07. May 2011_2
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MAY 2011
SPORTS • Bubba Watson claimed his second US PGA Tour title of 2011, edging Webb Simpson at the second hole of sudden death to win the Zurich Classic. • Novak Djokovic won the Serbia Open without dropping a set after beating Feliciano Lopez 7-6, 6-2 in final to stretch his unbeaten record in 2011 to 27 matches. Tom Thibodeau becomes the fourth Chicago coach to win NBA's Coach of the Year award, following Johnny Kerr (1967), Dick Motta (1971) and Jackson (1996). Tomoyuki Matsuda, who survived the nature's fury, has battled the nightmares to win two gold medals at the World Cup shooting in Sydney. Novak Djokovic extended his victory streak to 34 matches when he stunned defending champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters. Star Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal faltered after a good start as she lost to World No. 3 Xin Wang of China in the final of the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. MC Mary Kom clinched her first gold medal of the year by finishing on top in the Asian Cup Women's Boxing tournament in Haikou, China. The professional peloton reacted with shock and sympathy as the tragic death of Belgian Wouter Weylandt following a fatal crash on the third stage of the Giro d'Italia. Scotland's John Higgins won the snooker world championship for the fourth time on Monday beating England's new star Judd Trump 18-15 in the best of 35 frames final. The 43-year-old mountaineer Premlata Agarwal, who set her journey to scale Mt Everest on March 25, is progressing well and is expected to touch the peak by May 13 She has been an active member of several expeditions organised by the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) under the leadership of first woman conqueror of Mt Everest, Bachendri Pal, who is also the chief of TSAF. Gabriella Pasqualotto has become an internet sensation in South Africa for secretly blogging on player behaviour in post-match parties. US sprinter Camerlita Jeter ran the fastest time in the world this year to capture the 100-meter women's crown at the Jamaica International Invitational athletics meet. Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the third successive season with a 1-1 draw at Levante on Wednesday clinching a 21st domestic title with two games to spare. India squandered a first half lead to suffer an embarrassing 1-3 defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial match of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh. The controversial Decision Review System (DRS) should be used in all international matches, the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council recommended on Wednesday.“The committee recommended the system be used in all Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20s,” committee chairman Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, told a news conference. He added teams should be restricted to one unsuccessful challenge per innings in one-day and Twenty20 games, rather than the current two to stop what Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager for cricket, called the ‘tactical' use of reviews.
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Kenny Dalglish was on Thursday appointed permanent manager of Liverpool after signing a three-year contract, the English Premier League club announced. Richard Gasquet produced one of the best matches of his career to hit back from a set down to defeat Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) at the Rome Masters. Vijender Singh (81kg) and Akhil Kumar (56kg) settled for bronze medals after losing in the semifinals but women kept India's chances of a boxing gold in the Arafura Games alive as all three advanced to the finals of their respective categories in Darwin, Australia. Benson Barus led a Kenyan sweep at the Prague International Marathon, and his countrywoman Lydia Cheromei set a track record in the women's race. Novak Djokovic has closed the gap on Rafael Nadal atop the ATP world rankings after defeating the Spaniard in straight sets in the Rome Masters final on Sunday. Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru committed suicide by jumping from a balcony shortly after a domestic dispute. He was 24. Diego Maradona was hired to coach United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl, on a two-year contract. West Ham United were beginning their search for a new manager on Monday, 24 hours after they parted company with Avram Grant in the wake of their relegation from the English Premier League. Ethiopian long-distance great Haile Gebrselassie won the Great Manchester Run for the fourth time, pulling clear of Chris Thompson of Britain to ease to victory in the 10-kilometer race on Sunday. Britain’s Helen Clitheroe, the 3,000-meter champion at the European indoors this year, smashed her personal best by 30 seconds to win the women’s race in 31-45. Triple Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova won her first tournament in almost a year when she powered past Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to win the Rome International on Sunday. Portuguese goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the all-time league record of 38 goals with a brace in Real Madrid's 3-1 victory at Villarreal in the Spanish La Liga football. Barcelona FC said on Monday it will put the UNICEF logo on the back of the team jersey next season after agreeing to extend its support for the UN Children's Fund. Dr. Arthur W. Howard, a former coach of Indian athletics team and also the first Deputy Director of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, passed away on Monday in his hometown in Warsaw, Indiana, USA. He was 96. Annu Raj Singh rose to the challenge and shot a silver medal in the women's air pistol and bagged the Olympic quota place in the process, in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US, on Monday. Indian boxer Vijender Singh tied the knot with Delhi based software engineer Archana Singh here at the Flying Club. Force India driver Adrian Sutil is in trouble as Renault owner Eric Lux has decided to file a criminal complaint against him for causing “grievous bodily harm” during an altercation at a night club in Shanghai. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 2
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The Basketball Federation of India (BFI), in collaboration with IMG-Reliance and the Union Sports Ministry, has hired three American coaches to guide the National men's and women's teams. The BFI stated that Kenny Natt, Pete Gaudet and Zak Penwell, professionals associated with the NBA and with rich experience, would take care of Indian basketball. France won the right to host the 2018 Ryder Cup golf. Shane Warne was fined $50,000 in relation to a complaint filed under the 2011 Indian Premier League Operational Rules, regarding an incident that occurred after the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Jaipur, on May 11. The hearing was held at Mumbai. Asian Games bronze medallist Virdhawal Khade put up an impressive show at the 54th Malaysia open swimming championship by bagging eight medals, including three gold medals. Falcao fired Porto to Europa League glory as the Colombia striker capped a remarkable campaign by clinching his side's 1-0 win over Braga in the all-Portuguese final in Dublin. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pipped the likes of tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and iconic basketball player Kobe Bryant to be among 10 most marketable sportspersons in the world, according to the Sports Promagazine. Tarun Sirohi will lead a six-member Indian team in the zonal competition of the World Cup polo championship to be staged at Kuantan and Pahang, Malaysia, from June 11. Rahi Sarnobat shot a near-perfect final to climb to the bronze medal from eighth spot and grabbed an Olympic quota place in the process in the women's 25-metre sport pistol, in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US. Sceptics questioning the case for independent governors at the ICC ought to get hold of Malcolm Speed's riveting account of his stints as CEO of that august body. Sticky Wicket is the most important cricket book published in the last 10 years. Readers are urged to follow the story to the end. The last chapter concerns his removal from office and exposes the nasty, corrupt forces still sitting at the top table. India's Rahul Balasaheb Aware won a bronze medal in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2011 senior Asian wrestling championships in Tashkent. Rahul defeated Uzbekistan's Nasibullo Qurbanov 3-1 and then prevailed over Firas Alalli Alrifaikmaled of Syria 5-0 in the repechage rounds, to open India's tally with a bronze. Andrea Petkovic of Germany won her second career title after her opponent, Marion Bartoli of France, retired while trailing 6-4, 1-0 in the final of the Strasbourg International. Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and skipper Nemanja Vidic landed the English Premier League manager and player-of-the-season awards respectively. Ferguson led United to its 12th Premier League title and 19th English league success overall, plus the Champions League final while centre-back Vidic has been the key in United's defence. Ferguson, 69, lands the top manager award from the Premier League sponsors for a ninth time, while 29-year-old Vidic has now been named player of the season twice in his United career. National discus record holder Vikas Gowda won the gold with 63.51m at the Elite Throwers Classic at Tuczon, Arizona. A schoolboy from Noida has achieved a rare double; after being the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, he has ascended the neighbouring peak Mt. Lhotse. Arjun Vajpayee, a class 12 student of the Ryan International School in Noida, reached the peak of the 8,516 metre Mt. Lhotse, world's fourth highest peak, along with two Nepalese Sherpa guides. On May 22, 2010, he climbed the 8,848 metre-high Everest at the age of 16. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 3
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Jharkhand's Premlata Agarwal, 45, became the oldest Indian woman to scale Mount Everest. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo broke the La Liga goal-scoring record with his 39th and 40th league goals of the season as Real Madrid hammered relegated Almeria 8-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Victory in the doubles handed Germany a record fifth World Team Cup title as the host sealed a 2-1 win over defending champion Argentina in the final in Duesseldorf. Alize Cornet says the French players at this year's Roland Garros are all rallying around Virginie Razzano, whose 32-year-old fiance, Stephane Vidal, died of a brain tumour last week. Former New Zealand test cricketer Adam Parore has climbed Mount Everest. Abhijit Chadha played steadily to hold on to his place and finished third in the Malaysian Amateur Open Golf Championship here in Melaka. Vijay Kumar was at his firing best at the crunch as he clinched the silver medal and the Olympic quota place in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol event in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US. Girish A. Koushik won the Asian Youth Chess championship (under-14) chess title in Subic (Philippines). Chennai Super Kings defended its IPL title, overpowering Royal Challengers Bangalore. Badminton chiefs on Sunday said they had indefinitely shelved a controversial new ruling forcing women to wear skirts or dresses after uproar from countries including China and India.The sport's governing body, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), met on the sidelines of the Sudirman Cup World mixed team championships here to find a solution to the emotive issue.
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AWARDS • A leading Pakistani NGO announced that it has instituted an award in the name of late Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande to honour individuals and institutions of South Asia working for peace. General Council of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research decided to institute the Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award, which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 million. • “The government of India has decided to institute a prestigious international award in the name of Rabindranath Tagore to recognise very distinguished contributions towards the promotion of international brotherhood and fraternity,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, inaugurating the year-long celebrations on Saturday. The first award is likely to be presented next summer. Each year, a jury headed by the Prime Minister will select a person of outstanding public eminence whose life and work “epitomises the high universal ideals that Rabindranath Tagore stood for.” Cayley Aerospace Inc Chief Executive Officer Bishnujee Singh has been awarded EUR ING (European Engineer) Award from FEANI Brussels. Mr Singh is first ever engineer from India to receive this prestigious award WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Wednesday awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation's top honour for “exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights”.
