India to seek inspiration from 2007 final

NEW DELHI
: Inspirational skipper Bhaichung Bhutia once again holds the key as India aim for a 2007 encore against Syria to clinch their second
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successive Nehru Cup title in the final of the five-nation football tournament on Monday.

Two years ago at the Ambedkar Stadium, the home team had beaten the Syrians in front of a 20,000-strong crowd to win their maiden Nehru Cup title after losing to the same opponents in their round-robin fixture.

Bob Houghton's boys will have to take refuge in the history books once again after losing their last round-robin league match to the Syrians, 61 places above India in FIFA rankings at 95th, on Saturday.

India did not start with five first XI players, including Bhutia, on Saturday and Houghton was satisfied with the performance of his boys but the fact is that Syria had been the better side in the tournament having won all their four matches while the hosts had also lost to Lebanon.

Houghton though is not losing hope and rightly too as the home team will be bolstered by the return of two of the best players in the tournament, Bhaichung Bhutia and Steven Dias, in the starting line-up on Monday.

Bhutia has been outstanding as he has led from the front in the two matches India won by opening scoring and spearheading the attack admirably well along with Sunil Chhetri.

Bhutia's presence in the Indian ranks will also infuse confidence in his team-mates.

The 'Sikkimese Sniper', in the running for the player of the tournament award having become man of the match twice, may come up with something special in the tournament during which he became the first Indian to have played 100 international matches.

Another star performer, Steven Dias, will also be looking to repeat his performance against Sri Lanka and with the return of right back Surkumar Singh, Bhutia and Chhetri are expected to be fed by those deadly curling crosses from the right flank.

It will be an interesting duel between the Indian frontmen and Syrian backline, which has not conceded a single goal so far.

Bhutia and Co. will have to do something extra to break through the Syrian citadel manned by two of the best defenders of the tournament, Ali Dyab and Belal Abdul Daim.

In contrast, India's Achilles heal has been the back four who have conceded some soft goals in the league stage. They have to work extra hard against Syrian star striker Mohammad Al Zino and midfielder Feras Ismail.

Houghton, seeking his third title in his just-over three year tenure as India coach, exuded confidence that his boys can beat the Syrians on Monday.

"Syria are a strong side. We have to lift our game on Monday to beat them. The good crowd and the good environment and I think we can beat them in the final," Houghton said.

Syrian coach Fajer Ebrahim is satisfied with the performance of his boys and was thinking of making amends for their 2007 final loss under his charge.

"We will play even better in the final as we will have the full squad," he said.

"This Indian team is not as good as the last time (in 2007). They are less active, not running much and lack fighting spirit," he added.

Ebrahim also knows the threat that may come from Bhutia, saying, "Our defenders will be much more intense as India will play Bhutia."

For the Delhi crowd though it will be the match they are waiting for, a game between full strength Indian and Syrian sides.

Enthusiasm of the fans has been even more than 2007. Two years back, fans turned up only from midway the tournament.

But this time, starting from the opening match between India and Lebanon, the fans have turned up to near capacity at in all the four matches involving the home team.

They are expected to fill the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium to the brim tomorrow as they had done on August 29, 2007, and a late monsoon rain could be the only dampener in what promises to be a high-intensity game.

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Jwala, Diju create history, win GP Gold title in Taipei

NEW DELHI: Shuttlers Jwala Gutta and V Diju on Sunday created history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold in
Jwala, Diju
Chinese Taipei.

The world number seven Indian pair prevailed 24-22 21-18 over the Indonesian duo of Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa to achieve the historic feat in Taipei city.

In the first game, the Indian pair opened up a 15-9 but the Indonesian combo staged a comeback to reduce the gap to 15-14. But Jwala and Diju quickly got their act together and prevailed in long rallies to go one up.

The Indonesians started off well in the second game and were leading at 13-9 but this time it was turn Indians' turn to claw back at make it 15-15.

Jwala and Diju then grabbed the lead and sealed the issue in their favour.

"It is a great feeling. I am extremely happy but to be honest, I still can't believe that we have won. The feeling is yet to sink in. Our team has already left and we are all alone here," Jwala told PTI after the match.

"May be after we go back home, we will realise that we have won," added Jwala, who is turning 26 on September 7.

"It wasn't an easy match. It was a quality match and there were long rallies and we didn't give away any silly point. we had to work hard for it."

Jwala-Diju had become the first India mixed doubles pair to reach the quarterfinal of the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad early this month.

They had also won the Bitburger Open and Bulgarian Open last year.

Badminton Association of India (BAI) President VK Verma said, "This is a very good news for India. This is the first time that any doubles pair of India have won a grand prix gold event."

"They have been doing well and now with this win they have catapulted themselves to be one of the Commonwealth Games medal hopes for the country," he added.

Verma said keeping next year's Commonwealth Games in view, a number of super series tournament
has been lined up for the mixed doubles pair.

"They are shaping up well and yesterday we finalised a training programme for them and they would be sent for a number of super series tournaments for exposure," he said.

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India's stealth fighter to take-off soon

In less than four months from now, India's first stealth fighter will fly for the first time. It's called the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft or FGFA and is being developed in Russia by Sukhoi, the same firm that worked with India to develop the mainstay of the Indian Air Force, the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter.

A drawing shows what India's first stealth fighter looks like. It may be an artist's impression, but sources at Sukhoi, which is building the FGFA or Fifth Generation Fighter say the images resemble the real thing quite closely.

The FGFA is designed to have a top speed of approximately Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound. It has the ability to super cruise or in other words operate at speeds beyond the speed of sound without engaging systems called afterburners, which consume huge amounts of fuel. And comes equipped an electronically scanned array radar whose beams are electronically steered to detect targets with maximum accuracy.

India, which has partnered Russia in the development of jet, the Sukhoi 30 MKI, is a key player in the FGFA project and is expected to pay a sizeable chunk of the $3 billion needed to fund development of the fighter.

"The prototype will take off this year. India is an important player," said Alexey Federov, president, United Aircraft Corporation.

Several of the technologies being developed for the stealth fighter have evolved from those used in the Sukhoi 30 MKI.

Considered the most maneuverable fighter in the world, the Sukhoi 30 MKI uses thrust vectored engines which deflect the exhaust from its engines to extreme angles, which enable the jet to pull off violent maneuvers like a flat spin, where the jet literally spins around on its axis.

As new technologies are developed for the stealth fighter, they will also find their way into the Sukhoi 30.

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No agreement between Israel, US on settlement: Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today said his government has not entered into any agreement with the US over
freezing construction activities in the West Bank.

"No decision has been made and we have not reached an agreement with the United States," Netanyahu told Israel Radio today.

"There are a lot of rumours and a lot of newspaper articles, none of which are my responsibility. We haven't agreed to anything yet, we are still working towards advancing peace talks while safeguarding settlers' rights, who are equal citizens," the leader of the right-wing Likud part said.

The Israeli premier also vowed not to compromise on the Jewish state's security under any peace deal with the Palestinians.

"Any decision is bound to disappoint someone, each side saying you should have done things differently, but I will conduct myself in the way I believe will promote Israel and peace," he stressed.

The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has more than doubled since the mid-1990s, reaching around 300,000, leading to expanded construction activities. The Palestinian Authority has dubbed the settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as the biggest hurdle in the path of the peace process.

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Myanmar rebels surrender in China

BEIJING: Some of the 30,000 odd refugees who fled into China have begun to return to their homes across the border after clashes subsided in
Myanmar on Sunday, Chinese official sources said.

Some of the armed Myanmar rebels, who had sneaked into China, have surrendered to Chinese authorities. The local government did not clarify whether they will be handed over to the military authorities in Myanmar, whom they had been fighting.

The surrender might cause problems for Chinese government, which may be under pressures from Myanmar to hand over the rebels. China is one of Myanmar’s closest allay and had protected it from international sanctions by using its veto power in the United Nations Security Council.

China rushed senior officials to examine the sensitive situation in the border region and talk to the surrendered rebels, many of whom are ethnic Chinese. It may be politically difficult for Chinese authorities to hand over the rebels to the Myanmar military.

"There was no way we would win," former rebel Ri Chenchuan told the Chinese media as he exchanged battle gear for ordinary clothes. The rebels, who formed part of the local police in the border region of Kokang, were clearly outmanned by the Myanmar army.
Campaign for Burma, a Washington based non-government organization, said about 700 Myanmar rebels fled fled from thousands of military troops into China. But tensions remained high in Konkang.

"The majority of the Kokang troops have surrendered to China," said Aung Din, the campaign's executive director. But is not clear if Peng Jiashen, who was recently interviewed by the Chinese media, has also surrendered on the Chinese side.

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Pak modified Harpoon to direct against India: US

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has illegally modified US supplied missiles for potential use against India, Washington has just discovered, in a belated
realization that uncontrolled supply of weapons to the dangerously unstable country poses a security threat to the region, including eventually to western forces in Afghanistan.

