UK's travel advisory to India after Leh cloudburst

London: Britain today revised its travel advisory to India due to the catastrophic flash floods in Leh and advised its citizens to avoid travelling to all rural areas in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Foreign Office said: "There have been flash floods in and around the Leh area of northern India. Initial reports indicate that many people have been killed or are missing. Communications networks have been seriously affected.



The Leh-Manali and Leh-Srinagar roads are currently closed and you should not attempt to drive them.

A rescue operation by Indian police and armed forces is underway. British nationals in the affected area should follow local advice".

Asking British citizens to monitor local and international weather updates for details of impending weather depressions which are common at this time of year, the revised advisory cautioned against all travel to rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir other than Ladakh; all travel in the immediate vicinity of the border with Pakistan, other than at Wagah; and all travel in Manipur.

It said: "We advise against all but essential travel to Srinagar and Imphal. If you do travel to these areas then you should only do so by air.

There is a high threat from terrorism throughout India. Recent attacks have targeted public places including those frequented by foreigners.

"There are increased indications that terrorists are planning attacks in New Delhi", it said and added that Commonwealth Games were due in New Delhi from 3 to 14 October

Mumbai port closed, vessel with 2600 tonnes of oil may sink

 Mumbai:  Six coastguard vessels and a helicopter with anti-pollution dispersal spray systems were pressed into service today to contain an oil spill caused due to a collision between two cargo ships off the Mumbai coast. ( See pictures ) 

Maritime traffic in the vicinity has been regulated, as MSC Chitra which was grounded yesterday, is capsizing and 200 containers have already fallen into the sea as the vessel is tilting at more than 70 degrees, and it is most likely that it will capsize. MSC Chitra has 2662 tons of fuel, 283 tons of diesel and 88 tons lube oil.

The Coastguards are trying to retrieve the cargo, but oil spillage is now at 15 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Shipping has ordered investigation under the provisions of Merchant Shipping act.



Of the 37 crewmembers, 33 have been reportedly evacuated by the Coast Guard. But it is reported the remaining crewmembers and some salvage personnel are still on board to assess the situation.

After the collision, some containers from Chitra fell into the sea, raising fears of other ships crashing into them.

"Traffic at the Mumbai harbour is suspended as a precautionary measure as the 10 to 15 containers of vessel Chitra fell into the sea after the collision," a senior Indian Coastguard official said.

"The ships coming towards Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) might hit the containers in the water and may cause problem for the inbound ships, because of which we suspended the traffic", he added.

MSC Chitra, the outbound cargo vessel from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), collided with MV Khalijia-III five nautical miles from the shores at 9:50 am on Saturday when the latter was sailing towards the MPT, off Mumbai harbour, to take a berth.

No casualties were reported following the collision and 33 crew members were rescued. (With PTI inputs)

Jagan yatra launch huge hit

“My father has not left me orphaned. He has left me a huge family in you, the people of Andhra Pradesh”. These were the loaded words with which rebel Congress MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched his Odarpu Yatra (Consolation Tour) from the coastal Srikakulam district, bordering Orissa on Thursday. The
first-term MP will tour the entire district for the next three days to console and dole out cash to family members of all those who died of shock or committed suicide after the death of Late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash on September 2 last year.

Though it is supposed to be a tour to console grieving people, there no shortage of pomp and splendor. Massive arrangements were in place everywhere he travelled. He started the day by putting a giant garland on the statue of his father at Vijaya Vatika, a garden created to mark the conclusion of the late leader’s 1,140-km padayatra in 2003. He later cut a 61-kg cake, the weight corresponding to YSR’s 61st birth anniversary.

Reddy’s convoy consisting of hundreds of cars were greeted by hundreds of youths lining the streets, sitting on treetops and perching on rooftops for a glimpse of the MP.

If the turnout at the places he visited was any indicator, Reddy has proved to his detractors and the party high command that he is a crowd puller.

The party high command, which instructed him not to cross the ‘laxman rekha’ came up trumps too. For, not a single MLA, MP or MLC joined the yatra. Of course, it is an open secret that many of the ministers and legislators, who owe their positions to the late YSR, clandestinely helped the yatra by mobilising people and making arrangements.

Flood extensively damages crops in Haryana, Punjab

Freshly sown paddy crop in thousands of acres of fertile agricultural land has been destroyed in nearly four days of flood fury in some districts of Haryana and Punjab - the states that are the biggest food grain contributors to the national kitty. Eleven deaths have been reported so far -- six in

Punjab and five in Haryana -- with 4-5 people missing after being washed away in both states. Heavy rain followed by breaches in rivers and irrigation canals in some areas of both states caused flooding since Tuesday.

The worst affected districts in Haryana are Ambala, Kurukshetra and Kaithal while in Punjab, Patiala and Sangrur districts have been affected.

The army has been called in flood-affected areas of the Kurukshetra, Ambala and Kaithal districts in Haryana. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) volunteers and boats are also assisting in rescue and relief operations.

About 100,000 acres of agriculture land in nearly 250 villages in these districts has been affected by flood water. Areas where paddy and maize crops are grown have been affected due to stagnant flood water.

Due to the breach in the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and heavy rains, Thanesar, Pehowa and Shahabad tehsils and Ismailabad and Babain sub-tehsils have been affected by the floods in Kurukshetra district.

The breach in the Ghaggar river, which flows through Haryana and Punjab and is in spate, and the Hansi-Butana canal near the Haryana-Punjab border near Tatiana village in Kaithal district has led to flooding of several new villages.

"Our houses are under 3-4 feet of water. The authorities are not providing any help but only asking us to leave the flooded areas. We cannot leave our homes, families and livestock like this," said farmer Swarn Singh who lives near the flood-affected Tatiana village.

Additional Principal Secretary (to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda), Anuradha Gupta, who visited the flood-affected areas Thursday, said: "Army and other authorities are trying to plug the breach in the canals."

Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal ordered that all schools in the district be shut till Friday.

The state government has cancelled the leave of all government employees in Ambala, Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts and recalled them on duty to deal with the situation.

The state government and district authorities are facing criticism for not carrying out flood protection work in time to prevent flooding and also lacking in response after flooding took place.

Water and power supply has not been restored to most areas of the affected districts in Haryana even after four days.

Heavy rainfall and breaches washed away the National Highway (NH-65) between Ambala and Hisar cities in Haryana Thursday.

A state government spokesman said the NH-65 had been damaged at the 20-km point from Ambala near Naggal village.

Haryana's Director General of Police (DGP) Ranjeev Dalal Thursday appealed to people not to take the highway to and from Hisar.

Dalal said those wishing to go to Hisar (from Ambala) should go via Karnal, Nissing and Kaithal road.

The repair work had been entrusted to the army and the movement of vehicles on this road would be restored Friday evening, he added.

Train traffic on the busy Ambala-Delhi section has also been disrupted with the tracks sinking near Shahbad town, 65 km from here. Some trains on the affected route were diverted through Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

District authorities in Mansa, Sangrur, Ferozepur and Moga district have been put on high alert with rivers flowing at higher water levels.

Nearly 150 villages have been affected by flooding in Punjab's Patiala and Sangrur districts.

Standing paddy crop has been damaged extensively in parts of Punjab also.

'Headley disclosures tie LeT to Pakistani Intelligence'

Indian investigators' interrogation of Pakistani American David Coleman Headley has yielded key disclosures linking terrorists behind the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to Pakistani intelligence, according to a US terrorism research group. Headley, who in March pleaded guilty to 12 federal terrorism
charges including providing material support to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), also disclosed the names of the terrorist handlers who orchestrated the attacks from Pakistan, said Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

Headley reportedly told investigators from India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) that LeT worked hand-in-glove with rogue elements tied to Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, leader of Jamaat ud-Dawa (JuD), the Pakistan-based Islamic charity that serves as a front for the LeT, has also been identified by Headley as the "mastermind" of the Mumbai attacks, IPT said.

The close ties between the Pakistani terrorist group and the ISI have been detailed in the 11th dossier of evidence documenting Headley's confessions related to the attacks, the research group said.

India has submitted 10 other dossiers to Pakistan in the past citing evidence tying members of the LeT and the Pakistani military and intelligence services to the Mumbai attacks.