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AWARDS • Two teams of medical professionals from India were awarded top honours at the British Medical Journal Group Awards. The award for ‘Medical Team in a Crisis Zone' went to [MAY -2011] 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 4
‘Doctors for You' for their flood relief work in Bihar in 2008; and the award for ‘Innovation in Health Care' went to Professor Subhashchandra Daga and his team at the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research Medical College for their work in neo-natal health. • It was a southern sweep at the 58th National Film Awards, with Malayalam filmAdaminte Makan Abuchosen as the best feature film, and Vetrimaran selected as best director for Tamil filmAadukulam. In fact, the two best actors — Salim Kumar and Dhanush — were selected from these two films as well. Philip Roth, one of America's most prolific and controversial novelists, was named winner of the £60,000 Man Booker International Prize awarded every two years for a body of work published either originally in English or widely available in English translation. He beat a formidable line-up of 12 contenders that included Rohinton Mistry and John Le Carre. Roth (78) is best-known for his 1969 novel “Portnoy's Complaint,” and for his late-1990s trilogy comprising “American Pastoral” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998; “I Married a Communist;” and “The Human Stain.” Chinese telecom solutions provider Huawei has bagged two awards for its achievements in LTE commercialisation and product solutions at the LTE World Summit 2011. “Huawei has invested heavily in the development of the LTE industry since 2004, having contributed world-class technologies, patents, standards and commercial experiences. British-born Sierra Leonean novelist Aminatta Forna has won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel,The Memory of Love, set in the aftermath of Sierra Leone's devastating civil war in which thousands of people were killed. ‘The Tree of Life,' an ambitious coming-of-age film that took years for enigmatic U.S. director Terrence Malick to bring to the screen, won top honours at the Cannes festival. Kirsten Dunst took best actress for her role in Lars von Trier's apocalyptic psychodrama ‘Melancholia,' while France's Jean Dujardin claimed best actor as the leading man in Michel Hazanavicius's silent movie ‘The Artist”. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley are to be honoured by the University of Wolverhampton, one of Britain's leading universities with strong links to India, for their contribution to public life. They will be awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters in New Delhi on May 26. Aditya Sudarshan is the winner of the MetroPlus Playwright Award 2011 for his entry The Green Room. Instituted by The Hindu, the Award carries a prize of Rs.1 lakh for the best original unpublished and unperformed playscript in English. Salim Durrani became the 18th cricketer to be named for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI.
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NATION • A chopper carrying Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu and four other people, which went missing on Saturday morning, has still not been found. A ground rescue team transferred the bodies of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others, who died in a helicopter crash in Tawang district, to the nearest helipad at Luguthang • Opposition BJP jumped into the Air India pilot strike debate on Sunday, saying that the pilots were not at fault. Pointing fingers at the airline CMD Arvind Jadhav, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy indicated that Jadhav seemed to enjoy the support of the PMO in his actions which had further worsened the condition of the national carrier.
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The foundation stone of the Roerich International College of Fine Arts was laid by Russian ambassador to India and vice-president of Roerich Trust Alexander M Kadakin at Naggar in Kullu. Infosys Technologies, India's second largest software company, named veteran banker (ICICI Bank ) and seasoned business transformation manger K V Kamath as its new chairman. Kamath, 63, who is currently a member of Infosys' board of directors, will succeed the company's founder N R Narayana Murthy on August 21. The nominations committee of the company, which is facing one of the toughest times in its three-decades of existence, also named current chief operating officer S D Shibulal as CEO and MD, while the incumbent CEO, S Gopalakrishnan, was elevated to the post of executive co-chairman. Murthy, who turns 65 in August, will become the chairman emeritus, a non-executive position like Kamath's.
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The new Managing Director of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL), Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, is planning to try out the Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL) model of reviving a company on HPL, since his two immediate past assignments included the chairmanship of BCCL and its parent outfit, the Maharatna Coal India Ltd. (CIL). Indian Space Research Organisation has built a supercomputer, which is to be India's fastest in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second). The supercomputer " SAGA-220", built by the Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility located at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram at a cost of about Rs 14 crore was inaugurated by K Radhakrishnan, Chairman ISRO at VSSC Subhinder Singh Prem, currently Managing Director of Reebok India, has been appointed Managing Director of adidas group India and will take over the responsibility for overall business in India with effect from May 1. For the first time in LIC history, the government demoted chairman to managing director and appointed bureaucrat Rakesh Singh as the acting chairman. Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd. on Thursday said it would open up to 12 new wholesale stores across the country by the end of 2011, company spokesperson said. The company — a 50:50 joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and U.S.-based retail giant Walmart Stores — is likely to invest around Rs.380 crore for its expansion plans. Even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday scaled down India's GDP (gross domestic product) growth projection from 9 per cent to 8 per cent for the current fiscal — in line with the Reserve Bank's estimate in its annual credit policy — his Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu here indicated an official downward revision in the growth forecast for 2011-12. N. Kamakodi, Executive President of City Union Bank, Kumbakonam, has been appointed Managing Director and CEO of the bank with effect from May 1, with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India. Earlier, S. Balasubramanian, Managing Director & CEO, demitted office on April 30 and subsequently he was appointed non-Executive Chairman of the board of the bank. New Sebi chief UK Sinha on Friday said he does not intend to reverse rules put in place by his predecessor that restricted the ability of mutual funds to pay commissions to distributors
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National Games Organizing Committee (NGOC) chairman R K Anand was questioned by the state vigilance bureau on Monday in con-nection with the irregularities in the purchase of sports equipment for the 34th National Games.
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In a small rejig of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, urban development minister Kamal Nath has been added to the panel while K V Thomas, minister for food and consumer affairs with independent charge, is a special invitee. Tata Motors on Tuesday launched its four-wheeler small passenger carrier--Magic IRIS and 600kg smart micro truck--Ace Zip, priced at Rs 1.95-lakh and Rs 1.90-lakh Amdavadis have a reason to rejoice. The city has been officially included in Unesco`s World Heritage City tentative list. Ahmedabad is the only city from India vying for the coveted status. There are over 250 World Heritage Cities across the globe, but none in India. Within weeks of getting bail from the Supreme Court in connection with charges of sedition, human rights activist Binayak Sen has been made member of the Planning Commission's Steering Committee on Health, which will advise the panel on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has welcomed the Supreme Court judgment underscoring the gravity, barbaric and feudal nature of killings in the name of ‘honour. Chief minister Arjun Munda has decided to use the services of senior bureaucrat and man behind the world-class Mumbai-Pune Expressway R.C. Sinha to shore up infrastructure in Jharkhand. History has been made in this year's civil services' results. In a rare first, the top two candidates are women. Topper S Divyadharshini is an alumnus of Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai. Sweta Mohanty, who did her B Tech in computer science from Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET), Hyderabad, has come second. The merit list boasts of five women candidates in the top 25. With Mamata Banerjee said to be on the cusp of a revolution triggered by land acquisition-fuelled agitation, it was no coincidence that Congress embraced the Nandigram formula to regain relevance in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul and Digvijay Singh played on farmers' resentment to the hilt at Bhatta Parsaul in Noida, painting Mayawati as being in league with industrialists and robbing them of their wealth. “I feel ashamed to call myself an Indian after seeing what has happened here. The [State] government here has unleashed atrocities on its own people,” Mr. Gandhi told the farmers. The man who was driven by poverty to become a mountain porter at the age 12 renewed his undisputed status as a living Everest legend, summiting the world's highest peak for an incredible 21st time. Apa Sherpa, in his early 50s and Nepal's ambassador to promote tourism, reached the 8848m peak with American Chris Shumate, 49, Swiss Bruno Gremior, 39, and three more high altitude Sherpa guides -- Ang Dawa Sherpa, Phurba Sherpa and Arita Sherpa, all of whom are members of the Eco Everest Expedition 2011 The 25-year-old, the daughter of a farmer from remote Roing village in Arunachal Pradesh, made mountaineering history when she carried the flags of India and her state to the top of the world. "I also carried the logo of Jindal, who sponsored my trip," says Tine Mena, who was sponsored by the state government for her mountaineering courses at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling after the Sports Directorate felt she could be groomed to take on the world's highest mountain. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday notified regulations that require corporates to seek its approval before going in for high-value mergers and acquisitions (M&As), while CCI will take a view on the proposed merger deals within 180 days of the filing of notice by the companies.