Judging by a suspicious missile test on April 23 this year, Pakistan has modified the US supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile to strike at land targets, according to American officials, who say the changes are a violation of the US Arms Control Export Act. The test was kept secret not publicly announced by Pakistan.

The US charge, which has set off a new outbreak of tensions between Washington and Islamabad, was made in an unpublicized diplomatic protest in late June to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials, the New York Times reported on its website on Saturday. The United States has also accused Pakistan of modifying American-made P-3C aircraft for land-attack missions, another violation of United States law, it said.

Expectedly, Islamabad has denied it fiddled with the Harpoon, and claimed it developed the missile itself. But Pakistan, it is famously said, does not even have the capability to make a tow-truck, let alone a missile. Its inventory is largely made of knock-offs of Chinese and North Korean missiles, and it now appears to have pilfered an American design to no great surprise.

What is surprising though is the timing of the leak in the US media, which appears aimed at questioning, if not torpedoing, efforts by sections of the Congress and the Obama administration to urgently supply even more economic and military aid to Pakistan, ostensibly to help in its war against extremists.

Critics of the five-year, $ 7.5 billion US aid package to Pakistan, which Congress is scheduled to take up next month, say Washington is bankrolling a basket case that has been selective and dishonest in its fight against extremist elements that it nurtured in the first place. Even US government reports have suggested Pakistan is using American arms to bulk up for a confrontation with India, even as many extremists remain state guests.

There is a strong demand in Washington for certifiable benchmarks before Congress signs off on the package, including scaling down its confrontationist posture against India, which the Pakistan military, long used to uninhibited expenditure, is resisting.
In the latest case, the Harpoon was originally sold to Pakistan as a defensive anti-ship missile, but it has been converted into weapon to strike targets on land. The NYT quoted American officials as saying that while the weapon in the latest dispute is a conventional one, the "subtext of the argument is growing concern about the speed with which Pakistan is developing new generations of both conventional and nuclear weapons."

In fact, the country's nuclear arsenal is said to be expanding faster than any other nation's, and it is making heavy investments in both nuclear and conventional weapons that experts say have no utility in the battle against insurgents. In other words, the build-up is still directed against India. "There's a concerted effort to get these guys (Pakistanis) to slow down," an unnamed senior administration official told the paper. "Their energies are misdirected."

However, at least one expert has contested the reading of the US officials on the Harpoon issue, saying Pakistan could not have modified the older-generation missiles (which were supplied during the Reagan era), which did not have the range for a land-attack. Pakistan, the expert said, already has more modern land-attack missiles that it developed itself or acquired from China. In an effort to clear the air, Islamabad is said to have taken the unusual step of inviting US officials to examine its Harpoon inventory.

The remarkable aspect of the whole episode is Pakistan's willingness to spend billions of dollars on weapons when the international consensus is that it faces no threat from India, particularly at a time it is reduced to begging for foreign aid to rescue the country from collapse. Even its long-standing allies China and Saudi Arabia have mostly turned their backs on Pakistan, leaving Washington and London to save it.

But the US and the so-called Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) appear to be holding Islamabad to a higher standard this time, insisting on knowing where and how it is going to spend aid money, before loosening the purse-strings. The NYT story appears to be part of the plan to seek greater accountability.

Pakistani officials returned empty-handed from a recent FoDP meeting in Turkey
, bitterly complaining about countries not meeting the $ 5.7 billion commitment they had made to Islamabad at a previous meeting in Japan. Another FoDP meeting is scheduled to be held in New York on September 23, by which time even the US Congress is expected to demand that Pakistan redirect its energies on meeting the internal threat from extremism, rather than prepare to confront India.

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MJ killed himself by mistake with drug overdose: Doc

LONDON: Michael Jackson accidentally took his own life by administering an overdose of anaesthetic on himself, his personal physician will
reportedly claim.

Dr Conrad Murray and his legal team will allegedly defend themselves claiming the King of Pop topped up his own drip with powerful sedative Propofol.

Murray, who is at the centre of a manslaughter probe, previously confessed hooking up the insomniac star to a drip with the drug to help him sleep, reports the News of the World.

The medic alleged he administered just 25 milligrams of Propofol into the bloodstreamof the singer.

He will purportedly claim that Jackson later re-set the machine to increase the dosage that sent him into a cardiac arrest.

Medical experts have, however, cast a shadow of doubt over Murray's claims, saying 25mgs of Propofol would not have been enough to put Jackson to sleep for sometime.

Dr Kathleen London, a US family practice physician, said: "Murray says he only gave 25mgs of Propofol. I don't believe that. In order to induce sleep, 40mgs is needed."

The Los Angeles Country Coroner recently ruled Jackson's death as homicide caused by acute intoxication from Propofol and other conditions.

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Indian-origin beauty is Miss Bollywood UK

LONDON: A British beauty of Indian origin will be whisked off for a Bollywood role after being crowned the first ever Miss Bollywood UK at a gala
event in Birmingham.

Reena Patel, from London, beat off 14 rivals - whittled down from a long list of 900 - at the star-studded event Saturday night to win the title which comes with the offer of a Bollywood role and a year's modelling contract.

The runner up was Simran Chadha from Manchester and the third place was taken by Stacey Fox of Essex in an ethnically diverse contest held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.

The judges included Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, said Miss Bollywood UK CEO Zia Choudhury, a Leicester-based model and actor.

Patel, 23, now waits to be flown off to India to live the life of a Bollywood celebrity and will be automatically entered into the finals of Miss Universe Great Britain which will give her an opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Universe.

"The appeal in Bollywood is the song and dance, the glamour, the people - it is after all the largest film industry in the world," Choudhury said.

"Suddenly we've got this cross-over between Hollywood and Bollywood which adds to the authenticity of the Indian film industry. It's an exciting time to be part of Bollywood."

The contest was open to women from all ethnicities as organisers wanted it to be as diverse as possible.

Patel follows the success of Liza Lazarus, a Welsh beauty who scooped the Miss Universe UK title last year, and then found herself starring with Salman Khan in the period drama "Veer".

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16 killed in Swat police centre blast

ISLAMABAD: At least 16 police recruits were killed and several people injured in a suicide attack on the Police Training Centre in Pakistan’s
troubled Swat region on Sunday, officials said.

The blast took place when the recruits of a community police force were undergoing training in Mingora.

Soon after the attack, authorities imposed curfew in Swat. Troops were patrolling the town and people shut their businesses in fear of more bombings, the officials said. It was the first major attack in Mingora since the Pakistan army claimed to have cleared the valley of Taliban last month.

The attack came just two days after Hakimullah Mehsud’s appointment as the new Pakistan Taliban chief was announced. Hakimullah had vowed to take revenge for the death of his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud.

Condemning the attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered a probe into the incident and said the government was determined to carry on the fight against militancy. ‘‘We will not allow the enemies of the country to succeed in their evil designs,’’ he said.

Even on Saturday, the army said it had destroyed a major training camp for suicide bombers in the area.
The government in April had launched military offensive against Maulana Fazlullah-led Taliban in Swat, Dir and Buner areas of Malakand.

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Airspace violations by Chinese choppers

LEH: Two Chinese helicopters have reportedly violated the Indian airspace in recent months in Leh area of north Jammu and Kashmir during which
they air-dropped some canned food in barren land at Chumar, northeast of this Himalayan town, along the border.

The MI series helicopters were reported to the nearby defence post by residents of this high altitude area living along the Pangong lake, located in the lap of majestic hills, prompting the Army Aviation Corps to rush its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.

However, they could only find tell-tale signs left by Chinese helicopters which hovered in the Indian territory for nearly five minutes dropping the food material on June 21 this year, sources said.

When contacted, Army spokesperson for Udhampur-based Northern Command said that "there was a report of a helicopter flying in the area south of Chumar, where India and China have differences in perception on the Line of Actual Control. It was reported by grazers."

A confidential defence document shows that Chinese helicopters entered into Indian air space along Damchok area and Trig Heights in Ladakh and air dropped canned food containing frozen pork and brinjal, which had passed the expiry date.

Chinese People's Liberation Army has been crossing over into the Indian side in this region quite frequently with August reporting the maximum number of incursions.

Trig Heights also known as Trade junction, which connected Ladakh with Tibet in earlier days, is an area where Chinese patrol have frequented this year in June, July and August.

Chinese Army patrols have made 26 sorties in June, including two incursions by helicopters, and 21 in July.

In August this year, Chinese patrols have entered into the Indian Territory 26 times and walked away with Petrol and kerosene meant for jawans of the border guarding forces. The Chinese army had made 223 attempts last year and left tell-tale signs.

The Army spokesperson, however, tried to downplay these incursions attempts saying "there are a few areas along the border where India and China have different perceptions of the LAC. Both sides patrol up to their respective perceptions of LAC."

"Due to perceived differences in the alignment of LAC, the Chinese patrol does transgress beyond our perception of the LAC in a few areas. The pattern of transgressions has remained similar over a long period of time," the spokesperson said.

