Heavy rain disrupts normal life in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Incessant rain over the past two days has thrown life out of gear in parts of Odisha, disrupting road traffic and causing damage to paddy crop in some areas, a weather official said on Saturday.

Many places have witnessed rainfall due to the impact of cyclone Nilam in the Bay of Bengal even though it has weakened. Rain was also continuing at several places, SC Sahu, director of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre said.

While the port town of Gopalpur received the state's highest rainfall of 123 mm on Friday, the coastal towns of Puri and Berhampur recorded a rainfall of 116.8 and 82 mm respectively, he said.

Rain continued to lash state capital Bhubaneswar which received about 88 mm rainfall on Friday. Traffic was disrupted on national highway close to the city.

Large number of children on Saturday preferred to stay at home and did not attend school.

The rain has damaged paddy crop in some places especially in the coastal belt, an official of the state agriculture department said.

The weather office has predicted heavy rains for some areas until November 5.

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TDP leader Yeran Naidu cremated at his native village

SRIKAKULAM: Former Union minister and senior TDP leader Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, who died in a road accident, was cremated with state honours at his native Nimmada village in north coastal Andhra district on Sunday morning.

Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu led scores of party leaders, workers and admirers in the funeral procession after which a gun salute was given by the police.

Srikakulam district collector Saurabh Gaur placed a wreath on Yerran's body on behalf of the government.

Yerran Naidu's son Rammohan lit the pyre set in the family's agriculture field.

Chandrababu, who was accompanied by his son Lokesh, was in tears as he bid final adieu to his closest aide.

Thousands of people from Srikakulam and neighbouring Vizianagaram district thronged Nimmada and paid homage to the departed leader, who had represented them in AP Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha for four terms each.

State civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu, MP Madhu Yashki, MLAs Nagam Janardhan Reddy and S Venugopalachari were among those who paid homage to Yerran Naidu.

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Modi's Gujarat is vibrant only for his five pet industrialists: Gujarat Congress

AHMEDABAD: As the election campaign in Gujarat heats up, the state Congress, which has been out of power since 1995 when it lost to the BJP, is confident of ousting the three-term Narendra Modi government in the December polls.

"The people of Gujarat are fed up with the Modi government. Modi claims Gujarat is vibrant and he has well-oiled machinery to propagate his lies. But the people of Gujarat have realised and exposed his fake claims. The Gujarat voter will give a befitting reply in December. Modi will be defeated," said a confident Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil of the Gujarat Congress.

But how will the Congress counter the onslaught of Modi, with his enigmatic personality and shrill rhetoric, that too in a state which has remained polarised since 2002?

"We are exposing Modi's lies. 'Vibrant Gujarat' is a myth. Modi's Gujarat is vibrant only for his five pet industrialists, not for the 'aam aadmi'. Over 16 farmers have committed suicide due to debt or poverty. Crimes against women have increased. Over 16,000 children have gone missing during the Modi regime. Modi moves around with 300-plus commandos, but there is no safety net for the people. Farmers and small and medium entrepreneurs are all tired and feel betrayed.

"We are voicing the concern of the aam aadmi and thereby exposing Modi. His benefits have been for Tata and Essar only. He has doled out benefits. There is nothing for the aam aadmi in Gujarat," Gohil told IANS in an interview.

He also debunked the perception that Modi had brought development to Gujarat. "Listen, only those who have NOT been to Gujarat before 2001 are touting it as developed. Gujarat has always been developed and progressive."

What about the fact that the Congress in Gujarat is in disorder? That it has not even projected a chief ministerial candidate till now?

"There is no leadership crisis in the Gujarat Congress. Unlike the BJP, we don't have an authoritarian dictator imposing his whims and fancies on us. We are a democratic party and for us, the organisation matters more than any individual. We don't have a system of declaring chief ministerial candidates," Gohil said.

What will the Congress' poll strategy be? How will it reach out to the state's five distinct regions, its communities and groups like farmers?

"We are focussing on the whole of Gujarat and not any one particular region. Because the entire state needs to be freed from the clutches of Modi," Gohil said.

"As far as communities are concerned, the aam aadmi will vote for the Congress irrespective of his or her caste and class. And Muslims in Gujarat are not carried away by Modi's 'Sadbhavana' (goodwill) farce."

"Farmers will get uninterrupted power supply. Right now, that is not the case. Also competitive prices for their products. Right now, farmers are the most hassled section in the Modi regime. Their land is being snatched away by mafias. All this will be checked through a special farmer's policy," Gohil said.

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held on December 13 and 17 and votes will be counted Dec 20.

The BJP has 117 seats in the outgoing assembly and the Congress 59. The Nationalist Congress Party has three seats and the Janata Dal-United one, while there are two independents.

