SRK-Fox in a Rs 100 crore deal

"I'm only tying up with Fox because I want to marry Megan Fox," said Shah Rukh Khan
as the actor laughed his way through to the bank with a mega deal of Rs 100 crores with FOXSTAR Studios for My Name is Khan.

FOXSTAR would market and distribute the film in India while Fox Searchlight Pictures, which marketed and distributed the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire in the US, will release the film in United States.

Slumdog Millionaire was a global success and also swept the Oscars this year. So, SRK fans could expect an Oscar for the Badshah of Bollywood too with My Name is Khan. "I've been waiting for my Oscar for 10 years," said SRK.

But Oscar or not will this blockbuster deal finally establishe Shah Rukh Khan as Bollywood's number one Khan? "I don't care about being number one or two or seven," he said.

Well, clearly the Bollywood's number game is no longer of interest to SRK, but with so many bigger numbers floating around who can blame him!

The film, which has been co-produced by Khan and Johar, examines how a life of a Muslim man from India, living in San Francisco, embarks on a remarkable journey across the United States and inspires people, inviting debate, creating an accidental revolution. (With PTI inputs)

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H1N1: Death toll 77, confirmed cases cross 3000-mark

New Delhi: The onslaught of the swine flu continued unabated with three persons, including a middle-aged woman, succumbing to the virus, pushing the countrywide death toll to 77 as 186 more contracted the infection since last evening.

The new fatalities occurred in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune as 41 more tested positive for A (HINI) influenze in the national capital where the number of cases climbed to 519.

In all, 186 fresh laboratory confirmed cases surfaced in various states as the number of those afflicted with the illness climbed to 3,095.

Usha Jain, who had tested positive for the flu and was on ventilator, passed away this morning in government-run RML Hospital in Delhi, Medical Superintendent N K Chaturvedi said.

Fortyfour-year-old Usha was a resident of Faridabad in Haryana.

In Bangalore, Siddarraju, admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases on August 21, died of the virus, health officials said adding he had also tested positive for chikungunya.

Swine flu fatalities rose to 24 in Pune, the worst-hit, with a 56-year-old man succumbing in a private hospital, Dr Ashok Laddha, Additional Director, Health, said.

Of the 77 deaths from the pandemic, Maharashtra accounts for 41 -- 24 in Pune, eight in Mumbai, five in Nashik, two in Aurangabad and one each in Dhule and Latur.

Fifteen people have died in Karnataka, seven in Gujarat, three each in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Delhi and one each in Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana.

Bureau Report

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Hottest sex variations

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When your relationship isn't a humdrum affair, then why should your sex life be dull and lifeless? There's more to a rocking sex life than just
Sexual act
There's more to a rocking sex life than just simple, great sex. (Getty Images)
simple, great sex.

A marvelous sexual connection includes different kinds of sex, even the ones you haven't dared to experiment with perhaps. Check out the different kinds of love making acts you and your lover can indulge in for a night of passion.

Experimental sex
Couples in long-term relationship often opt for this kind of act as they miss the excitement and lust filled initial-days of their relationship. With time, a couple's love life loses its zing and to get it back one needs to try new things. "Try pushing the regular comfort zones. It may mean trying a new position or a new room in the house; you can even go for thrilling experiences like making love on the terrace or in the balcony or at some public place." explains Meera Wahi, married for last nine years.

Why to try : There's nothing like the moment when you're struggling for breath thinking, "That was amazing, we've never done that before." Experts suggest that no matter how long you've been in a relationship, you need to have an earth-shattering sexual experience every once in a while. What's more try pushing the boundaries, as this will heighten the trust between you two, create an exceptional comfort level and minimise the possibilities of casual flings outside the relationship. So, go ahead and clue in to your partner's covert bedroom urges to transform the every-night mediocre sex to a mind-blowing encounter. You'll harvest the sensually gratifying perks too.

Necessary sex
Necessary sex can be explained as 'just-for-the-heck-of-it sex', which is vital for a long-term relationship to retain its sexual spark. These are your very special, intimate 'me-time' moments which relieve stress, burns calories and lift spirits. Supports Mihika, a 31-year-old, new mom, "As a new mom, I am tired most of the times. However, I make special effort to get going in the bed and this makes me feel closer to him. Even if the sex isn't that good, it feels like the relationship has become stronger."

Why to try : Necessary sex is all about decreasing sexual anxiety, accomplishing the Big O, and feeling good about your sexual prowess. Experts say that regular physical contact actually tunes the brain into the need to feel emotionally close. By making sex a regular habit, you can open new avenues of bonding as a couple. Moreover, doing it sometimes when you are not in the perfect mood can gear you up for something much hotter the next time around. And most importantly, don't forget how much a hit-the-roof orgasm does to keep your sex spark bright.

Bummer sex
Admit it, for it's something that's bound to happen. An awkward grunt, a stupid expression, somebody walking in unexpectedly or may be slipping down the bed, all of us can have these embarrassing moments that we would like to ideally forget. Akhil, a 27-year-old choreographer, recollects, "We'd been together since last one year. The last time we were having sex, her roommate just walked in. We didn't know what to say. Finally I said, 'Whoops!' and we laughed our heart out. The voyeurism added to the fire, needless to say."

Why to try : Don't fret about imperfect moments in your sex life; just rejoice and hold your lover tight. Your ability to deal with embarrassing situations reflects the strength of your relationship, say experts. Real understanding is about being able to feel at ease with each other in awkward circumstances as well. Emotional presence and trust is the biggest aphrodisiac of all and often provides the sexual thrill which can last a lifetime. React positively to embarrassing sexual mishaps and she will add funny, cute and smart to her mental list of reasons as to why she chooses to be intimate with you.

