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Breaking News
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UP POLLS: BJP PROMISES 'GRAND TEMPLE', CONGRESS JOBS, QUOTA
AMARINDER VISITS DERA SACHA SAUDA TO WOO VOTERS
MANMOHAN FORMS COMMITTEE TO LOOK INTO SUGAR DECONTROL
SENSEX UP 157 PTS; RIL, INFOSYS GAIN
SC STAYS LOKAYUKTA PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KRISHNA
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Punjab News
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Sirsa January 27:
In an attempt to woo Dera Sachha Sauda before the Punjab Assembly elections, Congress's Chief Ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh on Friday visited the sect headquarters here today.
Singh held deliberations with the Political Wing members of the sect, before going to seek the blessings of the Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. His helecopter landed in the Sports Stadium of the Dera at around 10:30 AM and from there he went straight to meet the members of Political Wing of the Dera. Sources in the Dera claimed Singh could not get any clear cut assurance from the Dera Chief or the Political Wing.
Neither the Chief Minister nor the Dera made any official announcement of what transpired between the two sides during the visit of the Punjab Congress Chief to the sect headquarters. Dera sources told reporters that former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal too visited the Dera last evening. While the Dera's political wing has earlier indicated that decision regarding supporting a political party would be taken today or tomorrow when the campaigning for the January 30 election to the 117 member state assembly ends.
None of the Dera functionaries was available for comments on this aspect till late this evening. Meanwhile, sources claimed that the Political Wing had already discussed the various issues with the Dera followers in Punjab and an influential section of the Dera supporters were upset with Amarinder Singh and Bhattal despite the fact that Congress appeared to be the natural choice for the Dera in view of the pending CBI inquiries/cases against the Dera Chief.
In 2007 assembly polls, Dera had supported the Congress in Malwa, which helped the party in gaining the upper hand in the region. According to sources, the Dera's political wing had discussed the issue of support with several followers in Punjab.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Amritsar January 27:
A delegation of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will give a memorandum to the US ambassador in India to protest against objectionable remarks of Jay Leno, NBC TV channel's host of The Tonight Show.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar told TOI on Friday that unwarranted comments on the Golden Temple was a 'mischevious act' of Jay Leno which had hurt the religious sentiments of Punjabi's especially Sikhs. While hailing the initiative of US-based Randeep Singh Dhillon and Sikh NGO Sikh for Justice in registering the complaint against Leno with Federal Communication Commission , Makkar exhorted other Sikh organizations of US to file similar complaints against Leno.
"Sikh bodies around the globe should also lodge written protests to US ambassadors in their respective countries about the deplorable remarks about Golden Temple" he said. Leno had flashed a picture of Golden Temple on his programme and termed it as a possible summer home of US republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The show had also shown a few non-Sikhs laughing after Leno's remarks.
The president of SGPC also demanded that Leno should tender unconditional public apology without any further delay so as to assuage the feelings of Sikhs. He has also appealed to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh to take up the issue with his US counterpart Barack Obama. Jathedar of Akal Takht- Sikh's supreme temporal seat- Giani Gurbachan Singh has also sought strict action against Leno.
"Before making such remarks Leno should have understood the religious feelings of Sikhs" he said. He asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the issue both with US government and UN to ensure strict action against Leno so that no one dares of pass such remarks in future. Meanwhile Sikh radical organization Dal Khalsa has shot off a letter to the US ambassador expressing distress that instead of taking action against Leno, the US government had defended his comments.
The Sikh body has said that defending Leno's remarks shows the 'crass insularity of West'. "Undoubtedly, we live in a world torn down by national barriers, but the commentator and its employers, the NBC, must note that we live in a pluralistic world order and that we need to be sensitive to people's beliefs and feelings" said secretary, political affairs, Dal Khalsa.
He said that in Leno's case it was not a question of feelings of one person that had been hurt, but a reference to Darbar Sahib- the Vatican of the Sikhs, that had deeply hurt the sentiments of the entire Sikh community, including Sikh-Americans. Dal Khalsa's political secretary said " We are unwilling to believe that this is out of ignorance and if it is, this ignorance is too profound to be ignored by the community."
"What would have been the reaction of practicing Christians if the reference was to the Vatican instead of the Golden Temple? Jay Leno, has made snide remarks earlier also like, calling the Sikhs -'diaper-heads' in 2007 and spreading falsehood of "turban being compulsory to enter the Golden Temple when President Barack Obama was to visit India in 2010," he said. He said the Sikh siaspora will continuously campaign till Jay Leno and the NBC apologises and the American government regrets its defence.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Phagwara January 27:
BJP National General Secretary and Punjab poll in-charge J P Nadda has dubbed Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's projection of Amarinder Singh as the next chief minister of Punjab as a desperate move of the party.
