Pankaj Advani wins World Billiards Championship

MUMBAI: Pankaj Advani defeated nine times champion Mike Russell at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds to win the elusive World Professional
Pankaj Advani
Billiards Championship.

Advani beat the defending champion 2030-1253 after having a 800-plus lead at the break.

Advani is the second Indian to win the title in its 139th years of history. Geet Sethi was the last Indian to win in 2006, his first being in 1992.

There were doubts about the jinx of Advani continuing at the worlds when he had lost to Roxton Chapman in the quarters at the EBOS event in Yorkshire before the world event. Sitwala had lost Russell in the final.

This is Pankaj Advani's first Professional Billiards world title. He has already won the amateurs world billiards and snooker Championships.

Russell didn't appear to be the player who won the title last year beating Geet Sethi having trailed (470-608) behind Rupesh Shah in the semi-final at the half-way stage earlier in the day.

Pankaj had a good run-in thanks to his ONGC teammate Dhruv Sitwala who match him for stroke with the result just 65 points separated the two at the finish.

Pankaj had a break of 226 while Russell had a 193 in the final. In the earlier two rounds Pankaj had a 182 and 195 while Russell had a 267 against Rupesh Shah.

Pankaj hasn't got past the quarter-finals in his previous attempts. The last time the title came to India was in 2006 when Geet Sethi beat Mike Russell in the final.

Result:
Pankaj Advani 2030 (1070+960) beat Mike Russell 1253 (418+835).

Breaks:
Advani (132, 170,226,107,106)
Russell (193,100,219,129,137,147, 106).
Source::TimesOfIndia

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Federer into last eight at US Open

NEW YORK: Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer
reached the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win over Tommy
Federer
Robredo of Spain.

Federer will play Robin Soderling to qualify for the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for a record 22nd straight time, taking an 11-0 head-to-head record against the Swede into that match.

"He's got a big game and we had the final of the French Open - one of the most important matches of my career - so it's nice to play him again," Federer said of his forthcoming clash with Soderling.

"He has got some great shots and is strong off the baseline."

The suspense against Robredo lasted all of one set, after which the gulf in class was too much for the Spaniard to deal with as Federer won 10 out of 12 games to effectively kill off the contest.

The first set against Federer was drum tight with both men failing to convert two break points before Federer made the breakthrough in the 11th game thanks to a sloppy game from the Spaniard.

He then comfortably served out to love to pocket the first set in 57 minutes.

Federer was getting into full swing and he grabbed back-to-back breaks to take a 5-1 lead in the second set as Robredo started to struggle.

The world No.1 let slip a set point on Robredo's next serve but had no difficulty serving out in the next game for a two sets to love lead.

It was more one-way traffic in the third with Federer jumping out into a 4-0 lead and then even allowing himself to enjoy some serve and volley practice as he completed his 39th straight win at the US Open, including one walkover.

The 28-year-old Federer is bidding to become the first player since American Bill Tilden in 1925 to win six straight US Open crowns.

He also would make it three out of four Grand Slam titles this year, and for the fourth time in his career, and take his career haul to 16, two clear of second-best Pete Sampras.
Source::TimesOfIndia

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SL, New Zealand kick off tri-series

COLOMBO: The triangular series gets underway in Colombo on Tuesday with a Sri Lanka-New Zealand game but the main focus during the tournament
Sangakkara and Vettori

will be on India.

Specifically, on whether MS Dhoni's men can become the top-ranked ODI team going into the Champions Trophy, which follows immediately after. India are just one point behind leaders South Africa, with 126 points, but a victory here can vault them to the No. 1 spot by a handsome margin.

The odds, though, are in favour of the Lankans, going by home advantage and current One-day form. They defeated Pakistan 3-2 just last month, wrapping up the series in the first three matches itself. A Test-series victory against the Kiwis followed but Kumar Sangakkara is cautious after the twin losses to Vettori's boys in the Twenty20 games.

"T20s and ODIs are vastly different but a loss is a loss. We were outplayed in both the T20 games but we had some time to evaluate things and have also learnt from our mistakes," said Sangakkara.