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Chandrayaan mission formally over: ISRO

A day after it lost radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has formally called off the moon mission.

ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said: "We have terminated the moon mission as we have not been able to get in touch with Chandrayaan."

Earlier, the ISRO scientists said that they lost radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft at 1:30 am on Saturday. The last data from Chandrayaan came in at 25 minutes past midnight on Saturday.

The mission was scheduled for two years.

Troubled life on the moon

* Within weeks of launch, Chandrayaan almost got burnt
* Power system on board failed
* May: Spacecraft's star sensor damaged
* August 29: All radio communication lost

The landmark satellite was launched from Sriharikota on October 22, 2008 and has had a rather troubled life on the moon. Yet in its short over-300 day life, the spacecraft has indeed achieved a lot.

Within weeks of the launch, the spacecraft almost got burnt due to overheating. And later, a power system on board failed.

In May, the spacecraft lost its fine guidance when the star sensor packed up.

And the latest trouble happened a little after midnight on Saturday when all radio communication was lost with spacecraft.

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Chandrayaan failure: What went wrong?

A day after it lost radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has formally called off the moon mission.

So, what could have been the possible reasons?

* A possible failure in the power system led to a glitch in the control system
* The spacecraft
lost orientation and could not point its solar panel towards the Sun
* As a consequence the onboard battery got drained, which led to loss of contact with spacecraft
* The battery could not be recharged as the spacecraft lost orientation

Mission 'terminated', all over for the Chandrayaan-1. Now, the Chandrayaan will orbit the moon as space debris and may be crash onto the moon surface in three to four years.

But enough data has been gathered to keep the scientific team busy for the next two to three years. First scientific papers are expected to be published in next few weeks.

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H1N1 virus turning Tamiflu-resistant

NEW DELHI
: An increasing number of countries, including some in Asia, are now reporting Tamiflu resistant H1N1 virus. The worrying development,
according to WHO, has seen 12 countries including China and Singapore. India has not reported the mutation in the virus so far.

The changes in the virus reported in samples are making these strains of swine flu resistant to oseltamivir or Tamiflu - the antiviral of choice globally. Such cases have also been found in Japan, US, Hong Kong, Denmark and Canada.

While India is monitoring these reports closely, it will begin exit screening of pilgrims bound for Saudi Arabia for Haj as the desert nation is refusing entry to anyone with even a common cold. Saudi authorities are insisting on certificates stating that Haj pilgrims are completely free of any influenza infection.

Changes in the virus are also being tracked closely as scientists are concerned that new strains may make the vaccines being developed at a feverish pace infructuous. As of now, WHO fears Tamiflu resistance may be more widespread than officially reported.
Going by available data, majority of the resistant cases were reported where oseltamivir was given as preventive medication to people exposed to the flu but who had not tested positive themselves. Some cases were a result of treatment of mild illness as well as "immuno-compromised" patients or persons whose immune systems were working imperfectly.

India has so far not reported such a mutation. ICMR director general Dr V M Katoch told TOI, "We have been constantly sequencing genes in H1N1 to mark any form of mutation. However, we have still not found a case of oseltamivir resistant H1N1 virus."

He added, "Fear of resistance is why we are so careful about Tamilfu's availability to the public and its use in management of H1N1 infected or suspected patients. Tamilfu is now only available in select hospitals so that we can keep a record of the treatment."

Meanwhile, the decision on exit screening was taken in a meeting between the director general of health services and the Haj Committee of India on Saturday.

Till now, India has only been carrying out screening of passengers arriving at the country's 22 international airports.

Saudi Arabia has announced that it will require a health certificate for all pilgrims to Mecca, showing they are not suffering from normal flu. In the meeting on Saturday, the health ministry said that in the next 10 days, it would provide the Haj committee and states with the prototype of India's flu free certificate that every pilgrim will have to get stamped after a check-up by designated doctors.

The certificate will state that the pilgrim isn't suffering from seasonal flu or has H1N1 symptoms.

Speaking to TOI from Mumbai, CEO of India's Haj committee Mohammad Owais said, "A high-level expert committee has been formed to see whether all Indian pilgrims can be given a 42-day regimen of Tamilfu as a form of protection. The committee will see what the drug's side effects will be if used for so long and whether it is a feasible proposition."

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In Puri, Anil Ambani doles out cash

PURI/BHUBANESWAR: Industrialist Anil Ambani exhibited his generosity during a visit to Puri on Sunday. Holding wads of Rs 1,000 notes, Anil

donated not less than Rs 40,000 among a handful of roadside coconut vendors and poor passers-by on Puri-Bhubaneswar National Highway near Chandanpur in Puri district.

Anil’s cavalcade, comprising eight cars, halted with a screech near the coconut vendors on the busy highway around 3.15 pm. Anil, wearing a white kurta-pyjama, walked up to the vendors and bought coconuts for himself and those in his cavalcade. He was joined by his mother Kokilaben, sister Dipti D Salgaocar and brother-in-law Dattaraj Salgaocar.

Anil then distributed food packets and other gifts among coconut vendors. The chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group did not stop there. Money was distributed like ‘prasad’ among fruit sellers and poor villagers, who thronged the place.
“I sold 70 coconuts to Anil Ambani and his people. He himself had two. I got a Rs 1,000 note, some sweets and a food packet from him,” said a coconut vendor, Sagar Bhoi.

Anil did not frustrate other vendors. He walked down to other fruit sellers and doled out money and freebies. “I saw him hand Rs 1,000 notes to at least 40 people. Some security guards, who accompanied Anil, were also benefited as Anil distributed notes to them as well,” another vendor Nanda Behera said.
“I had heard of Anil Ambani. I was overjoyed to get him as my customer today. He was very generous and soft-spoken,” Bhoi said.
“Anil was driving the car and suddenly stopped on the road. We were shocked at first. Then he got us coconuts and donated money to the poor coconut vendors,” one member of the cavalcade said.

Earlier, Anil visited the Jagannath temple and spent at least two hours meditating in the Mahalaxmi sub-shrine located inside the 12th century shrine precinct. His mother accompanied him to the temple for darshan of the presiding deities. Anil’s visit to Puri came a fortnight after he undertook a pilgrimage to temples in south India. From Puri he headed further east to Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu.

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End to the Vasundhara deadlock?

Will the deadlock over Vasundhara Raje end after her meeting with the central BJP leadership on Monday?

Raje is scheduled to meet Venkaiah Naidu. She has been asked to step down as the leader of the opposition in Rajasthan, taking responsibility for BJP's losses in the last elections.

The question is how to give Raje an honourable exit and how to sort end the rebellion in Rajasthan BJP.

Raje has said she will obey the central leadership, saying she was a 'disciplined soldier' of the party and its order was 'supreme' to her.

Sources say Raje will try to meet RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat apart from having talks with Naidu.

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Vijay Mallya's Force India creates history

It was a fight to the finish from two drivers who battled their hearts out through every minute of the 44-lap race to give us arguably the most exciting racing duel of the season so far! Only one man could come out on top; on the given day it was Kimi Raikkonen, but nobody can take anything away from Fisichella who drove like a genius to bring Force India their first points after 30 race starts!

The start was most exciting! Even though the rain kept away this year, the action was ever-present! In the very first lap of the race there was a monstrous crash that took out four cars including championship-leader Jenson Button, 2008 stripped ‘winner’ Hamilton, debutant Grosjean and the baby of the grid Jaime Alguersuari.

Thanks to the wreck on lap 1, the Mercedes safety car was deployed even as Fisichella lead the race with a mean scarlet car harrowing him from behind. Raikkonen waited patiently behind the Force India during the entire safety car period but the moment the silver car went in to the pit-lane, Raikkonen made his move. It appeared like a limp surrender from the Italian as the KERS monster pulled off a routine over-taking manoeuvre to take the race lead on lap 5.


What followed were 39 laps filled with remarkable persistence from Fisichella who never allowed Raikkonen’s lead to get out of hand. He pushed incessantly lap after lap putting immense pressure on a man who had triumphed at Spa three times before. All the while, from second place, a position that he hasn’t finished at in 4 seasons (2005, Japan) – Fisichella didn’t stop pushing. He stayed on Raikkonen’s tail to the very last second of the race to give his team its first point and his engineers their first bottle of champagne!

It was a great drive from Kimi Raikkonen in the end and even though Fisichella’s historic first podium for Force India did steal a bit of the limelight at the Spa-Francorchamps, it was Raikkonen who stamped his return to the top step for the first time in 26 races (his last victory was at the Spanish GP of 2008) and giving Ferrari its first win of 2009.

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Rajasthan blood bank racket: Govt orders probe, 2 held

The Rajasthan government has initiated an inquiry into a blood donation racket in Sriganganagar. This, after reports that several units of blood collected and supplied illegally to patients at a nursing home in Sriganganagar were HIV infected.

The Sriganganagar police on Sunday arrested Hetram Goyal, the owner of Goyal Medical Lab in Anoopgarh, for illegally collecting and supplying blood to a private nursing home. Two children, who received blood transfusions at the nursing home, have, however, tested negative for HIV.