Vacation sex
A new, romantic locale often allows lovers to rediscover each another in a new light. Amidst trying different platters, adventure sports or checking out a variety of nightlife activities, every evening feels like a special date night. Vacation sexcapades act as a catalyst to reignite the passion in a relationship and make a couple feel more connected. "When on a vacation, you're at your most carefree best, which means you can try out new things you won't have to be accountable for at home. We went to Kerala on a friend's recommendation, and needless to say we had the best sex ever," shares Sidhartha, a 39-year-old business man.

Why to try : Something about leaving the laptop behind, turning the cell phone off and relaxing makes the sex better. Experts say that being in a totally alien environment sparks a sense of adventure and boldness in couples. All of this adds up to stimulating sex, which is more gratifying and more memorable than what couples have at home. Moreover, a vacation is the best place to get 'sexperimental'. When people encounter new experiences, dopamine spikes in the brain, eliciting a feeling of all encompassing lust. This is one of the reasons a vast majority of relationship counsellors recommend regular getaways as one of the things that can help strengthen your bond.

Make-up sex
There is nothing like engaging in a sexual reconciliation after a long, gut-wrenching argument. The quality of such sex is directly proportional to the amount of time spent apart; courtesy - the phenomenal release of emotions. "After all the screaming and blaming is over and we proceed towards reconciling, I fall in love with him all over again. This after-fight sex gives me the same kick as that 'beginning sex' when we first meet. All of that anger is released into passion and it's like we just want to tear down the place," admits Mehul, who's been married for seven years.

Why to try : Experts believe that make-up sex is a quick and effective way to get rid of the frustrations from a past argument. Also, it gives women the opportunity to be sexually aggressive, which might be a welcome change. This kind of sex is overloaded with passion because you have the rush of very intense emotions, from anger to joy. And when you're intimate like that, you're likely to have a strong orgasm, which releases Oxytocin, the bonding hormone which creates a physiological bonding mechanism between you and your beau.

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'Marital tiff not cruelty, can't be basis for divorce'

MUMBAI: Many a married man’s pet grouse is his quarrelsome wife. But a 47-year-old Parel resident’s attempt to get a divorce
on the grounds that
his wife constantly quarrelled with him, and this amounted to cruelty, was thrown out by the Bombay high court.

‘‘Normal wear and tear is expected in a matrimonial home,’’ a division bench of Justices P B Majumdar and R V More said, adding: ‘‘Quarrels between spouses over trivial matters in day-to-day married life do not amount to cruelty.’’

The judges also struck a blow for women’s rights. ‘‘It is not expected that a lady should remain like a maidservant and only prepare food and look after the children. The wife is not executing a slavery bond in favour of the husband or her in-laws,’’ the court said while dismissing a petition filed by Vithal seeking
divorce from his wife of 17 years, Rashmi.

The court also said a wife could not be expected to keep her silence and not complain at all. ‘‘It is not expected from the wife that she should not even speak a single word or cannot raise a grievance (sic) about a particular act of her husband,’’ the judges said. The judges also declaimed the practice of seeking dissolution of marriage for petty reasons. ‘‘Marriage is a sacred ceremony which is not to be taken lightly by either spouse; they cannot treat it as child’s play,’’ they held. The judges remarked that the manner in which divorce petitions were flooding the courts made them wonder about the future of marriage. ‘‘(Will) a child who is born out of the said wedlock be able to get the love and affection of father and mother in case the marriage is dissolved in a light fashion?’’ the judges asked.

Vithal married Rashmi in December 1992, and the couple had a son in August 1993. Two years later, in 1995, Vithal filed a petition for dissolution of the marriage on grounds of cruelty. He listed the instances of cruelty: Rashmi threatened to commit suicide if they did not go on a honeymoon despite the fact that his mother was in hospital; she fought with him after the birth of their son; on their son’s first birthday, she quarrelled and went to Siddhivinayak temple alone; once, after a fight, she went to the balcony and stripped; Rashmi did not cook or prepare hot water for his bath.

Vithal claimed that Rashmi was quarrelsome and did not respect or love him. She used to ask him why he had not disclosed his previous relationship, he said, adding that this amounted to cruelty.

Rashmi denied the allegations. She claimed that Vithal had a pre-marital relationship, and from the first day of their married life used to treat her badly and not provide for her. She, however, refused to give him a divorce, saying that she did not want the stigma of being a divorcee
.

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Gunfight breaks out at UP railway station

Ghaziabad, Aug. 25: Over half a dozen men opened indiscriminate fire on policemen outside Hapur railway station on Tuesday in a bid to free two undertrials being taken to Amroha town in western Uttar Pradesh to produce them in court, officials said.

Three police constables were taking the duo, Chandraveer and Pintu Khateek, who have been booked for nearly a dozen cases of loot, kidnapping and other crimes. They were lodged in Bulandshahr district jail.

"They were being taken to Amroha district court when the incident took place," said Ghaziabad senior superintendent of police Akhil Kumar.

The men first threw red chilli powder on the cops and then started firing, he added.

"Pintu received a gunshot in his arm. However, one constable, Gyanendra Malik, also fired at the miscreants forcing them to escape. Malik claimed that one of them received a bullet in his leg but all of them managed to escape from the spot," Kumar added.

Pintu has been taken to hospital and a hunt is on for the miscreants, he added.

The cops boarded a bus from Bulandshahr and were to board a train to Amroha from the Hapur railway station when the incident took place.

"Pintu is out of danger and the cops managed to prevent both of them from escaping," Kumar said.

