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Breaking News
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GOVT TO MAKE HONOUR KILLING DISTINCT OFFENCE
NAXAL MEET: PC TO TELL STATES TO MAKE GOOD USE OF FORCES
'RACIST ATTACKS HAVE BROUGHT BAD NAME TO VICTORIA'
WE HAVE FULFILLED DEMANDS OF VOLUNTEER TEACHERS: PUNJAB GOVT
GOLD FOR INDIAN BOXERS, WOMEN'S FOOTBALL AND MEN SPIKERS
INDIAN TAXI DRIVER ATTACKED IN UK
SANTOKH SINGH DHIR DEAD
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Punjab News
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Chandigarh February 9:
Close on the heels of the self-immolation of a teacher, the Punjab government clarified that it has taken all the steps to fulfil the demands of volunteer teachers.
"The government has already accepted all the demands. We simply do not understand why the union leaders took to the path of agitation when we have sympathetically accommodated all the volunteers within the given policy framework, as per their demands," said a government spokesperson.
The government's reaction came after a 27-year-old teacher, Kiranjit Kaur, an Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) volunteer, set herself on fire in Kapurthala town of Punjab during a protest Sunday evening. She died in Ludhiana early Monday. "Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has personally intervened to allow relaxations in the matter of recruitment, service conditions and examination requirements as demanded by the EGS volunteers in the past," said the spokesperson.
EGS centres were opened in Punjab for a stipulated period and were closed by the government March 31, 2008. "Despite closing EGS centres, the Punjab government had ordered all eligible EGS volunteers to be accommodated in ETT (elementary teacher training) courses. Under this liberal dispensation, all eligible 1,480 volunteers had already been accommodated," the spokesperson added. "Therefore, the continuing agitation of union leaders has no rationale," he pointed out.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Chandigarh February 9:
The Punjab Government today asked for a record 10th extension for the unbundling of the PSEB even as it has finally cleared the way for the unbundling of the state electricity utility which may be done shortly.
The current extension to put off the unbundling of the board by the Union Ministry of Power will expire on February 15. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has accordingly in a letter to Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde requested that this deadline be extended till June 15 this year.
The Chief Minister in his letter claimed that the state had already initiated the process of consultation with stakeholders to evolve a consensus on the restructuring of the PSEB and to prepare a road map for the same. Badal said the government needed more time to complete this process and appealed that the PSEB should be allowed to continue as a state transmission utility and a licensee till June 15.
The letter comes close on the heels of a strike call given by various unions of the PSEB and is being seen as a move to placate them as well as involve them in talks. The unions were also sent a fax copy of the extension request. Even as the government is trying for a consensus on the issue, sources said the next extension may be for a very short period only as the state is finally serious about the unbundling of the board as keeping it afloat in its present form has become unviable.
The sources said the government was seriously considering trifurcating the board into separate units consisting of generation, distribution and transmission firms. An expert group has suggested this. The sources said talks were held with the PSEB Engineers Association a few days ago also which had been assured that the new units so created after the unbundling of the board would be headed by professionals and not be allowed to become easy sinecures for retired IAS officers.
However, this decision is still to be given the final nod by the Chief Minister with some quarters calling for following the bare minimum requirement of the Electricity Act, 2003, and making a separate transmission unit only. The government will have to take into account the fact that this may not help the PSEB out of the red as investor confidence in the utility is at an all-time low.According to sources the cumulative losses of the PSEB are likely to cross Rs 10,000 crore by March this year.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Chandigarh February 9:
For Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the root cause of all ills facing the state these days are the Badals, saying they should stop blaming the UPA government at the Centre and gracefully accept their “total failure on all fronts”.
Talking to reporters here this afternoon, Bhattal said the Congress Legislature Party was looking forward to the Budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha where the ruling SAD-BJP alliance would be made accountable for heaping misery on the people of Punjab.
“The blame for the tragic death of ETT teacher Kiranjeet Kaur in Kapurthala yesterday lies with the state government for its failure to notify the agreement it had reached with the agitating teachers. “Now by postponing the elections to the NRI Sabha, the SAD-BJP government has given yet another evidence of its shrinking popularity base. Sensing its rejection, the SAD would now ask for deferring the SGPC elections,”she said.
To cover up its failures, the father-son team of the Badals has started raising fingers at the UPA government at the Centre, blaming it for interference in the religious affairs of the Sikhs as well as for discriminating against the state in allotment of funds and new schemes. The SAD-BJP government has started raising the bogey of terrorism and Naxalism in the state, holding the UPA government responsible for it.