While the BJP first came to power in March 1995, Modi became chief minister only in October 2001. The party was returned to power in the 2002 and 2007 elections. Between 1995 and now, the state was briefly under President's Rule in September-October 1996 and was then ruled by the Rashtriya Janata Party, which had broken away from the BJP, from October 1996 to March 1998, when the BJP returned to power.

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Public authorities failed to comply with RTI provisions: CIC Satyananda Mishra

NEW DELHI: Chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra on Saturday slammed public authorities for failing to comply with the suo-motu disclosure provisions of the Right to Information Act even after seven years of the implementation of the Act.

Referring to section four of the RTI Act which mandates public authorities to make proactive disclosures and organise records within 120 days of enactment of transparency law in 2005, Mishra said these statutory provisions are not complied with even after seven years.

"The RTI has mandatory provision for proactive disclosure of a whole range of information by every public authority. I must say that almost all public authorities have failed to comply with this mandatory requirement even after seven years," he said at 11th All India Lokayukta Conference here.

Section four of the RTI Act mandates all public authorities to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed, publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies, provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions and publish within 120 days 17 point information about the authority.

Terming RTI Act as defence mechanism against corruption, Mishra said, "Well kept records and indexing" would further help in disseminating information and curbing corruption at all levels.

Member of National Advisory Council, Aruna Roy said there was a need of bringing other supportive legislations like Whistleblowers' Bill, Grievance Redressal Bill among others to curb corruption.

"We need a whistle blowers bill which is already in the Parliament. However, the Lokayuktas should also take cognizance of all the fall outs that comes out of these bills," Roy said while speaking on the role of RTI mechanism bringing in transparency.

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26/11 case in Pakistan: Prosecution seeks speedy trial

ISLAMABAD: Day-to-day hearings should be held for an early decision in the Mumbai attack case in Pakistan involving LeT's Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects, the prosecution has demanded, prompting the court holding the trial to issue notices to the accused to respond to this.

Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court on Saturday listed the application filed by chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulifqar Ali for hearing on November 10 and asked the accused to respond by that date.

In the application, Ali said there had been an inordinate delay in the case and this was not giving a good impression of Pakistan to the world.

"Day-to-day hearings should be held for an early decision in the case," Ali told the judge during proceedings held behind closed doors at Adiala Jail for security reasons. "The anti-terrorism courts were established for speedy trial of the accused. Under Section 19(7) of the Anti- Terrorism Act of 1997, the speedy trial of the accused is mandatory," Ali told . Ali accused the defence lawyers of resorting to delaying tactics for the past four years and said the court should look into this.

"If the accused are proved innocent, they should not remain in prison for a long time. But the prosecution wonders why the counsel of the accused are not pressing for a speedy trial if their clients are innocent," he said.

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Qatar Airways to pay flier Rs 80,000 for loss of luggage

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Nov 1, 2012, 02.02PM IST

NEW DELHI: Qatar Airways has been directed by a district consumer forum here to pay Rs 80,005 to a flier for loss of his luggage in transit from Delhi to Milan.

The East District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said that Qatar Airways is liable to reimburse Delhi resident Manish Raj Bhardwaj for loss as his baggage was lost due to negligence of the airline's handling staff.

"The affidavit filed by the complainant (Bhardwaj) is uncontested. In these circumstances, it is to be accepted that the value of the lost baggage was Rs 60,005 and the offer made by respondent (airline) of Rs 5,525 was not justified. The goods were lost due to negligence on the part of handling staff of the respondent. As such they cannot escape from their liability of reimbursing the amount of loss...

"It has also been contented by complainant that articles lost were of prime importance for his visit and he could not show them to prospective clients. He suffered not only loss of goods but also loss of opportunities which cannot be evaluated in terms of money," the bench presided by N A Zaidi said.

The forum directed the airline to pay Bhardwaj Rs 60,005 as the value of the lost goods and compensation of Rs 20,000 which included the cost of litigation.

Bhardwaj's grievance, according to his complaint, had been that not only did the airline lose his luggage but it offered a paltry sum of Rs 5,525 to him as compensation.

He had said in his complaint that he had travelled to Milan from Delhi via Doha on December 19, 2010 and when he had arrived there on the next day he was informed that two pieces of his luggage were missing.

He had lodged a 'property irregularity report' with the airline on December 20, 2010 at Milan and had reported loss of items worth Rs 60,005, giving all the details, he had said.

The airline was proceeded against ex-parte as no one appeared on its behalf in the forum.

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Former Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur gets bail

CHANDIGARH: Seven months after her conviction and prison term in connection with the killing of her daughter, former Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur was on Thursday granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court on the condition that she will not leave the country.

Kaur, who is currently lodged in the Kapurthala jail, is a former President of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee ( SGPC), and was awarded five years imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 by the special CBI court of Patiala in March this year.

Handing down the bail orders, a division bench of the court comprising Justice A K Mittal and Justice G S Sandhawalia directed Kaur to seek the court's permission before going abroad, Kaur's counsel R S Cheema said.