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Fred eyes 2015 World Cup

London, Aug. 25: Victory in the Ashes series in his swansong Test was a perfect way to bid adieu to Test cricket and now Andrew Flintoff longs to end his one-day career on a similar high: by winning the 2015 World Cup.
“I want to play at the World Cup in 2011 and the one after that too. I’ve finished my Test career with an Ashes victory and I want to finish my one-day career with a World Cup win in 2015. That would be perfect,” Flintoff was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
The all rounder revealed how emotions overpowered him after playing the final Test of his career. “I admit I was tearful. All the lads were jumping around and I just sat there and it was a teary moment. I saw one of the Sky Sports cameras hovering round the dressing room and I thought, ‘no one’s seeing me crying’. I nipped into the toilets, gave myself a minute, got myself together and got on with the job of celebrating.”
Flintoff has asked his teammates to follow in the footsteps of arch-rival Australia and back their Ashes success with more wins if they desire to dominate world cricket.
“If lessons can be learned from the past, it’s that now is the time to try and dominate the world of cricket as a Test team,” Flintoff was quoted as saying in The Guardian.
“Enjoy this week, celebrate, get it out of your system and then move on, almost be Australia-like in the way that they’ve gone about it. They’ve won series in the past and they’ve continued to beat people,” he added.

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3 actresses booked for employing child helps

Mumbai, Aug. 25: In the wake of growing abuse of domestic help and minors, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday filed cases against three actresses — Bollywood star-singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and television stars Laxmi and Uma Khan — for allegedly employing child labour. “We have initiated police action against them under various sections of the Child Labour and Prohibition Act, 1986, Juvenile Justice Act and other laws for employing child labour,” labour secretary Kavita Gupta said. She also promised action against television actress Urvashi Dharnorkar, who was arrested Saturday on charges of beating, burning and confining her 10-year old maid. Earlier, Labour minister Nawab Malik told journalists that the labour department had information that at least two actresses had employed minor girls (below 14 years of age) as domestic labour.
“We have initiated the necessary proceedings against the actresses. We appeal to people to give us information about individuals who employ child labour so we can take suitable steps,” Mr Malik said. Ms Gupta said that Suchitra, former wife of film director Shekhar Kapoor, had employed a minor girl, Naranti from Meghalaya. Laxmi had employed Laila Khan while Uma Khan had employed Shanti Vishwakarma at their homes.
“Some NGOs got a tip off and managed to rescue the minor girls — Naranti, Laila and Shanti. With the help of the labour department, they have lodged police complaints against them,” she said.
Ms Gupta said that employing children below 14 years of age in households was prohibited under law because domestic work of all kind is categorized under “hazardous activities”.

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Vijayawada station faces threat from drainage under the tracks

VIJAYAWADA: Serious questions have cropped up over the safety of the railway tracks in one of the busiest railway junctions in the country -
Vijayawada - after the incessant downpour ravaged the city.

The railway tracks have come under safety scanner due to the existence of an old drainage line passing underneath the tracks in the station. In fact, clogging of drainage at the railway station has been identified as one of main reasons for the waterlogging in the I Town area since Sunday night.

The underground drainage line, constructed by the British way back in 1930s, passes through all the platforms at about 4 metres depth. The decades-old drainage line is posing a threat not only to the old city but also to the railway lines as tonnes of garbage gets collected underneath the tracks.

Though the garbage between 7-3 platforms was cleared, the drainage water is not flowing due to heavy collection of debris between 3-1 platforms. The efforts of the municipal authorities to remove the silt and debris piled up in the drainage has not yielded results as they could not deploy machines keeping in view of the safety of the tracks.

They used motor pumps to push the rubble through the channel but it was to no avail. Sources said the drainage was last cleaned in 1989 at a cost of Rs 30 lakh. The 149-metre long and 5.6-metre wide drain covering almost 11 municipal divisions in the old city area merges with the Eluru channel but nearly 70-metre long drain runs beneath the tracks.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to go deep into the drainage for fear of coming in contact with poisonous gases. We cannot remove the silt all by ourselves and the railway authorities should also chip in," an engineer supervising the works said.

The municipal authorities did not deploy workers to clean the drainage keeping in view of the death of two sanitary workers clearing the drainage on Bandar road recently.

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Man chokes to death on laddu

Hyderabad
Aug. 25: A 39-year-old caterer died after a laddu got stuck in his windpipe while he was taking part in a laddu eating competition organised by a private radio channel at a Ganesh pandal at Nallakunta here on Tuesday.

Pandit Joshi, a diabetic, had participated in the laddu eating competition despite being advised by his family not to do so. The person who ate the maximum laddus within one minute was promised a gold coin. Three persons took part in the contest.

Joshi, who ate seven laddus, collapsed when he tried to eat one more. In his desperation, he popped the laddu into his mouth and choked on it. Locals rushed him to Durgabai Deshmukh hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The body was shifted to Gandhi Hospital for an autopsy and the Nallakunta police registered a case under section 174 IPC.

The competition was held in a pandal at Baiamma Galli, near Veeranjaneya Ganapathi Devasthanam in New Nallakunta. The pandal was set up by Bose Youth Association.

“It was organised by Radio City 91.1 FM channel, and began around 7 pm,” said the inspector, Mr P. Murali Krishna. Joshi was a resident of Tarnaka and is survived by his wife and three children. He was into catering business and had gone to Tilaknagar on Tuesday to meet his relatives, but did not heed their advice.