“Instead, the Badals would do well to acknowledge their failure in controlling the law and order situation in the state. There was a witch-hunt of the Congress workers and leaders. Further, she said, the state government instead of checking hoarding to contain the price line had decided to raise VAT from four to five per cent besides introducing entry tax and levying 10 per cent surcharge on VAT.
While the Centre has taken sufficient steps to bring down the prices, the Punjab government had failed to do its part. The power supply position was at its worst now. The SAD has also gone back on its commitments made in its election manifesto on promising free supply of power and water to farmers. “We will raise all these issues on the floor of the House,” said Bhattal, holding that the incumbent government had no right to stay in office because of its complete failure on all fronts.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Chandigarh February 9:
Shortly after a reunion of sorts over the issue of power rollback, the SAD-BJP coalition government is faced with a fresh cause for friction with the saffron party accusing the alliance partner of running a “private limited company”, a charge which is often made by the Congress.
The charge today, made after an emergent meeting of the state BJP presided over by newly elected president Ashwani Sharma, was made through an official release with the BJP saying it felt that the SAD-BJP alliance partners were running a coalition government and not a private company.
The release explained that this response was in reference to the alleged distribution of lists of Akali workers to DCs at a meeting held here which was presided over by Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal as well as omission of the saffron party from the ongoing government advertisement campaign. It also said the BJP held the prestige of the SAD-BJP workers on an equal footing and that any attempt to undermine this or differentiate between workers was unacceptable.
The meeting, which included Ashwani Sharma and Manoranjan Kalia condemned what it said were attempts to humiliate the BJP. It decided to convey its displeasure to the SAD and take a commitment that such incidents would not happen again. SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema, however, denied any list of party workers had been supplied to DCs the meeting. He said the Deputy CM had only passed “routine instructions” that DCs should not ignore public men.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Patiala February 9:
Apprehending threat to her life, Praveen Kaur alias Meena, one of the accused in the alleged assault on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s convoy in Manak Majra village near Nilokheri on February 2, 2008, has once again demanded the state government to provide her security.
Reiterating that she fears that premis (followers of Dera Sacha Sauda) would try to “eliminate” her, she cautioned the government saying, “In case anything happens to me, the sole responsibility would be on the present SAD-BJP government.” After meeting Director Education, Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Dr Gurmohan Singh Walia at Khalsa College, here today, Praveen told reporters, “Not only the premis, my family members, including my mother, brother and some other close relatives, can also kill me.”
She asserted that in wake of the fact that she has to travel to Karnal for court hearings, her security is must. “I would like to request the state government to deal with my case on priority basis and provide me security to ensure that no one tries to harm me,” she demanded. Notably, in an explosion in Manak Majra village, near Nilokheri, on February 2, 2008, nine members of Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s cavalcade got injured. Dera head had however escaped unhurt. Subsequently, on charges of being involved in the said attack, Parveen, a resident of Mansa, was arrested by the police on March 13, 2008 from Patiala.
After being granted bail by Punjab and Haryana High Court, she was released from jail on May 11, 2009. Meanwhile, Praveen has also appealed to the SGPC to help her in pursuing higher education. I met Director Education, SGPC Dr Gurmohan Singh Walia and requested him that she should be given admission in the Khalsa College, Patiala in BA-Ist year without charging the fee, as she was not having any financial source to pay the same.” She further said she was hopeful that authorities would concede her request on compassionate grounds.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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India News
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New Delhi February 9:
Rattled by the spate of honour killings in northern states, the UPA government is preparing a legislative route to amend Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provide a deterrent punishment against khap panchayats, which order death penalty to young couples who marry defying caste barrier.
"We are seriously considering amending Indian Penal Code to make honour killing a separate and distinct offence and provide deterrent punishment," a top home ministry source told reporters.
The preparation to draft a bill to amend IPC to make honour killings distinct from ordinary murders by widening its definition under Section 302 gained speed after attorney general G E Vahanvati recently gave an opinion answering in the affirmative the home ministry's query `whether legislative intervention was necessary to make honour killings a specific offence'.
Honour killings, mostly reported from Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, rural Delhi and some areas in southern India, had evoked sharp reaction from home minister P Chidambaram. In Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram had said on July 28 last year, "We deplore honour killings. We do not recognise the right of caste panchayats to take upon itself to pronounce whether a man or a woman should live together or a woman has committed an act, which, allegedly bring dishonour to the family or community.
