, so it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

However, Shruti Seth, a student of a Delhi school, said that she is not happy with the grading system.

“English is my favourite subject and I have always topped my class in the subject. However, I am quite disappointed with my results. I have got a B in English. I don’t know what’s my exact score and am confused as to how to send my paper for re-evaluation,” Seth said.

Aishwarya Kushari, another student, said: “I have got approximately 84 percent… but am unhappy with my result since I was expecting better than this. I don’t like this grading system because it gives you a very sketchy picture.”

CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma said the practice of failing a student or awarding compartment has been discontinued. Instead, students are either awarded the qualifying certificate or a result declaring that he or she is ‘eligible for improvement’.

A total of 94,364 students have been declared ‘eligible for improvement’, or compartment exams.

Students from the autonomous Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) outperformed all other schools across India with a qualifying certificate percentage of 98.54 followed by Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) where 96.87 percent students will get qualifying certificates.

In government-run schools, the percentage this year was 83.01, while in government-aided schools it was 80.65.

A total of 11,054 merit certificates will also be given to students who got A1 grade in all 5 subjects.

Manmohan, Obama discuss first India-US strategic dialogue

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:47 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday discussed with US President Barack Obama the maiden strategic dialogue between India and the US in Washington next week, and added that a warm welcome awaited him when he visits New Delhi later this year.

“The prime minister spoke this evening with US President Barack Obama,” the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

“Both sides attach great priority to the dialogue as a means to strengthen bilateral engagement on a wide range of issues,” said the PMO.

The inaugural ministerial-level strategic dialogue between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton June 2-3 will cover a wide gamut of areas, including high technology trade, science & technology, civil nuclear cooperation, agriculture, human resource development, security and other strategic issues.

“The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the PMO said. Issues relating to Afghanistan-Pakistan region also figured in the talks, said reliable sources.

Obama, on his part, conveyed condolences on the loss of lives resulting from the air crash in Mangalore last week.

Manmohan Singh told Obama that a warm welcome awaited the president and his family when they visit India, which is likely to take place in November this year.

Obama’s new National Security Strategy reaffirmed “building a strategic partnership” with India as “one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century”.

The telephonic conversation took place days after US Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao held discussions here to firm up the agenda for the strategic dialogue.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Rao will accompany Krishna to Washington.

Hillary Clinton had announced the dialogue during her visit to India in July last year.

Gujarat Petrol Corp-GeoGlobal accord a scam, says Congress

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:45 AM PDT

Gandhinagar, May 28 (IANS) The Congress Friday charged the state public sector Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) with patronising a defaulting partner, GeoGlobal which owes it Rs.1,250 crore, and alleged the deal had “political ramifications”.

Addressing media persons in Ahmedabad, Congress state unit chief Siddharth Patel and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Shaktisinh Gohil said the latest figures reveal GeoGlobal owes Rs.1,250 crore to the GSPC as on May 19.

“GSPC, which is now anytime coming out with an IPO to mop up Rs.3,500 crore from the public to fund its ambitious Deen Dayal block developmental projects, is in the dock as to why it is unabashedly patronising a defaulter, which is repeatedly refusing to pay its legitimate dues,” they said in a statement.

According to the Congress leaders, GeoGlobal Resources (India) was formed by Jean Paul Roy in Calgary (Canada) to participate with GSPC for the joint bidding for the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin offshore block. In March 2002, GSPC inked a carried interest agreement with GeoGlobal, under which GSPC has to put up all funds required for the operations in the KG offshore block, including the share of GeoGlobal – all entirely at the risk of GSPC.

Geoglobal was deemed eligible for all benefits and profits accrued without sharing the risks, they said, citing the agreement.

GeoGlobal, however, contends it has no obligation to invest any money towards exploration or development of the KG basin offshore block for which production sharing contract was entered into between GSPC and GeoGlobal.