Talking to reporters after addressing a rally for party's candidate Som Parkash at Hadiabad sub-town on Thursday night, Nadda claimed that this projection will have no impact. "People of Punjab and voters fully know what a tall stature and immense respect Parkash Singh Badal, the SAD-BJP chief ministerial candidate for fifth term, enjoys as well as the reality and activities of Captain Amarinder Singh". While Badal is wedded to 'vikas'(development), Captain pursues a politics of "vendetta", Nadda said.
"Departure of Congress from the traditional practice of waiting for the poll results and then leaving the decision on naming the Chief Minister candidate to the party president shows the nervous desperation of the party and its reading of the writing on wall," he said. Congress is bound to lose in January 30 polls and SAD-BJP alliance is all set to be voted back to power with a comfortable majority, Nadda said.
Claiming there was a pro-incumbency factor working in favour of the alliance in Punjab this time, Nadda reiterated that BJP will now better its poll performance than the previous elections.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Muktsar January 27:
She may be the richest candidate in Punjab elections, with assets totalling Rs 128 crore as per own admission in her mandatory affidavit filed prior to filing her nomination papers, but former Punjab chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar's daughter-in-law Karan Kaur Brar professes simplicity.
Like the richie-rich , Brar, Congress candidate from Muktsar , too loves gold and diamond jewellery but she does not flaunt it. Karan Brar, 60, has ruby and diamond sets worth Rs 10 lakhs, gold jewellery worth Rs 27 lakhs and a diamond ring worth Rs 5 lakhs but prefers simple attire. Karan Brar and her sitting MLA husband Kanwarjit Brar owns immovable assets worth Rs 127.50 crore, including houses at Chandigarh and Delhi worth Rs 60 crore and Rs 40 crore, respectively. In the name of travelling in style, the family is having 1996 model Mercedes car.
Graduate from Himachal University, Karan Brar, fluent in English and Punjabi as well, avoids wearing designer outfits and remains comfortable in simple attire and simple sports shoes to remain on toes for active campaigning. "I do not like flaunting big brands" , said Karan Brar. Karan Brar admits she has been given a ticket as her sitting MLA husband does not keep well. But that is not the only qualification as AICC chief Sonia Gandhi picked her for her performance in 2004 elections against deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. "I want to pick the baton from where my father-in-law and husband have left off," Karan Brar said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Chandigarh January 27:
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today condoled the death of eminent Punjabi writer Kartar Singh Duggal, who passed away in New Delhi following age-related ailments.
Terming his death as a huge loss to the nation, Badal said Duggal, who died yesterday, had carved out a place for himself by penning novels, short stories and plays in several languages including Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English. Considered a virtual pioneer of modern Punjabi fiction, Duggal penned seven plays, seven works of literary criticism, two collections poems and an autobiography. Apart from being a distinguished litterateur, Duggal had also served as Director of All India Radio and a Rajya Sabha MP.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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India News
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New Delhi January 27:
The ongoing conflict between the Planning Commission and the Home Ministry over issuance of chip-based smart cards to all residents was put to rest on Friday as the government cleared the Unique Identification Authority of India’s proposal to enrol an extra 40 crore people in 16 States, while the biometrics in other States will be collected under the National Population Register project.
While the government has cleared additional Rs. 5,791.74 crore for the UIDAI, the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI has assured that the security concerns raised by the Home Ministry would be addressed. The entire process by the two agencies will be completed by June next year. “We will review the security concerns in the next six to eight weeks and begin the process of collection of data from April,” Mr. Nilekani told reporters here after his proposal was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI.
Briefing reporters, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said there was no difference with the Planning Commission over the issuance of the cards. However, in case of “discrepancies between UIDAI data and NPR data, NPR will prevail,” Mr. Chidambaram said and added the new system is as secure as humanly possible. “Aadhaar (issued by the UIDAI) is voluntary and NPR is mandatory... It is a government programme,” Mr. Chidambaram said and maintained that the issue of duplication of the data has been avoided.
“Most avoidable duplication and avoidable costs have been avoided,” he said and explained that residents who had been issued “Aadhaar” number issued by the UIDAI will not have to give their bio-metrics again for the NPR. The chip-based Multipurpose National Identity Card issued by the NPR will capture 15 details of every individual where as the UIDAI collects five fields.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Lucknow January 27:
Reviving the Ayodhya issue, the BJP today promised to build a Ram temple but Congress came out with plans to create 20 lakh jobs for unemployed youth in their manifestos for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh where both parties are trailing major players BSP and SP.
The BJP also outlined its economic plans including the creation of one crore jobs in five years, sops to farmers and those below poverty line. BJP, which has been struggling hard to regain its pre-eminent position in the state, brought back the Ayodhya issue which had once propelled the party to the centre-stage of national politics in the late 80s and through the nineties.
"Construction of a grand temple is associated with the faith of crores of people of the country. Ram is the symbol of prestige, pride and dignity of the country. "Unfortunately, due to pseudo-secularism and vote bank politics it is being opposed. BJP is committed to removing all hurdles in the path of the construction of a Ram temple," said the manifesto, released by a battery of leaders including Uma Bharati, the hindutva mascot.