Jagir Kaur's daughter Harpreet had died under mysterious circumstances during the intervening night of April 20 and 21, 2000, en route from Phagwara to Ludhiana's Christian Medical College and Hospital.

Citing that there was "no foul play" and Harpreet's death was natural due to fever, vomiting and severe dehydration, her post-mortem was not conducted and she was cremated in a hurried manner on April 21 at the Bibi's home village Begowal (Kapurthala) 12 years ago.

A few days after Harpreet's death, Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Begowal claimed that he was her husband and father of her stillborn child. On April 27, 2000, Kamaljit approached the Punjab and Haryana high court. On June 9, 2000, the HC directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

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Indian economy lost Rs 6,600 cr due to frauds in FY12: E&Y

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Nov 1, 2012, 05.57PM IST

NEW DELHI: Different types of frauds may have caused Rs 6,600 crore loss to Indian economy in the last fiscal and banks were the most common victim in swindling cases, a report by Ernst & Young has said.

"What we found alarming in this edition was that insider enabled fraud accounted for 61 per cent of the reported fraud cases in this edition," Ernst & Young India Partner and National Director Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Arpinder Singh said.

According to the first edition of Ernst & Young's Fraud Indicators in India, the magnitude of frauds in the second half of FY2012 increased by 36 per cent over the first half, while the number of frauds rose by a mere 8 per cent during the same period.

The report look into frauds in all spheres of society, including business and government segments, as well as in the case of financial institutions and individuals.

"Businesses are continuously exposed to fraud risks, with losses recorded in this edition accumulating to around Rs 6,600 crore," the report said.

A thorough research using various databases was conducted on a total of 1,80,000 news reports for FY12 to represent an analysis on frauds that took place in businesses, government, financial institutions, E&Y said.

Around 63 per cent of the total fraud cases in FY12 were reported in the financial services sector, banks being the most common victim of frauds followed by insurance and mutual fund companies.

The report revealed that losses incurred by banks due to fraud increased by 88 per cent in 2010-11 to exceed Rs 3,790 crore (more than Rs 2,010 crore in 2009-10).

79 per cent of the major fraud cases (majority cases above Rs 100 million) were due to involvement of senior management of the company owing to their authority and direct interference in the company's decisions.

Singh said that entrusting employees with confidential information, giving them a right to access company's bank accounts and the like may be essential, but this should be done with some "skepticism".

The spread of fraud is consistent across the country. A city wise analysis showed that Delhi witnessed the largest number of fraud cases and highest aggregate losses by fraud in 2011-12. It also recorded the highest average losses (Rs 0.8 billion) followed by Rs 5 billion for Andhra Pradesh.

"Alarmingly the top 10 frauds recorded in this study accounted for losses amounting to Rs 5,670 crore around 86 per cent of the total losses due to fraudulent incidents in the FY12 clearly indicates that it's the magnitude of these frauds that adversely impacts our economy and makes investors vary about doing business in India," Singh added.

Technology can however, play a major part in combating new age frauds, the survey noted and added that a proactive Forensic Data analysis can help governments, regulatory bodies and corporate to counter the increasingly complex nature of frauds.

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Centre to give security cover for SAIL's Chhattisgarh mining project

NEW DELHI: The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will start work in December on development of its new iron-ore feeder mine in Rowghat, located in Naxal-infested Kanker region of Chhattisgarh, including construction of a rail link for transporting the ore to Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). These works are to be taken under a security cover to be provided by Central paramilitary forces, according to sources in the Union home ministry.

A meeting among officials of SAIL, steel and mines ministry and home ministry here on Wednesday tied up security details for the project to counter possible disruptions by the Maoists as part of their strategy to keep the area "inaccessible" or "liberated" from civil administration.

Start of mining activity at Rowghat will become necessary to ensure uninterrupted supply of iron-ore to BSP, as the existing Dalli-Rajhara captive mines are expected to run dry in the next three to four years. Rail connectivity is, however, needed to ensure transportation of the ore from Rowghat to the steel plant. The proposed 90-km-long Dalli Rajhara-Rowghat line will take care of this aspect. Besides, with the line proposed to extend further to Jagdalpur, passenger traffic will also be facilitated.

Sources said while work on the initial 17-km-long uninhabited stretch will begin in December itself, the remaining 73-km tracks will be laid only after land acquisition and tribal rehabilitation issues are sorted, infrastructure laid out and security forces deployed to guard the works.

Of the 600 local tribals likely to be displaced by the rail project, 210 are likely to be offered jobs in the government. Adequate financial compensation will be handed out to locals who may be displaced as a result of land acquisition for the project.

With most of the compensation likely to be finalized by May, 2013, work on the currently inhabited stretch may start only from the middle of next year.

SAIL plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the Rowghat mines, including Rs 702 crore for laying of the Dalli-Rowghat rail line. All environmental clearances for the mines are in place.