The dossier details LeT operative Headley's meetings with his handlers in Pakistan, including JuD's Hafiz Saeed, retired Pakistani major Sajid Mir and ISI officials in the Pakistani cities of Muzzaffarabad and Lahore in the months leading up to the Mumbai attacks.

Islamabad has denied that Hafiz Saeed and the JuD were involved, but recently recognised JuD as a terrorist group.

The admission came close on the heels of Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram's visit to Islamabad to meet with his counterpart Rehman Malik and hand him the dossier of evidence with Headley's confessions, IPT said.

The recognition of JuD as a terrorist group is also part of larger Pakistani crackdown on 17 terrorist groups, including the LeT and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), following the recent attack on a mosque in Lahore that killed at least 45 people, it said.

Hurriyat activist held for trying to foment trouble in valley

Police today arrested Shabir Ahmed Wani, one of the two activists of hardline Hurriyat Conference, allegedly involved in a conspiracy to engineer violence in Kashmir Valley and get at least 10 to 15 people killed in a procession. Police swooped down at a place on Narbal-Magam road and arrested Shabir
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* Lashkar may have instigated Kashmir violence: IB intercepts
* Militants open fire in Sopore, curfew continues in Valley

Ahmed Wani, district President of Hurriyat conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, after his conversation with another activist Ghulam Ahmed Dar was intercepted.

The two were allegedly discussing ways to foment trouble during a procession which was taken out in Budgam district of central Kashmir, official sources said.

Wani was booked under various provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code and may be charged under the stringent Public Safety Act, under which he can be detained for two years, they said, adding hunt was on to nab Dar, who had gone into hiding immediately after the conversation was made public.

Involvement of hardline separatists in engineering some of the violence in the Kashmir Valley was indicated by the intercepted conversation between the two of them during which they discussed killing of at least 15 people in a procession near Srinagar on July 7.A large procession had started in Budgam district on the outskirts of Srinagar in the evening and two senior office-bearers of the hardline Hurriyat faction discussed how to utilise it to create casualties, according to the transcript of the conversation available with the Union Home Ministry.

According to the transcript, one of the office-bearers, Dar, was heard telling Wani, another office-bearer, that a procession of nearly 20,000 people had started from Magam and was going towards Budgam and that at least 10 to 15 people should be "martyred" as the crowd moved.

However, the police had dispersed the procession with a mild cane charge and no no untoward incident had taken place.

Time magazine apologises to Indian-Americans for racial article

WASHINGTON: 'Time' magazine has apologised to Indian-Americans following the publication of a column by journalist Joel Stein which offended and outraged the large community, especially those in New Jersey.

"We sincerely regret that any of our readers were upset by Joel Stein's recent humour column 'My Own Private India.' It was in no way intended to cause offence," the Time magazine said after large number of Indian-Americans demanded an apology from the magazine and the columnist.

"I truly feel stomach-sick that I hurt so many people," responded Stein, who in his column 'My Own Private India' gave his own impression of how his home town of Edison in New Jersey has changed over the years with the desi influx.

Nearly one in every five resident of this New Jersey city are Indian Americans; thus making it one of the few such cities in the United States.

"For a while, we assumed all Indians were geniuses. Then, in the 1980s, the doctors and engineers brought over their merchant cousins, and we were no longer so sure about the genius thing. In the 1990s, the not-as-brilliant merchants brought their even-less-bright cousins, and we started to understand why India is so damn poor," Stein wrote in the issue dated July 5.

"Eventually, there were enough Indians in Edison to change the culture. At which point my townsfolk started calling the new Edisonians 'dot heads'. One kid I knew in high school drove down an Indian-dense street yelling for its residents to 'go home to India'," Stein wrote.

"Sometime after I left, the town became a maze of charmless Indian strip malls and housing developments. Whenever I go back, I feel what people in Arizona talk about: a sense of loss and anomie and disbelief that anyone can eat food that spicy," he wrote.

The article outraged many Indian-Americans. "...I always thought it was hilarious when I'd get the crap kicked out of me by kids like Stein who would yell 'go back to India, dothead!' I was always ROTFLMAO when people would assume that I wasn't American. He really captured the brilliant humour in that one too!" wrote Kal Penn, the popular Indian-American actor.

Indian-Americans also launched an online petition demanding Time and CNN to remove the article from their online edition.

"Such prestigious magazine like Time should not have allowed such an article to be published in the first place. We respectfully request Time magazine to remove the article from the web and have Mr. Joel Stein write an apology letter that shows some remorse," the petition said.

Regretting that his article hurt the feelings of so many Indian Americans, Stein wrote: "I was trying to explain how, as someone who believes that immigration has enriched American life and my hometown in particular, I was shocked that I could feel a tiny bit uncomfortable with my changing town when I went to visit it. If we could understand that reaction, we'd be better equipped to debate people on the other side of the immigration issue."

Blast hits Pakistan's tribal area, several killed

ISLAMABAD: A large explosion ripped through a village in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan where the Pakistani army has fought the Taliban, killing several people Friday, an official said.

Dozens more were wounded in the blast, whose exact cause was unclear, said Noor Mohammad, an official in the Mohmand tribal region. A prison and some government offices also were near the blast scene in Yakaghund village.

Mohmand is one of several areas in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt where Taliban and al-Qaida are believed to be hiding. The Pakistani army has carried out operations in Mohmand, but it has been unable to extirpate the militants.

Many of the victims Friday were transported to a hospital in Peshawar, the main city in Pakistan's northwest, Mohammad said. Police were investigating whether a suicide bomber was involved.

Kat's Hindi challenge, anyone?

Well, the critics could pan her as much as they like for her Hindi accent topped with a Brit twang, but the lovely Katrina Kaif seems quite unperturbed by all of it.

Firstly, if Raajneeti is anything to go by, her Hindi is getting better. We mean she had more than just mushy dialogues, and songs to lip sync on. In the movie, she had reams of heavy-duty speeches to deliver. Secondly, she has another quality that many shudh Hindi speaking hotties can’t beat her at. It’s her impeccable memory. “What makes it all easy is that I have a very good memory. So, no matter what lines you give me or how long it is, even if runs into three-four pages, it’s never a challenge to memorise it. I only need to work on the accent, and you have to remember that Hindi is not my first language,” explains Katz. So, we would assume that a movie like Raajneeti would have been a super challenge for this beauty. We’re wrong, dearies, and Katz sweetly corrects, “The good thing is that with a movie like Raajneeti you have to concentrate only on the scenes you are doing, and you don’t spend time doing rehearsals on songs and dance. Although, I love doing song and dance numbers, for this role I really understood the emotions of the character.” Here’s a warning people... this gal remembers every word written and said about her. So watch what you say...

Being a gay icon is flattering: Imran

mran Khan in a freewheeling chat with TOI talks about men applying make-up in Bollywood, his love for food and more

Next time? Noida!
Imran Khan had a problem on his hands when he came to Delhi recently. He’d posted online that he was going to be in the capital at an event in Vasant Kunj, and that everyone could come and meet him, Sonam Kapoor and Punit Malhotra, his co-star and director from I Hate Luv Storys. He got a reply from someone saying, ‘But I’m in Noida - what do I do?’

In between getting his make-up and hair done, Imran promised that next time, people, he will come to Noida. But since he was stuck in a hotel room with his stylist putting pancake on his face, we were able to pin him down for a chat with her help. Here are some excerpts:

Doesn’t make-up make you uncomfortable?
Discomfort, no - it’s standard part of the thing. I like to keep it as minimal as possible because you can tell when people are wearing make-up on screen.

Even the male actors?
No, but at one time they did because at the time the way the lights were, the film was, the lens was, you needed to cover up a lot more.

And any lip gloss?
No. My lips are too pink already. People see lip gloss on me as it is, so imagine what’d happen if I actually did wear it!

You’ve said you have a near perfect body in IHLS.
No, I don’t. It’s as near as I can get it. When I say near perfect, that’s what I mean - as near to perfect as I could get it at the time. Maybe in two years, I’ll do even better.

Do you work out a lot?
I change depending on what I’m doing. Right now I’m not working out at all. As a result of that, I’ve lost a bit of weight. I lose weight if I don’t work out, I have to do that to maintain size. If I don’t work out, I remain very, very thin.