The party also opposed religion-based reservation and attacked the Congress for the Centre's decision to carve out a 4.5 per cent sub-quota for Muslims from the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in jobs. On the other hand, the Congress brought out a 'Vision Document 2020' for Uttar Pradesh, where it has been out of power for over two decades. It promised to set up 1,000 skill centres and create two lakh jobs.
The document was released in 10 different cities by a host of leaders. Union Minister Salman Khurshid and UPCC President Rita Bahuguna released the document here which promised to provide sub-quota for most backward classes and eliminate corruption. The document also envisioned job and education quota for socially and educationally backward minorities among OBCs commensurate with their population.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
In a reprieve for External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Karnataka High Court order directing Lokayukta police to probe him in the alleged illegal mining during his tenure as the Chief Minister of the state.
“We are inclined to stay the proceedings. Accordingly the proceedings on the FIR on the issue ordered by the Karnataka Lokayukta will remain stayed,” a bench comprising justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra said. The bench also said that the probe ordered by the Lokayukta court was “premature”. It issued notice to Karnataka Government and the complainant, on whose plea the FIR was registered and sought their response within three weeks.
The court passed the orders on a plea by Mr. Krishna, seeking quashing of private complaint and probe by Lokayukta police against him over alleged illegal mining when he was Karnataka Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004. The petition by Mr. Krishna had challenged the January 20 decision of the Karnataka High Court by which his plea for quashing the private complaint and proceedings ordered by the Lokayukta Special Court against him was declined.
He had contended that the Cabinet decision was a collective one taken by 34 ministers and an individual cannot be held responsible for it. The high court had ordered that investigation should continue into offences relating to dereservation of forest area in mineral-rich fragile zones.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
India, Japan, Brazil and Germany chose the Indian Republic Day to launch a fresh offensive in the UN for expansion of the Security Council. The G-4, as they are better known, for the first time, put a joint bid for the UN Security Council during a closed plenary session at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, which is headed by Zahir Tanin, the UN ambassador from Afghanistan.
In a strongly worded statement, the G-4 countries said, "This Council should be expanded in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, taking into consideration the contributions made by countries to the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as the need for increased representation of developing countries in both categories. On numerous occasions, we have reconfirmed our view that Africa should be represented in the permanent membership in an enlarged Council."
The plenary, which began with the G-4 statement, faced instant opposition from China. China, which has opposed the G-4 bid, and is the guardian angel for the opposers, United for Consensus (earlier known as the Coffee Club). The Chinese delegate called the resolution "divisive" while opposing it. The G-4 initiative had lately seemed to have run out of steam, with other considerations triumphing over Security Council reform. But the joint offensive, said sources, is a sign that the energy is back.
While refusing to talk about the most touchy of subjects, veto power, the G-4 statement focuses on changing the "working methods" of the UN Security Council, as well as the membership. "Our proposal is straightforward. It focuses on two aspects of Security Council reform, on which, according to our outreach, large majorities exist among member states: firstly, that expansion in membership should be in both categories, permanent and non-permanent, and secondly, that the working methods of the Council should be improved. Nothing more, nothing less."
The four countries observed that there had been limited success to the process till date. Taking the bull by the horns, the G-4 said their initiative was short and realistic. Defending their initiative, the G-4 said, "We believe that our proposal can generate the momentum needed to kick-start real negotiations. Some call this 'piecemeal' or 'cherry-picking'. We call it a realistic and results-driven approach. Let us agree on what most member states agree on and let us then tackle the other issues."
In the coming weeks, there will be four other resolutions that will be put on the table. A vote is not expected for several days and a lot of heated discussions are about the liven up UN debates.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Burdwan January 27:
While Governor M K Narayanan has also put the weight of his office behind the growing concern over farmer suicides in West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government seems determined to play these down.
In Burdwan, the state’s rice bowl, where 18 of the 27 deaths have been reported in the past four months, the district administration has been approaching families of victims for written statements saying the suicides had nothing to do with debt burden or distress sale of crops. Despite evidence of piles of paddy lying unsold and of debts owed by farmers mounting, these statements attribute the deaths to everything else from “emotional stress” to “family discord”.
The suicides in Burdwan follow a surplus production of 12 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, against a requirement of 5 to 6 lakh metric tonnes this season. In other parts of rural Bengal, a shoddy procurement drive ensured that targets fell short by 20 lakh metric tonnes, leaving farmers with paddy they haven’t been able to sell. What made the problem worse was a decision to bar cooperatives from procuring paddy from farmers.
In Burdwan as many as 517 cooperatives used to procure paddy. Instead, the district administration distributed slips to farmers, with the plan being that they could sell directly to the rice millers. However, in many places, millers refused to pay the support price (Rs 1,080 per quintal) as they could procure cheaper paddy from Bihar and Jharkhand.
Bhatar saw suicides by five farmers in November-December. Safar Mollah of Kalitukri village consumed pesticide on November 18. The 18-year-old had taken up farming at the age of 12, after his father’s death, but ran up a debt of Rs 90,000 in two years, said his family. He hoped to repay some of it with the sale of paddy but could not sell his 200 quintals. Said Riza Bewa, Safar’s mother: “My son was under trauma.” Her other son works in Chennai as a labourer.