Large presence of Maoists in and around Rowghat, however, is hampering SAIL's plan.

Maoist spokesperson Gudsa Usendi was quoted in a May, 2011, interview as saying: "They (the government) are trying to squeeze us. The Rowghat mountains are very important to the ecology of the area and the Maria tribes who live there."

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More than 120 people were missing in Bangladesh after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal

DHAKA: More than 120 people were missing in Bangladesh after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal, officials said Thursday.

The wooden boat was carrying 135 illegal immigrants to Malaysia when it capsized close to Shah Parir island Sunday.

The accident came to light only Tuesday after six survivors informed fishermen after being rescued. They swam ashore from about 50 nautical miles off Shah Parir island.

The coast guard and other agencies have been alerted for help, Mohammad Jashimuddin, chief of Cox's Bazaar district administration that governs the island, told Xinhua.

An official said the missing people may have been drowned.

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Shashi Tharoor should be made 'minister of love affairs': BJP

NEW DELHI: Taking a jibe at the newly-appointed minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor over his comment against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi that "you need to be able to love someone to understand that", Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday said the former should be made 'minister of love affairs'.

Naqvi was reacting on Tharoor's reply to Modi for criticizing his wife during a public rally in Himachal Pradesh.

"I think that it is not necessary to answer to all what he says. But I am very much impressed by his answer in which he has said that 'you need to be able to love someone to understand that'. I think a ministry of love affairs should be made for such an 'international love guru' so that the nation can gain from his wisdom and preaching," he said.

Naqvi, however, said that it is not a matter of national debate.

Criticizing Modi for attacking him personally by calling his wife a '50-crore girlfriend', Tharoor earlier on Tuesday said the former need to love someone to understand what he said.

Tharoor tweeted that his wife was worth a lot more than Modi's imaginary 50 crores.

"My wife is worth a lot more than your imaginary 50 crores. She is priceless. But you need2be able2love some1 2understand that," he tweeted.

In an apparent attack on Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, Modi at an election rally on Monday said: "Wah kya girlfriend hai. Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?" (What a girlfriend? Have you ever seen a 50-crore girlfriend)?"

Modi had said: "There was a Congress leader who was a minister. He was accused of amassing wealth from cricket. He had said in Parliament that he is not connected to the Rs 50 crore in the lady's name".

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Govt will try to restrict fiscal deficit to 5.3% of GDP: Chidambaram

The government will endeavour to maximise revenue collection and contain expenditure to restrict fiscal deficit to 5.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year, finance minister P Chidambaram has said.

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Oct 31, 2012, 02.57PM IST

NEW DELHI: The government will endeavour to maximise revenue collection and contain expenditure to restrict fiscal deficit to 5.3 per cent of the gross domestic product ( GDP) in the current financial year, finance minister P Chidambaram has said.

"Best efforts would be made to contain fiscal deficit at 5.3 per cent, during the current financial year even though the Kelkar Committee has stated that as per the current economic trends, it could be 6.1 per cent," he said yesterday while addressing the consultative committee attached to his ministry on 'Economic Impact of Internal and External Debt'.

According to the minister, "the target of 5.3 per cent is challenging one, yet it is doable".

Although the government in the budget had proposed to bring down fiscal deficit in 2012-13 to 5.1 per cent from 5.8 per cent in the previous financial year, it is expected to shoot up on account of various global and domestic factors.

The strategy to achieve the target would be to maximise revenue collections and control expenditure, Chidambaram said, while seeking support of the political parties to deal with economic and financial problems facing the country.

"No country can live beyond its means", he said, adding that it was imperative to ensure that country's debt remains sustainable and within limits.

The countries which have accumulated un-sustainable levels of debt are facing economic and financial problems, he added.

The minister further said that serious efforts would also be made to bridge the current account deficit (CAD) estimated at USD 70.3 billion by encouraging flow of foreign direct investment and foreign institutional investment.

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Public transport in West Bengal is set to get dearer

KOLKATA: Public transport in West Bengal is set to get dearer with a group of ministers on Wednesday recommending hike in fares of state-run and private buses, mini buses, deluxe buses and taxis following increased diesel prices.

"At a 16-km radius from the city centre, the prices of bus tickets would go up by a rupee at every stage. The fare raise includes government and private buses, mini buses and deluxe buses," Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters after a meeting of the ministerial group on the issue.

The minimum bus fare, which was Rs.4 for long, would now be Rs.5.

Chatterjee said the minimum taxi fare has also been recommended to be raised from Rs.22 to Rs.25.

Further details are awaited.

Chatterjee said 500 new deluxe buses would hit the roads soon.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government was under intense pressure from transport operators to raise the fares in view of repeated increase in diesel prices.