Lucky!
Not for guys. IHLS, I think, involved doing the toughest workout that I think I’ve done in my life. That was because of two things - one, a scene where I wake up in the morning without a shirt, and the other, a song where my shirt is open and flying back, and I’m singing to the heavens. I wanted to look as near to perfect as I could for those scenes.

If you were a girl, you’d have been exhausted and grumpy all the time ...
I was. I was a very, very grumpy person at that time. I’m big on food ... and at the time, because I was eating utterly tasteless steamed food, I was a very, very grumpy person.

What sort of food are you big on?
Anything. Everything. Absolutely everything. I go nuts on Indian food when I’m in Delhi.

Have you ever gotten mobbed in Delhi?
No, I’m pretty careful with that. It’s gotten a bit hairy at times while shooting, but you have security so they can keep it under control.

You can’t just walk into any place and get something you want?
Nope.

Except a five star ...
Yeah, you have to be smart about it. If it’s a short way, and if you quickly walk through it, by the time people register that it’s you, you’re already gone. You gauge situations, take calculated risks.

It’s never happened that you walked through a street and no one recognised you ...
No, that you really can’t. For a short while, you can avoid being recognised. It’s a strange thing, like a star aura you can turn on and turn off. I can turn it off and for a long time, people will not notice that I’m there. Or you can actually turn it on and - I can walk into a room and people by themselves just turn around and look. It’s a weird thing, if there is such a thing.

Anything you miss because of all this visibility?
I can’t browse anywhere.

Not even in Mumbai, which is supposed to be less star-struck than Delhi?
There’s a limit na. I can’t spend an hour browsing somewhere. I can’t just walk into a place not knowing what I want and just look at stuff. Everything needs to be a tactical mission - I need to know what I want, so I’ll pull up, I know where my entry point is, my exit point, and my car will be ready and I’ll get into it and be gone.

When we asked Sonam about you ragging her about appearing in those ‘deadly numbers’, she was very surprised, and said that Avantika (Imran’s fiancé) is a pretty cool dresser. Have they met?
Yeah, of course they’ve met. Avantika was there during the shoot in New Zealand.

You like to have her come along when you’re shooting?
Yeah, otherwise it gets very lonely.

Co-actors, directors - they’re not company?
How much company... At some point, you want someone from home - friends, family. If you’re a heroine, you get your mummy along, I can’t do that because it would be weird.

Does your mum also think it’d be weird?
Yeah, it’d be pretty weird.

You’re not very big on talking about Avantika now, are you?
I feel there’s not much left to talk about. It was such a grand topic during the promotions of Jaane Tu ... that now I don’t know what’s left to say. People say, so you’re very open about your relationship. Yes, I am. Ab kya?

But why did you decide to talk about it right from the beginning?
It’s easier than hiding it. Really, if you’re trying to lie or hide something, everyone knows what’s actually going on.

Isn’t she bugged that the whole country knows?
Umm ... er ... she’s never brought that up. I don’t think it bothers her, I’d imagine she’d have told me if it did. Some things you just take as it is. It’s not like we’re hiding from our families.

How did she take the gay icon thing? How did you take the gay icon thing?
It’s flattering, but it’s not a big deal. As an actor, you want people to like you. It’s not like, oh my God, suddenly I have gay fans. That means I have fans, no? It doesn’t make me uncomfortable or anything.

Like having a votebank - and you couldn’t care less who it is ...
It’s not that you couldn’t care less, you just don’t differentiate. When you have fans, you respect and appreciate them, but you don’t differentiate. It’s not like arrey, now I have fans in China, now I’ve arrived!
But it must be a little different having gay fans and being a huge hit in China. Yeah, I think it translates into more tickets sold (laughs).

It was that one particular photo that did it, right?
Yeah, the one with me lying on my stomach. The entire idea with this photoshoot was to push that look a bit, because that ties into what my character and the film is.

How does it tie in with a sarcastic cynic who doesn’t believe in love?
It’s the sexy look. He’s a womaniser, a player. He’s the guy who believes in sex, not love.

You play a womaniser? Was it aspirational for you - I’d like to play a womaniser someday?
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it might be aspirational for a lot of guys, a lot of guys are gonna watch it and - in the first half - go ‘yes, that’s the way it is!’ It’s probably not a good thing to be in real life, though.

Motorola unveils Android phone Charm

NEW DELHI: Motorola has announced another Android-based smartphone, Charm. Based on Android 2.1, Motorola Charm sports a Qwerty keyboard and 2.8 inch touchscreen display.

Launched by T-Mobile in the US, Charm has second microphone for better voice quality.

Just like many of Motorola's other Android phones, Charm has MOTOBLUR for social networking. According to Motorola, Charm has an updated version of MOTOBLUR, which allows users to better filter their messages and customize the software's behavior. The company also said that the new software offers users the ability to tweak MOTOBLUR's power consumption (Motoblur is said to be a battery hog).

Motorola Charm has a 3-megapixel camera, with Kodak Perfect Touch software, but lacks auto-focus and digital zoom. There's microSD card slot that can support cards up to 32GB. Onboard phone memory is 2GB.

On the connectivity front, Charm will support 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, GPS and Motorola's Crystal Talk Plus. The device also packs Exchange corporate email, Gmail, Google Talk, supports turn-by-turn navigation and more.

'Jilted' lawyer stabs woman in Karnataka HC

BANGALORE: A bloody denouement was played out at the Karnataka High Court on Thursday afternoon when a love-crazed advocate whipped out a knife and stabbed a woman colleague to death in a semi-deserted corridor. He then attempted suicide in the court's washroom.

Eyewitnesses said the gory act took place around 2pm when S L Rajappa (27), an advocate, stopped J S Naveena (24) between court number three and four. They seemed to have a short, hissy conversation after which Rajappa pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the chest, slashed her head and slit her throat. A heavily bleeding Naveena collapsed right there even as Rajappa tried to stab himself.

Azeemuddin, an advocate on his way to the washroom, witnessed the macabre drama. "It was lunch hour. When I went to the washroom, I saw the two speaking with each other near court hall 4. Then, as I came out, I saw the girl fall down with blood gushing out of her wounds. The next moment I saw that senior counsel Subrahmanya Jois was trying to give her water," Azeemuddin said.

He says he had barely recovered from the sight when he turned to see Rajappa trying to stab himself. "I tried to stop him, but he pointed the dagger towards me menacingly. I shouted that I would call the police. He ran to the washroom and locked himself in. The police arrived and broke open the door. He was inside with injuries to his chest with a bottle of poison next to him," Azeemuddin added.

Senior advocate Jois recalled: "It was probably 1.52pm when I saw a man and a woman (the young advocates) in the court corridor. Suddenly, I heard the woman scream. Blood gushed out of her wounds, and her voice was hoarse," he said.

"I yelled for the police, and tried to get the man who was running away. He ran towards the washroom, knife in hand. I locked it from outside as he bolted himself in. I rushed back to the spot where the girl had collapsed and gave her some water, but she couldn't drink. There was no police at the spot because it was lunch hour," Jois added.

The police have recovered a note from Rajappa's pen drive, which runs into more than two pages. The writing suggests that he was obsessed with Naveena. Police suspect that Rajappa, otherwise a soft-spoken man, wanted Naveena to live the way he wanted her to, but Naveena was focussed on her career. She spoke little and was a workaholic.

There are conflicting versions of the background to the bizarre murder. Some said Rajappa and Naveena were in love but, but Naveena got engaged to another man. Naveena's family rejects this, saying she wasn't engaged.

Rajappa was Naveena's senior in a college in Kolar; they both belong to that district. While Naveena was from Jambapura, Rajappa is from Bagepalli. Both worked under different senior advocates in Bangalore.

House that? All houses 'pucca' by 2017

NEW DELHI: The Centre wants all `kutcha' houses to be replaced by durable, disaster-resistant structures by 2016-17. It forms the big expression of intent in the first-of-its-kind `rural housing and habitat policy' that UPA may announce soon.

The government wants to engage NGOs in rural housing, a sector the voluntary organisations have shunned till now. The government feels the rural populace will benefit from NGOs in the field of "technology dissemination" and "skill upgradation".

The `rural housing' policy, being readied by the Union rural development ministry, aims to right the balance as urban housing has dominated the policy landscape till now. The government role in rural housing presently is limited to Indira Awas Yojana, where it funds houses for rural poor. But IAY's reach is limited by budgetary considerations while there is a need to give a strong push to address housing shortage across the board.