Even away from home, though, Sri Lanka have done well lately. They won the ODI series in Pakistan before the series had to be aborted because of a terror attack on the players, and before that, beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

The Indians, though, will take heart from their recent record here, having notched up twin series victories. They beat Lanka in 2008 before returning in February this year to notch up another 4-1 win. The captain himself led from the front with knocks of 61 not out, 23, 35 not out, 94 and 53 in the five innings that he played.

Even though India had a very good tour of New Zealand, winning both the ODI and the Test series, the subsequent IPL took a toll and their form nosedived during the ICC World T20. The likes of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan picked up injuries and cracks started to show in an otherwise well-knit unit.

India's ODI form, though, wasn't affected in the short trip to the West Indies, where they notched up a 2-1 win. A long break followed and hopefully, a rejuvenated India can live up to expectations here.

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Paes and Bhupathi in mixed doubles semis at US Open

NEW DELHI: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi cruised into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles of the US Open with their respective partners.
Paes

Leander Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat Rennae Stubbs and Robert Lindstedt to enter the mixed doubles semi-finals.

Paes and his Zimbabwean partner won the quarter-final match 7-5, 3-6 (10-6). The duo will play the semi-final match against Su-Wei Hsieh and Kevin Ullyett.

Whereas, Mahesh Bhupathi and his mixed doubles partner Liezel Huber of USA beat eighth Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nenad Zimonjic in a straight set of 6-4, 6-3.

Bhupathi and Huber play their semi-final match against the unseeded pair of Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott.

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are already in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles of the US Open with their partners. Paes and Lukas Dlouhy defeated the Austrian duo of Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-4.

They will now meet the seventh-seeded pair of South Africa's Wesley Moodie and Belgium's Dick Norman for a place in the semis.
Source::TimesOfIndia

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No Class 10 board exams in CBSE from 2011: Sibal

New Delhi: There would be no Class 10 board exams for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated schools from 2011, union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal announced on Monday.

Sibal had so far said the Class 10 board exams would be optional. On Monday, he said "students who wish to evaluate themselves (on the board exam system) could do so on demand".
The minister told reporters here that board exams would be held as usual this academic year but a grading system would be introduced along with the usual marks-system

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Jet flights cancelled, pilots go on mass sick leave

Mumbai: Chaos prevailed at Mumbai, Delhi and other airports across the country as over 400 pilots of Jet Airways stayed away from work on 'sick leave' since early Tuesday.

Nearly 20 domestic flights, including several early morning flights on trunk routes like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and other major sectors like Jaipur, Bhopal, Ahmedabad were cancelled.

Jet Airways management attempted to club flights or accommodate passengers on alternate flights to minimise inconvenience to fliers.

A section of pilots, who were rostered for flying duties from Tuesday, have gone on mass sick leave since midnight in protest against the termination of two senior pilots.

Jet Airways had last month terminated the services of two of its senior most pilots, saying, "Their services were not required" after the duo along with others formed a trade union body in the company.

While National Aviators Guild (NAG) has decided not to go on the proposed strike, its members decided alternate course of protest action like going on mass casual leave which hampered the operations of the private carrier.

Terming the pilots action "as an organised and planned sabotage of operations that would damage the airlines' operations", a Jet Airways spokesperson said that it contravened the ongoing conciliation process with the pilots before the Regional Labour Commissioner.

"The Regional Labour Commissioner had categorically stated that any strike by the pilots during this pendency of conciliation, would be deemed an illegal act, as per the Industrial Disputes Act," said the spokesperson on Tuesday morning.

According to an airport official, by 7 am as many as seven flights from Mumbai and nine from New Delhi to various destinations had been cancelled. However, the situation could become worse as the day progresses with the likelihood of flights to more sectors getting hit.

Jet Airways has said that passengers can get either a full refund or re-book themselves on any other flight even as it made efforts to operate the maximum number of flights.

The union, which gave a strike call from Monday midnight, had termed the sackings "an act of vendetta" and demanded the reinstatement of the pilots.