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Wall Street reopens with mild gains after being shut for two days

The author has posted comments on this articleAP | Oct 31, 2012, 07.46PM IST

NEW YORK: Wall Street is getting back to work. Trading resumed on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday after being closed for two days because of Hurricane Sandy. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg ran the opening bell.

The exchange is running on backup generators since power is out in large parts of downtown Manhattan. The last time the exchange was closed for two days for weather was in 1888.

The market got off to a good start after the shutdown. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70 points to 13,177 shortly after the opening bell.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose five points to 1,417. The Nasdaq composite slipped two points to 2,985. General Motors rose 4 per cent to $24.10 after reporting earnings that beat Wall Street's forecasts.

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Nitish organising rally to cover up 'failures': Tariq Anwar

PATNA: Nationalist Congress Party leader Tariq Anwar today claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was organizing the 'Adhikar rally' to cover up his 'failures'.

"The Adhikar rally is being organized by the JD(U) as a political agenda of the chief minister. Kumar cannot get away for the failure of his government on all fronts by passing the buck on the Centre," Anwar told a felicitation held at the state NCP office here after his elevation as Union Minister of State for Agriculture.

Claiming that no political benefit would come Bihar's way following the November 4 rally at Gandhi Maidan, Anwar charged Kumar with adopting double standard on the special status issue.

Anwar said that Kumar should have used his influence as a minister in the then NDA government to grant such a status to Bihar post-bifurcation, but was making the demand now to suit his political convenience.

The senior NCP leader alleged that Kumar failed to deliver on his promise to change the face of Bihar within 100 days after taking over the reins of the state in 2005 and was raising the bogey of the special status to cover up his 'failures'.

Stating that he maintained that the status issue was not a panacea of all problems and the state required special package to boost development, he said that the chances of the Centre according special status to Bihar appeared remote as there were other states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan raising similar demands.

Bihar should rather seek a special package which the NCP would support, he said.

On Arvind Kejriwal's charge that the UPA government allegedly helped Reliance Industries in making a fortune from the KG basin, the union minister said that he did not take the them seriously.

On Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's attack on union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife, Anwar said that he did not approve of 'loose talk' by the chief minister of a state against a political leader's family members.

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Kingfisher revival plan: Vijay Mallya meets civil aviation secretary

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Oct 30, 2012, 02.44PM IST

NEW DELHI: Ahead of submitting a revival plan to aviation regulator DGCA, Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya on Tuesday met civil aviation secretary K N Shrivastava and briefed him about the steps being taken to revive the beleaguered carrier.

Mallya is understood to have been asked by Shrivastava about the plans to pay off the debts and dues to various vendors, including Airports Authority of India (AAI) which has asked it to vacate two hangars at Kolkata and Chennai airports as it owes the state-run airports body Rs 293 crore.

"I have briefed him on revival and restart plan. It would be a comprehensive plan. All hurdles will be crossed," Mallya told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting between UB Group chief and the secretary, the first since the airline got into regulatory trouble, lasted 30 minutes, official sources said.

Kingfisher is expected to apply to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for revocation of suspension of its Scheduled Operator's Permit (SOP) or flying license in a few weeks.

For this, it has to submit to DGCA a comprehensive financial and operational plan to revive the airline and its operations, after an over three week impasse with its employees since September 30, who struck work demanding payment of overdue salaries. The strike was followed by a lockout that was lifted on October 25.

The services of Kingfisher can be restored only after the DGCA is convinced that the carrier can provide safe and sustainable operations.

The sources said the government is concerned about how the cash-strapped carrier would pay its dues to its service providers, including airport operators, aircraft lessors and oil companies.

The airline is likely to face more trouble soon with the Revenue Department deciding to move the Supreme Court to expedite recovery of tax dues worth about Rs 330 crore.

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Security tightened at Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple following terror threat

GAYA: Tight security measures have been put in place at the world-famous Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar's Gaya district and the Special Task Force (STF) deployed there in view of threat of militant attack.

As part of measures, a platoon of the STF was deployed at the Mahabodhi temple on permanent basis, DIG (Magadh range) N Hasnain Khan told PTI.

The Bodh Gaya temple management committee (BTMC) and the district police have also arranged security measures in and around the Mahabodhi temple.

The measures were taken following threat by Indian Mujahideen militants to attack the Buddhist shrine, he said.

The measures include installation of CCTV cameras in and around the temple, round-the-clock patrolling by the police on Gaya-Dobhi and Gaya-Falgu roads and deployment of women police at the temple for frisking women pilgrims, official sources said.

The Mahabodhi Temple is one of the 84,000 shrines erected by King Asoka the Great in the 3rd century B.C.

The decision for additional security measures at the temple was taken at a recent meeting of the BTMC and the district authorities.

Various Buddhist monasteries too will be brought under monitoring by CCTV cameras, they said.

A control room will be set up at the Bodh Gaya police station located adjacent to the Mahabodhi temple to monitor activities and movement of people under the coverage area, the sources said.