The policy will help in giving uniform direction to all states though stray ones like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat have started moving in this regard.

According to the proposed policy, the states should provide `homestead' land to the homeless and ensure finances in rural housing sector. Acknowledging that credit was not easily available for rural poor, with private sector shunning them, the policy aims to nudge financial institutions to offer credit for rural housing. It said movement of credit to these pockets should be flexible to facilitate repayment, like keeping in mind the irregular and seasonal income streams and low cash surpluses.

Sources said RD ministry has set up a committee to list "bankable products" for rural housing like inter-subsidy scheme, housing shelter fund or even linking credit to people with flow of money like NREGA workers or self-help groups.

While seeking that `kutcha' houses be replaced nationally by 2016-17, the policy wants to make rural houses "environment-friendly, energy-efficient and disaster-resistant". It will entail a shift in design and material used for houses for poor.

The policy stretches the issue of housing to "habitat development". It means civic amenities will be a must when houses for poor come up. While access to water, hygienic environment, power supply, medical care, education, livelihood and community infrastructure are some of the amenities in an ideal habitat, sources said necessary amenities were non-negotiable.

Slapped by teacher, Class VI boy jumps off school building

NEW DELHI: Humiliated and repeatedly slapped by his teacher for coming late to class, an 11-year-old boy jumped off the second floor of his school building in east Delhi on Thursday morning. Miraculously, he survived the fall and is admitted in hospital with multiple fractures in both legs.

The boy, a class VI student at Mother Teresa Public School in Preet Vihar, was returning from an extra class in the zero period -- where he was preparing for an upcoming music competition -- when his class teacher flew into a rage accusing him of reporting late to class. The teacher has been identified as B Sudha.

"In his statement, the boy has said that Sudha slapped and reprimanded him. He has also alleged that he felt humiliated in front of the whole class. He walked out and jumped off the second floor, falling almost 20 feet to the ground," said K C Dwivedi, Additional Commissioner of Police (east). Ironically, the school is located just 500 metres from the headquarters of CBSE which has been campaigning against corporal punishment. The Supreme Court has banned physical punishment in schools.

A classmate of the student told TOI, "Sudha maam was angry at him for missing class without informing her and slapped him. When the boy appeared casual about the issue, she got angrier and reprimanded him sharply and slapped him again. He scribbled something in his notebook and ran outside. By the time we followed him, he had already fallen over the railing."

The child's parents claimed that he was held up by another teacher which resulted in a "minor delay in entering the class". "My son was merely following instructions," his father said.

The boy, reportedly good in studies, was scheduled to undergo surgery in both legs late Thursday night. The boy suffered multiple fractures in his right shin bone and left ankle as well as minor injuries to his face. "It is a miracle that he has escaped with such minor injuries. We have informed the police about the treatment process," said Niloy Mitra, chief administrator of Metro Hospital and Cancer Institute, where the child is admitted.

The victim's family said the school principal and chairman had assured them that action will be taken against the teacher. "We have also been offered financial support by the school but that is not necessary. We just want to get to the bottom of the issue and take care of the boy," claimed his mother, Sangeeta.

School chairman Ashok Jaitley and principal Neeta Jaitley refused to come on record on the incident despite being repeatedly contacted by TOI. Police said the school teachers had initially claimed that the boy fell off the stairs.

"We have registered a case of voluntary hurt and illegal confinement against the teacher, Sudha. We have not asked for the statement of the school as we will rely on the statement of the victim. His statement was recorded in the presence of his father," said I B Irani, additional DCP (east).

The incident comes weeks after Rouvanjit Rawla, student of a prominent Kolkata school -- La Martiniere for Boys -- allegedly committed suicide after being scolded by the principal.

Paul the octopus makes waves - and enemies

He has eight legs but has never kicked a ball. That, however, hasn't stopped Paul the octopus from becoming the world's finest football forecaster.

With 100% correct predictions - six out of six - on the outcome of games in the 2010 World Cup, the four-year-old tentacled tipster is every bookmaker's envy too.

Everybody wants to know whom he will select as world champion. He is a global talking point. Google him and you get about 2,630,000 results.

Paul the octopus is currently among the top 10 trends on Twitter. And he is big enough to get death threats. Embittered by Argentina's loss to Germany - an outcome predicted by Paul - Argentine chef Nicolas Bedorrou wants to beat him to death

"In order to keep the meat tender and then put it in boiling water." Once a darling in Deutschland, most Germans now envision him fried in garlic butter after he predicted that the team would lose to Spain. Crowds are singing anti-octopus songs.

The internet too is overflowing with comments, especially now that Paul is to predict the final result - the first time he'll prophesy about a match not featuring Germany.

He should apply for express immigration to whichever country he picks as winner, says a Facebook entry.

Maharashtra FDA takes Complan to court over 'tall' claim

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed a chargesheet in the Mazgaon metropolitan magistrate's court against health drink Complan's advertising claim that it can add two inches to children's height.

The FDA's chargesheet names seven officials of Heinz India Pvt Ltd in its petition dated May 3, 2010, clearly stating the offence as "an exaggerated advertisement on television channels about food article Complan". The company denied any knowledge about the case.

In an email response, Heinz India officials said, "We are not aware of any such complaint having been filed. We stand by our claim and would defend the same with appropriate research study." But FDA joint commissioner (food) C B Pawar told TOI that a month-long investigation had preceded the filing of the case.

What adds an interesting dimension to the case is the medical movement behind it. The mother who worries about her son being teased "half-ticket" appears to have incensed pediatricians. In fact, the movement began over 30 years ago when paediatrician Dr R K Anand -- also known as India's own Dr Spock for his parenting tips -- took on the MNC's might for suggesting that branded milk products could transform your infant into a "bonnie, bonnie baby".

In the late 1970s, Anand along with like-minded doctors formed the Association for Consumers' Action on Safety & Health (ACASH) and moved the Indian government into formulating the Infant Milk Substitute Act to stop using pictures of babies on tins and packs that could lure mothers to buy the products.

Cut to 2009, when after being flooded with queries from too many mothers about Complan's claims to add two inches, Anand decided to act again. He got in touch with doctors from the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, one of whom fished out the research paper on which Complan has based its ad campaign. A detailed analysis -- on email -- between doctors from various cities followed, thus providing adequate meat for the FDA to act.

"We moved the FDA in November 2009 with our case, stating that there was a clear violation of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act," said Anand.

ACASH again got in touch with FDA -- through enquiries under the Right to Information -- to find out the action taken on their report. It is only on Wednesday -- months after filing an appeal to the original RTI application -- that they got a copy of the FDA chargesheet.

According to the chargesheet, a copy of which is with TOI, FDA has complained against Heinz India Pvt Ltd in the chief metropolitan court, Mazgaon, for violating the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 and Rules. Seven officials of the company have been named in the chargesheet.

The chargesheet further states that it issued the company a show-cause notice after it received a complaint from ACASH about the exaggerated claims. But the petition notes that "the explanation was not satisfactory and relevant". The complainant investigated the complaint by observing the same on a channel.

According to Dr Arun Bal of ACASH, "Our complaint against Complan is a continuation of our monitoring of the infant market. The government while passing the Infant Milk Food Act had asked ACASH to monitor violations and we feel this is a case in point."

What Complan says

In an email response from Heinz India, "Our claim that children who drink Complan growing taller than others who don't is based on an independent scientific study conducted by the Department of Food Science and Nutrition of a reputed university in Tamil Nadu. The study proves that children who drink Complan along with a regular diet grow significantly faster in height compared to those who had only regular diet which is not properly planned."

According to the company, the study was peer-reviewed and conducted on 900 Indian children in the 7-12 year age groups over a period of 12 months. "The participating children attending schools included an equal number of boys and girls who were matched for age, height, weight and socio-economic status at the beginning of the study, to allow comparison after the year-long Complan supplementation."

What paediatricians say

The three control groups in the study were as follows: one group were put on a full diet, the second got a full diet plus Complan prepared in water and the third got a full diet plus Complan prepared in milk. The ad shows that the third group grows the best.

Dr R K Anand, the 77-year-old paediatrician from Jaslok Hospital, points out to simple logic: "If a child is given extra nutrition along with normal diet, he or she is bound to grow better."