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India's power backup bill Rs 130,000cr a year

NEW DELHI
: It’s not just suffering the blackouts. The cumulative cost of nationwide power outages is a staggering Rs 1,00,000 crore. That’s the
amount Indians spend on power back-up equipment like gensets, batteries and inverters, according to a study by Universal Consulting done for power company Wartsila India. Here’s the message for policy makers: That money if collected from harassed power consumers is enough to put up power plants to generate 25,000 MW of electricity — almost 20% of the present generation level.

Besides, the country also spends Rs 30,000 crore every year to operate inefficient power back-ups using gensets which belch smoke and inverters that emit acid fumes. According to the study, because of the inefficient power back-up systems, the equipment release an additional 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide additionally every year.

Highlighting key findings of the study, Rakesh Sarin, MD of Wartsila India, a subsidiary of the Finland-based major, said a ‘reliability surcharge’ of 50 paisa per unit, which is far less than the extra charges consumers are incurring to maintain the backup, can support rapid capacity build-up.

In one of the projections, Power Grid Corporation of India has estimated the value of lost opportunity for the country in 2008-09 at Rs 2,89,000 crore. In GDP terms, this means a loss of nearly 6%.

Sarin said the correlation between growth in GDP and addition to power generation capacity is close to 1. This means that to realize our ambition to grow by 9%, India needs power generation to grow by 9% annually after wiping out the substantial existing deficit.

On the brighter side, Sarin said, there are examples of consumers, like in Mumbai, who benefit from a 24x7 reliable power supply by paying a reliability charge. Consumers bear significant annual operating expenses for back-up power equal to almost one-third of the capital costs. The efficiency level of such equipment is often poor. Besides, fuels such as diesel are subsidized by the government, adding to the tax-payers’ burden, he added.

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Slang used at London ATMs

LONDON: You'd better get ready to use your loaf if you want to get your hands on some bread.


Over the next three months a cluster of East London ATMs will be offering customers the chance to withdraw cash using written prompts in Cockney rhyming slang, the area's colorful and often impenetrable dialect.

ATMs run by a company called Bank Machine offer a language option allowing customers to enter their ``Huckleberry Finn'' instead of their PIN, and rather worryingly informs them that the machine is reading their ``bladder of lard'' at a prompt about examining their card.

The origins of Cockney rhyming slang are obscure. It is thought to have been used by market traders who needed a way of communicating without tipping off their customers.

It works by replacing a word with a short rhyming phrase. For example: ``Money'' becomes ``bread and honey,'' which in turn is shortened to ``bread.'' Similarly, ``head'' becomes ``loaf of bread,'' and then just simply ``loaf.''

Few use the slang with any regularity now although most Britons know a few common phrases, such as ``trouble and strife'' for wife and ``apples and pears'' for stairs.

Gabriella Alexander, who made a withdrawal from an ATM, near Spitalfields Market, said the stunt was fun. But she added that that withdrawing ``sausage and mash'' _ or cash _ ``made me a little uneasy.''

Slaney Wright, a 32-year-old charity worker, attempted to withdraw money from the ATM but visibly tensed up when she realized the machine was talking to her in Cockney slang. She immediately canceled the transaction and ripped the card out of the machine.

``It looks like someone's been messing with it,'' she said.

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Taiwan confirms 376 dead, 254 missing from typhoon

TAIPEI: Taiwan government on Tuesday confirmed that 376 people were killed while 254 were missing after Typhoon Morakot struck two weeks ago,
bringing the worst flooding in the island's history.

The latest figures included 238 confirmed deaths from the worst-hit southern village of Hsiaolin, where 186 others still remained accounted for, the National Fire Agency said.

The toll could rise higher as the agency also listed around 60 bodies and/or body parts yet to be identified.

The typhoon lashed the island earlier this month, bringing a record three metres (118 inches) of rain, submerging houses and streets and destroying bridges.

President Ma Ying-jeou has called Morakot the worst-ever typhoon to strike Taiwan, saying the scale of the damage was more severe than a 1959 typhoon that killed 667 people and left around 1,000 missing.

The deadliest natural disaster in the island's history was a 7.6-magnitude quake that claimed around 2,400 lives in September 1999.

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Iraq and Syria recall envoys over truck bombing claims

BAGHDAD: Iraq and Syria recalled their envoys on Tuesday, deepening a diplomatic crisis sparked by Iraqi accusations that Damascus is sheltering
insurgents who orchestrated massive truck bombings in Baghdad.

The bilateral flare-up threw into disarray extensive efforts made in the past year to boost ties between the countries, which had been weak under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but which had recently been improving.

The row was triggered by Baghdad alleging that Syria was harbouring two Baathist leaders who plotted one of two devastating attacks that killed 95 people and wounded about 600 in the Iraqi capital last week.

"The cabinet demands the Syrian government hand over Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed and Sattam Farhan," said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, announcing that Iraq's ambassador would return to Baghdad.

"The cabinet decided to ask that they be handed over for their direct role in carrying out the terrorist operation," the statement added, referring to "the terrorist crime committed by Baathists and Takfiri (extremists)."

Takfiri is a term used by the Iraqi government to refer to al-Qaida members.

The bombings at the ministries of finance and foreign affairs six days ago culminated in the worst day of violence seen in Iraq in 18 months.

On Sunday, Iraq aired a video showing a former police chief confessing to the bombing at the finance ministry. A second massive truck bomb exploded minutes later at the ministry of foreign affairs.

The policeman said he had received orders from his Baathist boss Farhan, who along with Ahmed, also a Baathist leader loyal to Saddam, was based in Syria according to his video testimony.

"We also demand that Syria hand over every person wanted for committing murders and crimes against Iraqis and to kick out all terrorist organisations that use Syria as a base to launch and plan such operations against Iraqi people," Dabbagh added.

Syria retaliated within hours by announcing that it was ordering home its ambassador to Baghdad.