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Mutual fund industry veteran Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, who stepped down as the MD of Tata MF last November, is joining the L&T Group as the head of capital markets vertical of L&T Finance Holding. iGATE on Thursday announced the successful completion of Patni acquisition and appointment of Phaneesh Murthy as CEO of Patni. Almost one-third of Indians will now be ruled by women. With Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalithaa storming to power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, they join two other women chief ministers, Mayawati and Sheila Dikshit, to administer 368 million, or around 30% of India's 1.2 billion population. The special CBI court hearing the 2G scam case is set to deliver its judgment on Kanimozhi's bail plea and could well send her to judicial custody in Tihar jail. Her imprisonment appears a strong possibility, given that judge O P Saini has sent her co-accused to judicial custody. Tata Motors on Friday said its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover has completed raising of 1 billion (over Rs 7,300 crore) to refinance its existing debt and other purposes. All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Jayalalithaa will be sworn in Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a third substantive term, along with 33 Ministers, at the Centenary Auditorium of the University of Madras. Ms. Jayalalithaa will have control over Home, Police and General Administration. Legislature party leader of All India N.R. Congress N Rangasamy is likely to be sworn in the eighteenth Chief Minister of the Union Territory Puducherry. Mahendra Singh Tikait, 76, popular farmers' leader from western Uttar Pradesh who spearheaded many struggles, died here on Sunday of bone cancer. There is growing opposition to a proposed private sector mini-hydel power plant at Kuntala waterfall in Adilabad. An initiative by Krishik Sarvodaya Foundation, a charitable institution, and 15 senior IAS officers has paid dividends. As many as 25 candidates from the State who had undergone mock interview sessions conducted by them have cleared the UPSC examinations this year. The Congress Legislature Party of Kerala unanimously elected Oommen Chandy as its leader. This was followed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) formally re-electing him its chairman and nominating him as its candidate for Chief Minister. The much-awaited order for the American C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force will be cleared this month. The IAF's order for 10 aircraft is expected to cost some Rs. 18,000 crore (roughly $4 billion). The Ministry of Defence has given the go-ahead for the purchase of these aircraft from the U.S. through the Foreign Military Sales (government-togovernment) route. The Railway Health Unit at Thanjavur, falling under the Tiruchi Railway Division, has been adjudged the Best Maintained Health Unit in Southern Railway zone in the 2010- 11 financial year. Coal India better than ONGC behind Reliance in terms of financial performance. The Union Finance Ministry has agreed to carry out the recommendation made by the Labour and Employment Ministry to raise the Income Tax exemption limit on the annual interest rate for the Employees' Provident Fund from 8.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for 2010-11. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 8
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Noted litterateur S.J. Narayana Shetty, popularly known as Sujana, passed away. He was 81. The first on-board magazine of the Railways,Rail Bandhu, was launched here on Monday by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. It will be distributed free in the Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and AC coaches of the Durantos. The launch of GSAT-8 communication satellite, scheduled for the early hours of May 20 from French Guiana, Kourou Island, has been postponed to May 21. Tarun Gogoi, who steered the Congress to a spectacular win in Assam, will be sworn in as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A (GPSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited India (GPL), has entered into an agreement with Sanofi to grant Sanofi a licence for the development and commercialisation of GBR 500, a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Crohn's Disease and other inflammatory conditions. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced the launch of India Water Body, an initiative aimed to address the challenge of water scarcity in India. 3i Infotech on Monday signed an agreement to sell its U.S.-based global billing and payments unit, consisting of Regulus Group and J&B Software, to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP for $137 million (Rs.617 crore). The Union government has ordered an inquiry into the goof-up in the preparation of the list of ‘50 most wanted' fugitives, submitted to Pakistan two months ago, as it included the name of a terror accused living in Thane, a Mumbai suburb. Wazhul Kamar Khan is an accused in the 2003 Mulund train blast, which killed 11 persons. He was arrested but granted bail and was found living at Thane with his family. His name figured as Khan Wazhul Kamar at serial number 41. The body and organ donation movement in Assam, initiated by the Ellora Vigyan Mancha (EVM), got a boost when the family members of the former Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator, Nizamuddin Khan, donated his body to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). The group said this was the first instance of body donation by a person belonging to the Muslim community in Assam. Veteran actor and producer B.M. Venkatesh passed away at his residence after a brief illness. He was 77. The driver of Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar (Dawood Ibrahim's brother) was killed in firing in South Mumbai. Benu Sen, the doyen of Indian photography, passed away. Ernst & Young has announced opening of nominations for its award programme -- ‘The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2011-India'. Ford Motor Company is planning to invest $72 million to expand its powertrain facility in Chennai to further support its sales and export growth plans in India Gamesa Wind Turbines, the Indian subsidiary of Spanish wind turbine giant, Gamesa, announced the signing of an order with Caparo Energy India (CEIL) for the supply, erection and commissioning of 2,000 MW of turbine capacity for wind power projects to be set up in India. Yet another automotive sealing manufacturing company, SEALYNX Automotive of France, has been acquired by the Ruia Group by an endorsement order issued by the Commercial Court of Nanterre (Hauts de Seine, France). 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 9
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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), one of the largest shipping and multimodal transport companies, has decided to open a new direct service between China and Nhava Sheva in India. Kavveri Telecom has made a foray into 4G technology by launching a linearly polarised CPE (customer premise equipment) antenna, in North American markets. Flash memory chip maker SanDisk announced that it would acquire Pliant Technology, a leading developer of enterprise solid state drive (SSD), for about $327 million in cash plus equity-based incentives. Customs officials detained and interrogated Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here after she walked through the green channel without declaring the diamond-studded jewellery she was carrying. Finally, the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), a multi-institutional effort to build a world class underground laboratory, at a cost of Rs. 1,260 crore, to study neutrinos in the atmosphere, will find its home near Pottipuram village in West Bodi Hills of Theni district, 110 km west of Madurai. Greenpeace [a non-governmental environmental organisation] urged the government not to provide subsidised diesel to profit-making telecom sector for running mobile towers, and force them to shift to greener energy solutions like solar-powered towers to check pollution being emitted from generators which are used to run around four lakh towers across the country. India has been placed at the 32nd position, on the list of 59, in terms of world competitiveness by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the second best performer after China among the BRIC economies. According to a ranking compiled by IMD, India was ranked 32nd, while China (19th) assured a place for itself in the top 20 economies. The other BRIC peers Brazil and Russia were positioned 44th and 49th, respectively in the list. Tarun Gogoi was sworn in Assam Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik administered him the oath of office and secrecy at a brief function held at the Raj Bhavan. A Working Group (WG) set up by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has drafted a detailed note on land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation which seeks not only to go beyond the pending government bills on the subject, but recommends that the two be merged into a single National Development, Acquisition, Displacement and Rehabilitation Act. In an unprecedented direct action, hundreds of people led by godman-cum-environment activist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal placed sandbags to construct a bandh to stop the flow of toxic effluents into Kala Sanghian drain in Jalandhar. Pacnet announced the launch of its international gateway in Chennai, enabling the delivery of its full suite of robust, high-speed international connectivity solutions to meet India's growing demand for bandwidth. The global telecom service provider also plans to invest up to $150 million in the next two to three years to set up a data centre in India. Godrej Appliances launched India's first music-enabled refrigerator, ‘Edge SX MuziPlay' with FM radio and a MP 3 Player. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) said it has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan's Uzbekneftegaz for joint cooperation in the upstream exploration and production (E&P) sector of Uzbekistan as well as third countries.
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ZTE Corporation said it has bagged technology expansion contracts from Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL). The Chinese telecom solutions provider has won CDMA expansion contracts and EV-DO, a network protocol used by cell phones for wireless Internet communications, upgrade contracts for ten circles of SSTL, which operates under MTS brand. Tata Indicom, the CDMA brand of Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTL), has launched ‘Pay Per Call' (PPC) for its pre-paid customers across circles. This plan offers multiple benefits to customers such as reduced overall cost of the tariff with no daily rentals and standard calling rates. HCL Technologies and Cforia, a leading accounts receivable solutions provider, have announced a partnership to enhance HCL's order-to-cash business service. The list of 50 “most wanted fugitives” is proving to be a source of continuous embarrassment for the Government of India as yet another goof-up came to light of one more accused being traced in Mumbai. Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, arrested in February 2010, is lodged in Mumbai's high-profile Arthur Road jail. Facing criticism for the goof-up in handling the extradition from Denmark of Kim Davy, main accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had sent its team to Copenhagen with an expired arrest warrant, has dispatched a valid arrest warrant against him. The Below the Poverty Line (BPL) census, approved by the Union Cabinet, will be an exercise in identifying households that will fit the bill within the poverty cap of 46 per cent of the rural population of India. After losing two communication satellites last year, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) looks forward to the launch of its communication satellite, GSAT-8, at 2.08 a.m. (IST) on May 21. Arianespace's Ariane-V rocket will put the satellite in orbit after lift-off from Kourou in French Guiana. The employees of government offices and public sector undertakings will take an anti-terrorism pledge on May 21, which is being observed as Anti-Terrorism Day. The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal for setting up a Rs.5,907-crore lignitebased thermal power project by Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) in Tamil Nadu. The manufacturing facility of French tyre major Michelin in India near Chennai is on track and the first phase of operations will commence from 2012 November, Michelin's Head of global operations for the truck tyre business Pete Selleck said. Newly-appointed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Upadhyay said his company was working together with state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) to streamline their businesses so that both organisations benefited from it. Social activist Anna Hazare extended his support to the ‘Iron Lady' of Manipur Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast-unto-death for more than a decade demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne will be the new Chief of the Air Staff. He will assume office on retirement of Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik on July 31. India's powerful indigenous communications satellite GSAT-8 will be put in orbit by an Ariane 5 launcher. It will vastly augment television broadcasting, especially Direct To Home (DTH) services, radio networking and other satellite-based services.
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The draft Communal Violence Bill, prepared by a Working Group (WG) of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), goes beyond existing legislation in four significant ways: it recognises identity-based or targeted crimes and organised mass violence as special offences, while placing accountability of public officials at the heart of the law, with varying penalties for dereliction of duty. Finally, it provides for the creation of a National Authority and State authorities to ensure both accountability of public officials as well as to ensure justice and reparation once in the wake of violence. Global electrical equipment maker Crompton Greaves (CG) has announced the acquisition of Sweden-based Emotron Group for 57.8 million euro (about Rs.370 crore). India twice successfully test-fired the indigenously developed air-to-air Astra interceptor missile from Chandipur in Orissa. Rajib Bhattacharyya (38) and Dipankar Ghosh (45) of West Bengal climbed Mount Everest. A successful flight-test of Rustom 1 UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was conducted by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), near Hosur. A DRDO release said it was the second successful flight of “Rustom 1,” being developed by the ADE, which is engaged in pioneering research and development work in the field of aeronautics. India and Pakistan sought to take “discussions forward” on the vexed Sir Creek issue by exchanging ‘non-papers' and agreeing to meet again at a mutually convenient date. Non-papers are negotiating texts informally exchanged by countries to facilitate discussion without making any commitment to the content. Micro-Star International (MSI) is eyeing good growth in the Indian notebook market through its niche products, particularly in the gaming and professional segments, besides introducing high quality products in the entry level category. The Taiwan-based company has also forayed into consumer electronics segment by launching fully-automatic vacuum cleaners. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is leading to form a consortium of 15 Indian mining and steel companies to make foray into the iron ore mines sector in Afghanistan. The CBI Special Court, which is hearing the 2G spectrum case, reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea moved by Cineyug Films promoter Karim Morani. The Congress upped the ante against Mayawati-led BSP government in Uttar Pradesh with Minister of State for Communications and I.T. Sachin Pilot visiting the farmers of Bhatta-Parsaul who are lodged in Dasna jail in Ghaziabad district. Mr. Pilot, who accused the U.P. government of terrorising farmers who are seeking compensation for their acquired land, was arrested when he tried to proceed towards the violence-hit villages. A fresh investigation has been ordered into the attack on a camp of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) at Silda in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district in February last year, in which 24 jawans were killed after the latest recoveries of illegal arms from a village in the same district. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi said he would visit New Delhi to meet his daughter Kanimozhi, former Union Minister A. Raja and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar, all lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. Lamenting the lack of public debate in India, the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, A.P. Shah, said during the public hearing on the safety, viability and cost efficiency of nuclear energy here that the Jaitapur nuclear power project would be a catastrophe if all the safety concerns were not addressed.