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Chennai port on southeast coast stops cargo operations after cyclone warning

A woman covers her face as waves hit the promenade at the fishing harbour in Chennai. (REUTERS Photo)

NEW DELHI: The Chennai port on the southeast coast has stopped cargo operations after a cyclone warning, a port official said on Tuesday.

"Only cargo operations have stopped, not berthing," said the official, who requested anonymity.

The port handles about 10 per cent of traffic passing through India's major ports, covering a variety of cargoes including crude oil, petroleum products and agricultural commodities.

The Indian Meteorological Department said cyclonic storm Nilam was about 450 kilometres south-southeast of Chennai at 1430 local time (0900 GMT). The IMD said the system was expected to move north-northwest and cross the coast near Chennai by the evening of October 31.

The port official said so far two of the 10 vessels waiting for loading or discharge of cargoes have been moved outside to ensure the port's safety and the others would be moved gradually.

Cargo operations were suspended from about 1330 local time (0800 GMT) and the suspension could continue to Wednesday afternoon or evening, he added.

Krishnapatnam port, which handles around 15 million tonnes of cargo a year including coal, fertilisers and agricultural products, also halted cargo operations, a port official said.

"Just doing this for safety reasons," the official said, adding there were 9 vessels at berth in the port, which is also on the east coast.

Chennai Petroleum Corp Limited's two refineries in the city, which have combined capacity of about 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), were operating normally, its managing director A. S. Basu, told Reuters

The north Indian Ocean usually sees about five cyclones a year, about 5-6 per cent of all cyclones, with October-November and May-June seeing the most severe ones.

Chennai handled just over 27 million tonnes of traffic in April-September, according to the Shipping ministry.

The weather office will issue its next bulletin on the storm at 1500 GMT.

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26 people killed in van-truck collision near central city of Bahawalpur in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani police official says 26 people were killed when a passenger van and a truck collided near the central city of Bahawalpur.

The police chief of Bahawalpur, Suhail Tajik, says Tuesday's accident took place on a section of the highway outside the city.

He says the passenger van was overtaking another vehicle when it slammed into an oncoming truck. The van was completely destroyed.

Rescuers moved 10 injured passengers to the city hospital. All were in serious condition.

Pakistan has a well-developed highway system but drivers often ignore basic safety rules.

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Ready to join hands with BJP to resolve mining crisis: Congress

PANAJI: Congress today said it was ready to bury political differences with the BJP to find a solution for the current crisis in the mining industry.

All India Congress Committee Secretary P Sudhakar Reddy told reporters that the party looked at the entire issue from the "humanitarian point of view".

"Congress is always for the legal mining and opposes illegal mining in Goa. When it comes to issue of people affected with mining, we should look at the issue on humanitarian grounds," Reddy said.

He expressed fear that if economic slowdown, due to the halt in mining activities, is not arrested at this juncture, the situation would become critical over the next couple of months.

Responding to a question, Reddy said if the state government came forward, the Congress party was ready to keep aside political differences to lobby with the Centre.

"Our MPs are ready. Whatever is required for Goa, we will do it within the legal framework," he added.

Reddy expected that the Supreme Court will arrive at a decision as soon as possible. He also said the party will also consult the legal department of AICC to resolve the situation.

The apex court has halted the extraction and transport of iron ore in the state pending inquiry by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which is currently in Goa and is on visit of the mining leases.

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Emphasis will be on quick decisions, investments: Oil minister Veerappa Moily

NEW DELHI: Stepping into a ministry that had in recent times become notoriously indecisive, the new oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Monday promised quick decisions and creating an environment conducive for investment to flow in. Moily, 72, who replaced S Jaipal Reddy, said his priority would be to intensify domestic oil and gas exploration to reduce import dependence that had played havoc with inflation.

"Emphasis will be on quick decision making and innovation. Decisions should not be delayed. Delaying decisions will cost the nation. We do not want any delay in decisions," he said after taking charge.

Lauding his predecessor, under whom the ministry was accused of being indecisive and almost halting oil and gas exploration, Moily said Reddy had done "wonderful job, setting highest standard of probity in administration".

"Many a times it happens (that) you avoid taking decisions. That is not a solution. Avoiding or delaying decision is not a solution. And this is where we need to very seriously work on," said Moily, who was previously Minister for Power and Corporate Affairs.

Decisions, he said, would be taken keeping the national interest in mind and not to be "benefit one or two individuals or companies."

Laying out priorities, Moily said a conducive environment would be created for domestic and foreign companies to explore for oil and gas so as India's import dependence, which is at an alarming level of 80 per cent, is reduced.

Also, the vexed issue of losses state retailers suffer on selling fuel below cost will be addressed by bringing in efficiencies and not by cutting subsidies.

"Investment will have to be attracted through conducive policy environment... We need to create that kind of confidence with the investors that this is the country that (should be their) investment destination," Moily said.