As advised by the government, the district administration has procured a written statement from Safar’s family saying he committed suicide after having a fight with his mother the previous night. Jharna Saha, wife of 40-year-old farmer Amiya Saha of Rasulpur in Burdwan, who also killed himself, said he was deeply attached to his five-bigha land. “But this season the sitution was so bad that he was forced to sell part of it to clear a portion of his outstanding debt. His body was spotted on his land on January 4.”
The written statement procured by the district administration attributes Saha’s suicide to a family dispute. Said Sheikh Nurul Islam, a farmer in Bhatar: “I have almost 340 quintals of paddy stocked at my house but I am not able to sell. My paddy is perishing. My debts have mounted to Rs 2 lakh. The district administration is not helping us. What option is left for us other than committing suicide?” West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick admitted that each district administration had been asked to get written statements in the suicide cases, but added a rider: that the farmers of Burdwan were wealthy.
“They do not need to borrow money for cultivating land. I belong to Burdwan and nobody knows the stituation better then me,” said Mullick. District Magistrate Omkar Singh Meena toed the government line on the suicides not being due to debt burden or distress sale, though admitting: “Credit crisis is a genuine problem and looms large over farmer families.”
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Sports News
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Bhopal January 27:
India`s senior women Kabaddi players are going through the rigours at the Sports Authority of India Central Regional Centre here with an eye on the upcoming World Cup to be held at Patna from March 1.
The national coaching camp which consists of 40 players and three coaches commenced from January 20 and the final team will be picked after a selection committee meeting, a sports ministry statement said today. The camp will be on till February 20. The World Cup will be held in Patna from March 1 to 4.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
With no response coming from either the IOC or the London Olympics organisers to their previous protest, the Indian Olympic Association on Friday shot off another letter to both the bodies demanding Dow Chemical's removal as sponsor of the upcoming event.
"There is no need to carry this Toxic Legacy," IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said in a statement here. In a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge, copy of which has also been sent to London Games organising committee chief, Sebastian Coe, Malhotra said there is a growing world opinion against this sponsorship and the resignation of Meredith Alexander from the Games' Ethics committee is vindication of IOA's principle stand.
"I am sure that you are well aware of the growing opposition to this sponsorship world over with, NGO's, intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Members of British Parliament and civil society openly coming out against it. "Ms Meredith Alexander echoed, our position/stand, when she said the organisers "are falsely legitimising Dow's assertion that they have no responsibility for the Bhopal tragedy"," wrote Malhotra.
Malhotra requested the International Olympic Committee and the organisers not to legitimise Union Carbide's role in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy by granting sponsor's status to Dow in the Olympic Movement. "On behalf of the IOA I again urge you to take steps to remove Dow as sponsor and settle the matter as early as possible. We are waiting for you response to our communications," stated Malhotra.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Melbourne January 27:
The Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out of the Australian Open after suffering an upset straight sets defeat in the mixed doubles semi-final here today.
The sixth seeded Sania-Bhupathi’s campaign ended after they lost 3-6 3-6 to the eighth seeded combo of Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States and Romania’s Horia Tecau in just 68 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena. The match was a closely-contested affair, but the American-Romanian duo played better as far as the crucial points were concerned. The Indians could hit only 17 winners as compared to 24 by their opponents.
In the opening set, the Indians managed to convert only one breakpoint of three, besides losing their serve on two occasions to hand their opponents the advantage. The second set was on serve till 3-3 but the eighth seeds broke Sania and Bhupathi to go up 4-3 and then held their serve to make it 5-3. The Indians once again failed to keep their serve and the opponents claimed their second consecutive break to book a place in the final.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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London January 27:
Sustainability Commissioner to the London 2012 Olympics, Meredith Alexander, has quit in protest of the sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical Company for its connection to the Bhopal gas disaster.
Alexander was appointed by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to monitor the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). Alexander, head of trade and corporates at the charity Action Aid told the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 that she could no longer remain in the unpaid post given LOCOG's refusal to end the association.
She was one of 13 commissioners. "I don't want to be party to a defence of Dow Chemicals, the company responsible for one of the worst corporate human rights violations in my generation. It is appalling that 27 years on, the site has still not been cleaned up and thousands upon thousands of people are still suffering. "I believe people should be free to enjoy London 2012 without this toxic legacy on their conscience," she said.
Welcoming Alexander's resignation, Amnesty International said the London 2012 Olympic organisers must admit their mistake in awarding the lucrative seven million pound contract to the Dow Chemical Company. Dow Chemical owns US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), the company that held a majority share in the Indian subsidiary that owned and operated the UCC plant responsible for the 1984 gas leak disaster, which killed thousands of people.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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London January 25:
British culture secretary Jeremy Hunt defended the doubling of the amount of money to be spent on the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in July as an "extraordinary business opportunity."