Subsequent to its serving a strike notice on the management, the issue was referred to the Regional Labour Commissioner.

A conciliatory meeting was called on August 31 between both the Jet Airways management and the union which claims a representation of over 650 of the over 1,000 pilots in Jet Airways.

Referring to the directions of the Regional Labour Commissioner, the statement said "Jet Airways has been in a conciliation process with the pilots. The Regional Labour Commissioner had categorically stated that any strike by the pilots during this pendency of conciliation, would be deemed an illegal act."

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Man arrested for raping daughter for years

Bhubaneswar: A man in Orissa's Bhadrak district has been arrested for allegedly raping his daughter for over a decade and forcing her to undergo several abortions over the years, police said on Monday.

Bishnumohan Panda, 58, resident of Rajgurupur village, was arrested after his daughter complained to the police on Saturday with the help of villagers, said Mr Damodar Mohapatra, in charge of the police station in the village.

The 32-year-old victim, who is now married and has two children, alleged that her father first sexually exploited her when she was studying in Class IX and continued to do so for years, threatening her with dire consequences if she complained to anyone.

"Though my father later married me off to a poor man, he wanted my husband and me to stay at his home so that he could exploit me further," the victims said in her complaint.

"She also alleged that she was forced to undergo many abortions by her father in the past," Mr Mohapatra said.

"We have arrested her father and are investigating the matter further," he added.

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UAE plane with arms detained at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: A transport aircraft of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) air force that had landed at Kolkata airport for refuelling on Sunday evening was detained for carrying arms and explosives without declaring them, an official spokesperson said here on Monday.

The UAE air force plane (C130J) was flying from Abu Dhabi to Hanyang in China and had landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport.

"It was a routine transit. They had applied for permission through the embassy and subsequently followed the necessary procedure by filling up an official form," a ministry of defence spokesperson said.

"But in the official form, they didn't mention whether the aircraft was carrying any arms or explosives on board. They just left that particular column blank," MoD spokesperson (Eastern Command) Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani said.

He said: "When the customs officials from the airport boarded the aircraft to carry out a customary check they found a large cache of arms, ammunition and explosives inside, which was not mentioned in the form. They immediately informed the Airports Authority of India (AAI), police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

"Later all nine crew members, including the captain, were detained and the aircraft was parked at one of the airport bays," he said, adding that the customs officials did a "wonderful job" by detecting the arms and ammunition in the plane.

"The UAE air force personnel will be quizzed and the matter sorted out through both the embassies mutually," he said.

Asked whether anyone can leave a particular column blank in the transit permission form, the spokesperson said: "No, they have to mention something. No one can leave a column just nil when applying for a routine transit."

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Centre may abolish import duty on rice

New Delhi, Sept. 7: The Centre is believed to have decided to abolish import duty on rice to augment supply in the domestic market, after drought in about half the country stoked fears of a fall in production of the food grain.
Sources said that in a meeting last month, the empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on food, headed by the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, recommended that import duty on rice be cut to zero from the current 70 per cent till September 2010.
The government had once earlier (March 20, 2008 to March 31, 2009) scrapped the customs duty on rice as part of measures to control inflation. However, the customs duty was restored from April one, this year.
The empowered panel also agreed to continue with the ban on export of non-basmati rice, imposed in April last year, sources added. Prior to the ban, India was a major exporter of non-basmati rice along with Thailand and Vietnam. However, the country is currently exporting only basmati rice.
The decisions by the government came after poor monsoon ravaged the most important summer-sown crop — paddy — with area under the crop slumping by nearly 64 lakh hectares, deepening fears that rice output may fall more than what the Centre had anticipated.
The food and agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, had said last month that rice production could decline by 10 million tonnes in view of drought.
India produced 84.58 million tonnes in Kharif 2008. Paddy coverage has declined to 302.2 lakh hectares as on September 3, compared with 365.8 lakh hectares a year before.
The empowered panel of ministers also decided to continue with the zero-duty import regime of wheat. This apart, it has also recommended against allowing more export of wheat products beyond 6.5 lakh tonnes, as decided earlier. To increase the supply of both wheat and rice, the government had last month approved open market sale, under which the Centre will provide these food grains from its reserves to States and bulk consumers like flour millers.
Ironically, India witnessed successive years of bumper production of rice and wheat before drought put a question mark on the prospects of food crops this year.