Dr H P S Sachdev, Delhi-based former president of IAP and former professor from Maulana Azad Medical College, has pointed out: "The Complan trial does not seem to have been registered with clinical trial registries and so it is difficult to determine any deviation from protocol. Standard indexed international journals currently do not accept for publication any trial not registered in a standard clinical trials registry."

Sachdev states: "What is the rationale for doing this trial in 7-12 year old children when the burden of malnutrition is the greatest in under-five children? Obviously, the results cannot be extrapolated for children of all ages."

'Wunderkind' illegals, heroes for Soviets, still retain aura

MOSCOW: In the lore of Soviet spycraft, few figures command as much respect as the "illegals", steel-jawed agents with the intelligence of a chess grandmaster and the fortitude of a cosmonaut.

Painstakingly trained in the KGB's Directorate S, the illegals spent years assuming a fake biography, known in Russian as a "legend", then awaited orders undercover for years or even decades. Unlike their "legal" counterparts, they worked without a diplomatic cover, which would offer them immunity from prosecution.
They were rewarded with the kind of adulation Americans reserve for movie stars.

This week's arrest of 11 people seems to offer a glimpse into a recent form of the program. But if prosecutors are correct, two things seem clear: First, that Russia's network of illegals has survived, and perhaps even grown, since the Soviet Union's collapse. And second, that the agents' assignment — collecting information about politics and getting to know policy makers — can now be achieved through more straightforward means.

"It strikes me as a very well-organized, very well-thought-out and very out-of date approach," said Olga Oliker, a policy analyst for the RAND Corporation. "I would lay money on bureaucratic inertia. It's something that might have made sense in a previous period."

Maj Gen Yuri Drozdov, who ran the illegals program for more than a decade while he was in the KGB, called his recruits "wunderkinds", people who often spoke three or four languages with native fluency.

Throughout the Soviet era, such agents were rewarded with adulation. Illegals like Rudolf Abel and Konon Molody became such national heroes that the External Intelligence Service, or SVR, still posts their biographies on its website.

Russian spies leave for Moscow after pleading guilty in US

NEW YORK: In the biggest spy swap since the Cold War, 10 Russian agents who infiltrated suburban America were deported Thursday in exchange for four people convicted of betraying Moscow to the West.

The spies left New York for Moscow hours after pleading guilty to conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom and being sentenced to time served and ordered out of the country, said a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

The spy swap carries significant consequences for efforts between Washington and Moscow to repair ties chilled by a deepening atmosphere of suspicion.

The US defendants were captured last week in homes across the Northeast. They were accused of embedding themselves in ordinary American life while leading double lives complete with false passports, secret code words, fake names, invisible ink and encrypted radio.

One spy worked for an accounting firm, another was a real-estate agent, another a columnist for a Spanish-language newspaper.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the ``extraordinary'' case took years of work, ``and the agreement we reached today provides a successful resolution for the United States and its interests.'' White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said on PBS' ``NewsHour'' that President Barack Obama was aware of the investigation, the decision to go forward with the arrests and the spy swap with Russia.

Whether the agents provided Russia with valuable secret information is questionable.

``None of the people involved from my understanding provided any information that couldn't be obtained on the Internet,'' defendant Anna Chapman's attorney, Robert Baum, told The Associated Press.

In Russia, the Kremlin said President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree pardoning four convicted foreign spies so that they can be exchanged for the 10 US defendants.

The Kremlin statement carried by the Russian news agencies says that Medvedev has pardoned Russian citizens Alexander Zaporozhsky, Gennady Vasilenko, Sergei Skripal and Igor Sutyagin.

Sutyagin, an arms analyst, was reportedly plucked from a Moscow prison and put on a plane to Vienna. Skripal is a former colonel in the Russian military intelligence, and Zaporozhsky is a former colonel in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the exchange being conducted by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service and the CIA was conducted in the context of ``overall improvement of the US-Russian ties and giving them new dynamics.''

An Obama administration official said the quick and pragmatic arrangement of the spy swap with Russia speaks to the progress that has been made in US-Russian relations.

The senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the deal, said that by shutting down the spy operation, the U.S. sent a warning to other governments that might be interested in undertaking similar spy operations.

The US Department of Justice said in a letter Thursday that some of the four prisoners are in poor health and had served lengthy prison terms. Three of the four were accused by Russia of contacting Western intelligence agencies while they were working for the Russian or Soviet government, the letter stated.

The 10 suburban spies pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country and were ordered deported. An 11th defendant has been a fugitive since fleeing authorities in Cyprus following his release on bail.

One defendant's attorney said a private plane had been expected to take the 10 to Russia. The attorney, John Rodriguez, said his client, Vicky Pelaez, had been given only 24 hours to say yes or no to the ``all or nothing'' deal for deportation.

The defendants — led into court in handcuffs, some in prison smocks and some wearing T-shirts and jeans, provided almost no information about what kind of spying they actually did for Russia. Asked to describe their crimes, each acknowledged having worked for Russia secretly, sometimes under an assumed identity, without registering as a foreign agent.

One, Andrey Bezrukov, smiled and waved to a supporter in the audience and had an animated conversation with another, Elena Vavilova. Vladimir and Lydia Guryev, who lived in the United States as a couple under the aliases Richard and Cynthia Murphy, sat side-by-side but didn't speak.

Pelaez's two sons were among the children of the accused spies in court. A lawyer for her husband said the children would have the option of going to Russia with their parents or staying in the US.

Chapman — whose sultry photos gleaned from social-networking sites made her a tabloid sensation — pulled back her mane of red hair as she glanced around the courtroom. A burly deputy US marshal hovered behind her.

All the defendants stood and raised their right hands in unison to be sworn in before answering a series of questions from the judge, beginning with a request to state their true identities. Their answers were short and scripted, their 10 guilty pleas given one by one in assembly-line precision.

Chapman looked baffled when the judge asked if her secret laptop exchanges with a Russian official ``were in furtherance of the conspiracy.'' She finally looked at her lawyer, shrugged and replied, ``Yes.'' Asked by the judge if she realized at the time that her actions were criminal, she said, ``Yes I did, your honor.''

Assistant US Attorney Michael Farbiarz said Russian officials had visited with the defendants numerous times in prison, and he sought assurances that none of the pleas resulted from inducements that might have been offered by Russian authorities.

Rodriguez, the attorney, said in court that the Russian government had promised Pelaez $2,000 a month for life, housing and documents to allow her children to visit Russia and have all their expenses paid. She decided to go home to her native Peru instead.

Peru's foreign minister, Jose Antonio Garcia, said that Pelaez had committed no crime in her homeland and would be ``received like any other Peruvian citizen.''

Vladimir Guryev acknowledged that from the mid-1990s to the present day, he lived in the US under an assumed name and took directions from the Russian Federation.

Asked whether he knew his actions were a crime, he said: ``I knew they were illegal, yes, your honor.'' Sutyagin, a Russian arms control analyst serving a 14-year sentence for spying for the U.S., was reportedly taken from a Moscow prison and flown to Vienna earlier Thursday.

Sutyagin had told his relatives he was going to be among spies in Russia who would be freed in exchange for 11 people charged in the United States with being Russian agents. They said he was going to be sent to Vienna, then London.

In Moscow, his lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya, said a journalist called Sutyagin's family to inform them that he was seen walking off a plane in Vienna on Thursday. However, she said she could not confirm that claim with Russian authorities.

In New York, US Attorney Preet Bharara said that the investigation was aimed at uncovering and deterring espionage and was ``not undertaken for the purpose of having a bargaining chip.''

He predicted the Russian government ``is unlikely to engage in this methodology in the future and that's a good thing. ... The case sends a message to every other agency that if you come to America and spy on Americans in America you will be exposed.''

Despite the benefits given to at least one of the Russian agents freed by the United States, they are unlikely to be greeted as heroes in Russia, as the Kremlin will likely try to quickly turn the page over the embarrassing incident and avoid further damage in relations with Washington.

Independent newspapers and liberal commentators in Russia have chafed at the obvious lack of results of the spy ring work and ridiculed the low level of their training.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Pete Yost, Calvin Woodward and Matt Lee in Washington; David B. Caruso in New York; Denise Lavoie in Boston; David Nowak, Misha Japaridze, Vladimir Isachenkov, Jim Heintz and Khristina Narizhnaya in Moscow; Matt Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia; Jim Fitzgerald in White Plains, New York; Carla Salazar in Lima, Peru, and David Stringer in London.