"In response to the recalling by the Iraqi government of the Iraqi ambassador for consultation, Syria has decided to recall its ambassador to Baghdad," a foreign ministry statement said.

"Syria categorically rejects the statement of the spokesman of the Iraqi government regarding the bloody attacks in Baghdad last Wednesday," it said, adding that, "Syria had forcefully denounced this terrorist act which left victims among the Iraqi people."

During a visit to Baghdad on April 22, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri rebuffed Iraqi journalists who alleged that Baathist boss Ahmed was in Syria and questioned the premier if he was prepared to take action against him.

"I don't know that name and I've never heard about him," Otri said.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Damascus only last week, when the two countries agreed to reinforce security cooperation, after the top US commander in Iraq said Syria's role in fighters crossing the border remained a concern.

Maliki travelled to Syria just days after a senior US military delegation was in Damascus to discuss regional security issues, reportedly including Iraq, a meeting that irked some in Baghdad.

He and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed strengthening cooperation, over border security, and Maliki "confirmed that having a strong relationship with Syria was in the mutual interests of both peoples," his office said.

Baghdad's accusations came shortly before al-Qaida claimed responsibility for last week's devastating attacks, naming the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and defence among its targets.

"By the grace of God, the sons of the Islamic State of Iraq launched a new attack on the wounded heart of Baghdad to destroy the bastions of faithlessness and the citadels of the atheism of the apostate Safavid (Shiite) government," said a statement on the shamikh.net site.

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Workers bare all to save jobs

PARIS: Workers at a crisis-hit boiler factory in France have stripped off for a nude calendar in a bid to save 204 jobs
slated for
redundancy.

Staff at the Chaffoteaux et Maury factory in Brittany will use the proceeds to fund a trip to Italy where they plan to stage a protest at their parent company, Ariston Thermo Group (ATG), which pulled the plug on the site earlier this year.

“Our aim is to show there are workers here who will do anything to save their jobs, even take their clothes off,” said Brigitte Coadic, representative of CGT union at the site and the woman behind the calendar, which is due out in autumn.
The operation is the latest in a line of colorful protest stunts by French workers after “bossnappings,” threats to blow up factories or pollute the Seine river, as well as the traditional dumping of agricultural produce by angry farmers.

But Coadic insists that the Chaffoteaux action, in which 13 male workers pose nude covered only with masks or helmets, is completely peaceful. “We don’t want to destroy anything,” she said. “We want to show what we can do, tell the management
that, if they keep us, we can turn all this media attention into something positive.”

Coadic said that the workers had been prompted to action when ATG said at the start of the summer that it would close production operations in northern France, cutting 204 jobs out of a total of 250 at the site.

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China becomes Japan's biggest trading partner surpassing US

BEIJING: In a first, China has surpassed the United States to become Japan's largest trading partner. The move is expected to have a softening
effect on China-Japan disputes over an island and have wide implications in Asian region including India.

"Japan's exports to China also set a record, making the country Japan's largest export destination and eclipsing the US for the first time," the Japan External Trade Organization said in a statement discussing the bilateral trade situation for the first half of this year. Though trade volumes between the two countries have actually fallen, the slide is much less than the reduction in Japan's trade with other countries including the US, it said.

Japan's trade with the US accounted for just 13.7% of its total world trade in the January-June period. Its trade with China accounted for 20.4% of the total trade volume giving Beijing tremendous clout over its neighbor's economy. South Korea, another neighbor, accounted for 6.1%.

Japan's exports to China fell 25.3% from a year earlier to $46.5 billion dollars. Japanese imports from China slipped 17.8% to $56.2 billion dollars, JETRO said. JETRO has also projected a decline of Sino-Japanese trade for the whole year of 2009, the first yearly contraction since 1998 Asian financial crisis.

JETRO offered an interesting observation while making predictions for the second half of 2009. "Due to weak growth in personal incomes, Japanese consumers will turn more towards inexpensive clothing and food items from China — but this will have limited impact on a value basis," it said.

Japanese imports of low-priced parts and materials from China (used in finished goods production in Japan) are likely to decrease again in 2009, as an early recovery in both internal and external demand is thought unlikely, it said.

JETRO said the Chinese government’s economic stimulus package had an impact on the country’s imports and this led to some recovery in bilateral trade in the second half of 2009.

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25 yrs on, UK blunder lets porn be sold legally to kids

LONDON: Retailers who sell children violent or pornographic videos will be immune from prosecution for the next three months after the discovery
of a government blunder 25 years ago.

Britain should have notified the European Commission of the existence of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (VRA) — which regulated the industry — but failed to do so.

“Unfortunately, discovery of this omission means that, a quarter of a century later, VRA is no longer enforceable against individuals in UK courts,” said Barbara Follett, minister for culture and tourism.

Follett said people currently being prosecuted under the act would not be convicted until a new act can take legal effect in three months, the period required for consultation with other EU member states. In the interim, people will be able to sell pornographic and violent videos to children under the age of 18 without fear of prosecution.

However anyone previously convicted under the act will not be able to appeal their case. The British Video Association asked its members to comply with the provisions on a voluntary basis.

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Interpol issues Red Corner notice against Hafiz Saeed

The notice will make it difficult for Pakistan to let the dreaded chief of JuD roam freely.

Earlier, government sources said that the CBI, which acts as the nodal agency for all dealings with Interpol, has already written to the world police body, based on the 26/11 chargesheet, to get an RCN issued against Saeed who was let off by the Lahore High Court as Islamabad didn't press charges against him.

Interpol issues an RCN against any accused after it receives all information and evidence against him from the country in which the crime has been committed.