Police along with district health authorities were scrutinising records seized from the lab and nursing home to determine how many patients were given blood transfusions. Sriganganagar's chief medical health officer B L Misra said, "Preliminary investigations show that the lab collected blood from donors and supplied it to patients in the nursing home."

In a twist to the tale, the alleged HIV positive donor also submitted an affidavit to the SDM that although he was HIV positive, he had never donated blood to the lab.

Sriganganagar SP Umesh Datta said, "The block medical officer registered an FIR against Goyal and Dr Bharat Bhusan, the owner of Shyam Nursing Home, for collecting and giving blood without a licence. Goyal has been arrested while a search is on for Dr Bhusan," Datta said.

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India to seek inspiration from 2007 final for 2nd title

Inspirational skipper Bhaichung Bhutia once again holds the key as India aim for a 2007 encore against Syria to clinch their second successive Nehru Cup title in the final of the five-nation football tournament here on Monday.

Two years ago at the Ambedkar Stadium, the home team had beaten the Syrians in front of a 20,000-strong crowd to win their maiden Nehru Cup title after losing to the same opponents in their round-robin fixture.

Bob Houghton's boys will have to take refuge in the history books once again after losing their last round-robin league match to the Syrians, 61 places above India in FIFA rankings at 95th, on Saturday.

India did not start with five first XI players, including Bhutia, on Saturday and Houghton was satisfied with the performance of his boys but the fact is that Syria had been the better side in the tournament having won all their four matches while the hosts had also lost to Lebanon.

Houghton though is not losing hope and rightly too as the home team will be bolstered by the return of two of the best players in the tournament -- Bhaichung Bhutia and Steven Dias -- in the starting line-up on Monday.

Bhutia has been outstanding as he has led from the front in the two matches India won by opening scoring and spearheading the attack admirably well along with Sunil Chhetri.

Bhutia's presence in the Indian ranks will also infuse confidence in his team-mates.

The 'Sikkimese Sniper', in the running for the player of the tournament award having become man of the match twice, may come up with something special in the tournament during which he became the first Indian to have played 100 international matches.

Another star performer, Steven Dias, will also be looking to repeat his performance against Sri Lanka and with the return of right back Surkumar Singh, Bhutia and Chhetri are expected to be fed by those deadly curling crosses from the right flank.

It will be an interesting duel between the Indian frontmen and Syrian backline, which has not conceded a single goal so far.

Bhutia and Co. will have to do something extra to break through the Syrian citadel manned by two of the best defenders of the tournament -- Ali Dyab and Belal Abdul Daim.

In contrast, India's Achilles heal has been the back four who have conceded some soft goals in the league stage. They have to work extra hard against Syrian star striker Mohammad Al Zino and midfielder Feras Ismail.

Houghton, seeking his third title in his just-over three year tenure as India coach, exuded confidence that his boys can beat the Syrians tomorrow.

"Syria are a strong side. We have to lift our game on Monday to beat them. The good crowd and the good environment and I think we can beat them in the final," Houghton said.

Syrian coach Fajer Ebrahim is satisfied with the performance of his boys and was thinking of making amends for their 2007 final loss under his charge.

"We will play even better in the final as we will have the full squad," he said.

"This Indian team is not as good as the last time (in 2007). They are less active, not running much and lack fighting spirit," he added.

Ebrahim also knows the threat that may come from Bhutia tomorrow, saying, "Our defenders will be much more intense as India will play Bhutia."

For the Delhi crowd though it will be the match they are waiting for -- a game between full strength Indian and Syrian sides.

Enthusiasm of the fans has been even more than 2007. Two years back, fans turned up only from midway the tournament.

But this time, starting from the opening match between India and Lebanon, the fans have turned up to near capacity at in all the four matches involving the home team.

They are expected to fill the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium to the brim tomorrow as they had done on August 29, 2007, and a late monsoon rain could be the only dampener in what promises to be a high-intensity game.

India (From): Subrata Paul, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Anwar Ali, Deepak Mondal, Bhaichung Bhutia (C), Mahesh Gawli, Surkumar Singh, Gouramangi Singh, Samir Naik, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, N P Pradeep, Renedy Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Steven Dias, Anthony Pereira, Climax Lawrence, Sunil Chhetri, Sushil Kumar Singh, Abhishek Yadav.

Syria (From): Mosab Balhous, Moustafa Shakosh, Hamzeh Al Aitoni, Ali Dyab, Wael Ayan, Mohamed Al Zeno, Belal Abdul Daim, Abdul Razak Al Hussain, Abdul Fatah Alaga, Alaa Alshbli, Feras Ismail, Raja Rafe, Kawa Hisso, Moutaz Kaildni, Jwan Hisso, Ahmad Haj Mohamad, Bakri Tarrab.

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Jwala-Diju win Grand Prix gold in Taiwan

Shuttlers Jwala Gutta and V Diju on Sunday created history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold in Chinese Taipei.

In the hard-fought final of the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold tournament, the world number seven Indian pair prevailed over the Indonesian duo of Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa 23-21, 21-18 to achieve the feat in the Chinese Taipei city on Sunday.

Jwala-Diju had become the first India mixed doubles pair to reach the quarterfinal of the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad early this month.

They had also won the Bitburger Open and Bulgarian Open last year.

Badminton Association of India (BAI) President VK Verma said, "This is a very good news for India. This is the first time that any doubles pair of India have won a grand prix gold event."

"They have been doing well and now with this win they have catapulted themselves to be one of the Commonwealth Games medal hopes for the country," he added.

Verma said keeping next year's Commonwealth Games in view, a number of super series tournament has been lined up for the mixed doubles pair.

"They are shaping up well and yesterday we finalised a training programme for them and they would be sent for a number of super series tournaments for exposure," he said.

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Centre game for midnight masala

New Delhi, Aug. 28: Indian viewers might soon be able to see “adult” content on their television sets.

The information and broadcasting ministry is considering a change in the rules to allow adult content, with the rider that these be restricted to digitised platforms with effective parental lock facilities.

Official sources said such content is likely to be allowed during “watershed hours” late in the night, as in several other countries. This period is likely to be between 11 pm and 4 am every day.

Digitisation has been proposed to ensure that programmes not certified by the Central Board of Film Certification are not aired on cable television. “During the cable boom in earlier years, several programmes not given CBFC clearance were aired by analog cable operators. This can be effectively curbed by digitising the feed,” sources said.

It is reliably learnt that the I&B ministry changed its present thinking on adult content after it held talks with some broadcasters’ associations on a content code for channels and the setting up of a broadcast regulator.

The information and broadcasting minister, Ms Ambika Soni, had directed the I&B secretary, Mr Raghu Menon to interact regularly with various broadcasters, following which meetings were held with organisations like NBA, IBF and ASCII to build a consensus on a self-regulatory body
Source :: Deccan Chronicle

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What does your sleeping positions reveal

Lisa, 33, in Wiesbaden says physical contact with her boyfriend is something she can do without when she wants to go to sleep. Her boyfriend Martin used to be a cuddler but he isn't bothered by Lisa's desire not to. "It was different with my previous girlfriend," Martin said. "But the way it is now is completely OK with me."

Both are fully satisfied with their relationship and with their sex life. American researchers Mark Goulston and Samuell Dunkell would probably see it differently. They say a couple's sleep position reveals a lot about the state of the relationship.

The researchers have given names to different sleep positions and interpreted their meaning.

Back to back: Couples who sleep back to back with their bottoms touching, for example, are bonded sexually and sensuously but might like independence.

Spooned together: What is commonly known as the spoon position, in which couples snuggle up to each other front to back, betrays a dominance of one partner over the other.

Love knot: Couples freshly in love often sleep intertwined in a love knot, the researchers said.

Miles apart: A couple who don't touch at all over night and who turn their backs toward each other indicates tension, Goulston and Dunkell said.

But perhaps it is just a matter of comfort, as is the case with Lisa and Martin. They are, however, more of an exception because one partner's need to snuggle and another one's habit of pulling the covers off are things that sometimes lead to arguments. Sleep specialists and relationship counsellors, however, warn not to read too much into the interpretations.

"Sleep habits are very individual and therefore shouldn't be overestimated," said Hamburg therapist Elmar Basse.

More than anything else they have to do with what a person is used to, and it is known that they can change, sometimes easily and sometimes with difficulty.
"My boyfriend was almost appalled when we spent our first night together and I wanted to share my comforter with him," said 29-year-old Katja
Sleeping positions
What does your sleeping positions reveal (Getty Images)
from Hamburg. But despite his reaction, she didn't get the guest comforter out.

"Today we almost always sleep under one cover."

Stefan and Maja in Duesseldorf have been sharing one cover for 12 years. Nothing else would suit them. "It's so cozy," they said glowingly. Their agreement on the matter, however, is unique among couples.