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The National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) plans to undertake a comprehensive study to understand the possible effects of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project on the marine ecology and biodiversity in the area. Five environmental organisations will participate in the study, which will be headed by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Director A.R. Rahmani. The Mumbai Police on Sunday claimed to have busted a racket involving the oil mafia after they arrested two persons and seized a ship anchored off the city coast. The accused, identified as Abdul Kadar (35) and Akbar Pingar (45), were arrested from Dongri area in south Mumbai recently. Based on the information provided by them, the ship is Sagar Sevak. Stung by the factual position pointed out by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on availability of coal, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has asked Coal India and its subsidiaries to take immediate steps to evacuate coal from pitheads or face action. Himachal Pradesh became the first State in the country to sign an agreement with the World Bank for securing carbon credits for its ‘Clean Development Mechanism' project in 11 watershed divisions under Mid Himalayan Watershed Development Project. Overlooking Dal lake in Srinagar, famous Zeishta Devi temple witnessed an unusual festivity as 6000 Kashmiri Pandits took part in a ‘maha yagya' at its complex for peace. “Nearly 6000 Kashmiri Pandits took part in the annual Mahayagya organised by Zeishta Devi Prabandak Committee at temple complex today,” Mr B. B. Bhat, president of ZDPC said. The latest review of interest rates of banks announced by the Reserve Bank of India on May 3 included an increase in short-term lending rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent and short-term borrowing rate by 50 basis points to 6.25 per cent. The RBI Governor, D. Subbarao, has justified this as necessary to moderate inflation even if it means a slowing down of growth in the short run. The gross domestic product (GDP) expectation for 2011-12 has been lowered to 8 per cent. The RBI Governor has warned that high and persistent inflation undermines growth by creating uncertainty for investors and driving up inflation expectations. He has called for an increase in prices of petrol and diesel. Global carmakers catering to the luxury segment of Indian auto industry are in a fix since Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his Budget for 2011-12, made certain alterations in the definition of ‘completely knocked down' (CKD) kit imports, bringing components like preassembled engine, gear box, transmission and chassis under the import duty ambit. Renowned film critic, historian and a pioneer of the film society movement in India, Chidananda Dasgupta, died at his residence. The father of actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen, Chidananda Dasgupta was born in Shillong in 1921. A close association with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray led to the formation of the Calcutta Film Society in 1947 with Sergei Eisenstein's classic Battleship Potemkin as its first screening. Renault launched its luxury sedan Fluence in India, even as the French carmaker said it planned to source components worth euro 100 million (over Rs.600 crore) from India by 2012. Renault plans to introduce a sports utility vehicle, Koleos, this year, followed by three more cars in 2012 “Fluence was designed for the Asian market and hence we are confident that it will not only shake up the segment, but also give the Indian customer their first taste of what Renault is capable of bringing to the Indian market,” Renault India Managing Director Marc Nassif told journalists here. Ajit Kumar Seth, a 1974 IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, will be the next Cabinet Secretary.Mr. Seth, currently Secretary, Public Grievances and Coordination in the Cabinet Secretariat, will succeed K.M. Chandrashekhar, a 1970 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, who retires in June 2011 after four years in the post — this included two extensions.
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Union Finance Minister and chairman of the Lokpal Bill Joint Draft Committee (JDC) Pranab Mukherjee has invited the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) to forward to him “directly” any suggestions/feedback on the Bill. He was responding to a letter written by Nikhil de of the NCPRI to him, seeking information on the procedures being followed by the panel and on public consultations. Justice V.K. Jain granted the stay on a petition by Ms. Radia submitting that its circulation would damage her reputation and violate her fundamental right to life, liberty and privacy. Written by advocate R.K. Anand and edited by the former executive editor of India Today magazine, Inderjit Badhwar, it has been published by Har-Anand Publications. The book is based on Ms. Radia's tapped telephonic conversations with businessmen, politicians and journalists.
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INTERNATIONAL • Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States. Egyptianborn doctor and surgeon Ayman al-Zawahri is al-Qaida's No. 2 leader likely to succeed Osama bin Laden. • The sprawling house in the garrison town of Abbottabad, about 60km from Islamabad, where Osama bin Laden was killed may be an Inter-Services Intelligence's guesthouse US mission to kill Osama was codenamed Geronimo, a legendary Apache warrior who eluded American and Mexican forces. EKIA – Enemy Killed in Action Bin Laden's Yemeni widow Amal Ahmed Abdul Fattah was with her husband in a bedroom when US special forces stormed the house Pope Benedict XVI has beatified Pope John Paul II before more than a million faithful in St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets, moving the beloved former pontiff one step closer to possible sainthood. Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge had donned an ivory and white satin gazar with French Chantilly lace gown designed by Alexander McQueen's designer Sarah Burton when she exchanged vows with Prince William. Founder of Bose Corporation, which makes premium audio products such as speakers and headphones, has given a majority of the company shares to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to Forbes, Amar Bose, with a net worth of around $1 billion, is among the richest men in the world. He was a professor at MIT before he founded Bose Corporation in 1964. He had also received his bachelor's degree, master's degree and PhD from MIT in electrical engineering. The world's largest phone maker by volume, Nokia, has started to look for a new chairman to take over from next year's annual general meeting, current chairman Jorma Ollila said. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majority government in elections that changed Canada's political landscape, with the opposition Liberals and Quebec separatists suffering a shattering defeat. India's most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai terror attacks, has emerged as the world's second most wanted man, next only to a Mexican drug lord, after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo Guzman is World's most wanted man. "El Chapo" or "Shorty" heads an international drug trafficking organisation, the Sinaloa cartel, and became Mexico's top drug kingpin in 2003 after the arrest of his rival Osiel Cardenas of the Gulf Cartel. Facebook and Google are separately considering a tie-up with Skype after the web video conferencing service delayed its initial public offering 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 14
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Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian billionaire and one of the world's richest men, is currently being investigated by the enforcement directorate (ED) on account of his business links with money launderer Hasan Ali Khan Shihora has become the first Indian to buy the world's first commercial flying car called 'Transition' from a company in Massachusetts, US. Tropical storm Aere threatened the Philippines' agricultural north on Monday after leaving at least nine people dead and pummeling the eastern coast and the capital with fierce winds and rain that sparked floods and landslides Terming the killing of Osama bin Laden the most significant achievement against the al-Qaeda, a top White House official said the U.S. was now looking for his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, who is likely to be the new chief of the terror outfit. Pakistani commando-turned dreaded global terrorist Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who is linked to multiple terror plots including a series of planned "Mumbai style" attacks in key European cities, could succeed Osama bin Laden as the chief of al-Qaida. Singapore's long-governing People's Action Party (PAP) won an absolute parliamentary majority in the early hours of Sunday following Saturday's general election. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong were among the winners by the time the PAP secured 44 seats out of 87 in the parliament-to-be-formed. With Pakistan's military-intelligence complex reeling from the embarrassment Americans inflicted when they took out Osama bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad, speculation is rife that ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha may have to step down. Front runners among those tipped to take over from Pasha is Major General Isfandiyar Ali Pataudi, first cousin of cricketing legend, former India skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, and an uncle to film stars, Saif and Soha. Brand Apple takes over Google as the most valuable brand. It is worth $153 according to a new study by Global Brands agency Milward Brown Vinod Khosla Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist pledged half his fortune to charity. In one of its biggest buyouts in over three decades, Microsoft will snap up Skype for $8.5 billion in cash, a move that will bolster the software major's presence in the highly competitive Internet market. Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty on all 14 conspiracy and securities fraud charges of insider trading on Wednesday, in a vindication of the government's aggressive tactics in prosecuting crime on Wall Street. A German court sentenced John Demjanjuk to five years in prison on Thursday for his role in the killing of 27,900 Jews at the Nazi death camp Sobibor. His lawyers will appeal the verdict. The Munich court found the 91-year-old guilty of being an accessory to mass murder as a guard at Sobibor camp in Poland during World War Two. US President Barack Obama has asked the Congress to pass legislation that would extend the 10-year term of Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), by two years, said the White House in a statement Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday inaugurated a nuclear power plant at the Chashma project built with Chinese assistance and called on the world community to "eliminate discrimination" in giving Pakistan access to atomic technology for peaceful use.
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INTERNATIONAL • BP's hopes of making Arctic oil production the key to its recovery from the Gulf of Mexico spill were dealt a severe blow after it failed to secure a $16 billion share swap with Russia's statebacked Rosneft. • Singapore—based software applications developer U2opia Mobile has developed a new application for mobile phones that will allow users to access Facebook on all types of handsets without paying for a data connection. Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov arrived here to hold talks on strengthening security, communication and energy links. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in connection with the sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. Afghanistan may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an observer at the group's 10th jubilee summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. The SCO will also consider the applications of India and Pakistan to join as full members. U.S. officials welcomed visitors on Sunday to the USS Carl Vinson warship, from which Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, but did not discuss the ultra-secretive attack that killed him, reflecting America’s concern over possible retaliation. Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida on its final flight, taking a particle detector to the international space station. The Endeavour began its 16-day mission at 8:56 a.m. (1256 GMT) after electrical problems with its hydraulic system prompted NASA to scrub an earlier scheduled launch just hours before lift-off last month. The International Criminal Court prosecutor asked judges on Monday to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi and two other senior members of his regime, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity by targeting civilians in a crackdown against rebels. In Chicago the trial of Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana, 50, who is an accused, along with David Coleman Headley, in the Mumbai terror attacks, began here with the initiation of the jury selection process at a federal court house. Endeavour and its six astronauts showed up at the International Space Station with the most expensive payload ever carried by a shuttle, a $2-billion magnetic device that scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. China has agreed to immediately provide Pakistan with 50 new JF-17 Thunder multirole jets under a co-production agreement. The 31-year-old king of Bhutan, an Oxford-educated bachelor crowned in the remote Himalayan country in 2008, set up another royal wedding by announcing his engagement. Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who helped usher in democracy in the Buddhist nation, revealed his intention to marry 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema during an address to Parliament. Hours before his meeting at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the United States' assertion that acceptance of the pre-1967-war borders should be the starting point of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The former Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was asked to post $1 million as bail money and $5 million as bond if he wished to leave Brooklyn's infamous Rikers Island prison, where he is being held on charges of assault on a hotel maid.
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Two months before her assassination in December 2007, Benazir Bhutto's forebodings about her violent end and her suspicions that elements in the Musharraf regime were out to eliminate her, led the two-time Prime Minister to ask the United States to provide her security. At least 15 people were killed in an oil tanker blaze triggered by a bomb blast in the Landi Kotal town of the Khyber tribal agency. In a related incident over the past 24 hours, a dozen vehicles ferrying goods and oil to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan were burnt after a bomb exploded in one of the tankers near the Torkham checkpost. Terrorists struck at the naval facility, PNS Mehran, in Karachi. Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a co-accused in the Mumbai attack case, will go on trial here. The arguments will be heard by a 12-member jury. In a desperate attempt to prevent the signing of an accord which would have led to the exit in one month of Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, gunmen loyal to the President have in Sana'a besieged the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), entrapping inside, the envoys of the United States, Britain, the European Union and four Gulf countries. CNN quoting the U.S. Ambassador in Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, said the Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE were also under siege inside the embassy. In Lhosa the signing of the agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet on May 23, 1951 was the beginning of an endless debate among politicians and academia throughout the world over Tibet's status and the 14th Dalai Lama who went into exile in India eight years later.The document, known as the 17-point agreement, was signed between the Chinese central government and representatives sent by the 14th Dalai Lama to decide the plateau region's future. Headley said the LeT boss, Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the November 2008 attack that killed 166 persons, motivated him for carrying out a ‘jihad.' Saeed told him that the satisfaction of one second of ‘jihad' is equal to “100 years of worship.” In return for his “freedom” from de facto house arrest in 2009, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb who was accused of running a proliferation ring, agreed with the Pakistan government to a stringent set of conditions that restricted his movement and curtailed his interactions, ensuring that his release remained by and large symbolic.