"The RCN will be issued on the basis of the non-bailable warrant issued against Saeed by a Mumbai court earlier and also all the evidences gathered against him by the Mumbai police. These have been handed over to the CBI to let the agency take up the case with Interpol,'' said a source to Times Now.

While Saeed is known for his venomous utterances against India for several years, 26/11 is the first time his name has featured in a chargesheet. According to the evidence provided by India to Pakistan, Saeed motivated terrorists to attack Mumbai and was also involved in their training.

The Mumbai police have said that Saeed was among the 35 people who provided training to all the terrorists who executed 26/11 between 2007-08 at Muridke, Manshera, Muzzafarabad, Azizabad and other places in PoK.

Ajmal Kasab, in fact, had admitted in his confession before the Mumbai police that Saeed personally saw the terrorists off in Karachi a few days before the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has defended its refusal to act against Saeed by saying that India has not given evidence against him. This slim dossier which was delivered to Pakistan on Friday focuses on Saeed's role in 26/11 and emphasises Saeed being officially declared terrorist by UN Security Council should be strong enough reason for Pakistan to nail him.

In keeping with India's bid to keep the pressure going on Pakistan, foreign minister S M Krishna on Saturday said that India will keep providing more evidence on 26/11 to Pakistan. "As and when, we collect more evidence we will keep sending it across to Pakistan and that is what the foreign secretary did yesterday,'' Krishna said. Sources said that a Blue Corner Notice, which is meant to collect additional information about a person's identity and activities in relation to a crime, was already in place against Saeed. The RCN, once issued, can prevent Saeed from moving out of Pakistan.

An RCN, however, is not an international arrest warrant and Interpol cannot force Pakistan to arrest Saeed. India had earlier managed to get an RCN issued against Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar but it could not force Pakistan take any tangible action against him. There are some countries though which look upon an RCN as a valid warrant for provisional arrest, especially if the accused caught is wanted by a country with which it has an extradition treaty.

According to Interpol, RCN is issued in two types of cases; the first type is based on an arrest warrant and is issued for a person wanted for prosecution and the second is based on a court decision for a person wanted to serve a sentence. Saeed was placed under house arrest by Pakistan in December after the UN Security Council Taliban and al-Qaida sanctions committee banned JuD in December 2008 and declared Saeed a terrorist.

The Lahore High Court, however, let Saeed off in June citing the fact that no evidence had been provided by the government to justify his detention. The Punjab government later backtracked from its statement that it would challenge his release in the Supreme Court. The Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, had then made the startling confession that the federal government had not shared the "confidential evidence'' it had with the state government.

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Mother Teresa's 99th birth anniversary

Today is Mother Teresa's 99th birth anniversary and Missionaries of Charity across the world are holding special prayers to mark the day.

In Kolkata's Mother House, world headquarters of the Missionaries and Mother Teresa's home, special prayers were held early Wednesday morning.

Born in Skopje in Albania in 1910, Mother Teresa came to Kolkata in 1929 and founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. She won the Nobel Peace prize in 1979.

Six years after her death in 1997, Mother Teresa was beatified by the Vatican for her service to the poorest of the poor.

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Ex Indian envoy defends frugal meal served by UK Army chief

LONDON: Describing General Richard Dannatt as a "gracious host," former Indian envoy to UK said the meal served to Indian Army chief General
Deepak Kapoor by his British counterpart last year, was "wonderful" after a tabloid reported that the guests were offered a "fiver-a-head cut-price meal".

The then Indian High Commissioner Shiv Mukherjee said the food was "wonderful" and General Dannatt was a "gracious host," defending the frugal meal served to the Army Chief and 21 others at a reception hosted in August last year.

"It was an excellent party and Dannatt was a wonderful host," Mukherjee told PTI, when asked to react to the media report.

"It was an elegant and very, very enjoyable party. It was a wonderful party. Mrs Dannatt and the chief of army staff were gracious hosts and they made us personally welcome. The food was wonderful," he said.

His remarks came following a report in The Daily Mail that said "rather than serving delicacies from the nearby upmarket Harrods superstore, they (Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor and 21 others) were served pastries, cheese and salmon bought from the supermarket Tesco".

The entire meal had cost a mere 123.58 pounds - or 5.15 pounds per person, the tabloid said, lauding the British army chief for his frugality.

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Now, BJP hit by 'Sudarshan chakra'

BHOPAL: Even before the dust could settle on the storm created by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh's praise of Pakistan founder, Mohammed Ali
Jinnah, former chief of RSS K S Sudarshan raised another on Tuesday when he said in Indore that Jinnah was ``a true (Indian) nationalist'' and secular in his outlook until he was painted in a corner by Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sudarshan praised Jinnah's secular outlook by recalling that ``when Mahatma Gandhi supported the Khilafat movement in 1919, Jinnah opposed it. He had argued that Indian Muslims had no connection with the Khalifa of Turkey. But nobody heeded Jinnah. After this, Jinnah left for England and returned only in 1927.''

He went on to say that it was not Jinnah, but Gandhi's soft corner for Nehru, that resulted in the 1947 partition of the country. He also said that Gandhi had repeatedly offended Jinnah. ``One day, when Jinnah went to meet the Mahatma, he was made to wait for an hour. Jinnah was a man of self-respect. Meanwhile, the British had poisoned his ears. Later, Gandhi tried convincing Jinnah but it was too late. Had Gandhi wanted, there wouldn't have been partition. But he was inflexible because Nehru was his weakness,'' Sudarshan said.

``Jinnah had worked with Lokamanya Tilak. He was a man committed to the nation,'' said Sudarshan.