"There are tourists all over the world deciding which country to visit, students deciding which country to study in, and businessmen deciding where to invest in, and if you get something like the opening ceremony of the Olympics right, it is very good for our national brand in a way which is very hard to quantify," Hunt was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "But I have no doubt it will be extremely positive for British businesses and British jobs," he said.
The original budget of 41 million pounds (about $64 million) for the opening ceremony of the Games was almost doubled shortly before Christmas to 80 million pounds (about $125 million) with only eight months to go before the Olympics. "It was a decision we looked at very hard. It is less than the Canadians (for the Vancouver Winter Olympics) spent on their opening ceremonies and less than the Russians (for the 2014 Winter Olympics) are planning to spend on their opening ceremonies," said Hunt.
"You would be questioning me much more critically if we had not made the most of the unique moment which is potentially going to be seen by 4 billion of the world's 7 billion population," he added. Hunt said despite the faltering economy, with growth this year penciled in as only 0.9 percent and with rising unemployment and the prospect of further cuts in government spending, the British government was "saying that we are not going with the conventional wisdom that at times of austerity you should rein back on absolutely everything, because we think that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Hunt revealed that the cost of the opening ceremony could have been even greater had director Danny Boyle had his way. "Boyle wanted a higher price tag than we were willing to pay, and so we came to an agreement for a ceremony that we can be very proud of."
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 25
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Cricket Special
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New Delhi January 27:
With India staring at their second consecutive overseas series whitewash, the BCCI expressed concern at the lacklustre performance of its team in Australia and said corrective measures will be taken after the series.
"Our players have not been able to perform overseas in the last two series, and we are worried about this. Sometimes players do not do well. There is no question of blaming (anyone) but corrective measures will be taken after the tour," BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla told reporters.
India are on the verge of losing the fourth and final Test in Adelaide, having lost the first three matches in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Before this, India were blanked 4-0 in England. Virat Kohli is the only batsman to have scored a century on this tour and the big guns have failed to fire.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Adelaide January 27:
Rahul Dravid's glorious international career may have come to an end on Friday, with the veteran batsman likely to announce his retirement shortly.
The 39-year-old Dravid, one of the game's greatest batsmen, is believed to have told some of his teammates after another failure against Australia in the final Test that he had decided to hang his boots. He could not be reached for his comments. Dravid, like most other Indian batsmen, has had a poor run in the current four-Test series which will conclude on Saturday with India likely to suffer another defeat to give Australia a clean sweep.
He made 194 runs at an average of 24.25 in this series. Dravid has already announced his retirement from one-day cricket and Twenty20. The elegant right hander, nicknamed 'The Wall' for his dour defence, is the second highest run getter in Test history with 13,288 runs, behind only Sachin Tendulkar who has 15,470 runs. He has 36 Test centuries with a highest score of 270 and an average of 52.31.
Dravid has also taken more catches (210) than anyone else in Test history during his 164 Test matches since he made his debut against England at Lord's in 1996. He captained India from December 2005 to August 2007. There is a question mark over another Indian veteran VVS Laxman who too had a miserable run against Australia in the current series. There was no word yet about his future plans.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday said that at least three senior cricketers may not be selected again for the national Test team after what has already turned out to be a disastrous tour for India.
India were headed towards their second successive Test series whitewash with another massive defeat looming large in the fourth and final Test in Adelaide, and Gavaskar said time has come for the likes of Virat Kohli to be handed more responsibility.
"I think at least three or four players might have played probably their last Test in Australia. I am saying this because India's next Test is six-eight months away. Now the selectors should pick youngsters who would serve the country in the years down the line," Gavaskar said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Adelaide January 27:
Australia increased their lead over India to 486 runs at the cost of two wickets this morning, reaching lunch at 154 for five with a declaration imminent on the fourth day of the fourth test.
Chasing a 4-0 series sweep, Australia had Ricky Ponting on 57 not out and Brad Haddin, who had made one, at the crease looking to build an unassailable tally before sending the tourists in to bat again. Resuming on 50 for three after losing their top order in the last hour today, Clarke and Ponting, who both contributed double centuries to Australia's first innings 604 for seven declared, combined for 71 runs before being separated.
Australia skipper Clarke had survived a scare on 30 when spinner Ravi Ashwin could have dismissed him caught and bowled before Umesh Yadav brought an end to his highly successful series as a batsman for 37. The young quick beat Clarke for pace and there was enough of a noise to convince umpire Kumar Dharmasena that the Australian had got a nick before the ball went through to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
Ponting also gave the Indians a chance when he was on 45 with a miscued pull shot off a Yadav bouncer that Rahul Dravid, running at full stretch, could not quite hold despite getting two hands to the ball. The 37-year-old Tasmanian reached his 61st test half century soon afterwards with a single to the covers to continue his renaissance in this series after two years of poor form. Mike Hussey made 15 in 42 minutes before angrily following his captain back to the dressing room when he was adjudged trapped leg before by paceman Ishant Sharma.