That is not the function of caste panchayat. No caste panchayat has a right to pronounce upon the conduct of individuals." While considering an amendment to IPC, the legal brains would take into account various facts -- whether it is possible to treat leaders of khap panchayat, if not all participants, not as accomplices or abettors but as main conspirators in the honour killing and whether to punish those who justify such brutal murders as in the case of the banned custom of sati.
Another suggestion receiving attention of the home ministry is whether to put the burden of proof on the accused in honour killing cases since these crimes often remain closely guarded family secrets making it difficult for the police to get witnesses.
The push for the possible amendment of IPC to make honour killings a separate offence and make it distinct and wider from ordinary murder came from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which in the recent past had been flooded with applications from young couples seeking protection from caste panchayats and caste-blinded relatives. The HC had said it was time that society protected such harassed couples.
According to the principles followed by khap panchayats, there could be no marriage alliance between a man and a woman if they were of same gotra or belonged to different castes. Even if they had same caste and differentgotras, they still cannot marry if they resided in the same or adjoining villages.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Melbourne February 9:
An Australian opposition leader has criticised the Victoria government for allegedly failing to tackle the racist attacks on Indians saying "this has brought bad name to the state globally".
"Victoria has a serious and increasing problem with racist attacks on Indian students, but the state government is in denial and blaming the victims. Many of the assaults were the result of 'racist violence' but Premier John Brumby had failed to confront the issue," leader of opposition Ted Baillieu said at a gathering of Australian and Indian business leaders last night.
He also condemned the advice of state top cop Simon Overland to Indians to "dress poor" in a bid to avoid attacks. Baillieu alleged that the problem of racial violence was allowed to escalate with government providing excuses that brought international condemnation.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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New Delhi February 9:
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who will be meeting Chief Ministers of the Naxal-affected states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand in Kolkata on Tuesday, is likely to ask them why they were not raising enough forces on their own and not filling the existing vacancies.
Chidambaram will review their preparedness and inter-state cooperation in fighting Naxalism. Faced with repeated demands for more Central paramilitary forces, Chidambaram, sources said, is likely to take stock of how each of the four states have so far utilised the Central forces available to them. “All the states facing the Naxal challenge keep asking for more and more Central forces.
At times, the argument is that they have got lesser numbers of Central forces in comparison to other states,” said a government official. The Centre, sources said, wants to drive home the point that there is a limit up to which Central forces can be provided and the states should instead be filling up vacancies and raise more forces on their own. Having their own forces to fight the Naxals will be more beneficial to the states given the local antecedents of the personnel and their familiarity with the terrain, the states are being told.
At present, a total of 24 battalions (almost 24,000 personnel) of Central paramilitary forces are deployed to fight Naxals in Jharkhand (11 battalions), Bihar (4 battalions), Orissa (4 battalions) and West Bengal (5 battalions). Still, demand for more Central forces have been coming in. West Bengal, for instance, has requested the Centre to provide six more companies of paramilitary forces.
Addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security, Chidambaram said there were over 1.53 lakh vacancies against the sanctioned posts as on January 1, 2009. Stating that while the number was expected to come down to 1.38 lakh by March 31 this year, he added that the vacancy position reflected a very “unsatisfactory state of affairs” and there was “no reason why states should not press the accelerator on recruitment and fill the vacancies”.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Mumbai February 9:
Three Shiv Sena legislators complained Monday that their police security cover had been withdrawn, and accused the Congress-NCP of getting back at them for their recent opposition to the government.
Two of the three lawmakers, Jogeshwari MLA Ravindra Waikar and Andheri MLC Anil Parab, were among the 342 Shiv Sena activists who were detained last week for waving black flags at Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Mumbai. Before that, Parab had led a march to Shah Rukh Khan’s home to protest the star’s statement that Pakistani players should have been part of the IPL.
The third lawmaker, Bandra MLA Prakash (Bala) Sawant, said he had not taken part in any protests but had visited police stations to talk to Sainiks who had been detained. MLAs and MLCs in Maharashtra are provided security by the Protection and Security Department of the Mumbai Police, and are assigned policemen not above the rank of constable who carry a small weapon and work in 12-hour shifts.