Holland beat Uruguay to reach World Cup final

CAPE TOWN: Playmaker Wesley Sneijder inspired Netherlands to a 3-2 victory over battling Uruguay on Tuesday that sent them back to the World Cup final after a 32-year wait where they will play in an all-European clash.
Sneijder, scorer of both goals in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Brazil, was on target in the 70th minute to put the Dutch 2-1 ahead before Arjen Robben got a third three minutes later.

Maximiliano Pereira grabbed a second goal for Uruguay in added time but despite a late spell of pressure from the South Americans it was too late to stop the Dutch marching on.

Netherlands progress to their third World Cup final with the win setting up a showdown with either Spain or Germany.

"First final since '74 and '78, that came up in my mind in the second half," said Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk. "It's so very special and as a small country we can be so proud."

"After the second and third we should have scored a fourth. That would have prevented that final phase. But this is a World Cup. It doesn't matter how you do it it's all about the result."

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez told a news conference: "I'm very proud of my players... our opponents were better when it came to scoring goals against us. We went very far, no one expected that, so that helps the sadness of the defeat."

Midfielder Egidio Arevalo added: "We had a good World Cup. A lot of years have passed since we've done so well."

Uruguay last reached the World Cup semifinal in 1970.

The first half at Green Point Stadium ended 1-1 after superb long-range strikes from left back Giovanni van Bronckhorst for Netherlands and forward Diego Forlan for the Uruguayans.

EARLY CHANCE

Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera handed the Dutch an early chance when he failed to hold Robben's cross and the ball fell to Dirk Kuyt but he fired over the bar.

Robben had a shot blocked by his own player before Van Bronckhorst put the Dutch ahead in the 18th minute with a powerful, rising shot which went in off the far post.

The goal sparked the Uruguayans -- missing striker Luis Suarez through suspension and captain Diego Lugano through injury -- into life and they began to attack with more purpose.

They levelled four minutes before halftime when Forlan collected a pass, cut inside his marker and scored with a long-range shot that caught goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg wrongfooted although he did get a touch.

The Dutch had more possession after the break but it was Uruguay who created the better openings.

Alvaro Pereira's chip was headed off the line by Van Bronckhorst and Forlan's curling free kick forced Stekelenburg to turn the ball away at the foot of his near post.

Robben then wasted a golden chance for the Dutch when he fired wide when a rebound landed on his weaker right foot.

But Sneijder put the Dutch back in front with a shot through a forest of legs for his fifth goal of the tournament to become joint top scorer with Spain's David Villa.

Three minutes later, Robben scored with a perfectly placed downward header after Kuyt's cross from the left and although Uruguay got a second goal through Pereira the Dutch triumphed.

European champions Spain play Germany in Durban in the other semifinal on Wednesday with the winners playing Netherlands in Sunday's World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

It will be Europe's 10th World Cup win in 19 finals but the first by a European side outside their own continent.

The Dutch lost both their previous finals in 1974 and 1978 to hosts West Germany and Argentina respectively.

Brazil and Argentina are the only teams to have won the trophy on a foreign continent with Brazil successful in Sweden in 1958, Mexico 1970, the United States in 1994 and Japan in 2002, while Argentina won in Mexico in 1986.

A European victory in Sunday's final at Soccer City, Johannesburg, means they will have 10 World Cup successes, one more than South America.

Punjab cops hound whistleblower, family

NEW DELHI: A whistleblower's life has turned into a nightmare. Not just him, his family and another young man who protested against his persecution are being hounded by the Punjab Police on the basis of a complaint filed by Jay Polychem -- a politically influential company against whom the whistleblower, Samdeep Mohan Varghese, complained citing instances of money laundering, circular trading in diamonds and other financial irregularities.

In November 2009, Varghese -- himself an employee of Jay Polychem -- reported the alleged illegal activities of the Delhi-based company to the authorities in India and Singapore. Ever since, he has moved to Singapore, fearing that he will face arrest, and worse, if he were to return.

His elderly mother, Mariamma Mathew, has also been in hiding in fear of the Punjab Police which arrived in Kochi to arrest her. And an ex-associate of Varghese -- an HIV patient, Rajesh (name changed) was picked up from Mumbai, taken to Rajpura in Punjab, and allegedly tortured.

The Punjab Police's hyper-activity is on account of a complaint filed by a director of the Delhi-based company in Rajpura accusing Varghese and others of registering a website, www.jaypolychem, and putting up defamatory information about the company. This was on November 30, 2009, nine days after the domain name was booked, and soon after Varghese complained to the authorities about the company.

On February 5, 2010, the Rajpura police filed an FIR against Varghese on the basis of Jay Polychem's complaint. Soon, it reached Kochi, forcing Varghese's mother to go to the court seeking anticipatory bail. On June 11, the Kerala High Court granted her plea while dismissing the FIR as containing "only general and vague allegations."

This, however, has not dampened Punjab Police's enthusiasm. Nor has the fact that Jay Polychem itself is being investigated by central agencies, including the I-T department, DRI and Enforcement Directorate, for financial frauds such as money laundering. The agencies have been asked by the Delhi High Court to report back on the probe.

The Rajpura police also reached Mumbai to track down Varghese's associate, Rajesh. Early on February 14, a posse of policemen picked him up and took him to Rajpura. Rajesh told TOI: "They beat me with belts and tortured me. They wanted me to admit to things that I didn't understand. They kept asking me about Samdeep (Varghese)." According to Rajesh, during the torture sessions Sandeep Madhok, one of the promoters of Jay Polychem, was also present.

Varghese spoke to TOI from Singapore to narrate a story of the gray world of diamonds, circular trading and money laundering -- how the company was moving diamonds around, fictitiously showing value addition at each stage, to pump in crores of rupees of dodgy money into the banking system.

Varghese also claimed that Jay Polychem was close to a top Punjab political family. This is why the Punjab Police has become so active, he said. "All this torture and harassment of innocent people is only to get their hands on me and take me to Punjab," he said.

On June 17, TOI met Jay Polychem promoter Sandeep Madhok at his well-appointed office in Delhi's Defence Colony. Madhok rejected all the charges, accusing those named in the FIR of conspiring to destroy his company. When asked for the specifics of the conspiracy, he didn't give any. He promised to send a written statement which he hasn't till date, despite repeated reminders.

Asked why the complaint against Varghese was lodged in Rajpura and not in Delhi, where the company is based, Madhok said the offending website was noticed by one of the directors of the company while on a business trip to Rajpura. That is why the case was registered in Rajpura, he said.

Madhok also denied that officers of Punjab Police have been traveling around the country on his company's expense. When TOI drew his attention to documents that show the travel agency used by Jay Polychem, the Green Park-based Nickair Inc, had arranged the stay of Punjab Police DSP Manmohan Sharma at Gateway Hotel in Kochi and his travel there, Madhok simply waved off the suggestion.

Parallel to Varghese's story is that of another young man, Amardeep Singh, who too worked for Jay Polychem. In November 2009, he was asked to sign some papers, which he did without proper verification. These papers were made into a civil suit against Varghese and then an FIR against him. "Once I learnt of the false complaints filed against Samdeep in my name, I decided to resign from the company and started looking for a job," says Amardeep.

In January, Sandeep Madhok and his brother Satinder summoned Amardeep to their office in Defence Colony. "They beat me up with leather belts. They kept abusing me for telling Samdeep about the (company's) complaint against him and for being in touch with him," Singh said. "They took away my iPhone and another mobile handset."

Market recovers 228 points on firming global trend

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recovered by over 228 points in early trade today on revival of buying by funds at existing lower levels amid firming global trends.

The 30-share index, which had lost 143.45 points in previous trade, rose by 228.62 points to 17,699.65 points in the first five minutes of trading.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty rose by 68.40 points to 5,309.50 points at the same time.

Marketmen said trading sentiment turned bullish on firming trend in the Asian region guided by higher closing in the US market on Wednesday night. The Japanese Nikkei rose by 2.67%.

They said major support to the market came in from metal, IT and realty stocks.