India, who topped the world rankings last year, were bowled out for 272 in their first innings yesterday and will need a much stronger performance from their world class batsmen to avoid an eighth successive defeat in overseas tests.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Adelaide January 27:
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels that Virender Sehwag's "hunger to succeed" and veteran Rahul Dravid's "fluency of footwork" is on the decline.
Ganguly seems surprised by the manner both Sehwag and Dravid were getting dismissed in the ongoing Test series against Australia. "Sehwag once again got out to a loose shot, as we say in sports. There has been a remarkable decline in his determination in the last few years overseas.
"He has never been a player with lot of footwork but he made up for that with other attributes, such as his enormous hunger to succeed. At the moment, it looks like being on the decline," he wrote in his column for Sydney Morning Herald. "For Dravid, the problem of the ball rattling the stumps continues. I can't remember him getting bowled so many times in his career and it's becoming a worry for him and a lot of people connected with the game.
"He just seems to get surprised by the deliveries coming into him and the bat face turns, which allows the ball to go through. That fluency of the footwork has gone completely missing and he will have to work very hard to get it back," said Ganguly. Ganguly's scratching remarks came after both Sehwag and Dravid got out cheaply in the first innings in reply to Australia's mammoth 604 for seven declared.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Business News
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Mumbai January 27:
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today said India's middle class will grow in size to become a USD 1 trillion opportunity to be tapped for various consumer-oriented industries.
The country's total population will be around 1.36 billion by 2021 of which middle class will account for 570 million. The demographics will result in higher aspirations which will have to be served by companies, the consulting firm's Executive Director, Shashank Tripathi, told reporters here.
Companies in the retail and consumer goods, telecom, financial services, industrial products, and healthcare and pharmaceuticals space can benefit from this opportunity, he said. Even though Asia's third-largest economy will urbanise faster, a majority of the demand for this USD 1 trillion opportunity will come from the rural areas, Tripathi said, adding that aspirational people indulging in vocations beyond agriculture will contribute to the demand.
Companies will have to pull up their socks and incorporate changes in product designs to make more disruptive offerings, work towards creating scalable business models and create a trust around the brand for leveraging on the opportunity, he maintained.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
Food inflation remained in the negative zone for the fourth week in a row, at (-)1.03 per cent for the week ended January 14, on account of cheaper vegetables.
Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was at (-)0.42 per cent in the previous week. It was above 17 per cent in the corresponding week of 2011. According to the official data released today, onion prices fell steeply by 79.10 per cent, year-on-year, for the week under review, while potato prices were down 22.46 per cent. Prices of wheat also fell by 3.37 per cent.
Overall, vegetables were 47.06 per cent cheaper during the week under review, from the same period last year. However, other food products, led by protein-based items, became more expensive on an annual basis. Pulses prices were 12.77 per cent higher, while milk grew dearer by 12.25 per cent. Eggs, meat and fish prices were up 20.33 per cent year-on-year.
Fruits also became 5.17 per cent more expensive on an annual basis, while cereal prices were up 2.71 per cent. Inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 1.89 per cent for the week ended January 14, as against 2.47 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have over 20 per cent weight in the wholesale price index. Experts feel that the decline in food inflation, along with moderation in headline or overall inflation in December, will be a major incentive for the Reserve Bank to look at the option of cutting key interest rates in the near future.
At its third quarterly monetary policy review earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of India had injected Rs 32,000 crore into the system by lowering the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by half-a-percentage point to 5.5 per cent but kept the short-term lending rate unchanged. Inflation in the non-food primary articles segment, which includes fibres and oilseeds, was recorded at 0.56 per cent for the week ended January 14, against 1.84 per cent in the previous week. Fuel and power inflation stood at 14.45 per cent, same as in the previous week. Headline inflation, which also factors in manufactured items, fell to a two-month low of 7.47 per cent in December.
According to experts, the moderation in both overall inflation and food inflation will allow the RBI to look at the option of reversing its tight monetary policy in near future. In its review, RBI had however said inflation remains a concern in view of volatile crude prices in international markets and widening fiscal deficit. Attributing the decline in food inflation mainly to seasonal factors, the central bank said the impact of good vegetable output will remain limited in the absence of effective measures to address supply-side bottlenecks.
RBI had hiked interest rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 to curb demand and tame inflation. The apex bank, which has pegged the year-end inflation at 7 per cent, said the revision in domestic-administered prices would add to inflationary pressures.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Mumbai January 27:
The Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex today rose for the fourth straight session, up 157 points on sustained buying by funds and retail investors in bluechips led by RIL amid a firm trend in the Asian markets.
The 30-share Sensex, which had gained over 338 points in the last three sessions, advanced further by 156.80 points to 17,233.98 as heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys made good gains. While RIL shot up 3.48 per cent, Infosys by 2.29 per cent. The two carry nearly 20 per cent weight on the Sensex.