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SC refuses to hear pleas against Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: A plea for transfer of two petitions pending in different high courts to the apex court against nomination of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to the Rajya Sabha was dismissed on Monday by the Supreme Court.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said, "This is not a fit case to be entertained."

The bench also comprising justices S S Nijjar and J Chelameswar expressed its displeasure that the matter has been brought to the apex court.

"We are dismissing it," the bench said. The apex court's order came on the plea of former Delhi MLA Ram Gopal Singh Sisodia for transfer of the two petitions pending in the Delhi and the Allahabad high courts against nomination of Tendulkar to the Rajya Sabha.

Sisodia had moved the apex court saying there is likelihood of conflicting judgements from the two high courts.

Sisodia had earlier challenged Sachin's nomination before the Delhi high court on the ground that the cricketer does not have any of the qualifications prescribed under the Constitution for being nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

He had contended that Constitution allowed the government to nominate people to the Rajya Sabha only from four categories - arts, science, social science and literature. The selection of a sports person was unconstitutional, he had said.

While refusing to restrain Sachin Tendulkar from taking oath as Rajya Sabha member, a division bench of the Delhi high court on May 16 had asked additional solicitor General A S Chandhiok to get instructions from the government as to whether the sports category was covered under the Constitution for nominating a sports person to the Rajya Sabha

Earlier on May 14, the Supreme Court had refused to quash 39-year-old batting maestro's nomination to the Upper House and had asked Sisodia to rather approach the high court with his plea.

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Former Punjab MLA Malkit Singh Keetu shot at, dies on way to hospital

CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab MLA Malkit Singh Keetu on Monday died after he was shot at allegedly by his nephew in Moga district over a property dispute, a senior police official said.

67-year-old Keetu died while being taken to hospital, Moga's senior superintendent of police, Surjit Singh told over phone.

The incident occurred at Bilaspur village under Nihalsingh Wala in Moga on Monday morning, he said.

The SSP said that Keetu, a former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA from Barnala, used to live in his house in Bilaspur and in Barnala.

He said that Keetu's two nephews Harpreet and Jaspreet arrived at his Moga house on Monday morning.

"Keetu had just come out after taking a bath. He had a towel wrapped around him when his two nephews reached there and entered into altercation with him. The two were accompanied by three more accomplices.

"In the altercation over some property dispute, Harpreet pumped bullets from a .315 bore pistol. Keetu died while he was being taken to hospital," he said.

A case has been registered and further investigations were under progress, the SSP added.

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Protest erupts in Tamil Nadu over Kudankulam nuclear power plant

CHENNAI: Thousands of anti-nuclear activists thronged to the streets in Chennai on Monday in an attempt to lay siege to the state assembly as mark of protest against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

Protest against the power plant has only intensified over the past year, while nuclear fuel has already been loaded in the plant that is awaiting approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for commissioning.

Activists from various political groups and anti-nuclear bodies shouted slogans against the federal and state government, urging them to shutdown the plant permanently.

"Throughout Tamil Nadu, the state government has arrested hundreds and thousands of people to prevent them to come to Chennai to stage this programme. Inspite of that thousands of people have gathered here. We want that the Kudankulam nuclear plant should be closed, once and for all.

"The 144 applied in the area the surrounding places should be lifted. All the false cases forged against the people who are protesting against Kudankulam nuclear plant should be taken back and all those who are arrested should be released," said a protester.

The Kudankulam plant will provide 2 gigawatts of electricity-enough to power millions of Indian homes and relieve a power crisis in Tamil Nadu. More nuclear plants are planned.

The Kudankulam power plant is the first nuclear project to near completion after the Fukushima disaster.

Unable to rely on a coal sector crippled by supply shortages and mired in scandals, India is pushing ahead with constructing nuclear reactors despite global jitters over safety.

Hundreds of millions of Indians still live without power and factories suffer frequent blackouts - an embarrassment to India's aspirations as an emerging economic powerhouse.

The plant was first agreed in 1988, in the twilight years of the Soviet Union, in a deal between then-President Mikhail Gorbachev and India's prime minister of the day, Rajiv Gandhi.

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Mild tremor felt in parts of Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: A mild intensity earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 on the Richter Scale jolted parts of Andhra Pradesh on Monday.

"It was a 3.8 magnitude earthquake and its epicentre was 20 km west of Narasaraopet in Andhra Pradesh or 25 km east of Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir," CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) chief scientist R K Chadha told PTI.

The tremor were felt for some seconds in the districts of Prakasam, Nalgonda, Guntur, Khammam and Krishna at around 11 AM, Chadha said.

There were no immediate report of any casualty. "This kind of moderate earthquake in the Indian Peninsular Shield can go up to magnitude of 5," he said.