"Most marriages should fail based on the fact that individual partners have different biorhythms," said Heinrich Becker, leader of the sleep laboratory at Marburg's university clinic. Christoph Schraivogel, who runs the Internet portal www.schlafkampagne.de , is convinced that it is wishful thinking that two people can sleep restfully under one cover. And there are good reasons for that.

"For many people, closeness during sleep is simply uncomfortable and it affects peaceful sleep," said Werner Cassel, a psychologist at the Marburg sleep laboratory.

Many people are extremely restless at night and suffer from restless leg syndrome, which causes pain and constant twitching in the legs. Their muscles also become sore. Basse said it could be very bad for relationships.

"People who don't sleep well overnight and feel knocked out when they wake up possibly will direct their irritability toward their partner," he explained. That's why sleep experts highly recommend a sleep routine.

"Particularly when the sleep habits are very different, partners can reach an understanding that they go to bed together, cuddle for a while and then slide over to their respective side of the bed and under their own cover," Cassel advises, adding that separate bedrooms are not disastrous to a relationship.

"There are very happy couples who sleep separately." Basse also knows of couples who have been together for years sleeping in separate rooms.

"When a relationship is based more and more over time on trust and harmony, the sexual aspects often decline, which is perfectly fine for many couples," Basse said.

What is problematic is when both or neither partner wants any physical contact. "Then there is something wrong," he said, especially previously enjoyed close contact while sleeping. Those who want to sleep closely with their partner should make it clear at the beginning of the relationship. Sometimes people, who convert to sleeping alone, sometimes revert to being cuddlers in certain phases of a romantic relationship.

"Couples newly in love usually seek closeness," Basse said. So at the beginning of a relationship, snuggling that at first feels strange can become the norm.

It's also important for couples who have been together for a long time to talk about their needs and seek solutions. Neither partner should feel insulted if his or her partner rolls over in the middle of the night, but it's equally wrong to ignore criticism.
Source:: Times of india

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Eat red cherries to beat insomnia!

Can’t sleep? Well, then red cherries can give you the passport to ‘land of nod’.
Eating red cherries can help insomniacs!

Yes, you heard it right. The “wonder” fruit can regulate the body’s sleep patterns.

It has been found to contain significant quantities of melatonin, the hormone needed for a restful sleep.

In the new study, researchers have found that the Montmorency tart cherry is one of the few known food
sources of melatonin. Melatonin is manufactured in the brain and triggers sleep, reports the Daily Express.

University of Texas Health Science Centre study leader Dr Russel Reiter said: “Eating just a handful of Montmorency cherries will increase melatonin levels in blood, thereby improving the body’s natural sleep patterns and potentially providing other health benefits”.

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Obama, invite SRK for beer: Shekhar

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has criticised Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni's remarks to give a 'tit-for-tat' treatment to the Americans after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was detained at a US airport for two hours.

Giving the example of former president A.P.J. Kalam, who was also frisked in April at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here as he was boarding a flight of US carrier Continental Airlines, Kapur wrote on his blog: "I believe what happened to Shah Rukh was a huge blunder, but what happened to our Abdul Kalam was far, far worse. It happened on Indian soil."

"But I admired the calmness with which Abdul Kalam dealt with the issue himself and displayed so much humility. I expect Shah Rukh to do the same as I am sure he will. Only he can defuse the situation," Kapur posted on his blog www.shekharkapur.com/blog Sunday.

"Unlike our Cabinet Minister Ambica Soni, who said we should respond with a 'tit for tat'. What are you going to do, Ms Soni? Interrogate every American citizen arriving at our shores for an hour and a half? Or wait for Brad Pitt to arrive here? Cabinet ministers need to make more considered statements," he wrote.

Shah Rukh was on his way to Chicago to attend a function to mark India's Independence Day and was detained for two hours at the Newark airport after US immigration officials spotted the 'Khan' in his name.

Reacting to it, Soni had said: "I have always felt - even when I was frisked there (the US) - that the way they frisk us we should do the same for them here."

Kapoor says to make up, US President Obama should invite Shah Rukh Khan for dinner.

"What happened to Shah Rukh is a minor incident which we should protest about, yes. Ensure that this doesn't happen to an Indian public figure like him again and move on," Kapoor said.

"And President Obama, adept as he is diplomatically and politically, should invite Shah Rukh to a family dinner over beer and (view) one of his Bollywood films," he added.

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Love Khichdi Movie review

For sous chef Vir Pratap Singh (Randeep Hooda), life is a dimsum of desires, each dumpling an attractive woman.

Film: Love Khichdi (Comedy/Romance)
Cast: Randeep Hooda, Riya Sen, Divya Dutta and Rituparna Sengupta
Director: Srinivas Bhashyam
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes

Critic's Rating:
He doesn't really agree with his boss, master chef (Saurabh Shukla), a philosopher in the kitchen, who reminds him of the futility of running after 99 women when the special one could be around the corner. Pyaar uss se karna chahiye jisse pyar mile, he says.

But wisdom doesn't come easy to Vir, a rake driven by hormones and a no-scruples quest for upward mobility. Essentially, Love Khichdi is his rites of passage. The boy from Chandigarh has to step over a minefield of women, taste love and heartbreak, before finding his true value girl at the end.

What lifts this smart-assed flick above the mundane is its attention to detail. Every character in the film, major or minor, is neatly rounded. We have not only seen them somewhere close by; we also wish to see them somewhere close by. Cool and sexy without getting risqué, director Srinivas Bhashyam turns Vir's journey
as a fantasy fulfiller for the young, urban male. In the end, we want him to make the right choice. And when he does, it feels good.

In its narrative technique, Love Khichdi uses two innovations. The minor one is the sach ki ghanti, a bell that rings whenever the hero speaks the truth. It sort of underlines the moment. But more than that it is getting each character to talk to the audience in a soul searching, confessional mode that works as a neat narrative device. The technique allows us to peep into the heart of every character, know their motivations.

It helps that the characters are sharply delineated. There's the simple girl next door Sandhya Iyengar, a pal he croons happy birthday to, drunk late night, using a lighter as a candle. There's coquettish Punjaban Parminder Kaur (Divya Dutta), a regular scene-stealer in another scene stealing act and the husband-hating hot maid (Sonali Kulkarni) whom Vir gives the (allegedly) Shiney Ahuja sort of look. Then there is the bookstore woman played by Rituparna Sengupta, the tough cookie corporate who gets the better of him, and the hot Gujju schoolgirl (Riya Sen), who is too sexy for her skirt.

Director Srinivas Bhasyam gets great work from the ensemble. Among those who stand out are Kulkarni, Dutta and Shukla (in that order). Hooda too looks the part. What adds to the movie is a mood-enhancing track that runs through the first half. Listening to Mujh jaisa hero, meri makhna (singers: Gopal Rao, Mahalakshmi Iyer, music
: Pritam) is like watching snowflakes in the moonlight. It makes you feel young and wanted.

Love Khichdi has style, wit and that dirty five-letter word, heart. In the latter part of the second half, the movie tends to drag. Perhaps trimming it by 15 minutes would have made it crisper; just like one of those dishes that Vir rustles up. Nonetheless, it's a swell date flick. And, like the film's protagonist, don't hesitate to lie if your partner predicts your sun sign wrong after the lights come on.

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Marijuana discovered at MJ's house

Marijuana and several empty bottles of drugs were found at Michael Jackson’s house when it was searched following his death, unsealed search
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (AP Photo) More Pics
warrants have revealed.

Two bags of marijuana, a bottle of temazepam (used to treat sleeplessness), empty bottles of the sedatives lorzaepam and diazepam, and four empty pill bottles were found in the search, reports People magazine.

According to the warrants, investigators believe Jackson had "received injection of an unknown medication, prior to his death." Other documents revealed that MJ’s physician, Conrad Murray, had been administering him doses of anesthetic propofol intravenously.

The search warrants were served on June 29, four days after the King of Pop died. The documents also say Dr Murray left the hospital "against the objections of the investigating officers" and that he could not be reached for days after that.

The warrant also discloses that, on the day of Jackson's death, as investigators were at the house, "family members of the decedent notified Los Angeles County Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter that they had located a quantity of tar heroin in [Jackson's] bedroom on the second floor of the residence. Winter notified LAPD detectives of the found evidence." There is no mention in the warrant if the evidence really turned out to be heroin.

However, Winter refused to give any information on the evidence or Jackson's autopsy report.

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Team India take long look at short ball

BANGALORE: Indian team coach Gary Kirsten had promised that the intensity in training would be high in the short preparatory camp ahead of the
Team India
tri series in Sri Lanka.

True to his word, Day Two of the four-day camp was intense, with Friday morning devoted to fitness and fielding drills, which at times were neatly combined to keep away boredom, while the afternoon saw the batsmen and bowlers face off at the nets. The nets were certainly interesting, more so with extra attention being given to playing the short ball.

After the fitness assessments were done with on Day One, Kirsten, asked specifically if the short ball would figure prominently during training had said: "That might be one of it, but there might be a whole lot others. Within what we do in this team, in terms of our game plans, our training, our structures, we try and cover every base that we need to cover to make sure we give ourselves best chance of success."