Parab has been protected since 2005; Sawant since 2007. Waikar has been provided security since the Assembly elections in October 2009. All three got security after confrontations with political rivals. Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan said he had not given any orders to withdraw the legislators’ security. But top sources in the police confirmed security was lifted after the legislators were booked for rioting.
“You cannot have the state giving security to someone against whom an offence has been registered,” said a senior officer, adding that the legislators would get their security back only if the Commissioner issued an order to that effect. Waikar said his security guard told him that he had been ordered by the Commissioner’s office to move out of the assignment. “He has not returned since. When I enquired, I was told about my participation in the Rahul Gandhi protest,” he told reporters.
“This is extremely wrong on the government’s part. I have been receiving threatening calls over the last few days, and now I don’t have security.” Parab said his securitymen left last week. Sawant complained he had been targeted despite his not having taken part in the protests. “I had only gone to meet activists detained at various police stations,” Sawant said. He added he would write to the police to ask them to restore his security. “My constituency is very sensitive and if anything happens to me the state government will be responsible.”
Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said the government should not bring politics into matters of security. “The protests were political, not for individual benefit. The police should be more objective and not politicise security,” she said. “MLAs are entitled to security and the government must restore it immediately.” Dahisar MLA Vinod Ghosalkar, who was also detained for waving black flags, accused the government of being vengeful. “The government is out to take revenge against us. Such action against elected MLAs is shameful,” he said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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London February 9:
An Indian-origin taxi driver in east Midland’s town of Leicester has suffered injuries and lost his vehicle during an unprovoked attack by two passengers while he was dropping them off at night.
Bharat Upadhay, 48, who has been driving the taxi for the last four months, said he suffered cuts and bruises to his face and neck after a man and a woman attacked him as he dropped them off in Braunstone Frith, Leicester on Saturday. “The man asked me to stop and I had just told him how much the fare was when suddenly I felt a rope around my neck.
He held the rope so tight I thought I was suffocating. Then the woman pulled out a knife and tried to stab me,” Upadhyay, who feared for his life during the attack, said, adding he was terrified. “I thought I was going to die. It was really scary but I need this job as it is my bread and butter. I am worried about going out at night again after what happened,” he said.
Reports from Leicester said Upadhay had managed to free himself from the rope but the man then grabbed him, holding his head against the head rest while the woman began punching his head and face. He eventually slipped free of the man’s grip and got out of the car.
But he was again confronted and forced to hand over his wallet before he was able to run off. When he returned to the scene, he said his taxi had disappeared. Upadhay said “Taxi drivers were attacked too often and something needs to be done. I was lucky this time.”
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Sports News
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Dhaka February 9:
Indian boxers, and women's soccer and men's volleyball teams won gold medals in the ongoing 11th South Asian Games here.
The women's soccer team, which was struck off the FIFA rankings last year due to lack of international appearances, won 3-1 against Nepal in the final at Bangabandhu Stadium.
In boxing, India's male pugilists Amandeep Singh (48 kg), Suranjoy Singh (51 kg) and Chhote Lal (57 kg) won the yellow metal. Amandeep defeated Mohammed Arif of Afghanistan 7-2 to win the gold. Suranjoy outclassed Mohammed Wazim of Pakistan 11-4 in the 51 kg final and Chhote Lal beat local boy Mohammed Fayzal Mullah 6-2.
At the packed Bangabandhu Stadium, Nepal took the lead but India came back strongly to level the terms when Bembem Devi converted from the penalty as first half ended 1-1. In the second half, India pressed on the accelerator and scored two more goals through Naobi Chanu to register a historic win. India were unbeaten in all their five matches and scored 29 goals. India were also awarded the Fair Play trophy.
The Indian men defended their volleyball gold medal defeating Pakistan 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-16) in the final at the Mirpur Shaheed Sohrawardy Indoor Stadium. Subba Rao, Ukkara Pandian Sanjay Kumar, Naveen Raja Jacob and Srikanth were the stars of the show.
Subba Rao played extraordinarily in blocking while Ukkara Pandian created some excellent set-ups and adding to the game plan were some extraordinary counter attacks by Naveen Raja Jacob and Srikanth which enabled the team to win by a formidable margin. The Volleyball Federation of India announced a cash prize of Rs.1.5 million for the team.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Mirpur February 9:
Indian swimmers concluded their campaign at the 11th South Asian Games in style, winning four more gold medals with a new meet record and took their overall tally to 25 here.