India to grow at 9.50% in 2010: IMF

India's growth will accelerate to about 9.50 per cent in 2010 as robust corporate profits and favourable financing conditions fuel investment, and then settle to 8.50 per cent in 2011, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. Large domestic demand bases in India, China, and Indonesia, which contribute substantially to Asia's growth, could also provide the region a cushion in the event of external demand shocks, the IMF said on Thursday.

As Asia's strong recovery from the global financial crisis continues, despite renewed tension in global financial markets, world growth is projected at about 4.50 per cent in 2010 and 4.25 per cent in 2011, according to the July update of IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO).

Relative to the April 2010 WEO, this represents an upward revision of about 0.50 percentage point in 2010, reflecting stronger activity during the first half of the year, the IMF said, keeping its forecast for 2011 unchanged.

At the same time, downside risks have risen sharply amid renewed financial turbulence, it said, suggesting that policy efforts in advanced economies should focus on credible fiscal consolidation, notably measures that enhance medium-run growth prospects such as reforms to entitlement and tax systems.

Noting that economic activity in Asia has been sustained by continued buoyancy in exports and strong private domestic demand, the IMF has revised gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for the region upward for 2010, from about 7 per cent in the April WEO to about 7.50 per cent.

For 2011, when the inventory cycle will have run its full course and the stimulus is withdrawn in several countries, Asia's GDP growth is expected to settle to a more moderate but also more sustainable rate of about 6.75 per cent.

In China, given the strong rebound in exports and resilient domestic demand so far this year, the economy is now forecast to grow by 10.50 per cent in 2010, before slowing to about 9.50 per cent in 2011, when further measures are taken to slow credit growth and maintain financial stability, the IMF said.

Both Newly Industrialised Asian Economies and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies are expected to grow by about 6.50 per cent in 2010 as a result of surging exports and private domestic demand, before moderating to 4.75 per cent and 5.50 per cent, respectively, in 2011, it said.

In a separate Global Financial Stability Report Update, the Fund noted that despite generally improved economic conditions and a long period of healing after the failure of Lehman Brothers, progress toward global financial stability has recently experienced a setback.

Sovereign risks in parts of the euro area have materialised and spread to the financial sector there, threatening to spill over to other regions and re-establish an adverse feedback loop with the economy, it said.

Further decisive follow-up is needed to the significant national and supranational policy responses that have been taken in order to strengthen confidence in the financial system and ensure continuation of the economic recovery, the IMF said.

Cisco to hire 3,000 for B'lore centre

MUMBAI: With a view to enhance its information communication technology services in India, networking giant Cisco Systems plans to hire 3,000 professionals over the next two years, a top company official said.

"We are quite happy about our Indian operations. As Bangalore is the second head office for Cisco after California, we want to increase our headcount here. We plan to hire 3,000 more in the next two years," Cisco's Chief Globalisation Officer and Executive Vice-President, Wim Elfrink said.

Cisco's current headcount in India is 7,000. The $40-billion company is developing an about 1-million sq ft campus in Bangalore, the firm's second head office.
The campus is likely to house 8-10 start-up companies. The California-based ICT service provider has also tied-up with Lavasa Corporation, the real estate arm of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) to provide e-governance and city management solutions besides providing e-connectivity in Lavasa.

On the venture involving Lavasa, India's first hill city near Pune that uses smart broadband based technologies for its water and fuel management, he said urbanisation allows tremendous opportunities for business as well as a better life for people.

"About 70 per cent of the global population will migrate to urban cities in the next 40-years. If smart cities are built using smart technologies sitting on top of a broadband network, then it would result in huge savings, a cleaner, greener earth and a better life for city dwellers," he said.

Former US congressman pleads guilty to terrorist conspiracy

WASHINGTON: A former US Congressman has pleaded guilty in connection with a terrorist financing conspiracy that sent money to al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Mark Deli Siljander, who represented Michigan in the House of Representatives from 1981-87 and was a delegate to the UN under President Ronald Reagan, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent for an Islamic charity with ties to international terrorism, according to Beth Phillips, US Attorney for the western district of Missouri.

Siljander was the last of five co-defendants in the case that involved the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) of Columbia, Missouri. IARA was shut down by the US government in 2004 for connections to terrorism.

The Justice Department had charged that IARA, whose headquarters were in Sudan, also funnelled money to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the militant Afghan leader and former prime minister of Afghanistan who leads the country's second-largest insurgent group.

Siljander, 59, was hired by the IARA to lobby for the group's removal from a Senate list of charities suspected of having terrorist ties, justice officials said. He also failed to register as a foreign agent.

He told investigators he had received tens of thousands of dollars from IARA to write a book about bridging the gap between Islam and Christianity.

"Siljander repeatedly lied to FBI agents and prosecutors investigating serious crimes related to national security," Phillips said.

Siljander was the last of the five collaborators to plead guilty. He faces 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

The other defendants were Abdel Azim El-Siddig, a former IARA fundraiser; Mubarak Hamed, 53, a Sudan native and US citizen who raised $1-3 million a year for IARA and illegally transferred some funds to Iraq; Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 56, a Libyan native and US citizen; and Ahmad Mustafa, 57, an Iraqi citizen and legal permanent US resident alien.

Al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan directed 2009 New York subway plot

WASHINGTON: Veteran al-Qaida terrorist leaders in Pakistan directed and managed a foiled 2009 plot to attack New York's subway system and also planned to strike the United Kingdom, US prosecutors have alleged.

The revelations came as prosecutors on Wednesday unsealed a terrorism indictment charging Adnan El Shukrijumah, al-Qaida's leader of external operations, who has been the subject of a worldwide manhunt for seven years, with helping to recruit Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi for the foiled attack.

Zazi's attempt to assemble and detonate improvised explosive devices was derailed by federal investigators on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Zazi pleaded guilty in February to his role in the plot.

Attorney General Eric Holder has called the thwarted New York plot one of the most dangerous since 9/11.

The investigation involving authorities in the US and Britain also revealed that El Shukrijumah's associates were communicating with a British citizen, Abid Naseer, about a 2009 plot foiled in Manchester, England. Naseer was arrested on Wednesday by British authorities.

Between September and December 2008, prosecutors allege that El Shukrijumah and others recruited Zazi, a former Denver airport shuttle driver, and two other co-conspirators to conduct suicide bombings in New York using devices made from ordinary household supplies, such as hydrogen peroxide, acetone, flour and oil.

El Shukrijumah, a 34-year-old native of Saudi Arabia who once lived in South Florida, is known within al-Qaida circles as "Ja'far the Pilot" because of his skills as a pilot.

His rank in al-Qaida was first outlined to federal investigators by al-Qaida operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed following his capture. Mohammed, a Pakistani in US custody, is awaiting trial as the mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks.

El Shukrijumah is charged specifically with providing and conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaida, conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, assisting the receipt of military training, committing and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and using firearms in relation to the same offences.

He remains a fugitive and is the subject of a $5 million reward.

"These charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat we face," Assistant Attorney General David Kris said.

Turner masterpiece sells for 29.7m ponds

LONDON: J M W Turner's great masterpiece Modern Rome-Camp Vaccino has been sold for 29.7 million pounds at the leading London auctioneer Sotheby's, a new auction record for the British master.

It was sold last night to Hazlett, Gooden & Fox on behalf of The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

The painting, offered for sale by a descendant of the 5th Earl of Rosebery who bought it in 1878 while on honeymoon with his wife Hannah Rothschild, was the top-selling lot at Sotheby's summer Evening Sale of Old Master & British Paintings.

There were six bidders for the painting, driving the price well above the pre-sale expectations and breaking the previous Turner record of 20.5 million pounds for his view of Venice, Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio, which went under the hammer in April 2006.

Further top-selling works included Jan Lievens' study of the head and shoulders of an old bearded man wearing a cap, from circa 1629, which brought 2.5 million pounds, three rare works by members of the great Brueghel dynasty; and a beautifully preserved panel depictring the Virgin and Child by Bernard van Orley.

Reliance Power achieves financial closure of Krishnapatnam UMPP

NEW DELHI: Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Power on Thursday said it has tied up finances for its Rs 17,500 crore ultra mega power project at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The 4,000 MW coal-fired project is being financed in 75:25 debt-equity ratio, R-Power said in a press statement here.

"R-Power announces the financial closure of its 4,000 MW Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project being developed by Coastal Andhra Pradesh Ltd, its wholly owned subsidiary," it said.