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SPORTS • Bubba Watson claimed his second US PGA Tour title of 2011, edging Webb Simpson at the second hole of sudden death to win the Zurich Classic. • Novak Djokovic won the Serbia Open without dropping a set after beating Feliciano Lopez 7-6, 6-2 in final to stretch his unbeaten record in 2011 to 27 matches. Tom Thibodeau becomes the fourth Chicago coach to win NBA's Coach of the Year award, following Johnny Kerr (1967), Dick Motta (1971) and Jackson (1996). Tomoyuki Matsuda, who survived the nature's fury, has battled the nightmares to win two gold medals at the World Cup shooting in Sydney. Novak Djokovic extended his victory streak to 34 matches when he stunned defending champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters. Star Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal faltered after a good start as she lost to World No. 3 Xin Wang of China in the final of the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. MC Mary Kom clinched her first gold medal of the year by finishing on top in the Asian Cup Women's Boxing tournament in Haikou, China. The professional peloton reacted with shock and sympathy as the tragic death of Belgian Wouter Weylandt following a fatal crash on the third stage of the Giro d'Italia. Scotland's John Higgins won the snooker world championship for the fourth time on Monday beating England's new star Judd Trump 18-15 in the best of 35 frames final. The 43-year-old mountaineer Premlata Agarwal, who set her journey to scale Mt Everest on March 25, is progressing well and is expected to touch the peak by May 13 She has been an active member of several expeditions organised by the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) under the leadership of first woman conqueror of Mt Everest, Bachendri Pal, who is also the chief of TSAF. Gabriella Pasqualotto has become an internet sensation in South Africa for secretly blogging on player behaviour in post-match parties. US sprinter Camerlita Jeter ran the fastest time in the world this year to capture the 100-meter women's crown at the Jamaica International Invitational athletics meet. Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the third successive season with a 1-1 draw at Levante on Wednesday clinching a 21st domestic title with two games to spare. India squandered a first half lead to suffer an embarrassing 1-3 defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial match of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh. The controversial Decision Review System (DRS) should be used in all international matches, the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council recommended on Wednesday.“The committee recommended the system be used in all Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20s,” committee chairman Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, told a news conference. He added teams should be restricted to one unsuccessful challenge per innings in one-day and Twenty20 games, rather than the current two to stop what Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager for cricket, called the ‘tactical' use of reviews.
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Kenny Dalglish was on Thursday appointed permanent manager of Liverpool after signing a three-year contract, the English Premier League club announced. Richard Gasquet produced one of the best matches of his career to hit back from a set down to defeat Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) at the Rome Masters. Vijender Singh (81kg) and Akhil Kumar (56kg) settled for bronze medals after losing in the semifinals but women kept India's chances of a boxing gold in the Arafura Games alive as all three advanced to the finals of their respective categories in Darwin, Australia. Benson Barus led a Kenyan sweep at the Prague International Marathon, and his countrywoman Lydia Cheromei set a track record in the women's race. Novak Djokovic has closed the gap on Rafael Nadal atop the ATP world rankings after defeating the Spaniard in straight sets in the Rome Masters final on Sunday. Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru committed suicide by jumping from a balcony shortly after a domestic dispute. He was 24. Diego Maradona was hired to coach United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl, on a two-year contract. West Ham United were beginning their search for a new manager on Monday, 24 hours after they parted company with Avram Grant in the wake of their relegation from the English Premier League. Ethiopian long-distance great Haile Gebrselassie won the Great Manchester Run for the fourth time, pulling clear of Chris Thompson of Britain to ease to victory in the 10-kilometer race on Sunday. Britain’s Helen Clitheroe, the 3,000-meter champion at the European indoors this year, smashed her personal best by 30 seconds to win the women’s race in 31-45. Triple Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova won her first tournament in almost a year when she powered past Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to win the Rome International on Sunday. Portuguese goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the all-time league record of 38 goals with a brace in Real Madrid's 3-1 victory at Villarreal in the Spanish La Liga football. Barcelona FC said on Monday it will put the UNICEF logo on the back of the team jersey next season after agreeing to extend its support for the UN Children's Fund. Dr. Arthur W. Howard, a former coach of Indian athletics team and also the first Deputy Director of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, passed away on Monday in his hometown in Warsaw, Indiana, USA. He was 96. Annu Raj Singh rose to the challenge and shot a silver medal in the women's air pistol and bagged the Olympic quota place in the process, in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US, on Monday. Indian boxer Vijender Singh tied the knot with Delhi based software engineer Archana Singh here at the Flying Club. Force India driver Adrian Sutil is in trouble as Renault owner Eric Lux has decided to file a criminal complaint against him for causing “grievous bodily harm” during an altercation at a night club in Shanghai. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 2
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The Basketball Federation of India (BFI), in collaboration with IMG-Reliance and the Union Sports Ministry, has hired three American coaches to guide the National men's and women's teams. The BFI stated that Kenny Natt, Pete Gaudet and Zak Penwell, professionals associated with the NBA and with rich experience, would take care of Indian basketball. France won the right to host the 2018 Ryder Cup golf. Shane Warne was fined $50,000 in relation to a complaint filed under the 2011 Indian Premier League Operational Rules, regarding an incident that occurred after the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Jaipur, on May 11. The hearing was held at Mumbai. Asian Games bronze medallist Virdhawal Khade put up an impressive show at the 54th Malaysia open swimming championship by bagging eight medals, including three gold medals. Falcao fired Porto to Europa League glory as the Colombia striker capped a remarkable campaign by clinching his side's 1-0 win over Braga in the all-Portuguese final in Dublin. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pipped the likes of tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and iconic basketball player Kobe Bryant to be among 10 most marketable sportspersons in the world, according to the Sports Promagazine. Tarun Sirohi will lead a six-member Indian team in the zonal competition of the World Cup polo championship to be staged at Kuantan and Pahang, Malaysia, from June 11. Rahi Sarnobat shot a near-perfect final to climb to the bronze medal from eighth spot and grabbed an Olympic quota place in the process in the women's 25-metre sport pistol, in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US. Sceptics questioning the case for independent governors at the ICC ought to get hold of Malcolm Speed's riveting account of his stints as CEO of that august body. Sticky Wicket is the most important cricket book published in the last 10 years. Readers are urged to follow the story to the end. The last chapter concerns his removal from office and exposes the nasty, corrupt forces still sitting at the top table. India's Rahul Balasaheb Aware won a bronze medal in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2011 senior Asian wrestling championships in Tashkent. Rahul defeated Uzbekistan's Nasibullo Qurbanov 3-1 and then prevailed over Firas Alalli Alrifaikmaled of Syria 5-0 in the repechage rounds, to open India's tally with a bronze. Andrea Petkovic of Germany won her second career title after her opponent, Marion Bartoli of France, retired while trailing 6-4, 1-0 in the final of the Strasbourg International. Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and skipper Nemanja Vidic landed the English Premier League manager and player-of-the-season awards respectively. Ferguson led United to its 12th Premier League title and 19th English league success overall, plus the Champions League final while centre-back Vidic has been the key in United's defence. Ferguson, 69, lands the top manager award from the Premier League sponsors for a ninth time, while 29-year-old Vidic has now been named player of the season twice in his United career. National discus record holder Vikas Gowda won the gold with 63.51m at the Elite Throwers Classic at Tuczon, Arizona. A schoolboy from Noida has achieved a rare double; after being the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, he has ascended the neighbouring peak Mt. Lhotse. Arjun Vajpayee, a class 12 student of the Ryan International School in Noida, reached the peak of the 8,516 metre Mt. Lhotse, world's fourth highest peak, along with two Nepalese Sherpa guides. On May 22, 2010, he climbed the 8,848 metre-high Everest at the age of 16. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 3
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Jharkhand's Premlata Agarwal, 45, became the oldest Indian woman to scale Mount Everest. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo broke the La Liga goal-scoring record with his 39th and 40th league goals of the season as Real Madrid hammered relegated Almeria 8-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Victory in the doubles handed Germany a record fifth World Team Cup title as the host sealed a 2-1 win over defending champion Argentina in the final in Duesseldorf. Alize Cornet says the French players at this year's Roland Garros are all rallying around Virginie Razzano, whose 32-year-old fiance, Stephane Vidal, died of a brain tumour last week. Former New Zealand test cricketer Adam Parore has climbed Mount Everest. Abhijit Chadha played steadily to hold on to his place and finished third in the Malaysian Amateur Open Golf Championship here in Melaka. Vijay Kumar was at his firing best at the crunch as he clinched the silver medal and the Olympic quota place in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol event in the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US. Girish A. Koushik won the Asian Youth Chess championship (under-14) chess title in Subic (Philippines). Chennai Super Kings defended its IPL title, overpowering Royal Challengers Bangalore. Badminton chiefs on Sunday said they had indefinitely shelved a controversial new ruling forcing women to wear skirts or dresses after uproar from countries including China and India.The sport's governing body, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), met on the sidelines of the Sudirman Cup World mixed team championships here to find a solution to the emotive issue.
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AWARDS • A leading Pakistani NGO announced that it has instituted an award in the name of late Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande to honour individuals and institutions of South Asia working for peace. General Council of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research decided to institute the Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award, which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 million. • “The government of India has decided to institute a prestigious international award in the name of Rabindranath Tagore to recognise very distinguished contributions towards the promotion of international brotherhood and fraternity,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, inaugurating the year-long celebrations on Saturday. The first award is likely to be presented next summer. Each year, a jury headed by the Prime Minister will select a person of outstanding public eminence whose life and work “epitomises the high universal ideals that Rabindranath Tagore stood for.” Cayley Aerospace Inc Chief Executive Officer Bishnujee Singh has been awarded EUR ING (European Engineer) Award from FEANI Brussels. Mr Singh is first ever engineer from India to receive this prestigious award WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Wednesday awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation's top honour for “exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights”.