The 50-issue NSE index Nifty regained the crucial 5,200 mark by adding 46.40 points to close at 5,204.70, even as Ranbaxy Laboratories recorded steep fall. Brokers said that apart from a firm trend on other Asian markets, hopes of easing liquidity in the market after RBI cut the cash reserve ratio by 0.50 percentage point in its policy review, buoyed the trading sentiment.
Ranbaxy, the country's biggest drugmaker fell the most in almost nine months by losing 6.62 per cent because of the costs to be incurred under the proposed settlement with US authorities over manufacturing rules violation.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
India has entered into a multilateral convention on tax matters which until 2010 was available only for European nations and OECD members, a development that will boost the government’s efforts to bring back money illegally stashed abroad.
The convention — Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters — provides for examination of tax affairs of the taxpayers simultaneously in their own territory and share the relevant information with each other, according to an official release. The convention, which has 31 signatories, was earlier available for the members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development and the Council of Europe. It was amended in 2010 to include others.
“This (signing of the agreement) will give a fillip to the efforts of the government in bringing the Indian money illegally stashed abroad,” the statement said. The Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters is based on international standard of transparency and exchange of information and not only facilitates the exchange of information, but also provides for assistance in the recovery of taxes, the release said.
It is multilateral and a single legal basis for multi-country cooperation as against the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) and the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) which are bilateral. The Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters also provides for an extensive network and wider forms of cooperation among the signatories on all taxes. It provides for simultaneous tax examinations and participation in tax examinations in other countries.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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New Delhi January 27:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday constituted an expert committee, headed by his Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan, to examine issues related to decontrol of the sugar sector.
Earlier this month, the representatives of the apex sugar industry bodies ISMA and NFCSF had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeking partial decontrol of the sector, including freedom to sell sugar in the open market and doing away with the levy obligation for public distribution system.
“The committee would look into all the issues relating to deregulation of the sugar sector and it has been requested to complete its task as early as possible and give its recommendations to the Prime Minister,” a statement issued by PMO said. The other members of the committee include Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, and secretaries to the Department of Food and Agriculture.
Other members of the panel are: Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Chairman Ashok Gulati, former Agriculture Secretary Nand Kumar and K.P. Krishnan, Secretary EAC Convener. “The committee has been empowered to involve such experts, academics as required as special invitees,” the statement said, adding that the Food Ministry would provide the necessary support to the committee in discharging its functions. The statement did not state any deadline for the committee to submit the report.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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Health News
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Melbourne January 27:
An Australian company is developing a hair test to screen for breast cancer, and it says that the test could become a viable alternative to mammography.
SBC Research is conducting an 80-patient trial to test its hypothesis that women with breast cancer have higher levels of phospholipids in their bloodstream that can be detected in their hair. The company aims to commercialise the test and says it could be made available to women of all ages as an initial screening, unlike mammography, which is largely restricted to women over 50.
Those involved in the consortium began developing a test based on their discovery that hair from women with breast cancer had a different cell structure to hair from other women. They used synchrotron X-ray technology to detect 70 per cent of women who had breast cancer in a series of trials, by observing a ring in their hair not present in disease-free hair. But researchers are now taking a different approach that they believe will deliver a more accurate test.
They made the lipid discovery when researcher Dharmica Mistry noticed her hair developed a ring, despite being a clear negative for breast cancer. “I was looking at X-ray diffraction patterns of hair and I used to use my hair as a regular control,” the Age quoted Mistry as saying. “The only thing I did differently was using olive oil in my hair every now and then. I stopped using it and the feature disappeared.
‘‘That led to a series of experiments to assess if what we were seeing was lipid in nature. The hypothesis is that the tumour causes increased lipids in the patient, which is released into the bloodstream and incorporated into the hair fibre,” she said. Chief scientist Peter French said there was evidence to show increased lipid content in the membranes for cancer cells compared with normal tissue.
“Cell membranes are comprised of lipids, and what appears to happen in breast cancer is that there is increased fluidity of those lipids. We think that’s why cancer is able to invade,” he said. Mistry said the test required her to extract internal lipids from hair, rather than any secretions or products on its surface. “I grind the hair, put it in a vial with an extraction solvent and shake it around to extract the lipids from the fibre,” she said. The resulting liquid was then analysed to determine its lipid content.
The hair test is among 49 Australian entries for funding from a 100-million-dollar global research and development challenge by the company GE, which aims to accelerate innovations in breast cancer. French said a larger second study was needed to confirm the accuracy of the hair test, but results were encouraging. The test was ‘‘probably a year or two away’’ from being commercially available.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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London January 27:
Here's a tip for tipplers: The perfect vodka martini should be stirred with a wooden spoon – even a pencil would do, say experts.
Rather than mixing the drink with a long metal cocktail spoon or shaking it over ice, the experts claim that a thin piece of wood is the best tool for the job, according to the 'New Scientist' magazine which asked its academic readers for the perfect way to serve the beverage. The magazine said metal is a good heat conductor and as a result will warm the drink too much.