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Sensex zooms past 16K

Mumbai
Sept. 7: The positive statements from the G20 countries that the stimulus packages would not be rolled back, sent positive reverberations to the US markets that closed high on Friday and the Asian markets that opened positive on Monday morning. The Sensex and the Nifty opened positive but no one foresaw both the Sensex and the Nifty smashing through the psychological barriers and hitting their 15-month highs (last seen in June 2008).
The Sensex closed 327.20 points up at 16,016 while the Nifty was up 102 points to close at 4,782.90. They were the stars of Asia where the Hang Seng was up 310.69 and the Nikkei 133.83 points. It received support from the European markets too that were buoyant.
The US markets were close on Monday for the labour day holiday. “The optimism on the bourses clearly reflects the recovery in investor sentiments on the back of the domestic economic recovery that is already underway. With the monsoon fear factor now behind us and positives like sequential improvement in corporate profitability and GDP growth creeping in, investor confidence has found some support,” said Mr Dinesh Thakkar, the chairman and managing director of Angel Broking.
FIIs were also seen buying on Monday after being sellers on Friday.
“The market was supported by FII buying and short covering,” said Mr Amba-reesh Baliga, the vice-president of Karvy Stock Broking. “Clearly the market has broken the psychological barrier of 4,725 and the 4,900 levels are now possible,” he said.
The Sensex could touch 16,700 after breaking through the 16,000 psychological barrier, Mr Baliga said adding that he does not see any negative issue for the markets for the next few days.
However if for some reason there are some people who feel that the market is still overvalued there could be a sharp correction, he said. But “we are in a bull phase, there is no doubt,” he said.
Mr Pradip Hotchandani, the technical analyst at Anagram Securities Ltd, said if you see the last few trading sessions were a phase of consolidation and the market decided to break out. The technical charts show an ascending triangle formed and when there is a break out one can expect that in the short term the Sensex can go to 16,500 and in the medium to 17,500, he said.
Mr K.V. Kamath, the ICICI Bank chairman, add-ed to the positive sentiment saying that Indian recovery was round the corner and with the monsoon picking up he predicted the GDP could grow by seven and a half per cent to eight per cent.

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Iran won’t halt N-work

Tehran, Sept. 7: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday Iran will neither halt uranium enrichment nor negotiate over its nuclear rights but is ready to sit and talk with world powers over “global challenges.”
Mr Ahmadinejad also said Iran will present its package of proposals to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany but rejected any deadline for such talks. The hardline Iranian President didn’t specify what will be up for discussion, or if it would even involve its disputed nuclear programme, but vaguely said Iran has prepared a package of proposals that would “identify challenges facing humanity ... and resolve global concerns.”
“From our point of view, Iran’s nuclear issue is over. We continue our work within the framework of global regulations and in close interaction with the IAEA,” he said. “We will never negotiate over obvious rights of the Iranian nation.”
Mr Ahmadinejad also said on Monday he is ready to “debate and talk” with US President Barack Obama in a public meeting before mass media when he heads to the UN General Asse-mbly in September. “I have said it before in Obama’s time and repeat it now that we are ready for debate and talk on global issues — which is the best way to resolve world issues — before mass media,” Mr Ahmadinejad said. Mr Obama and European allies have given Iran until the end of September to take up an offer of nuclear talks with six world powers and enjoy trade incentives should it suspend uranium enrichment activities. If not, Iran could face harsher punitive sanctions.