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‘Doctors for You' for their flood relief work in Bihar in 2008; and the award for ‘Innovation in Health Care' went to Professor Subhashchandra Daga and his team at the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research Medical College for their work in neo-natal health. • It was a southern sweep at the 58th National Film Awards, with Malayalam filmAdaminte Makan Abuchosen as the best feature film, and Vetrimaran selected as best director for Tamil filmAadukulam. In fact, the two best actors — Salim Kumar and Dhanush — were selected from these two films as well. Philip Roth, one of America's most prolific and controversial novelists, was named winner of the £60,000 Man Booker International Prize awarded every two years for a body of work published either originally in English or widely available in English translation. He beat a formidable line-up of 12 contenders that included Rohinton Mistry and John Le Carre. Roth (78) is best-known for his 1969 novel “Portnoy's Complaint,” and for his late-1990s trilogy comprising “American Pastoral” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998; “I Married a Communist;” and “The Human Stain.” Chinese telecom solutions provider Huawei has bagged two awards for its achievements in LTE commercialisation and product solutions at the LTE World Summit 2011. “Huawei has invested heavily in the development of the LTE industry since 2004, having contributed world-class technologies, patents, standards and commercial experiences. British-born Sierra Leonean novelist Aminatta Forna has won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel,The Memory of Love, set in the aftermath of Sierra Leone's devastating civil war in which thousands of people were killed. ‘The Tree of Life,' an ambitious coming-of-age film that took years for enigmatic U.S. director Terrence Malick to bring to the screen, won top honours at the Cannes festival. Kirsten Dunst took best actress for her role in Lars von Trier's apocalyptic psychodrama ‘Melancholia,' while France's Jean Dujardin claimed best actor as the leading man in Michel Hazanavicius's silent movie ‘The Artist”. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley are to be honoured by the University of Wolverhampton, one of Britain's leading universities with strong links to India, for their contribution to public life. They will be awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters in New Delhi on May 26. Aditya Sudarshan is the winner of the MetroPlus Playwright Award 2011 for his entry The Green Room. Instituted by The Hindu, the Award carries a prize of Rs.1 lakh for the best original unpublished and unperformed playscript in English. Salim Durrani became the 18th cricketer to be named for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI.
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NATION • A chopper carrying Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu and four other people, which went missing on Saturday morning, has still not been found. A ground rescue team transferred the bodies of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others, who died in a helicopter crash in Tawang district, to the nearest helipad at Luguthang • Opposition BJP jumped into the Air India pilot strike debate on Sunday, saying that the pilots were not at fault. Pointing fingers at the airline CMD Arvind Jadhav, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy indicated that Jadhav seemed to enjoy the support of the PMO in his actions which had further worsened the condition of the national carrier.
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The foundation stone of the Roerich International College of Fine Arts was laid by Russian ambassador to India and vice-president of Roerich Trust Alexander M Kadakin at Naggar in Kullu. Infosys Technologies, India's second largest software company, named veteran banker (ICICI Bank ) and seasoned business transformation manger K V Kamath as its new chairman. Kamath, 63, who is currently a member of Infosys' board of directors, will succeed the company's founder N R Narayana Murthy on August 21. The nominations committee of the company, which is facing one of the toughest times in its three-decades of existence, also named current chief operating officer S D Shibulal as CEO and MD, while the incumbent CEO, S Gopalakrishnan, was elevated to the post of executive co-chairman. Murthy, who turns 65 in August, will become the chairman emeritus, a non-executive position like Kamath's.
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The new Managing Director of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL), Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, is planning to try out the Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL) model of reviving a company on HPL, since his two immediate past assignments included the chairmanship of BCCL and its parent outfit, the Maharatna Coal India Ltd. (CIL). Indian Space Research Organisation has built a supercomputer, which is to be India's fastest in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second). The supercomputer " SAGA-220", built by the Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility located at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram at a cost of about Rs 14 crore was inaugurated by K Radhakrishnan, Chairman ISRO at VSSC Subhinder Singh Prem, currently Managing Director of Reebok India, has been appointed Managing Director of adidas group India and will take over the responsibility for overall business in India with effect from May 1. For the first time in LIC history, the government demoted chairman to managing director and appointed bureaucrat Rakesh Singh as the acting chairman. Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd. on Thursday said it would open up to 12 new wholesale stores across the country by the end of 2011, company spokesperson said. The company — a 50:50 joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and U.S.-based retail giant Walmart Stores — is likely to invest around Rs.380 crore for its expansion plans. Even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday scaled down India's GDP (gross domestic product) growth projection from 9 per cent to 8 per cent for the current fiscal — in line with the Reserve Bank's estimate in its annual credit policy — his Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu here indicated an official downward revision in the growth forecast for 2011-12. N. Kamakodi, Executive President of City Union Bank, Kumbakonam, has been appointed Managing Director and CEO of the bank with effect from May 1, with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India. Earlier, S. Balasubramanian, Managing Director & CEO, demitted office on April 30 and subsequently he was appointed non-Executive Chairman of the board of the bank. New Sebi chief UK Sinha on Friday said he does not intend to reverse rules put in place by his predecessor that restricted the ability of mutual funds to pay commissions to distributors
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National Games Organizing Committee (NGOC) chairman R K Anand was questioned by the state vigilance bureau on Monday in con-nection with the irregularities in the purchase of sports equipment for the 34th National Games.
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In a small rejig of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, urban development minister Kamal Nath has been added to the panel while K V Thomas, minister for food and consumer affairs with independent charge, is a special invitee. Tata Motors on Tuesday launched its four-wheeler small passenger carrier--Magic IRIS and 600kg smart micro truck--Ace Zip, priced at Rs 1.95-lakh and Rs 1.90-lakh Amdavadis have a reason to rejoice. The city has been officially included in Unesco`s World Heritage City tentative list. Ahmedabad is the only city from India vying for the coveted status. There are over 250 World Heritage Cities across the globe, but none in India. Within weeks of getting bail from the Supreme Court in connection with charges of sedition, human rights activist Binayak Sen has been made member of the Planning Commission's Steering Committee on Health, which will advise the panel on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has welcomed the Supreme Court judgment underscoring the gravity, barbaric and feudal nature of killings in the name of ‘honour. Chief minister Arjun Munda has decided to use the services of senior bureaucrat and man behind the world-class Mumbai-Pune Expressway R.C. Sinha to shore up infrastructure in Jharkhand. History has been made in this year's civil services' results. In a rare first, the top two candidates are women. Topper S Divyadharshini is an alumnus of Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai. Sweta Mohanty, who did her B Tech in computer science from Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET), Hyderabad, has come second. The merit list boasts of five women candidates in the top 25. With Mamata Banerjee said to be on the cusp of a revolution triggered by land acquisition-fuelled agitation, it was no coincidence that Congress embraced the Nandigram formula to regain relevance in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul and Digvijay Singh played on farmers' resentment to the hilt at Bhatta Parsaul in Noida, painting Mayawati as being in league with industrialists and robbing them of their wealth. “I feel ashamed to call myself an Indian after seeing what has happened here. The [State] government here has unleashed atrocities on its own people,” Mr. Gandhi told the farmers. The man who was driven by poverty to become a mountain porter at the age 12 renewed his undisputed status as a living Everest legend, summiting the world's highest peak for an incredible 21st time. Apa Sherpa, in his early 50s and Nepal's ambassador to promote tourism, reached the 8848m peak with American Chris Shumate, 49, Swiss Bruno Gremior, 39, and three more high altitude Sherpa guides -- Ang Dawa Sherpa, Phurba Sherpa and Arita Sherpa, all of whom are members of the Eco Everest Expedition 2011 The 25-year-old, the daughter of a farmer from remote Roing village in Arunachal Pradesh, made mountaineering history when she carried the flags of India and her state to the top of the world. "I also carried the logo of Jindal, who sponsored my trip," says Tine Mena, who was sponsored by the state government for her mountaineering courses at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling after the Sports Directorate felt she could be groomed to take on the world's highest mountain. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday notified regulations that require corporates to seek its approval before going in for high-value mergers and acquisitions (M&As), while CCI will take a view on the proposed merger deals within 180 days of the filing of notice by the companies.
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Mutual fund industry veteran Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, who stepped down as the MD of Tata MF last November, is joining the L&T Group as the head of capital markets vertical of L&T Finance Holding. iGATE on Thursday announced the successful completion of Patni acquisition and appointment of Phaneesh Murthy as CEO of Patni. Almost one-third of Indians will now be ruled by women. With Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalithaa storming to power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, they join two other women chief ministers, Mayawati and Sheila Dikshit, to administer 368 million, or around 30% of India's 1.2 billion population. The special CBI court hearing the 2G scam case is set to deliver its judgment on Kanimozhi's bail plea and could well send her to judicial custody in Tihar jail. Her imprisonment appears a strong possibility, given that judge O P Saini has sent her co-accused to judicial custody. Tata Motors on Friday said its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover has completed raising of 1 billion (over Rs 7,300 crore) to refinance its existing debt and other purposes. All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Jayalalithaa will be sworn in Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a third substantive term, along with 33 Ministers, at the Centenary Auditorium of the University of Madras. Ms. Jayalalithaa will have control over Home, Police and General Administration. Legislature party leader of All India N.R. Congress N Rangasamy is likely to be sworn in the eighteenth Chief Minister of the Union Territory Puducherry. Mahendra Singh Tikait, 76, popular farmers' leader from western Uttar Pradesh who spearheaded many struggles, died here on Sunday of bone cancer. There is growing opposition to a proposed private sector mini-hydel power plant at Kuntala waterfall in Adilabad. An initiative by Krishik Sarvodaya Foundation, a charitable institution, and 15 senior IAS officers has paid dividends. As many as 25 candidates from the State who had undergone mock interview sessions conducted by them have cleared the UPSC examinations this year. The Congress Legislature Party of Kerala unanimously elected Oommen Chandy as its leader. This was followed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) formally re-electing him its chairman and nominating him as its candidate for Chief Minister. The much-awaited order for the American C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force will be cleared this month. The IAF's order for 10 aircraft is expected to cost some Rs. 18,000 crore (roughly $4 billion). The Ministry of Defence has given the go-ahead for the purchase of these aircraft from the U.S. through the Foreign Military Sales (government-togovernment) route. The Railway Health Unit at Thanjavur, falling under the Tiruchi Railway Division, has been adjudged the Best Maintained Health Unit in Southern Railway zone in the 2010- 11 financial year. Coal India better than ONGC behind Reliance in terms of financial performance. The Union Finance Ministry has agreed to carry out the recommendation made by the Labour and Employment Ministry to raise the Income Tax exemption limit on the annual interest rate for the Employees' Provident Fund from 8.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for 2010-11. 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 8