Yes, a lot of bases were covered in terms of fielding, with the short pick up and throw, slip catching, et all figuring but when it came down to the net session at the National Cricket Academy, it was clear that it was the short ball that was being given a lot of thought.

The short ball session for each batsman was seemingly split into two parts. In the beginning, the batsman had to duck and weave his way out as either the bowling machine or the tennis racquet and ball were put to use to send down fast serves that grew big on the batsmen. After that, it was about hitting the short ball, pulling or hooking whenever the line was middle and leg, while still leaving it when the line was on or outside off stump. The training was for 50-over ODIs, where the dot ball is not always frowned upon, so it did make sense to practice both the leave and the shots.

Skipper MS Dhoni was happiest when the time came to smash the ball. He had not been found wanting when he had to leave the ball, his quick reflexes, more than any real technique, coming to the fore.

Dhoni had also looked to be in good touch when just prior to coming into the short ball net he had faced up to RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh and Yusuf Pathan in the regular net. There too he wasn't struggling to come to terms with the ball dug in, pulling and cutting the quickish RP with some ferocity (Ishant Sharma was the quickest but he didn't bowl to Dhoni).

The most impressive batting on the day came from comeback man Rahul Dravid. He seemed to be in prime form and though it was a given that he would excel at the ‘short ball net', the number of times the ball found the middle of his blade when he was up against the bowlers, made for pleasant watching.

The same was not the case with Sachin Tendulkar, who for some time at least, struggled. May 21, 2009 was when Tendulkar played his last game (for Mumbai Indians) and since then he's been enjoying the rare break and it showed. Harbhajan was the bowler he struggled most against, the offie teasing him with flight and winning more battles than he lost.

Tendulkar, however, is not the sort who believes too much in batting at the nets. However, if there was reason to worry as far as the batsmen were concerned, it had to with the struggles of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan when it came to tackling bouncers. Both showed a tendency to take their eyes off the ball most times and thus found it tough to cope.

Kirsten spent a lot of time with both, patiently explaining the best way to deal with the stuff that no batsman likes but has to endure anyway as a professional hazard. Of course, it is important to remember that the nets always provide some sort of a claustrophobic feeling and is never a true or full indicator of ability

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Nehru Cup: Bhutia, Chhetri rested against Syria

NEW DELHI
: Captain Bhaichung Bhutia and his regular strike partner Sunil Chhetri will be rested to preserve them for the all-important summit
Bhutia
clash when India play Syria in their last round-robin fixture of the Nehru Cup international football tournament on Saturday.

Abhishek Yadav and Sushil Kumar Singh will replace Bhutia and Chhetri upfront as coach Bob Houghton wants to give the reserve players a chance since the home team has already made it to the final of the five-nation tournament.

Senior player Renedy, who will also start at the left wing in place of Anthony Pereira will lead the side. The right wing will be manned by East Bengal captain Syed Rahim Nabi.

Climax Lawrence and Mehrajuddin Wadoo will start at the midfield and NP Pradeep will replace the former in the second session.

There will be no change in the two central defenders' position as Gouramangi Singh and Anwar will start with Deepak Mondal and Mahesh Gawli at the right and left back positions respectively.

After the first half, Gawli will make way for Surkumar Singh who will play as right back while Deepak will be shifted to left, Houghton said after the team's training session at a city college ground.

Houghton said despite India having qualified for the final, his boys will play their best and "test" the Syrians.

"The players who will start will want to prove that they are also in good nick and they have also contributed for the team. Mehrajuddin (wadoo), (Syed Rahim) Nadi, Renedy they all would want to prove themselves so we will be playing for a win," the Englishman said.

"It will be an interesting match. I am looking forward how Syrians are going to be tested by my boys. You don't get a team of their class to test your strength quite often."

Houghton said the Syrians were a better side than the last time when India beat them 1-0 in the final.

"I think they are a lot better this time. I am impressed by their performance so far. Their defenders Ali Dyab and Belal Abdul Diam and midfielder Feras Ismail," he said.

Houghton said he came to know of India being through to the final only this morning after yesterday's 1-0 win by Syria over Lebanon and said the head-to-head rule makes sense.

Under this rule, if two teams are level on points, the side which wins over the other in the league stage will advance to the next stage without looking into the goal difference.

So, India booked a place in the final after Syria beat Lebanon. Another contender Sri Lanka had no chance to make it to the summit clash as they had been beaten by the home team in the round-robin fixture.

"I think this rule is sensible. I think this rule is applied in the last World Cup qualifier and Asian Cup qualifier. It is good that you are judge internally (by who wins in the league stage)," he said.
Source::Times Of India

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No delink of terror from talks with Pakistan: India

After the political storm over the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh, is India still going ahead with a meeting between the two foreign ministers at UNGA?

I would presume so. We have never fought shy of meeting Pakistan’s leaders. That’s why Prime Minister met Asif Zardari in Yekaterinburg, and Gilani in Sharm el-Sheikh. The Indian standpoint has been that we will not resume the composite dialogue until we see concrete evidence that Pakistan has acted against terrorism in a manner that we feel comfortable. That position remains. I don’t see any change in that position at any time. People have tried to misinterpret the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement.

But the statement delinked dialogue from action on terrorism, apart from a controversial reference to Balochistan. Wasn’t that a departure?

It doesn’t delink. That’s a wrong reading of the document. It’s possible that somebody may read it that way but that’s certainly not the intention. I don’t think there has been any change in our position. There was a reference to Balochistan in the document because it found a mention in the discussions. It’s possible that someone could read a meaning into it. I don’t think there is any particular meaning.

Are we heeding the Pakistan request to send the foreign secretary to Islamabad before the UNGA?

I think since the external affairs minister will be in New York for the UNGA. That would be the more appropriate place for the foreign secretaries to meet.

What are the expected highlights of PM’s Washington visit in November?

We’re looking for that one big idea that will symbolize the relationship, just as we had a major achievement like the civil nuclear agreement in 2005. That was then the one big idea. It’s not that the deal alone was important. I think that far more than the deal, the fact that a country like the US and a country like India could reach an agreement like this reflected the maturing of the relationship.

So, we need to one such big ticket item now to show a continuity of that relationship with the new US administration?

I think the relationship itself is very warm. The PM has had very positive meetings with leaders of the new administration. I don’t see any problem with the relationship. The previous administration was extremely accommodative of India. We need to see whether the new administration will see us in the same way. Across the world, there is a great deal of respect for India and for the Indian leadership. Since this is the first state visit arranged by the Obama administration, we are keen to cement it with something substantial.

You have just completed the 13th round of boundary talks with China. While there is no progress on that front, will the talks now be embedded in the larger strategic dialogue?

The Chinese side showed keen interest in widening the ambit of the dialogue. But it didn’t detract from what we discussed on the border. We had 14 hours of discussions. There’s always progress. Certainly we haven’t yet settled the border issue. But each time we meet there is greater understanding.

What is the state of play on the nuclear deal?

There are two issues. First, we have to file a declaration in the IAEA. We are taking things cautiously, doing things step by step. If we take a step we cannot retrace that would make things difficult. We’ve now reached a stage when we are comfortable and we will file the declaration. And we will fill in the Annexure, which is part of the Separation plan. Once you enter into an international agreement we do not back out. The declaration is the final step as far as the IAEA is concerned. With the US, discussions are underway on the reprocessing agreement under 6(iii) of the 123 agreement.

What are your view on the Afghanistan election? Do you think the US could be tempted to cut and run since the war appears to be going so badly for them?

The very fact that elections could be held, despite the violence and threats and with so many contenders, is no mean achievement. Its more than many other countries have done.

Nuclear scientist, K Santhanam says we need to test our thermonuclear weapon again because Pokharan II was a “fizzle”. Is that correct?

It’s untrue. This is a matter that has been examined in great detail. Several measurements have been applied, specific observations have been made. The fact that we had a 45-kiloton successful thermonuclear test is now well proven the world over. We don’t need to carry out another test.
Source::Times Of India

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Govinda, ex-CJI among 24 VIPs to lose X-level security

NEW DELHI: As part of its comprehensive review and rationalisation of the VIP security system, the home ministry has withdrawn X-category
security cover of over two dozen individuals, including former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal. It also reduced the number of personal security officers (PSOs) available to those remaining under this category from three to two.

Others in X-category whose security cover was withdrawn include former MPs Govinda and Anwar Hussain, UP politician D P Yadav, two Delhi-based journalists and some local leaders from different northeastern states. Shoaib Iqbal (MLA from Matia Mahal in Delhi) will also lose his security cover from next month.

Sources in the home ministry said against the current practice of having three PSOs (one round-the-clock), the remaining X-category protectees (nearly 50) will now get two PSOs. Similar trimming will take place in the Y and Z-category list in due course so that more police personnel are available for actual policing in the Capital, they added.