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UK Opposition immoral: Saif

London

Sept. 7: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown found support on Monday from Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son, who said that the Premier was not involved in release of the Lockerbie bomber.
“It couldn’t be discussed at a high level. It is not something that should be discussed at a leadership level,” Col. Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam told Sky News.
He also said British Opposition politicians were “disgusting” and “immoral” for using the release of Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbaset Mohammed Al Megrahi for personal gain.
“Politicians, both in the UK and America, are trying to use this human tragedy — both Mr Megrahi and the families — for their own political agenda. It’s a tragedy. It’s completely immoral,” he said.
“This is what happened in London in particular. There are political parties fighting each other, preparing themselves for the next election, and they are trying to use this tragedy for their agenda. They are disgusting,” he added.
Mr Brown is setting up a dedicated foreign office team to assist the IRA victims demanding compensation from Libya over alleged arms supplies to the IRA. However, Mr Al Islam said Libya would resist demands for compensation.
“Anyone can knock on our door. You go to the court. They have their lawyers. We have our lawyers,” he said. To add to the Lockerbie confusion, education secretary Ed Balls claimed to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that no one in the Brown Cabinet was in favour of Megrahi release.

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Maya plans to shuffle Cabinet

LUCKNOW

Sept. 7: To check the growing resentment among dallies and to improve the image of her government, UP chief minister Mayawati is preparing for a major Cabinet reshuffle later this month.
Though the date of the reshuffle has not yet been decided, sources said that it would be held after the ongoing period of “pitrapaksh” is over.
“Though Ms Mayawati does not believe in rituals, some of the would-be-ministers are averse to be sworn in during this inauspicious period. Besides, this is Ramzan period and any reshuffle will take place after it is over,” said an official. The chief minister, according to BSP sources, feels that some of the ministers in her council of ministers have not performed according to expectations, despite being warned on more than one occasion.
These ministers — most of whom are non-cadre leaders — have also been involved in cases of corruption, land grabbing and extortion and complaints of misbehaviour with party workers have also been pouring in. These ministers have been given several lessons in the party culture in the BSP but they have failed to mend their ways.
“These ministers will be shown the door and will be replaced by other persons of their caste because we do not wish to disturb the caste equilibrium in the council of ministers,” disclosed a senior party functionary. The dropped ministers will be given responsibilities in the party organisation.
The chief minister, apparently, is considerably disillusioned with the concept of social engineering because brahmins did not vote as per expectations for the BSP in the recent Lok Sabha poll

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Roja quits TD, meets Jagan

Hyderabad

Sept. 7: Actor and politician Ms K. Roja resigned from the Telugu Desam on Monday.
Ms Roja faxed her resignation to the Telugu Desam office and later called on Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy at the camp office to convey her condolence to the members of bereaved family.
“I met Mr Reddy to convey my condolences to bereaved family. I did not discuss politics,” Ms Roja said. Now, it is clear that she has decided to join the Congress.
Ms Roja, who has acted in 100 films, has been staying away from TD activities accusing the leaders of being responsible for her poll defeat twice. The actor had recently met Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy along with former TTD chairman Mr Karunakar Reddy.
“I thank you for giving me the opportunity to work for the TD for 10 years. Though I had tirelessly worked, I was ignored. It’s not just me, but several other leaders who are tirelessly working and are yet to get recognition,” she stated in her resignation letter.
She added, “Although you are aware of the happenings, you could not do justice. I never dreamt of leaving the TD. I was forced to quit since I was not sure if I would ever get recognition.”

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Crash 18 mins after signal loss

Hyderabad

Sept. 7: The pilots of the chopper carrying the former Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, may have tried in vain to contact Chennai ATC desperately before the mishap.
Forensic experts said the chopper watch found at the crash site had stopped at 9.30 am indicating that the mishap took place at that time. However the last contact with the Shamshabad ATC was at 9.12 am.
“They contacted Chennai ATC at 9.02 am and said they wanted to switch over from Shamshabad,” said the AAI director, Mr R.K. Singla. “The Chennai ATC asked the pilots to come back at 9.30 am. Meanwhile they contacted Shamshabad ATC at 9.12 am and said they wanted to switch over.”
However, the Chennai ATC did not get any communication from the pilots at 9.30 am since the mishap occurred around that time.
“The bodies could have been blown up due to the impact of chopper which may have hit the hill at high speed,” said Mr Singla.
Meanwhile, officials of AP Aviation Corporation said that the chopper maintenance engineer had given certificate stating that Emergency Locator Transmitter was working well.
An official of AP Aviation Corporation said that three police constables guarded the chopper in the State government hangar in Begumpet Airport round the clock. “But we don’t know whether the police have really checked the VIP chopper before it took off,” he said.
However, the official dismissed the possibility of fuel adulteration or stones being put in the tank. “If that had happened, the chopper wouldn’t have travelled till Nallamala,” he said.