According to GeoGlobal, the exploration and development of KG basin block is to be done as per the agreement at complete risk and cost of GSPC and if they succeed, GeoGLobal would walk away with a handsome stake of 10 percent in the commercial proceeds but in the eventuality of GSPC not striking gas and the efforts proving worthless, GeoGlobal would not pay anything to GSPC.

In short, the production sharing contract(PSC) only guarantees GeoGlobal benefits arising from financial risk undertaken by GSPC and no obligations on part of GeoGlobal, they said, calling for an in-depth probe and charging that business association of GSPC with GeoGlobal “was a calculated ploy to grossly benefit a non entity at the cost of the tax payers and citizens of Gujarat”.

“Available evidence clearly indicate enormous benefits have been doled out to GeoGlobal for absolutely no reason or value contribution received or acknowledged by the GSPC,” they said.

Different UPA voices on cause of rail accident

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:44 AM PDT

ew Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Ministers of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Friday spoke in different voices on the cause of the rail accident in West Midnapore district of West Bengal that killed at least 76 people.

While Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the blast was caused by a blast, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said he suspected sabotage behind the derailment of the Mumbai-bound train. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who belongs to West Bengal, said he did not know the reason of the accident and would not comment on it.

Banerjee, who visited the site of accident in Jhargram, told reporters that the mishap occurred due to a bomb blast which blew up a portion of the tracks.

The minister said the timing of the blast coincided with the arrival of a speeding freight train, which tore into three of the coaches of the derailed Gyaneshwari Express.

“It is the sheer timing. That’s the reason the tragedy took a turn for the worst,” the railway minister said.

Chidambaram said he suspected sabotage behind the derailment of the train though it was unclear whether explosives were used.

“It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear,” the minister said in a statement. The statement, however, did not directly blame Maoist guerrillas for the accident.

Mukherjee told reporters “I don’t exactly know the reason” for the train accident and that he was not in a position to say if it was caused by a blast or sabotage.

Manmohan, Obama discuss maiden strategic dialogue

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:44 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday spoke with US President Barack Obama and discussed the maiden strategic dialogue between India and the US in Washington next week, and told Obama that a warm welcome awaits him when he visits New Delhi.

“Both sides attach great priority to the dialogue as a means to strengthen bilateral engagement on a wide range of issues,” said the Prime Minister's Office in a statement.

The inaugural ministerial-level strategic dialogue between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton June 2-3 will cover a wide gamut of areas, including high technology trade, science & technology, civil nuclear cooperation, agriculture, human resource development, security and other strategic issues.

“The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the PMO said.

Obama, on his part, conveyed condolences on the loss of lives resulting from the air crash in Mangalore last week.

Manmohan Singh told Obama that a warm welcome awaited the president and his family when they visit India. Obama's maiden visit to India is likely to take place in November this year.

Are omni-present faculty like Lord Krishna, asks apex court

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:43 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) In a scathing comment on teaching faculty in privately-run specialised institutions, the Supreme Court Friday wondered if they were incarnations of Lord Krishna as they simultaneously managed to be on the rolls of several institutions at a given time.

The vacation bench of the apex court of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice C.K. Prasad said: “Either they become Lord Krishna, who is omnipresent, or how else could they be present in all the colleges at the same time.”

The court made the observation while hearing a petition of minority institution Chhattisgarh Dental College and Research Institute against the state government seeking 50 percent share in the post-graduate seats in Periodontics, Orthodontics, Conservative Dentistry and Oral Medicine courses.

The institute has contended that being a minority institution, it was not bound to follow certain rules of the state government. It added that its rights were protected by the Constitution Bench judgment of the apex Court in the P.A. Inamdar case.

Apparently not satisfied with the status of the faculty in the Departments of Periodontics, Orthodontics, Conservative Dentistry and Oral Medicine where post-graduate students are to be taken, the court gave the example of Haryana and Rajasthan where either the entire or 50 percent of the faculty comprised of teachers who were common to all the colleges.