India also bagged a silver to sign off from the event with a haul of 16 gold, seven silver and two bronze medals. Thus Indian swimmers reigned in the pool in 16 of the 19 competitions held.
In the 50m breaststroke, Arjun Jaya Prakash shattered the 30.43 record held by Mohammad Shahajahan Ali Rony of Bangladesh as he clocked 30.04 en route to the gold medal. Local lads Mohammad Shahajahan Ali Rony (31.04) and Mohammad Kamal Hossain (31.05) took the silver and bronze respectively.
Having made a national meet record in the 50m butterfly, Shubha Chittaranjan picked her second gold medal when she finished first in the 50m freestyle with a timing of 27.98s.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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New Delhi February 8:
The crisis on the captaincy issue of the Indian hockey squad deepened on Monday with players backing Prabhjot Singh as the skipper of the World Cup side. According to sources, Rajpal Singh doesn't have the backing of the team-mates due to his stand during the face-off with Hockey India officials over payment issues.
Meanwhile, chief coach Jose Brasa was adamant on pushing his case that Prabhjot Singh should be made the skipper of the World Cup side. On Sunday, sources in the team said Brasa has summoned Prabhjot, who had gone to his native place in Punjab after he was being assured of captaincy by the Spaniard, to meet him to discuss how to make a united move to present their case.
It is learnt that a section of the players were shocked by Hockey India decision to retain Rajpal Singh as captain after they had been told by Brasa that Prabhjot will lead the side in the February 28-March 13 high-profile event. "Before the selection trials on Saturday, Brasa had announced at the hotel in the presence of all players that Prabhjot Singh will be the captain with four vice-captains.
This morning we came to know that Rajpal is the captain. This had irked both Brasa and Prabhjot, who is away at his home," the source said. Meanwhile, Rajpal said that there was no disunity among the players and there was no meeting. "As far as I am concerned, I am the captain and I declare that there is no disunity among us. All the players including Prabhjot are together and have been looking forward to playing for the country in the World Cup. I have not been told about the meeting tonight," Rajpal said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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New Delhi February 8:
Having made a flying start to the new season, rising Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar has now set his sights on challenging for the prestigious Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.
The 21-year-old triumphed at the season-opening Asian Tour International in Bangkok on Sunday, coming from six shots back to win with a closing 64 and said his confidence was now sky high.
"I'll try to win the Order of Merit this year. This win has put me in a good frame of mind but I'll need to win the big events which will be the goal for the rest of the year," said Bhullar, who sits on top the first Order of Merit for 2010 after bagging $47,550 for his win in Bangkok. India has produced three Order of Merit champions with the pride of place going to Jeev Milkha Singh, who has won the accolade twice, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa.
Bhullar underscored his immense talent at the Suwan Golf and Country Club to produce a scintillating course record on the last day. His four-day total of 11-under 277 was a stroke better than runner-up Hwang Inn-choon of Korea. While Bhullar was delighted with his victory, he admitted that luck played a role in his triumph as overnight leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand faltered with a final round 73.
"I'm glad and I'm lucky that it came my way. Starting the day, I thought Kiradech was going to win as he's a great talent and a good ball striker. I guess I'm lucky the golfing gods were with me," said the Indian. "I feel amazing. I have no words to describe, I'm totally speechless. When I woke up this morning (Sunday), I just wanted to shoot a good number. I never ever thought I am going to shoot a 64 and win by one. It's like a dream coming true.
My first event of the year and winning at the start of the year will give me a lot of confidence." All eyes will now be on this week's Euro 1.5 million Avantha Masters which is tri-sanctioned between the Asian Tour, European Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Melbourne February 8:
Runners-up of the last two editions, Australia today announced their 18-member squad for the Hockey World Cup to be held in New Delhi from February 28 to March 13.
Coached by former technical consultant of the Indian hockey team Ric Charlesworth, Australia would be aiming to end a 24-year wait for a World Cup title. The squad is almost the same which won the Champions Trophy held in Melbourne late last year.
"In what can be considered an unexpected selection, 21-year-old striker Kieran Govers has been selected in the squad," Hockey Australia said in a statement. Still only a member of the national development squad, Govers made his national debut only 12 days ago during a recent three-Test series against Korea in Hobart. The other strikers in the squad include Des Abbott, Grant Schubert and Glenn Turner.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Cricket Special
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Mumbai February 9:
Indian Premier League's (IPL) return to India after being held in South Africa in its previous edition will be a huge advantage to Rajasthan Royals, feels skipper Shane Warne.