The company has executed financing agreements for the imported coal fired project, the largest in South India.

The project "will supply power at a competitive levelised tariff of Rs 2.33 per kilo-Watt-hour (or unit) to the four states - Andhra Pradesh (1,600 MegaWatt), Maharasthra (800 MW), Tamil Nadu (800 MW) and Karnataka (800 MW)."

IDBI Bank was the lead arranger of the Rs 13,125 crore debt with Power Finance Corp acting as joint lead arranger.

"A consortium of over 15 banks and financial institutions are participating in the financing arrangements," the statement said.

The consortium includes Rural Electrification Corp, LIC, Uco Bank, Union Bank, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, Vijaya Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Yes Bank and Indian Bank.

"With the financial closure for the Krishnapatnam UMPP, we have completed the financing arrangements for two UMPPs awarded to us by the Government and have secured funding for a capacity of 10,000 MW," R-Power CEO J P Chalasani said.

Govt clears 3-year drilling moratorium for oil explorers

NEW DELHI: Faced with global shortage of offshore drilling rigs, the government on Thursday decided to give a 3-year drilling holiday or moratorium to firms such as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved a drilling moratorium from January 1, 2008, on 30 exploration blocks -- 16 of ONGC, 13 of Reliance Industries (RIL) and one of Italy's Eni, official sources said.

Companies such as ONGC and RIL have not been able to meet their work commitments for the blocks they had won under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) rounds because of a crunch in availability of deep-sea drilling rigs.

Sources said the CCEA approved a drilling holiday from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2010, for 30 blocks awarded in the fifth round of NELP.

Globally, oil and gas explorers are faced with huge shortage of drilling rigs as countries stepped up oil and gas hunt in the wake of the surge in crude oil prices in 2008. Day-hire charges for a deep-sea drill rig had shot up 250% between 2007 and 2008.

But for the drilling holiday, the companies faced huge penalties for not fulfilling their work commitments that included drilling of a certain number of wells.

The petroleum ministry had first moved the Cabinet for the three-year drilling holiday or moratorium in 2008-end but the proposal was withdrawn after the finance ministry wanted a system of incentives and disincentives introduced to reward and punish companies based on performance during the period.

A grade system of incentives and disincentives will differentiate between companies which have completed the drilling work programme in deepwater acreages, which are being considered for a rig moratorium within the proposed three-year exploration holiday period or earlier and those which fail to complete the work, sources said.

Common social networking blunders

Save yourself the agony of social networking website blunders, from keeping creeps away from your friend list to not uploading those embarrassing party pictures. We list this and more...

Social networking sites are here to stay. They are among the most popular destinations on the web. And even though they can be extremely annoying at times, there is one inescapable fact: there is a 100 million-strong army of people who use the most popular of these sites. However, sitting in your room in front of your laptop, being connected to so many people, it’s easy to forget that whatever you say is out there, and will stay out there to be read by people, for a long time. Think about it. When did you last see someone posting an embarrassing picture, or someone else saying something irritating in their status update? It could be you, the next time. Don’t become that person...

Add old friends and then forget about them
This is the biggest social networking crime of them all. How many times has it happened? You haven’t seen someone for 20 years; you vaguely recognise their name but not their face. They add you as a friend and then after you accept them, you never hear from them again. If this was how you were going to treat them, why bother in the first place?

Adding people you don’t even know
If you’re a woman, and just maybe you have the kind of looks and bikini bod that could cut it on Miami’s South Beach, you’re probably used to the term ‘creep’... And meeting them online. Okay, maybe not everyone has a figure like that. Adding strangers is like that annoying chap at a party who slaps everyone on the back as if they were old pals, when in actual fact he has no friends, largely because of this habit.

Update your status when you’re supposedly ill and on sick leave
How many times have we seen it? Someone calls in sick in the morning and then updates their status minute-by-minute, documenting a day of ice cream, pizza and video games. Get dressed and get to work you lazy hoodwink, or else you’ll probably be fired. And it’ll be your own fault for adding your boss to be your friend.

Write on a wall instead of communicating privately
The driving force behind the success of the most successful social networking site out there is... vanity. People love the idea that others are watching what they’re doing. Tell me this: for what reason would you invite someone to a private party by writing on their wall, other than to show off to all the people on their friends list who you don’t want to come? It just makes you look like an ass, so don’t do it.

Moan in your status update
The most annoying thing that people do on these sites is to spray their walls with vanity-filled drivel, by posting self-indulgent awfulness in their status updates. ‘Rachita is sorry how it ended but it had to be done. I will miss you, and I hope you can apologise ne day’. If you’ve got something to say to someone, say it. Don’t post it on your wall because no one else is interested, and people just think you’re an idiot.

Irritating status updates
No, ‘Shannon is’ is not an acceptable status update, nor is it original or in any way clever. ‘Shannon just is...’ is equally as inexcusable. And ‘Shannon is Shannon is Shannon’ is downright daft. Oh, and song lyrics are also a no-no. ‘Whole lotta love, need a whole lotta love’ will give people one of two ideas. First that it’s a ‘drunkate’ (a portmanteau of ‘drunk’ and ‘update’) and then they will laugh at you, not with you. And secondly, for people who don’t know you’re quoting a Led Zeppelin song steeped in awesomeness, they’ll just think you’re desperate or need a cold shower. And speaking of ‘drunktates’...

Drunken status updates, comments, pictures or uploads
Have a little common sense. If you go out for a big one on a Friday night, keep yourself far away from that multimedia, social networking website-ready, super-duper phone because you’re just a few clicks away from embarassment the next morning. Think about it. When was the last time you felt it was completely okay to type ‘fush yo mang’ in a photo comment of other relatively sane comments and then wake up the next morning and survey the carnage?

Joining ridiculous chain-mail groups
Why do people insist on joining groups such as ‘You cannot fathom the immensity of the f**k I do not give’? Come on people, how stupid are you? There’s one group on a social networking website devoted to nullifying the vegetarian moral crusade, and it’s called: ‘For every animal you don’t eat, I’m going to eat three’. That’s a good group name. ‘I think Justin Bieber is the best singer ever’ is not.

Lazy grammar and spelling ‘mistrakes’
Sometimes, reading a bunch of status messages is like perusing a six-year olds’ English Language exercise book. Come on, people: ‘Your’ is ‘your’. ‘You are’ is ‘you’re’. It really isn’t hard to get that little one right. And understanding the difference between there, their and they’re surely isn’t too much of a challenge?

Upload photos and deleting originals
Uploading photos can be a very handy way of sharing your holiday snaps. But for the love of God, don’t lose your originals. Social networking websites are terrible at compressing and resizing images — it turns your 14MB panoramas into 14KB monstrosities. These are not suitable repositories to store your precious photos!

Inviting friends to be a Zombie Pirate Snot Monster or to help you out in Farmville
Please don’t do that ever, ever again. While you’re out living it up with your buddies,tweeing and updating every lame observation while a few drinks down, it’s quite possible that somewhere else, a few people might be having a good laugh.

Asin has been suffering from a bout of hiccups as far as her recent stint in Bollywood goes.

Her career not scaled the heights it should have post Ghajini, and she hasn’t been able to find the right connections as far as Hindi cinema goes.

Recently Asin came in for more than her share of negative publicity. And the actress was truly rattled when news leaked that she had been dropped from a couple of projects that had her starring opposite John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor.

Seeing how distraught she was, her father Joseph Thottumkal reportedly felt his daughter needed expert guidance. He is said to have entrusted her to the care of Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor and his wife Sridevi, who are not only well established in the Hindi film industry but also Asin’s neighbours.

“Someone advised the Thottumkals that things would move more smoothly for the actress if she had a Godfather,” says a source. Asin, who has been shooting with Salman Khan in Colombo for the last fortnight, has been in touch with Boney and Sridevi on a daily basis.

Asin’s endorsements are still being looked after by Culture Company; but it is said that even here, the actress has reportedly been asking for a second opinion from her newly appointed God-parents.

It has been reported earlier that Asin is very close to Sri’s daughters Jahnvi and Khushi. Asked if he and Sridevi had adopted Asin, Boney made light of the situation by saying, “Ha, ha, at this point I need to help myself.”

However, Asin said, “I have grown very close to Sridevi. While I don’t think of her as my Godmother, I’m very dependent on her. She is my emotional anchor.”