Justice Singhvi said that in Haryana, there were seven colleges where the entire faculty is the same in all the colleges. He said in nine institutions in Rajasthan 50 percent of the faculty members were common.

Assailing these institutions, Justice Singhvi said they were “playing with the careers of the students. These post-graduate students are going to be doctors treating you (to the lawyer for the Chhattisgarh College) and me. We don’t want to be threatened by them.”

Slamming the Chhattisgarh Dental College and Research Institute, Justice Singhvi said that “if you don’t have labs, teaching faculty and other infrastructure, how could you get approval from the government?” Justice Singhvi wanted to know “What is the quid pro quo?”

Then Justice Singhvi went on to ask, “Which politician of your state is involved in this (college)? Name him. Who is running it?”

Pointing to the state of health of these institutions in different parts of the country, Justice Singhvi said that 16 institutions in Pune are controlled by one person.

The court told the petitioner college to go to the high court as it was already dealing with a similar matter.

Ashley Cole stunned to hear Cheryl filed for divorce

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:42 AM PDT

London, May 28 (IANS) British footballer Ashley Cole was stunned to hear that his wife Cheryl has filed for divorce.

The 29-year-old Chelsea star flew to a training camp in Austria in a “foul mood” as he believed his marriage could be saved – even after his singer-wife said she wanted a divorce, reports thesun.co.uk.

He is said to have told his team-mates, “I thought Cheryl would never leave me”.

A close friend of Ashley said: “The split has left Ashley in the pits. He thought he was invincible – Cheryl proved him wrong.”

“Ashley believed because of the house and nearly four years of marriage, she wouldn’t give up and leave totally and so quickly,” thesun.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

“He thought there would be another chance to sort things out. But the timing of Cheryl filing for divorce is no coincidence. While he is away and concentrating on the World Cup, there will be little opportunity for him to contact her.”

“Ashley’s a broken man. But he knows he has a vital role in the England campaign,” the source added.

Isha Foundation wins Indira Gandhi Award for green project

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:25 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) The Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation – a spiritual organisation – led by seer Jaggi Vasudev has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Award for its unique Project Green Hands that has revitalised vast tracts of fallow countryside in Tamil Nadu.

The award will be presented to Jaggi Vasudev June 5 – the World Environment Day – at the Vigyan Bhavan. The Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Award is the highest award for environmental initiative in India, a communique issued by the Isha Foundation said.

Statistics cited by the Isha Foundation, quoting government reports, said 26.68 percent of the total Indian landmass was under the forest cover. The desired goal of bringing 33 percent of the total land mass under the forest cover by 2012 remains a distant dream. In Tamil Nadu, besieged by water shortage and desertification, the forest cover is just 17.5 percent, the release said.

The Project Green Hands envisages to increase the green cover of Tamil Nadu by 10 percent through several afforestation campaigns in the next 10 years. Approximately, 114 million trees will be planted throughout the state as part of the greening drive. The project is affiliated to the United Nation’s Department of Public Information and United Nation’s Economic and Social Council.

It has also earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for planting the highest number of saplings in three days.

Green Hands volunteers have so far planted 82 lash saplings in 21 districts of Tamil Nadu. The project has enlisted the services of 20 lash volunteers and coordinates its operations with 75 organisations. The project also manages 400 nurseries across the state.

India condemns Lahore attacks

Posted: 28 May 2010 10:24 AM PDT

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) India Friday strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed 72 people and conveyed condolences to the kin of those slain.

“The government strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Lahore that have claimed the lives of scores of innocent people and injured many more,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement here.

“Our condolences go out to the families of those killed by these acts of terrorism,” the ministry said.

Taliban guerrillas wearing suicide vests fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as they stormed two mosques in Lahore of the minority Ahmadi sect, taking worshipers hostage and sparking gun battles with police that left at least 72 people dead before the attackers were neutralised.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Punjab claimed responsibility for the attacks, which occurred when some 1,500 worshipers were in the two mosques for the Friday prayers.
Posted by Suresh at 3:15 PM

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