"Going back to India, it suits our players. India suits our style of play we saw in IPL-I. The way we played is why we captured public imagination in India and abroad. "For us everyone involved with the Royals, its exciting to go back to India,," Warne told reporters here over phone from London today.
Former legendary Australian spinner, who is also the coach of Royals, said that changes have been made to the squad for the third edition of the Twenty20 tournament and induction of new players would enthuse new energy in the side. "IPL-3 is a big year. Everybody's contract will be over and everybody will be looking to perform well.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 9
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Nagpur February 8:
Virender Sehwag slammed his 18th century before throwing his wicket away as India reached 221 for four in reply to South Africa's mammoth first innings total of 558 for six at lunch on the third day of the first cricket Test between the two sides here today.
Sehwag cracked a fluent 109 off 139 balls to lead the home team's fight-back along with S Badrinath, who hit half century in his maiden innings, before slashing a wide Wayne Parnell delivery to give a straight-forward catch to JP Duminy at the deep.
The irrepressible Sehwag was quite clearly the dominant partner in the fourth wicket partnership with Badrinath, who negotiated a fiery post-lunch spell from Dale Steyn, that yielded 136 runs in 197 balls and lifted India from a sorry-looking 56 for three to 192 for four.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Nagpur February 8:
South Africa struck three blows before Virender Sehwag's defiant half century helped India reach 119 for three in reply to the visitors' mammoth first innings score of 558 at lunch on the third day of the first Test here today.
The pace duo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel dished out fiery spells to dismiss in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay and ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar cheaply before the home team recovered through the enterprise shown by Sehwag.
Sehwag's typically aggressive knock of 63 included eight fours in 90 balls. In his company was debutant Subramaniam Badrinath (21), who faced 54 balls. The fourth wicket duo came together when the hosts were in deep rut at 56 for three at the fall of Tendulkar's wicket in the 15th over. Sehwag and Badrinath stemmed the rot with an unbroken half century stand worth 63 runs by the end of the session.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Lahore February 8:
Former captain Imran Khan called for an end to ad-hocism and government interference in Pakistan cricket which he said have been damaging the game in the country.
"Ad-hocism, the influence of departmental teams and the practice of the President being chief patron of the cricket board are the three major causes for our cricket problems," Imran said at a show 'Cricket Ka Muqadma' (cricket's trial) on 'Geo News' channel.
"Our domestic structure is still weak and one of the main reasons for our team's inconsistent performances. Unless we have only regional cricket and unless we end this ad-hocism in cricket nothing will improve," he added.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Washington February 7:
Backing Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan on the Pakistani players' participation in the Indian Premier League, cricketer-turned-politician Mohammad Azharuddin said the Twenty20 event should feature the world's best players irrespective of their nationality.
"I feel all the good players from different countries should participate in such a big tournament," Azharuddin told reporters. "Politics and sports are two different things. Players should be left alone.
All the good players should be taken in the IPL, not just the Pakistan players," added the former Indian captain, who was stuck in his hotel for an entire day due to the snow storm here. The former batsman said having the best players would only enhance the popularity of the tournament.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 7
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New Delhi February 8:
Expressing satisfaction at the 7.2 per cent growth estimates for this fiscal, the Planning Commission today pitched for phased withdrawal of stimulus in the forthcoming budget to be unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 26.
"We should say the stimulus has succeeded and we should begin to phase it down. Fiscal deficit next year would be lower than that of this year," Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
In order to help the industry combat the impact of global financial crisis, the government had provided three stimulus packages to the industry resulting in a revenue sacrifice of Rs 1.86 lakh crore. The stimulus, which included tax cuts and raising public expenditure, is expected to push up the fiscal deficit to 6.8 per cent of GDP during 2009-10 from 6.2 per cent a year ago.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Kolkata February 8:
As food inflation spiralled to over 17 per cent, the government on Monday said that the price situation is being reviewed regularly and surge in prices of essential items would be controlled soon.
"The process is on to control the price rise. I am hopeful that the prices of essential items will be in control soon," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after receiving the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque at the Asiatic Society here.
"There is an imbalance between the demand and supply and the Centre has taken notice of it. Some people were taking advantage. The government has taken the initiative to increase the supply line so that there is a balance with the demand ratio," he added said. He said that a committee has been formed and the price situation was being reviewed.