"Now we are passing through a seismically active period globally. Throughout the world we are seeing an increase in earthquakes of magnitude of 8.5 and above. Clustering of large earthquake is happening at global scale," Chadha said.

"When you are in a seismically active period globally you will also observe an increase in smaller magnitude earthquake activity," he added.

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Manish Tewari becomes minister after 31-year association with Congress

NEW DELHI: Though a first time MP, AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari has a long association of nearly 31 years with Congress since joining its youth wing in 1981.

The 47-year-old leader was seen as a strong defence line of the Congress in JPC on 2G to counter BJP onslaught.

Tewari, who was the president of Indian Youth Congress from 1998 to 2000, lost the 2004 Lok Sabha polls but successfully contested the 2009 general elections from Ludhiana by defeating Shiromani Akali Dal's candidate Gurcharan Singh Galib by a margin of over one lakh votes.

During his pre-university days, he joined youth wing of Congress and rose to become its All India Youth President before becoming the Secretary of AICC and was appointed as its Spokesperson in 2008.

Tewari comes from an eminent Punjabi family. His father V N Tewari, a professor of Punjab University, was part of the freedom movement and was killed by terrorists in 1984, few months before Operation Blue Star.

Tewari's grandfather Sardar Tirath Singh too was an advocate and Minister in the Congress government in Punjab.

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Two suicide bombers attack north Nigeria Catholic church

KADUNA: Two suicide bombers drove vehicles packed with explosives into a Catholic church in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing and wounding several, witnesses said.

The bombers both managed to get inside the packed St Rita's church, in volatile ethnically and religiously mixed Kaduna, said witness Linus Lighthouse, who survived the blasts.

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Three killed in bomb blast near Sufi shrine in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: At least three people were killed and 25 others injured when a bomb planted in a bicycle exploded outside a Sufi shrine in northwestern Pakistan today.

The police said the remote-controlled bomb was planted in the bicycle near Kaka Sahib Shrine in Nowshera city.

A large number of people were present at the time of the blast a fair was organised near the shrine.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar and Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti have strongly condemned the bomb blast.

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Earthquake jolts Kashmir Valley, no casualties reported

SRINAGAR: An earthquake of modern intensity today shook Kashmir Valley sparking panic among residents but there were no reports of any damage or casualties. The quake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, struck at 1741 hours and lasted nearly 10 seconds, officials said. Terrified residents rushed out of their houses but there were no reports of any damage to property or casualties, they said.

The epicentre of the tremor was in Hindukush region of Afghanistan.

On October 8, 2005, a devastating earthquake flattened vast swathes of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and many hamlets in the Valley along the LoC, killing thousands of people.

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Obama, Romney change campaign plans as US braces for superstorm

Hurricane Sandy is seen on the east coast of the United States in this NOAA handout satellite image taken on October 28, 2012. Hurricane Sandy could be the biggest storm to hit the United States mainland when it comes ashore, forecasters said.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney changed their campaign plans as millions of Americans along US east coast on Sunday braced themselves for possibly the worst "superstorm" in 100 years.

Local and state officials across the eastern seaboard have warned people to prepare for Hurricane Sandy that is expected to hit the US with its full might on late Sunday, and in some cases Monday.

At 5am (2.30pm India time), the US National Hurricane Center put the storm at about 260 miles (over 416km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm was moving parallel to the southeast US coast at about 13mph with 75mph sustained winds.

As the storm headed towards the national capital, Obama planned to leave Washington Sunday before the storm begins and reach rallies in Florida and Ohio, the Washington Post reported.

Romney's campaign too said that instead of hosting three events in Virginia Sunday, he would fly to the battleground state of Ohio.

Officials have blamed Sandy for at least 45 deaths as it spun northward from the Caribbean, according to CNN. That figure includes 29 people in Haiti, 16 more in Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Computer models predict portions of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia could see up to a foot of rain, according to the CNN weather unit. And even though it's still October, communities in and around the Appalachian Mountains could be socked by heavy snow.

The impending storm disrupted the rhythms of an otherwise warm fall on Saturday, as utility crews up and down the East Coast worked overtime to prepare, and hordes of anxious shoppers crowded into supermarkets and supply stores, according to the Post.

Federal officials said that they expected the storm to create damaging flood and wind conditions across a vast and densely-populated portion of the US, from Virginia to New England, and as far west as the Great Lakes.

In the Washington region, the Post's weatherman expected the worst of the storm to begin on Monday, bringing as much as six inches of rain and causing wind gusts of as high as 60mph.

Washington DC mayor Vincent Gray and the governors of Maryland and Virginia already have declared states of emergency.

In New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg advised residents and visitors to stay out of the parks. Construction sites also were ordered shut down.

In New Jersey, governor Chris Christie declared a pre-emptive state of emergency and ordered evacuation of most barriers islands south of Sandy Hook, including Atlantic City and its 12 casinos, according to the Star-Ledger.

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