The RSS had roundly slammed L K Advani for praising Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan in 2005, prompting the BJP leader to offer to quit as party president. Sudarshan was then the RSS sarsanghachalak.

Sudarshan himself was ``urged'' to make way for a younger Mohan Bhagwat to take over from him as the RSS boss earlier this year

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Govt to move SC against Dutt's acquittal

NEW DELHI: In a belated move that may even intrigue many, the law ministry now plans to move Supreme Court challenging the acquittal of cinestar
Sanjay Dutt two years ago of TADA charges in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Ministry sources said the file has been sent to attorney general G E Vahanvati and solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam with a note that non-filing of appeal against Dutt's acquittal from TADA charges could work to the advantage of other similarly placed accused in the serial blast case.

Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act but was let off on the serious charges under the anti-terror law TADA by the special court in Mumbai on July 31, 2007. Dutt quickly moved the Supreme Court challenging his conviction and has since been on bail, which was granted in August 2007.

The move to challenge acquittal from TADA charges after two years assumes significance as Dutt, who is close to Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, was virtually given a clean chit by the government's top law officer in 2008 when he advised against filing of such an appeal.

The 2008 opinion of the law officer had said that the evidence gathered by CBI was not enough and adequate to fasten serious charges under TADA on Dutt, whom the trial court had rightly found to have committed an offence under the Arms Act.

With the 2008 opinion coming in the way, the ministry now wants the top law officers to examine the case afresh from the point of view whether non-filing of appeal could come in the way of seeking reversal of similar trial court orders acquitting some other accused of TADA charges.

Dutt was convicted in November 2006 under the Arms Act for the illegal possession of a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle but was acquitted of more serious terrorism charges under the stringent TADA law. On July 31, 2007, TADA special judge P D Kode had sentenced Dutt to six years of rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act.

It had said the crime committed by Dutt and his friends were not "anti-social, ghastly, inhuman, immoral or pre-planned" and did not cause any harm to the general public.

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MJ death ruled as homicide

Los Angeles, Aug. 25: Lethal levels of powerful anaesthetic propofol killed pop star Michael Jackson, according to the preliminary findings of coroner which were unsealed in a court in Houston.
The released documents, including search warrants and affidavits filed by the police in July to search the Houston office and storage unit of Dr Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, reveal that Murray accepted administering propofol to the pop star to treat his insomnia.
The documents also reveal that Jackson was consuming a “deadly cocktail” of various drugs before his death, the Los Angeles Times reported. Murray told detectives that he had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol every night for six weeks but tried to wean Jackson off the drugs by lowering the dosage to 25 milligrams after he realised that the pop star was addicted to it. Murray said he was not the first doctor to administer the dangerous sedative to Jackson as he was already addicted to it. He further claims in the documents that Jackson was also consuming prescriptions given by other doctors and when asked about it the pop star declined to provide the information.
Much of the investigation has focused on propofol and whether Murray’s decision to give it to Jackson as a sleep aid outside a hospital setting reaches a level of negligence required for an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The new development confirms what has long been suspected in Jackson’s death eight weeks ago but has raised further questions about the treatment of the pop star during his last days as he struggled to prepare himself for his extensive comeback shows.

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Bhajji wants increase in number of Tests

Mumbai
Aug. 25: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday said that more Tests should be included in the international calendar to retain the viewers’ interest.
“I would love to play 12-15 Tests in a year apart from ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. To get people to come to stadiums to watch Test matches, there needs to be a fair amount of buzz created. Also like other countries there should be free tickets given to kids over weekends,” he said at a promotional event.
“Look at the recently-concluded Ashes series. Every day there were so many people coming to watch. If they, we can do it as well,” he added.
On leg-spinner Amit Mishra who takes the place of the legendary Anil Kumble, Harbhajan said, “I have enjoyed bowling alongside Kumble and learnt a lot from him. But it is a great opportunity for Amit to do well. I wish him all the best.”
Asked about the Corporate Trophy tournament, he said that it was an opportunity for youngsters to play alongside Team India members. “The tournament will prove to be a good pre practice schedule prior to the start of the tri-series in Sri Lanka,” he said, adding “It will be nice to train ourselves before the start of the tri-series. We will go out there and play hard. And with players like M.S. Dhoni, R.P. Singh and Md Kaif in my team, Air India, I hope we win.”

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Lanco Infra faked insurance papers

Hyderabad
Aug. 24: The Lanco Infratech insurance scam has taken a new turn with The New India Assurance Company Limited denying having issued any insurance policy with a premium of Rs 1.89 crore to the infrastructure major.

Lanco Infratech had submitted a policy numbered 610200/44/08/03/60000027 to the AP Health, Medical Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation and secured reimbursement for Rs 1.89 crore. Lanco Infratech claimed to have taken the policy for the Rs 308-crore IIIT complex that it is building in Basar. Under contract terms, the contractor insures the project and the government reimburses the insurance amount to the company.

This newspaper had reported on August 3 that Lanco Infratech would take insurance for higher amounts, collect the refund from the government and then renegotiate with the insurer for a cheaper policy. During the course of investigation into that report, this newspaper had contacted the Lanco chairman, Mr L Madhusudhan Rao on July 31. The next day, Lanco wrote to the APHMHIDC, informing it of the “refund” of premium of Rs 1.54 lakh by the insurance firm. Subsequently, the company paid the “difference” through cheques to the government.

Now, New India Assurance has denied ever having issued the policy numbered 610200/44/08/03/60000027. This clearly establishes that what Lanco Infratech had submitted to the government was a forged insurance policy document and also a receipt purportedly given by New India Assurance acknowledging the receipt of the premium of Rs 1.89 crore.