The Centre on Saturday announced setting up of a committee, comprising chief ministers of 10 states, along with the Finance Minister, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to suggest various ways to tame rising prices, including revamping of public distribution system. "The Centre has taken some concrete steps like liberalising imports and removal of duties.
The PDS has been totally revamped so that people can get the benefit of steps taken by the government," Mukherjee, who is Chairman of the planning board of Asiatic Society, said. The wholesale price-based general inflation, from sub-zero level last year, crossed 7 per cent in December and is estimated to climb to 8.5 per cent by March.
Mukherjee was conferred with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque for significant contribution to human progress and international understanding. After receiving the award Mukherjee said, "Many eminent personalities have received the award including Nobel laureates and assassinated Prime Minister of Sweden, Olaf Palme. I am honoured to receive such a prestigious award."
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Mumbai February 8:
In highly choppy trade, the BSE benchmark index Sensex failed to regain the psychological 16,000-mark today, despite ending in the positive terrain for the second day with a gain of 20 points, as funds continued to their selling spree in heavy-weight counters.
Tracking Asia, the Sensex opened 95 points down and shuttled between 16,061.41 and 15,651.99 before shutting the shop for the day up a paltry 19.96 points at 15,935.61, as Reliance and Infosys bucked the general downtrend. These two stocks alone carry nearly 23% weight in the index.
While the market remained low at the outset, a last-hour buying on better GDP projection and higher opening in European markets saved the market from any major fall.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty ended almost flat gaining a paltry 3.15 points to 4,760.40, after swaying between 4,799.05 and 4,675.40 points. The index opened 26 points down following poor Asian cues.
The gains were led by capital goods, tech, bank and realty indices which rose between 0.56 to 0.31%; while metals, auto and healthcare counters lost between 1.38 to 0.11%. The metal index suffered the most by shedding 1.38% to 15,392.80, after Tata Steel slipping by Rs 24.90 to Rs 533.80 and the biggest aluminum producer Hindalco sinking by Rs 5.30 to Rs 136.10.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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New Delhi February 8:
Gold prices moved up Rs 80 to Rs 16,520 per ten grams in the bullion market on seasonal buying amid a positive global trend. Standard gold and ornaments advanced further by Rs 80 each to Rs 16,520 and Rs 16,370 per ten grams, respectively. The precious metal had gained Rs 50 in the last session.
Meanwhile, sovereign remained steady at Rs 13,925 per piece of eight grams in restricted deals. Buying in gold picked up amid a firming global trend, according to traders. The metal added 0.3% to $1,069.25 an ounce in London.
However, silver ready declined by Rs 100 to Rs 24,500 per kg on reduced offtake from industrial units and coin makers and weekly-based delivery lost Rs 175 to reach Rs 24,135 per kg. Silver coins remained steady at their previous levels of Rs 32,900 for buying and Rs 33,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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New Delhi February 7:
Leading economists feel that the economy is likely to grow in the range of 6.7 to 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal, the estimates of which will be released by the government on Monday.
"The growth is likely to be at 6.7 per cent in the current fiscal," leading rating agency Crisil's principal economist Dharmakriti Joshi said, adding the third quarter GDP growth could fall to 6 per cent but the growth accelerate in the fourth quarter and touch 8 per cent. However, Yes Bank chief economist Shubhada Rao, is confident of a much better growth rate saying, the economy is likely to grow by 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal.
After growing at 9 per cent in three preceding years, GDP growth slipped to 6.7 per cent in the past fiscal, impacted by global financial crisis. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the economy registered a growth rate of 6.1 per cent. However, beating expectations of analysts, the GDP grew by an astonishing 7.9 per cent in the second quarter.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent this fiscal, similar to what was projected by the Reserve Bank. Echoing his Yes Bank counterpart, HDFC Bank chief economist Abheek Barua too pegged the GDP growth rate at over 7 per cent. The GDP numbers are likely to be between 7.1 and 7.3 per cent, mainly led by industry, Baura said.
"The industrial sector is likely to grow by 9 per cent. However, agriculture could show a negative growth of 0.6 per cent," he added. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the mid-year review of the economy in December had said that the economy could grow in excess of 7.75 per cent despite the impact of the drought and floods on agriculture output.
The GDP expansion could exceed 7.75 per cent during the current fiscal, helped by high GDP growth numbers recorded during the July-September quarter, the government had told Parliament on December 18, 2009. "The growth outlook for the next two quarters and for the whole year is likely to be in the upper bound of the range (7.75 per cent) predicted; and may exceed it", Murkehrjee said while presenting the mid-year review in Parliament.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 7
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London February 8:
Beer is a significant source of silicon, which is a key ingredient of the diet that helps to improve bone mineral density.