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CBI to probe YSR helicopter crash

Hyderabad

Sept 7: The Centre on Monday immediately agreed to the state government’s request for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the helicopter crash in which Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was killed.
The state home minister, Mrs P. Sabita Indra Reddy, and the agriculture minister, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, said the state had sent a letter to the Centre seeking a CBI probe. The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, also spoke to the Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.
Ms Reddy said the government would also constitute a two-member committee with the former IPS official, Mr M.R. Reddy, an expert on VVIP security, and Mr H.S. Kola, former director-general of civil aviation to probe the crash. The report will be out in two months.

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Border with China most peaceful: Krishna

NEW DELHI
: As reports about Chinese incursions into Indian territory continue to mount, India on Monday came up with two strikingly different
reactions.

While Army officials admitted that Chinese soldiers ventured into India and promised to take up the matter, the foreign ministry stated that this wasn’t an issue at all and that India and China shared ‘‘one of the most peaceful’’ borders.

Foreign minister S M Krishna said India would be go by the standard mechanism in dealing with such cases of Chinese incursion. ‘‘Let me go on record to say that this (border with China) has been one of the most peaceful boundaries that we have had as compared to other boundary lines with other countries,’’ stated Krishna, while replying to queries on China violating India’s airspace and international border.

‘‘There is a built-in mechanism which is in place and which takes care of such incursions. With China, I think the boundary has been one of the most peaceful. So, there is no issue on that. There is no problem on that,’’ he added. In the latest such case, reports from Jammu & Kashmir said that Chinese soldiers entered the Chumar sector east of Leh and even threatened some Indian shepherds.

India has so far acted with restraint maintaining that the Line of Actual Control with China is not very well defined and that the Chinese don’t share India’s perception of the border. A senior foreign ministry official said that India has asked Beijing for clarification on certain disputed stretches along the LAC but Beijing has not responded yet.

The foreign minister’s comments came even as the Army gathered evidence from the spots on the Indian side where Chinese troops had painted rocks and left behind ‘‘tell tale evidence’’ of incursions. Defence sources said the matter will be taken up with the Chinese authorities. A senior Army official said though the Chinese used to leave behind signs of incursions in the past too, this is for the first time that they painted ‘‘China’’ over rocks with red spray paint.

Last week, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor had said that India had lodged a protest with Chinese authorities on the issue of recent incursion of a helicopter into Indian territory.
Source::TimesofIndia

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Govt rolls out red carpet for Naxals

NEW DELHI: The Centre, which usually remains tight-lipped about the kind of weapons the Maoists have, has in its new guidelines for
surrender-cum-rehabilitation of Naxalites indicated that the Red ultras' arsenal no longer consists of only looted police weapons. They could, in fact, also have deadlier ones — sniper rifles and surface-to-air missiles — which the ultras might have procured from outside.

Though the guidelines, finalised on August 26, do not clearly say what kind of weapons the Maoists have, incentives have been for the Red ultras who surrender with those kind of weapons — a clear indication of the assessment of security agencies about the Naxals’ capabilities.

The list carries details of weapons which the Maoists have looted from police during their attacks on patrolling parties, police stations and godowns of public sector mining companies over the years. Such weapons and communication equipment consist of AK-47/56/74 rifles, pistols, revolvers, ammunition of all types, grenades and wireless sets.

However, what could be biggest worry of the security agencies is something which the ultras had certainly not looted from the police but procured from outside through insurgent groups active in the north-east. Such weapons/equipment include sniper rifles, SAM missiles, rockets, satellite phones and very high frequency communication sets.