One contributor from Wales said this may be why bar spoons are long and thin and that using a tablespoon to stir a vodka martini would definitely increase its temperature. However, another reader said: “If you don't have a bar spoon handy when making a martini, try stirring with a pencil, which has less surface area, less mass, a lower specific heat and will therefore conduct less heat from the hand.”
Another reader was quoted by the British media as saying, “I would definitely advise against employing a gold finger.” It is believed that the original Ian Fleming books called for James Bond's martini to be shaken and not stirred because vodka was originally made from potatoes, which left an oily after-taste if not shaken vigorously. According to the 'New Scientist', a stirrer with a bigger mass will have a bigger potential effect on the temperature of the drink than a smaller one.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 27
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London January 26:
Couple's pillow talk after sex could be a key to happy relationship, psychologists say. Psychologists at the University of Michigan have found that women whose partners finish off a night of passion by immediately turning over and nodding off are left feeling insecure and craving affection.
They said cuddling and talking after sex is a crucial way for a couple to express their commitment to each other. In relationship terms, they say it could be just as important as what happens before sex, or even the act itself, the Daily Mail reported. For the result, they questioned 456 heterosexual people, who completed online surveys about their sleep patterns with their partner.
Lead author Dr Daniel Kruger said they found the participants' desire for emotional bonding, affection and communication was greatest when their partner fell asleep first. This was found in both men and women but previous studies have shown men invariably fall asleep first. "When their partner feel asleep first, they craved that bonding time, for expressions of affection and endearment, and felt it was lacking," said Dr Kruger.
"A woman could be pregnant. Although with contraception that may not be the case anymore, we still have this psychology, and the post-coital time is when the couple makes promises to each other and establish commitment. "The time couples spend together after sex might be as important as what happens before it in terms of building the relationship yet it has rarely been studied," he explained. While this study did not confirm that men were more likely to fall asleep first, he said two of his previous studies and other research suggested it was true.
A study last year linked this to production of the hormones oxytocin and prolactin which create a sedative, or 'roll over and snore' effect in men after making love. But Dr Kruger and his co-author Susan Hughes of Albright College in Pennsylvania believe there are evolutionary as well as chemical reasons for it. They suggest falling asleep before their partner may be a non-conscious way for men to 'foreclose' any conversations about commitment.
This is just what their wives and girlfriends crave, they say, as women have more highly developed language skills. Dr Kruger added: 'For men, in evolutionary terms there's more of an incentive to have other sexual partners to advance their reproductive success whereas for women there is more incentive to secure the relationship.' While men with 'attachment avoidance' were less inclined to pillow talk after sex, women with 'attachment anxiety' were most upset about it, they found.
Women rated sleeping alongside the partner as more important than men, which the researchers suggested could be 'an anti-philandering strategy' to decrease their chance of being left for someone else. In contrast men reported that women were more likely to nod off first if they went to bed without having sex. This could be out of a primitive desire to 'guard their mate', or they could just be hoping they would change their mind, the study noted. The study was published in the Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology.
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Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 26
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London January 25:
Researchers hope that stem cells treatment may help men who have Peyronie’s disease, the condition which makes the penis difficult to achieve a straight erection.
About 3 to 9 per cent of men have the disease that damages the membrane surrounding the chambers within the penis that swell with blood during arousal. In a breakthrough study, the researchers could repair damaged parts of the penis vital for proper erections with the help of stem cells. The treatment restored full erections, improved blood flow and accelerated healing in rats.
Wayne Hellstrom of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and colleagues, extracted stem cells from fat and placed them onto layers of tissue taken from the lining of pig intestine. This material, called small intestinal submucosa (SIS), is already used to replace damaged membrane in men with Peyronie’s disease, but Hellstrom wanted to see whether adding stem cells would improve healing.
Two months after therapy, tissue analysis showed less scarring and higher levels of regenerative agents such as fibroblast growth factor – which accelerate healing – in rats treated with SIS plus stem cells compared with those treated with SIS alone. “The stem cells induced factors that enhanced blood supply, tissue restoration and erectile function,” New Scientist quoted Hellstrom as saying.
Production of enzymes that make a blood vessel relaxant vital for erections was also higher in rats given the stem cells. Hellstrom hopes to be able to offer a similar treatment to men.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 25
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London January 25:
Food fried in olive or sunflower oil is not linked to heart disease or premature death, but the same is not true of solid or reused oils.
While eating lots of fried food can increase some heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, a link between fried food and heart disease has not been fully investigated.
So the study authors, led by Pilar Guallar-Castillon professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 years over an 11-year period. None of them had heart disease when the study began, the journal bmj.com reports.
Trained interviewers asked participants about their diet and cooking methods. Fried food was defined as food for which frying was the only cooking method used. Questions were also asked about whether food was fried, battered, crumbed or sauteed, according to an Autonomous statement.
The participants` diet was divided into ranges of fried food consumption, the first quarter related to the lowest amount of fried food consumed and the fourth indicated the highest amount. During the follow-up there were 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths.
The authors conclude: "In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death."
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
January 25
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