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Noted litterateur S.J. Narayana Shetty, popularly known as Sujana, passed away. He was 81. The first on-board magazine of the Railways,Rail Bandhu, was launched here on Monday by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. It will be distributed free in the Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and AC coaches of the Durantos. The launch of GSAT-8 communication satellite, scheduled for the early hours of May 20 from French Guiana, Kourou Island, has been postponed to May 21. Tarun Gogoi, who steered the Congress to a spectacular win in Assam, will be sworn in as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A (GPSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited India (GPL), has entered into an agreement with Sanofi to grant Sanofi a licence for the development and commercialisation of GBR 500, a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Crohn's Disease and other inflammatory conditions. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced the launch of India Water Body, an initiative aimed to address the challenge of water scarcity in India. 3i Infotech on Monday signed an agreement to sell its U.S.-based global billing and payments unit, consisting of Regulus Group and J&B Software, to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP for $137 million (Rs.617 crore). The Union government has ordered an inquiry into the goof-up in the preparation of the list of ‘50 most wanted' fugitives, submitted to Pakistan two months ago, as it included the name of a terror accused living in Thane, a Mumbai suburb. Wazhul Kamar Khan is an accused in the 2003 Mulund train blast, which killed 11 persons. He was arrested but granted bail and was found living at Thane with his family. His name figured as Khan Wazhul Kamar at serial number 41. The body and organ donation movement in Assam, initiated by the Ellora Vigyan Mancha (EVM), got a boost when the family members of the former Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator, Nizamuddin Khan, donated his body to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). The group said this was the first instance of body donation by a person belonging to the Muslim community in Assam. Veteran actor and producer B.M. Venkatesh passed away at his residence after a brief illness. He was 77. The driver of Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar (Dawood Ibrahim's brother) was killed in firing in South Mumbai. Benu Sen, the doyen of Indian photography, passed away. Ernst & Young has announced opening of nominations for its award programme -- ‘The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2011-India'. Ford Motor Company is planning to invest $72 million to expand its powertrain facility in Chennai to further support its sales and export growth plans in India Gamesa Wind Turbines, the Indian subsidiary of Spanish wind turbine giant, Gamesa, announced the signing of an order with Caparo Energy India (CEIL) for the supply, erection and commissioning of 2,000 MW of turbine capacity for wind power projects to be set up in India. Yet another automotive sealing manufacturing company, SEALYNX Automotive of France, has been acquired by the Ruia Group by an endorsement order issued by the Commercial Court of Nanterre (Hauts de Seine, France). 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 9
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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), one of the largest shipping and multimodal transport companies, has decided to open a new direct service between China and Nhava Sheva in India. Kavveri Telecom has made a foray into 4G technology by launching a linearly polarised CPE (customer premise equipment) antenna, in North American markets. Flash memory chip maker SanDisk announced that it would acquire Pliant Technology, a leading developer of enterprise solid state drive (SSD), for about $327 million in cash plus equity-based incentives. Customs officials detained and interrogated Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here after she walked through the green channel without declaring the diamond-studded jewellery she was carrying. Finally, the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), a multi-institutional effort to build a world class underground laboratory, at a cost of Rs. 1,260 crore, to study neutrinos in the atmosphere, will find its home near Pottipuram village in West Bodi Hills of Theni district, 110 km west of Madurai. Greenpeace [a non-governmental environmental organisation] urged the government not to provide subsidised diesel to profit-making telecom sector for running mobile towers, and force them to shift to greener energy solutions like solar-powered towers to check pollution being emitted from generators which are used to run around four lakh towers across the country. India has been placed at the 32nd position, on the list of 59, in terms of world competitiveness by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the second best performer after China among the BRIC economies. According to a ranking compiled by IMD, India was ranked 32nd, while China (19th) assured a place for itself in the top 20 economies. The other BRIC peers Brazil and Russia were positioned 44th and 49th, respectively in the list. Tarun Gogoi was sworn in Assam Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik administered him the oath of office and secrecy at a brief function held at the Raj Bhavan. A Working Group (WG) set up by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has drafted a detailed note on land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation which seeks not only to go beyond the pending government bills on the subject, but recommends that the two be merged into a single National Development, Acquisition, Displacement and Rehabilitation Act. In an unprecedented direct action, hundreds of people led by godman-cum-environment activist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal placed sandbags to construct a bandh to stop the flow of toxic effluents into Kala Sanghian drain in Jalandhar. Pacnet announced the launch of its international gateway in Chennai, enabling the delivery of its full suite of robust, high-speed international connectivity solutions to meet India's growing demand for bandwidth. The global telecom service provider also plans to invest up to $150 million in the next two to three years to set up a data centre in India. Godrej Appliances launched India's first music-enabled refrigerator, ‘Edge SX MuziPlay' with FM radio and a MP 3 Player. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) said it has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan's Uzbekneftegaz for joint cooperation in the upstream exploration and production (E&P) sector of Uzbekistan as well as third countries.
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ZTE Corporation said it has bagged technology expansion contracts from Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL). The Chinese telecom solutions provider has won CDMA expansion contracts and EV-DO, a network protocol used by cell phones for wireless Internet communications, upgrade contracts for ten circles of SSTL, which operates under MTS brand. Tata Indicom, the CDMA brand of Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTL), has launched ‘Pay Per Call' (PPC) for its pre-paid customers across circles. This plan offers multiple benefits to customers such as reduced overall cost of the tariff with no daily rentals and standard calling rates. HCL Technologies and Cforia, a leading accounts receivable solutions provider, have announced a partnership to enhance HCL's order-to-cash business service. The list of 50 “most wanted fugitives” is proving to be a source of continuous embarrassment for the Government of India as yet another goof-up came to light of one more accused being traced in Mumbai. Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, arrested in February 2010, is lodged in Mumbai's high-profile Arthur Road jail. Facing criticism for the goof-up in handling the extradition from Denmark of Kim Davy, main accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had sent its team to Copenhagen with an expired arrest warrant, has dispatched a valid arrest warrant against him. The Below the Poverty Line (BPL) census, approved by the Union Cabinet, will be an exercise in identifying households that will fit the bill within the poverty cap of 46 per cent of the rural population of India. After losing two communication satellites last year, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) looks forward to the launch of its communication satellite, GSAT-8, at 2.08 a.m. (IST) on May 21. Arianespace's Ariane-V rocket will put the satellite in orbit after lift-off from Kourou in French Guiana. The employees of government offices and public sector undertakings will take an anti-terrorism pledge on May 21, which is being observed as Anti-Terrorism Day. The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal for setting up a Rs.5,907-crore lignitebased thermal power project by Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) in Tamil Nadu. The manufacturing facility of French tyre major Michelin in India near Chennai is on track and the first phase of operations will commence from 2012 November, Michelin's Head of global operations for the truck tyre business Pete Selleck said. Newly-appointed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Upadhyay said his company was working together with state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) to streamline their businesses so that both organisations benefited from it. Social activist Anna Hazare extended his support to the ‘Iron Lady' of Manipur Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast-unto-death for more than a decade demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne will be the new Chief of the Air Staff. He will assume office on retirement of Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik on July 31. India's powerful indigenous communications satellite GSAT-8 will be put in orbit by an Ariane 5 launcher. It will vastly augment television broadcasting, especially Direct To Home (DTH) services, radio networking and other satellite-based services.
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The draft Communal Violence Bill, prepared by a Working Group (WG) of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), goes beyond existing legislation in four significant ways: it recognises identity-based or targeted crimes and organised mass violence as special offences, while placing accountability of public officials at the heart of the law, with varying penalties for dereliction of duty. Finally, it provides for the creation of a National Authority and State authorities to ensure both accountability of public officials as well as to ensure justice and reparation once in the wake of violence. Global electrical equipment maker Crompton Greaves (CG) has announced the acquisition of Sweden-based Emotron Group for 57.8 million euro (about Rs.370 crore). India twice successfully test-fired the indigenously developed air-to-air Astra interceptor missile from Chandipur in Orissa. Rajib Bhattacharyya (38) and Dipankar Ghosh (45) of West Bengal climbed Mount Everest. A successful flight-test of Rustom 1 UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was conducted by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), near Hosur. A DRDO release said it was the second successful flight of “Rustom 1,” being developed by the ADE, which is engaged in pioneering research and development work in the field of aeronautics. India and Pakistan sought to take “discussions forward” on the vexed Sir Creek issue by exchanging ‘non-papers' and agreeing to meet again at a mutually convenient date. Non-papers are negotiating texts informally exchanged by countries to facilitate discussion without making any commitment to the content. Micro-Star International (MSI) is eyeing good growth in the Indian notebook market through its niche products, particularly in the gaming and professional segments, besides introducing high quality products in the entry level category. The Taiwan-based company has also forayed into consumer electronics segment by launching fully-automatic vacuum cleaners. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is leading to form a consortium of 15 Indian mining and steel companies to make foray into the iron ore mines sector in Afghanistan. The CBI Special Court, which is hearing the 2G spectrum case, reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea moved by Cineyug Films promoter Karim Morani. The Congress upped the ante against Mayawati-led BSP government in Uttar Pradesh with Minister of State for Communications and I.T. Sachin Pilot visiting the farmers of Bhatta-Parsaul who are lodged in Dasna jail in Ghaziabad district. Mr. Pilot, who accused the U.P. government of terrorising farmers who are seeking compensation for their acquired land, was arrested when he tried to proceed towards the violence-hit villages. A fresh investigation has been ordered into the attack on a camp of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) at Silda in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district in February last year, in which 24 jawans were killed after the latest recoveries of illegal arms from a village in the same district. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi said he would visit New Delhi to meet his daughter Kanimozhi, former Union Minister A. Raja and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar, all lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. Lamenting the lack of public debate in India, the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, A.P. Shah, said during the public hearing on the safety, viability and cost efficiency of nuclear energy here that the Jaitapur nuclear power project would be a catastrophe if all the safety concerns were not addressed.