Though other categories of protectees have not been touched as of now, there is a proposal to scale down the security cover of former home minister Shivraj Patil, National Commission of Scheduled Castes chairperson Buta Singh, former foreign minister Natwar Singh and Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan among others.

Besides withdrawing the security cover of over two dozen individuals, it was also recently decided to ask states to disengage central paramilitary force (CPMFs) personnel who were wrongfully diverted for VIP security. The ministry will soon write to states in this regard.

Sources said the ministry, meanwhile, has directed all states to observe the principle of reciprocity in extending security to nearly 400 central protectees of all categories.

An official said while the Centre took care of security of state-level protectees while they were in Delhi, the states had often been found lacking in according security to central protectees commensurate with their security categorisation.

According to guidelines, no central protectee can retain his Delhi-based PSO beyond 72 hours while on an outstation trip. The PSO is thereafter required to report back to Delhi, leaving the onus of protecting the VIP on the state police.

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Burqa 'ban' rocks Hyderabad college

HYDERABAD: Trouble erupted in Muslim dominated Mehdipatnam after burqa-clad young girl students held a massive agitation outside Vani College
(Junior and Degree) on Friday morning after the college principal, Y Annapurna, allegedly asked students not to wear burqa to class and shut the college gates on them.

The agitation soon degenerated into a stone pelting session with male students fron neigbouring colleges and parents of the girls joining in. The situation came under control only after the police - called in by the college management - resorted to a lathi charge.

The agitation came a day after a dharna by the students on Thursday protesting against what was termed by them as “the failure of the college management to react to the abduction of a girl student” from the institution earlier this week. The college management had looked the other way as they perceived that the girl had eloped with her boyfriend. In the event, the girl had returned by evening.

On Friday morning, the students charged that the principal had been berating them for wearing burqa for over a week saying that it did not comply with the uniform (salwar kameez) worn by other students. But the immediate trigger for the Friday trouble was the refusal of the principal to allow entry to late coming students, which soon degenerated into an argument about burqa, the month of Ramzaan and other matters like ‘promiscuity’ of girls.

“About 300 local youth joined the protesting girls and when police asked them to leave the place, some of them pelted stones at the police and college building,’’ deputy commissioner of police C Ravi Varma said. Eye witnesses said that male students of Gowtham Junior and Narayana Junior College who have their friends studying in Vani College joined in and started the bedlam.

“We were asked why are you wearing burqa when you are not particular about keeping our modesty. These comments are too much to bear,” a student from the college claimed. “The principal’s attitude irked us and hence we decided to take help from our parents,” a student of the college, Nadima Rahman told TOI.

The principal, Annapurna, however, told TOI, that she did not make any objectionable comment against the burqa. “The students were coming late for class and I had scolded them. They objected to this and staged a protest,” she said. The students, however, said that they were getting delayed because of the ongoing month of Ramzan and they had to offer Namaz before coming to college. They said, the college should not object to religious practices. “The college authorities blame us saying that we are spending more time in the mosque than with our books. This is objectionable,” a student said.

Analysts were amazed at the turn of events because the college has predominantly Muslims students. “I could understand such things happening in hardcore Hindu colleges and only with a few Muslim students. But not here,” said Salim Khan, a local resident. But an analyst - a Muslim—who does not want to be named said that “girls are girls, Hindu or Muslim. Their aspirations will be the same. Young girls will want to mingle with young boys, whether they wear burqa or not. Obviously, the principal is unable to appreciate this. She wants to say why are you friends with boys when you wear a burqa? This is the genesis of the trouble,” he added.

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Taiwan says yes to Dalai visit, China seethes

HONG KONG: The president of Taiwan said on Thursday that he would allow the Dalai Lama to visit the island next week, a move that China opposes
and one that threatens to jeopardize rapidly improving relations between Taipei and Beijing.

“No matter under what form or identity Dalai uses to enter Taiwan, we resolutely oppose this,” the China’s Taiwan Affairs Bureau said.

The Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to arrive on Monday for a six-day tour of southern Taiwan, which was ravaged by a typhoon three weeks ago that left at least 650 dead.

The invitation to the Dalai Lama was extended by several local government leaders in the south and was seen by analysts in Taiwan as a political maneuver aimed to embarrass President Ma Ying-jeou, whose approval ratings have plummeted over the slow response to the devastating typhoon.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, to which the Kuomintang forces of Chiang Kai-shek fled after the Communist victory in the civil war in 1949. Political unrest in Tibet is a highly sensitive topic for Beijing, and the Chinese government has sharply criticized the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of fomenting independence for the region.

The Dalai Lama, whose government in exile has been based in India since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, insists that he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama’s visits to other countries typically draw strong rebukes from China. Beijing withdrew from a EU summit meeting last December when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and other EU leaders said they planned to meet with the Dalai Lama.

George Tsai, a political analyst and professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said on Thursday the invitation was “purely politically motivated, aiming to harass both Ma and China.”

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India to blame for 26/11: Pak

London, Aug. 28: India could have prevented the November terror attacks in Mumbai, Pakistan’s interior minister Mr Rehman A. Malik said in London on Thursday.

“Mumbai attacks may have never happened if India had shared information with us,” said Mr Malik, who is in London with the President, Mr Asif Ali Zardari.

Reacting to the Interpol red notice against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed for his alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, Mr Malik said he needs to examine the dossier of evidence provided by India on the basis of which the Interpol issued the red corner notice.

“We will examine the Interpol red corner notice and the underlying evidence,” Mr Malik said.

Islamabad, he said, had to determine if the Indian dossier met procedural requirements.

Reacting to the Union home minister, Mr P.C. Chidambaram’s comments, Mr Malik said: “We need tangible evidence which can stand the test of court.”

“Have faith in our legal system,” Mr Malik said and added that five Lashkar terrorist were being tried for their links to the Mumbai terror attacks. He said two more terrorists had been arrested and would face trial with the five arrested earlier.

Pakistan had been “very transparent” in its investigations on the Mumbai terror attacks, he said and added that Islamabad would never allow “our side to be used” for launching terror attacks against India or any other country.
Source:: dc

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Iran has slowed uranium output: UN agency

VIENNA
: Iran has slowed production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make a nuclear bomb, and agreed to tighter monitoring of its
enrichment plant, the UN atomic watchdog said.

Tehran has also granted UN inspectors access to a research reactor long out of bounds, according to a restricted report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

IAEA inspectors said while Iran was still installing uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz, the number of machines actually up and running had been reduced.

A total of 4,592 centrifuges were actively enriching uranium, compared with 4,920 at the time of the IAEA's last report in June. However the number of machines installed had been increased by around 1,000 to 8,308.

Iran is suspected of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.

France, Germany and the United States have spoken in favour of an international energy embargo on Iran, which despite being rich in oil lacks domestic refining capacity.

A senior UN official refused to speculate on the reason for the slowdown, which could be for technical maintenance reasons or possibly a sign that the Islamic republic was changing tack in its long-running standoff with the West.

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Aussie guy sells kisses for one dollar

MELBOURNE: In a unique business enterprise, a 24 year-old single
Australian guy is selling smooches for a dollar.


Lachlan Christie, 24, is selling kisses outside the Queen Victoria Building for almost two weeks now, and usually aims to make 5 to 10 dollars every day.

The street performer, claims it to be part of a social experiment, "I'm doing it as a social experiment to get a chance to see people's reactions," he was quoted by The Herald Sun.

"It's mainly for the reaction ... to break down boundaries and challenge social norms," he added.

"I've sold three kisses in the past 50 minutes," he claimed. But added that women were quite reluctant to receive kisses on the lips.

"I want some brave girls to come up," he said. Presently single, he denies he is fishing for a girlfriend.

"A lot of people want to give me money but don't want a kiss. Once I get more well known, hopefully business will boom. It's great toeing the line of whether people think you're serious or not."

Lachlan is apparently inspired by Sydney's Free Hugs Man, who is known by the pseudonym Juan Mann.

The "Free Hugs" movement started at Pitt St Mall in 2004, which later became a rage worldwide.
Source:: Times of india

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Mexico could have one million swine flu cases: Minister

MEXICO CITY
: Up to one million people in Mexico could be infected with swine flu in the coming months, Mexico's health minister has said,
announcing five new deaths from the A(H1N1) virus.

The new deaths bring Mexico's toll from the swine flu to 184, with 21,264 confirmed cases of infection, health minister Jose Angel Cordova said in a statement on Friday.

But he warned that "we predict the number of infections will rise to one million this winter."

The virus first emerged in Mexico in late April, and quickly developed into a global pandemic that has killed close to 2,200 people in 177 countries, according to the most recent figures released yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

With 209,438 cases of infection globally, according to the WHO's lowest estimate, the virus has overtaken seasonal influenza to become the most prevalent strain of flu worldwide.

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Earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hits China

BEIJING: A strong earthquake
with a magnitude of 6.2 struck northwest China on Friday, the US Geological Survey said, sending local officials
scrambling to assess possible damage in the remote mining region. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:52 am (0152 GMT), was located 165 kilometres northeast of the city of Golmud in Qinghai province, USGS said. The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres.