The best beers for silicon are the pale malted ales and lagers. Dark bitters and stouts contain lower levels because they are made with roasted barley, which has lower silicon content. Wheat contains less silicon than barley, so wheat beers are poorer sources of silicon.
Previous studies have suggested that a regular pint or two may help to prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. In the new study, researchers at the University of California studied 100 commercial beers and found their silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per litre to 56.5 mg/l. Paler beers have more silicon than darker ones because less heat is used in the malting process.
"Beer containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon. It is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element. While most remains during brewing, significant quantities are none the less extracted into wort and survive into beer," the Independent quoted Charles Bamforth, who led the study, as saying. The study has been published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Washington February 8:
According to the study, drinking as little as two soft drinks a week can almost double the chances of developing the disease, one of the most deadly forms of cancer.
Mark Pereira, senior author on the study and associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said people who consume soft drinks on a regular basis, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall. However, the effect of these drinks on pancreatic cancer may be unique.
"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," said Pereira. For the study, Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years. During that time, there were 140 pancreatic cancer cases.
Those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week (averaging five per week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not. No association was seen between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer. The study has been published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 8
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Washington February 3:
A new study has found that exercise may increase volume in hippocampus of the brain of schizophrenic patients.
The study has appeared in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Schizophrenia is associated with a reduced volume in the brain’s hippocampus, which helps regulate emotion and memory.
The authors write: “In contrast to other illnesses that may display psychotic features, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia is often characterized by incomplete recovery of psychotic symptoms and persistent disability.
“These clinical features of illness may relate to an impairment of neural plasticity or mechanisms of reorganizing brain function in response to a challenge.” Frank-Gerald Pajonk of The Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, and Dr. K. Fontheim’s Hospital for Mental Health, Liebenburg, Germany, and colleagues examined changes in hippocampal volume in response to an exercise program in both male patients with schizophrenia and men who had similar demographics and physical characteristics but did not have the condition.
Eight participants with schizophrenia and eight controls were randomly assigned to exercise (supervised cycling) three times a week for 30 minutes, while an additional eight patients with schizophrenia played tabletop football for the same period of time. All participants underwent fitness testing, magnetic resonance imaging of the hippocampus, neuropsychological testing and other clinical measures before and after participating in the program for 12 weeks.
It was seen that following exercise training, hippocampal volume increased 12 percent in patients with schizophrenia and 16 percent in healthy controls. The authors said: “To provide a context, the magnitude of these changes in volume was similar to that observed for other subcortical structures when patients were switched from typical to atypical antipsychotic drug therapy.” It was also seen that patients with schizophrenia who played tabletop football instead of exercising experienced a 1 percent decrease in hippocampal volume.
Aerobic fitness also increased among those who exercised, and improvement in test scores for short—term memory was linked to increases in hippocampal volume among patients and healthy controls. The authors concluded: “Further clinical studies are needed to determine if an incremental improvement in the disability related to schizophrenia could be obtained by incorporating exercise into treatment planning and lifestyle choice for individuals with the illness.”
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 3
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New Delhi February 3:
Advocating the need for awareness on early diagnosis for prevention of cancer on the eve of World Cancer Day, leading health experts feel over 30 per cent of such cases can be prevented by simple measures like regular exercise and quitting smoking.
According to National Cancer Control Programme, around nine lakh people die due to cancer every year in India, while WHO says that annual global deaths due to the disease would jump to 17 million by 2030 from a projected 7.6 million this year if people do not take urgent action to avoid risk factors. "Many cancers can be prevented through simple measures like giving up smoking, limiting alcohol intake, taking healthy diet and doing regular exercise," says Dr Samir Parikh of Max healthcare.
"No longer we are just looking at secondary prevention, which was basically seeing how we could modify patients life to decrease the risks or how to detect cancer early," Parikh says, adding "We're looking at primary prevention, which means stopping yourself from being exposed to cancer-causing features".
Another oncologist Dr Amit Bhargava from BLK Memorial Hospital says, "Now the focus is on cancers caused by infectious diseases, like cervical, stomach and liver cancers." "The primary prevention that everybody's talking about now is cervical cancer vaccination," he says.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
February 3
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