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The National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) plans to undertake a comprehensive study to understand the possible effects of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project on the marine ecology and biodiversity in the area. Five environmental organisations will participate in the study, which will be headed by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Director A.R. Rahmani. The Mumbai Police on Sunday claimed to have busted a racket involving the oil mafia after they arrested two persons and seized a ship anchored off the city coast. The accused, identified as Abdul Kadar (35) and Akbar Pingar (45), were arrested from Dongri area in south Mumbai recently. Based on the information provided by them, the ship is Sagar Sevak. Stung by the factual position pointed out by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on availability of coal, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has asked Coal India and its subsidiaries to take immediate steps to evacuate coal from pitheads or face action. Himachal Pradesh became the first State in the country to sign an agreement with the World Bank for securing carbon credits for its ‘Clean Development Mechanism' project in 11 watershed divisions under Mid Himalayan Watershed Development Project. Overlooking Dal lake in Srinagar, famous Zeishta Devi temple witnessed an unusual festivity as 6000 Kashmiri Pandits took part in a ‘maha yagya' at its complex for peace. “Nearly 6000 Kashmiri Pandits took part in the annual Mahayagya organised by Zeishta Devi Prabandak Committee at temple complex today,” Mr B. B. Bhat, president of ZDPC said. The latest review of interest rates of banks announced by the Reserve Bank of India on May 3 included an increase in short-term lending rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent and short-term borrowing rate by 50 basis points to 6.25 per cent. The RBI Governor, D. Subbarao, has justified this as necessary to moderate inflation even if it means a slowing down of growth in the short run. The gross domestic product (GDP) expectation for 2011-12 has been lowered to 8 per cent. The RBI Governor has warned that high and persistent inflation undermines growth by creating uncertainty for investors and driving up inflation expectations. He has called for an increase in prices of petrol and diesel. Global carmakers catering to the luxury segment of Indian auto industry are in a fix since Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his Budget for 2011-12, made certain alterations in the definition of ‘completely knocked down' (CKD) kit imports, bringing components like preassembled engine, gear box, transmission and chassis under the import duty ambit. Renowned film critic, historian and a pioneer of the film society movement in India, Chidananda Dasgupta, died at his residence. The father of actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen, Chidananda Dasgupta was born in Shillong in 1921. A close association with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray led to the formation of the Calcutta Film Society in 1947 with Sergei Eisenstein's classic Battleship Potemkin as its first screening. Renault launched its luxury sedan Fluence in India, even as the French carmaker said it planned to source components worth euro 100 million (over Rs.600 crore) from India by 2012. Renault plans to introduce a sports utility vehicle, Koleos, this year, followed by three more cars in 2012 “Fluence was designed for the Asian market and hence we are confident that it will not only shake up the segment, but also give the Indian customer their first taste of what Renault is capable of bringing to the Indian market,” Renault India Managing Director Marc Nassif told journalists here. Ajit Kumar Seth, a 1974 IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, will be the next Cabinet Secretary.Mr. Seth, currently Secretary, Public Grievances and Coordination in the Cabinet Secretariat, will succeed K.M. Chandrashekhar, a 1970 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, who retires in June 2011 after four years in the post — this included two extensions.
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Union Finance Minister and chairman of the Lokpal Bill Joint Draft Committee (JDC) Pranab Mukherjee has invited the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) to forward to him “directly” any suggestions/feedback on the Bill. He was responding to a letter written by Nikhil de of the NCPRI to him, seeking information on the procedures being followed by the panel and on public consultations. Justice V.K. Jain granted the stay on a petition by Ms. Radia submitting that its circulation would damage her reputation and violate her fundamental right to life, liberty and privacy. Written by advocate R.K. Anand and edited by the former executive editor of India Today magazine, Inderjit Badhwar, it has been published by Har-Anand Publications. The book is based on Ms. Radia's tapped telephonic conversations with businessmen, politicians and journalists.
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INTERNATIONAL • Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States. Egyptianborn doctor and surgeon Ayman al-Zawahri is al-Qaida's No. 2 leader likely to succeed Osama bin Laden. • The sprawling house in the garrison town of Abbottabad, about 60km from Islamabad, where Osama bin Laden was killed may be an Inter-Services Intelligence's guesthouse US mission to kill Osama was codenamed Geronimo, a legendary Apache warrior who eluded American and Mexican forces. EKIA – Enemy Killed in Action Bin Laden's Yemeni widow Amal Ahmed Abdul Fattah was with her husband in a bedroom when US special forces stormed the house Pope Benedict XVI has beatified Pope John Paul II before more than a million faithful in St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets, moving the beloved former pontiff one step closer to possible sainthood. Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge had donned an ivory and white satin gazar with French Chantilly lace gown designed by Alexander McQueen's designer Sarah Burton when she exchanged vows with Prince William. Founder of Bose Corporation, which makes premium audio products such as speakers and headphones, has given a majority of the company shares to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to Forbes, Amar Bose, with a net worth of around $1 billion, is among the richest men in the world. He was a professor at MIT before he founded Bose Corporation in 1964. He had also received his bachelor's degree, master's degree and PhD from MIT in electrical engineering. The world's largest phone maker by volume, Nokia, has started to look for a new chairman to take over from next year's annual general meeting, current chairman Jorma Ollila said. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majority government in elections that changed Canada's political landscape, with the opposition Liberals and Quebec separatists suffering a shattering defeat. India's most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai terror attacks, has emerged as the world's second most wanted man, next only to a Mexican drug lord, after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo Guzman is World's most wanted man. "El Chapo" or "Shorty" heads an international drug trafficking organisation, the Sinaloa cartel, and became Mexico's top drug kingpin in 2003 after the arrest of his rival Osiel Cardenas of the Gulf Cartel. Facebook and Google are separately considering a tie-up with Skype after the web video conferencing service delayed its initial public offering 4A Elgin Road, Kolkata – 700020 www.theopusway.com Page 14
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Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian billionaire and one of the world's richest men, is currently being investigated by the enforcement directorate (ED) on account of his business links with money launderer Hasan Ali Khan Shihora has become the first Indian to buy the world's first commercial flying car called 'Transition' from a company in Massachusetts, US. Tropical storm Aere threatened the Philippines' agricultural north on Monday after leaving at least nine people dead and pummeling the eastern coast and the capital with fierce winds and rain that sparked floods and landslides Terming the killing of Osama bin Laden the most significant achievement against the al-Qaeda, a top White House official said the U.S. was now looking for his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, who is likely to be the new chief of the terror outfit. Pakistani commando-turned dreaded global terrorist Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who is linked to multiple terror plots including a series of planned "Mumbai style" attacks in key European cities, could succeed Osama bin Laden as the chief of al-Qaida. Singapore's long-governing People's Action Party (PAP) won an absolute parliamentary majority in the early hours of Sunday following Saturday's general election. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong were among the winners by the time the PAP secured 44 seats out of 87 in the parliament-to-be-formed. With Pakistan's military-intelligence complex reeling from the embarrassment Americans inflicted when they took out Osama bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad, speculation is rife that ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha may have to step down. Front runners among those tipped to take over from Pasha is Major General Isfandiyar Ali Pataudi, first cousin of cricketing legend, former India skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, and an uncle to film stars, Saif and Soha. Brand Apple takes over Google as the most valuable brand. It is worth $153 according to a new study by Global Brands agency Milward Brown Vinod Khosla Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist pledged half his fortune to charity. In one of its biggest buyouts in over three decades, Microsoft will snap up Skype for $8.5 billion in cash, a move that will bolster the software major's presence in the highly competitive Internet market. Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty on all 14 conspiracy and securities fraud charges of insider trading on Wednesday, in a vindication of the government's aggressive tactics in prosecuting crime on Wall Street. A German court sentenced John Demjanjuk to five years in prison on Thursday for his role in the killing of 27,900 Jews at the Nazi death camp Sobibor. His lawyers will appeal the verdict. The Munich court found the 91-year-old guilty of being an accessory to mass murder as a guard at Sobibor camp in Poland during World War Two. US President Barack Obama has asked the Congress to pass legislation that would extend the 10-year term of Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), by two years, said the White House in a statement Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday inaugurated a nuclear power plant at the Chashma project built with Chinese assistance and called on the world community to "eliminate discrimination" in giving Pakistan access to atomic technology for peaceful use.
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INTERNATIONAL • BP's hopes of making Arctic oil production the key to its recovery from the Gulf of Mexico spill were dealt a severe blow after it failed to secure a $16 billion share swap with Russia's statebacked Rosneft. • Singapore—based software applications developer U2opia Mobile has developed a new application for mobile phones that will allow users to access Facebook on all types of handsets without paying for a data connection. Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov arrived here to hold talks on strengthening security, communication and energy links. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in connection with the sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. Afghanistan may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an observer at the group's 10th jubilee summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. The SCO will also consider the applications of India and Pakistan to join as full members. U.S. officials welcomed visitors on Sunday to the USS Carl Vinson warship, from which Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, but did not discuss the ultra-secretive attack that killed him, reflecting America’s concern over possible retaliation. Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida on its final flight, taking a particle detector to the international space station. The Endeavour began its 16-day mission at 8:56 a.m. (1256 GMT) after electrical problems with its hydraulic system prompted NASA to scrub an earlier scheduled launch just hours before lift-off last month. The International Criminal Court prosecutor asked judges on Monday to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi and two other senior members of his regime, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity by targeting civilians in a crackdown against rebels. In Chicago the trial of Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana, 50, who is an accused, along with David Coleman Headley, in the Mumbai terror attacks, began here with the initiation of the jury selection process at a federal court house. Endeavour and its six astronauts showed up at the International Space Station with the most expensive payload ever carried by a shuttle, a $2-billion magnetic device that scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. China has agreed to immediately provide Pakistan with 50 new JF-17 Thunder multirole jets under a co-production agreement. The 31-year-old king of Bhutan, an Oxford-educated bachelor crowned in the remote Himalayan country in 2008, set up another royal wedding by announcing his engagement. Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who helped usher in democracy in the Buddhist nation, revealed his intention to marry 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema during an address to Parliament. Hours before his meeting at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the United States' assertion that acceptance of the pre-1967-war borders should be the starting point of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The former Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was asked to post $1 million as bail money and $5 million as bond if he wished to leave Brooklyn's infamous Rikers Island prison, where he is being held on charges of assault on a hotel maid.
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Two months before her assassination in December 2007, Benazir Bhutto's forebodings about her violent end and her suspicions that elements in the Musharraf regime were out to eliminate her, led the two-time Prime Minister to ask the United States to provide her security. At least 15 people were killed in an oil tanker blaze triggered by a bomb blast in the Landi Kotal town of the Khyber tribal agency. In a related incident over the past 24 hours, a dozen vehicles ferrying goods and oil to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan were burnt after a bomb exploded in one of the tankers near the Torkham checkpost. Terrorists struck at the naval facility, PNS Mehran, in Karachi. Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a co-accused in the Mumbai attack case, will go on trial here. The arguments will be heard by a 12-member jury. In a desperate attempt to prevent the signing of an accord which would have led to the exit in one month of Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, gunmen loyal to the President have in Sana'a besieged the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), entrapping inside, the envoys of the United States, Britain, the European Union and four Gulf countries. CNN quoting the U.S. Ambassador in Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, said the Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE were also under siege inside the embassy. In Lhosa the signing of the agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet on May 23, 1951 was the beginning of an endless debate among politicians and academia throughout the world over Tibet's status and the 14th Dalai Lama who went into exile in India eight years later.The document, known as the 17-point agreement, was signed between the Chinese central government and representatives sent by the 14th Dalai Lama to decide the plateau region's future. Headley said the LeT boss, Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the November 2008 attack that killed 166 persons, motivated him for carrying out a ‘jihad.' Saeed told him that the satisfaction of one second of ‘jihad' is equal to “100 years of worship.” In return for his “freedom” from de facto house arrest in 2009, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb who was accused of running a proliferation ring, agreed with the Pakistan government to a stringent set of conditions that restricted his movement and curtailed his interactions, ensuring that his release remained by and large symbolic.
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