"The township government leaders have all rushed up to the mining production district to assess the damage," Yu Xiaoying, an official in Xitieshan township, near the epicentre, told AFP by phone. "Right now we have no details on damage - we have not received any reports of casualties."

The township, situated on the north end of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, has a population of about 3,000 permanent residents, but up to 8,000 migrant workers are employed in the local mining industry, Yu said. "We are very concerned that the mining production area, the roads and pipelines could have suffered damage," she said.

In neighbouring Dachaidan township - home to another 15,000 people - officials were assessing possible damage, especially at mining installations in the mountainous region, a local official there said. "The earthquake shook strongly, all of our staff have gone out to check if there was any damage," an official named Gerili told AFP. "We have not received any reports of casualties so far, we don't know if any houses have collapsed."

The China Earthquake Administration registered the initial quake at 6.4.

A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit the remote area about 20 minutes after the initial quake, the USGS said. Locals said they felt both tremors.

In November last year, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the same area in the Xitie mountains, a region rich with lead, tin, copper and other mineral deposits.

Locals in both Dachaidan and Xitieshan townships said Friday's quake seemed stronger than last year's tremor.

China's Qinghai province and neighbouring Tibet are prone to earthquakes.

In May last year, nearly 87,000 people were left dead or missing when an 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook southwest Sichuan province, which borders both Qinghai and Tibet.

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Man jailed for raping teenage girls

LONDON: A man who lured two teenage girls into his car and raped them was jailed for 14 years on
Friday.

Munshur Ali, 22, plied the 13-year-old girls with vodka, drove them to a secluded spot and raped them in turn in the back of the car before letting them go on a nearby street.

Ali, of Hyde, Greater Manchester, had denied the offences, committed last November, saying the girls had willingly consented to sex.

But in an eight-day trial at Minshull Street Crown Court last month he was convicted of three counts of rape.

Passing sentence, Judge Peter Lakin told Ali he had been "devious and manipulative", the Press Association reported.

"You subjected these two vulnerable, naive 13-year-olds to a terrifying ordeal, an ordeal that had and continues to have a very substantial impact on both girls and their respective families."

Detective Constable Lindsey Morgan said outside the court the girls were traumatized.

"I think he was a sly, evil person that knew full well what he was doing, and he went out on this evening knowing that his intention was to get vulnerable girls into his car and rape them," she said.

She said Ali's insistence of his innocence had further upset the families.

Ali was also banned from working with anyone under 18 and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.
Source:: Times of india

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Let turban wearing Sikhs join US military: Lawmakers

NEW YORK: Forty-one members of the US House of Representatives have written to defense secretary Robert Gates to permit Sikhs wearing their
religious symbols to join the military.

Sikh organisations have been lobbying with US lawmakers after the refusal by the army to let two Sikhs with turbans join active duty a few months ago.

Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Second Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, were told to remove their turbans by the military when they were about to enter active duty after completing their preliminary programme.

In their letter to Gates, the lawmakers say: "We do not believe that any American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country, and urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that these two officers - and other Sikhs that may wish to serve - are able to maintain their articles of faith.

"Including Sikh Americans will enrich the military's understanding of diverse cultures, languages, and religions, thereby allowing us to fully appreciate not only the rich fabric of our own country but also the lands where we send our soldiers into harm's way."

Citing the example of Canada, Sweden and other countries where Sikhs are allowed to wear their symbols in the armed forces, Sikh organisations led by Sikh Coalition have urged Secretary Gates to end this discrimination by the US army.

The coalition said they will continue their 'Sikh right to serve' campaign till the US military changes its "exclusionary policy" against Sikhs
Source:: Times of india

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'Fake rape': Pak woman gets 40 lashes

LAHORE: A Pakistani court has awarded 40 lashes and two years’ rigorous imprisonment to a 32-year-old woman under the controversial ‘Hudood’ law
for “falsely” accusing two men of raping her.

The charge levelled by Abida Bibi, the wife of a labourer from Layyah, located 175km from here, against the two men was proved to be false in a court.

A sessions judge said in a judgement issued on Thursday that Abida had levelled a false allegation of ‘zina’ or forcible fornication against the two men. She was therefore guilty under the provision of the Hudood Ordinance related to ‘qazf’ or false accusation of fornication, he said.

Abida had alleged that four men had entered her house in 2008 when her husband was away. She said two of them raped her.

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Team UPA cruises to a 100

Hundred days is a small moment in the life of a government. It is perhaps no surprise that celebrations are muted as UPA 2 cruises past this
milestone. The decision to keep matters low-key seems to have been deliberate as the government looks to take stock quietly of how its second innings in office is progressing.

Some hype about the first 100 days was inevitable since President Pratibha Patil spoke of this target in her address to Parliament. The speech was careful in stating that the government would move to initiate certain measures rather than setting out objectives to be achieved. Yet, the phrase was catchy and it stuck — though officials clarified there really was no such 100-day document.

There was also a sense of enhanced expectation as UPA had returned to power with a solid majority powered by 206 Congress MPs in Lok Sabha. It was felt that with the Left and allies like PMK, SP and RJD out of the frame, it might be possible to expect a more purposeful and action-oriented government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be able to bring forth his real agenda, not one hamstrung by capricious allies.

The picture, however, is mixed. There is a welcome sense of progress in ministries like rural development and HRD, now under control of men handpicked by the Congress leadership. The stalled roads and highways programme is showing signs of picking pace. And finance is in the capable hands of Pranab Mukherjee while P Chidambaram brings his energy to bear on home affairs.

But governance is never simple or predictable. For instance, the Ambani feud flared up all of a sudden, embroiling the government and showing how important it is to manage perceptions. It took the government a while to ensure that it looked above the fray. Then there was the India-Pakistan Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement that opened a brief divide between the government and Congress. Drought and swine flu were unexpected challenges.

Fortunately for the government, the pyrotechnics within BJP has helped prolong the honeymoon.

The economy is clearly the main worry with the government anticipating a fall of 15-20% in farm output and more importantly, a slackening of rural demand so vital to its game plan of climbing out of a slowdown. As the year progresses, the full impact of the partially failed monsoon will become more apparent. Every half-point of GDP counts as the government hopes that growth does not fall below 6-6.25%. On the happier side, corporate results have improved and demand in consumer goods is picking up.

The government had marked out a wide area in the President’s speech. It had said it would take steps to provide early passage of the women’s reservation bill, but has managed to push through one for panchayats. A National Mission on Empowerment of Women is still in the works.

A voluntary national youth corps is being mulled while steps have been taken towards changing and expanding NREGA. Climate change has seen controversy over a small but significant shift in India’s position on emission caps while there is slight progress on wildlife conservation and river protection. Meanwhile, the drought has driven home the need to think afresh on water resources.

Strengthening the Right to Information, law reforms and revving up the power sector are proving to be challenges, as are monitoring of flagship programmes with a view to make them more accountable and ensuring better delivery. A monitoring cell in PMO is a step in this direction. A model public services law is also awaited.

The unique identification authority has set itself an ambitious target but better ID cards are badly needed with the proposed national Food Security Act running into some hurdles.

In its first 100 days, UPA 2 has had to negotiate some sharp bends with drought and swine flu but it hasn’t lost momentum. But then it has to run a five-year marathon.
Source:: Times of india

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After SRK episode, Salman Khan cancels US trip

WASHINGTON: Learning lessons from Shah Rukh Khan
episode, Bollywood star Salman Khan has cancelled his upcoming trip to New York to promote his
latest movie "Wanted", besides participating in the auction of his personal paintings to raise funds for his charity.

Organisers and promoters associated with the event cited Shahrukh Khan's episode at Newark Airport early this month, where he was questioned by immigration officials and taken for a second screening, as a major reason for Salman to cancel his New York trip scheduled in early September.

The event was scheduled for September 3 in New York. The promoters were also in talks with local organisers in cities like Chicago, Houston and Dallas for his other events.

"However, after the Shahrukh Khan event, Salman informed us that he would not like to take the risk of coming to the US at this point," an informed source involved with the planning and organising the September 3 event told PTI.

It is understood that Salman's decision was also propelled by what his aid alleged "the hard time" being given by the US Consulate in Mumbai in approving the visa of his close associates, including one of his family members, whom Salman wanted to bring along with on this promotional trip.

Besides Salman Khan, producer Boney Kapoor, former Bollywood star, Sridevi and Prabhu Deva were also scheduled to attend the New York meeting.

Informed sources said following the Shahrukh episode, which attracted much media publicity in both India and the US, there is a sense of reluctance among local promoters and organisers of Bollywood events to risk inviting starts from Mumbai.

Shahrukh had alleged that he was detained and questioned at the airport for nearly two hours as his name popped up on the computer of the immigration counter.

He alleged that he was subject to questioning as his last name was Khan, a charge denied by the US Customs and Border Patrol.

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