According to this receipt, Lanco Infratech paid the amount through cheque no 709890 of HDFC Bank on October 3,2008. “We have not received any cheque for Rs 1.89 crore from Lanco Infratech, nor did we issue any policy,” Mr K. Madhava Rao, senior divisional manager, told this correspondent. The question of refunding Rs 1.54 lakh will not arise because we have not received Rs 1.89 crore in the first place, he said adding that the bank accounts of the insurance company do not have any entry for the said amount. The insurance company also wrote to APHMHIDC stating that it had only issued a policy for Rs 35.61 lakh on February 27, 2009. The policy number is 610200/44/08/03.

Significantly, there is lot of difference in the contents and format between the policy issued by the insurance company and the one submitted by Lanco Infratech to the government. The two-page policy of the insurance company goes into great detailed about various types of damage and the insurance cover taken for each, which is not found in the policy submitted by Lanco Infratech.

Stating that forgery of insurance policy attracts criminal proceedings, the divisional manager said the higher authorities concerned in the company should take a decision on this.

source :deccan chronical

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The South Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 takes off

Seoul, Aug. 25: South Korea’s first space rocket blasted off on Tuesday, less than a week after a launch was aborted at the last minute, but it failed to place a satellite into the designated orbit.
The launch, dubbed a partial success by officials, came less than five months after nuclear-armed rival North Korea incurred international anger by firing its own long-range rocket.
Seoul’s Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 lifted off on schedule at 5.00 pm atop a tail of flame, to the jubilation of officials and guests at the Naro Space Centre.
The Russian-made first stage separated successfully less than five minutes later and the South Korean-built 100-kg scientific research satellite was then placed into Earth orbit. But the science and technology minister, Mr Ahn Byong-Man, said it was not following the designated track.
It should have separated at around 302 km.

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41 killed in Afghan blast caused by 5 car bombs

KANDAHAR: Five car bombs detonated in a single simultaneous blast today in Afghanistan's largest southern city, flattening buildings and killing
Bomb blast

at least 41 people, officials said.

The force of the explosion just after nightfall shattered windows around the city and sent flames shooting into the sky. So many houses and nearby buildings had collapsed that officials feared the death toll could rise further. At least 66 people were wounded, said Gen Ghulam Ali Wahabat, a police commander in charge of southern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials said the blast appeared to target a Japanese construction company that mostly employs Pakistani engineers. The blast collapsed the company headquarters and destroyed part of a nearby wedding hall, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.

It wasn't clear why the construction company was targeted.

The AP reporter described the blast as the largest he has heard in nearly eight years of living in Kandahar, the site of several large Taliban attacks in recent years.

This blast destroyed about 40 shops, the AP reporter estimated.

"Once again they've killed children, women, innocent Afghans. They are not human. They are animals. You can see for yourself the destruction of this enemy," said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Sher Shah.

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Pervez eyes power again

slamabad
Aug. 25: Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf is already considering to seize power, only a year after a marathon nine-year innings at the helm, informed sources said.
“Musharraf is planning a return to power. He is discussing it with his close aides. He is not done yet,” a source close to the former dictator told this newspaper.
The source said, Mr Musharraf, who quit in August 2008 under immense national and international pressure, has called a meeting of his cronies in Dubai to discuss his return.
“The date for the meeting has not yet been finalised but Mr Musharraf will be flying to Dubai from London this week and then will summon his close aides there,” the source said.
The source said Mr Musharraf held a meeting with his close political aides and some mayors in London recently and discussed with them his future political ambitions as his two years ban on political activities will expire in November this year.
The source said that the former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam)’s secretary-general Humayun Akhtar Khan also held a meeting with Mr Musharraf in London.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan PM Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that he will not make efforts to unify Muslim League factions as envisaged by Mr Musharraf.
“I can’t do it for Mr Musharraf. He is clearly backing the rebel group,” Mr Hussain was quoted as saying one of his close aides.
Mr Musharraf had reportedly made the offer during a meeting with Moonis Elahi, son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, during the later’s visit to Mr Musharraf’s residence in London.

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Centre delinks NTPC from Anil

New Delhi
Aug. 25: The government has finally decided to clarify in the Supreme Court that the NTPC case is different from that of the Reliance Natural Resources Ltd and should be treated differently.
It has also clarified that the decision taken by the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on the gas pricing is without prejudice to the NTPC case against the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
The finance, petroleum, power and law ministers met on Tuesday to decide the government’s stand on the gas pricing so that the interest of state-owned NTPC is not hurt.
The government will tell the Supreme Court that as NTPC is a government-owned company, it can take a different view as compared to its stand in case of Mr Anil Ambani’s firm RNRL.
The government is likely to tell the Supreme Court that the deal between RIL and NTPC is only for a fraction of the gas from D6 block in the KG basin. The government believes that RIL and RNRL agreement will leave less gas for other important sectors. Also, the government will say that the gas price for the NTPC was discovered through global competitive tender unlike RIL-RNRL deal which was a family MoU.
“As far as the NTPC-RIL dispute is concerned, all that is needed is that the contract validity between the two should be proved,” said sources. NTPC will not file any petition in the Supreme Court to be made a party in the RIL-RNRL case as was earlier anticipated, said sources.
An eGoM had decided that RIL gas from D6 should be sold at a price of $4.20 per mmBtu. Howe-ver, even before the eGoM decision, NTPC had won a RIL tender to get the gas for $2.34 per mmBtu.
After the meeting, the law minister, Mr Verappa Moily, said the NTPC issue had been sorted out and there will be no more meetings of the ministers. He said that as the petroleum ministry has already filed a special leave petition (SLP) and “if any amendment is to be filed they will do it.”

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