A senior home ministry official said: “The guidelines have mentioned these weapons as there is a strong possibility of Maoists having those deadly arms in their arsenal. It is not a secret that the Naxalites have, of late, been in touch with militant groups like Ulfa and NDFB in the north-east to procure such weapons.”

The government, through the guidelines for the Naxal-affected states, offer different amounts as “additional” incentives to those ultras who may surrender with such weapons. Sniper rifles, rockets, missiles and light machine guns which can even target low-flying choppers and other long-distance targets attract higher incentives to Naxalites if they surrender with such weapons.

“The incentive given for surrender of the arms will be deposited in the form of a fixed deposit in the joint names of the surrenderee and a state government nominee and may be given to the surrenderee at the time of completion of three years after surrender, subject to good behaviour by the surrenderee,” said the guidelines.
Source::TimesofIndia

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Rly to give 75% discount on train fares to HIV+

NEW DELHI
: For people living with HIV/AIDS, travel to hospitals and ART centres will get cheaper with the railway ministry agreeing to provide
them with 75% concession even in reserved compartments.

The Centre through counsel Aman Ahluwalia told a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam on Monday that the railway ministry had also agreed to extend this concessional travel arrangement to an escort of such people.

Till now, HIV/AIDS patients were given 50% concession in unreserved coaches though patients of other diseases like cancer, leprosy and TB were given 75% concession even in reserved compartments. Both railway and food ministries agreed not to refer to such patients as HIV or AIDS infected but as persons with “immune deficiency”.

This decision followed the August 13 meeting of officials from ministries of food and public distribution,
railways, road and transport, law and justice and health and family welfare.

The food ministry has agreed to treat all HIV/AIDS patients living below poverty line (BPL) as ‘poorest of poor’ and provide them with Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards to get a supply of ration from PDS stores.

As per estimates, 6.52 crore people live below the poverty line, of which the government treats 2.5 crore people as ‘poorest of poor’. Under BPL scheme, rice is sold at Rs 5.65 per kg while wheat at Rs 4.15/kg. But those having AAY cards can buy rice at Rs 3/kg and wheat at Rs 2/kg. Many state governments, as per the ministry of road and transport, had agreed to provide free travel to HIV/AIDS patients for going to hospitals and ART centres. But Madhya Pradesh government said it would not be possible to do so as passenger buses were run by private operators.
Source::TimesofIndia

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Rains improve prospects for rabi

NEW DELHI
: The late revival of monsoon may just have taken the edge off the drought. There has been a sharp upturn in the area under crop
cultivation since the beginning of August which bodes well for the rural economy and holds out hope for a better rabi season later this year.

Latest statistics, as of August 28, show that paddy acreage, which was worst-affected by a wayward monsoon, was 73% of normal which is up from 48.8% about a month ago.

As “normal” is an average of five years from 2004, the numbers look better when compared with last year when acreage was also below normal. Though the late revival of monsoon has eased the drought situation, the paddy deficit remains large at 60 lakh hectares. The total acreage is now 289 lakh hectares as against 358 lakh hectares last year but there has been a pick up due to late sowing in states like Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The deficit will be difficult to bridge — agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has spoken of a 10 million tonne production shortfall — but deficit acreage could reduce to around 40 lakh hectares.

The rains have given hope that the standing crop will be benefited, while there is relief in government that drinking water situation in cities and towns is improving. Same is the case in rural areas where groundwater had dipped and wells had run dry. Also, there was concern that farm animals would be badly affected by lack of fodder if the severe lack of rains in July had persisted in August.

The official mood remains cautious. “We will have to wait till the end of the season to see how healthy the crops are, what the yield will be. But the situation is better than what was feared a little earlier,” cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar told TOI. Reports were awaited on the status of the shoots in areas where cultivation has increased.

Drought remains a matter of concern with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling a conference on Monday, “This year, many parts of our country have reported drought-like situation. The experience has been that weaker sections tend to be worst affected. We need to step up monitoring and implementation of key welfare schemes like NREGS, Annapurna programme and old age pension scheme.”
Source::TimesofIndia

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