Mild tremors felt in Kutch, no casualty reported

AHMEDABAD: An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale struck Bhachau in Kutch district of western Gujarat today, Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said here.

"The earthquake struck 22 km north of Bhachau, near Choburi, in Kutch district at 12:03 PM," ISR director general B K Rastogi said.

There were no reports of casualties or any property damage.

Kutch has been rocked by tremors measuring 2-4 on the Richter Scale in the past. The area had suffered a major devastation in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.

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26/11 attacks: Pak court issues summons to those who sold boat

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven men charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks on Saturday issued summons to six witnesses for selling a boat and other equipment to the accused.

Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman, who is conducting the trial behind closed doors at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons, issued the summons to Hamza Bin Tariq, Muhammad Ali, Mohammad Saifullah, Umer Draz, Saqib Iqbal and Atiq Ahmed, prosecutors said.

"The accused had bought the boat, an engine and related equipment from these private witnesses," chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulifqar Ali told PTI after the hearing.

He said since Indian authorities had not yet responded to Pakistan's request to allow a Pakistani judicial commission to cross-examine and record the statements of four witnesses in Mumbai, the prosecution today requested the judge to proceed with the trial.

"There has already been a considerable delay in the case and the court should continue the trial proceedings," Ali told the judge during proceedings.

Prosecutors also requested the court to take up their application to conduct hearings every day.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case till April 6. The Pakistani judicial commission's visit to India has already been delayed by several weeks over the issue of Islamabad seeking an assurance that members of the panel will be allowed to cross-examine witnesses.

The commission is set to make a second visit to Mumbai to record the statements of four witnesses because the anti-terrorism court had rejected a report submitted after its first visit on the ground that the panel was not allowed to conduct any cross-examination.

The trial of the seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, has progressed at a snail's pace due to repeated adjournments and various technical delays.

They have been charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks that killed 166 people in November 2008.

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Ex-minister C C Patil rushed to Bangalore for treatment of bullet wounds

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka minister C C Patil has been rushed to a private hospital here from Belgaum for further treatment of bullet injuries he suffered in an accidental gunfire recently.

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Saturday visited the Manipal Hospital where Patil was shifted from KLES Hospital at Belgaum where he was undergoing treatment since March 18.

Speaking to reporters after visiting Patil, Shettar said the doctors told him that the former minister was recovering well. "I also pray to Almighty that he recovers soon and is back to normal work," he said.

55-year-old Patil, a loyalist of Karnataka Janata Paksha President and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, was wounded after his gunman opened fire accidentally in a melee when he was at a village in Gadag district to attend a function.

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Bangladesh police arrest 4 Pakistanis with bombs, fake currency

DHAKA: Bangladesh police on Saturday said they have arrested four Pakistanis and 12 others and seized 8 crude bombs and 12.9 million in fake Indian currency while the group was allegedly planning subversive activities.

"Other than the Pakistanis, we arrested 12 Bangladeshis including a doctor while carrying out our overnight raids in different parts of the capital," police spokesman Manirul Islam told PTI.

He said plainclothesmen carried out the raids on a tip-off while they also seized eight crude bombs and a huge amount of counterfeit Indian and Pakistani currencies.

Islam said the four Pakistanis, two of them women, were found to be part of a counterfeit currency clique, who provided the money to Fariduddin Ahmed, a leader of the radical Jamaat-e-Islami party.

"During initial interrogations they admitted that their counterfeit money was being used to regroup banned militant outfits like Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) and JMB (Jamaatul Mujaheedin)" after these groups had been neutralised in the past few years under a massive security clampdown," Islam said.

Islam said Ahmed was suspected to have masterminded major attacks on banks to use the money for buying weapons for militants.

Bangladesh witnessed massive street violence during the past two months over the 1971 war crimes trial with Jamaat-e-Islami leaders being the prime accused in carrying out atrocities while siding with Pakistani troops.

Law enforcement agencies have earlier said Lashkar-e-Taiba and several other extreme rightwing militant groups were still active in Bangladesh while they used its territory for transit to neighbouring India.

Security officials have also warned of militant groups generating funds for their operations by selling counterfeit rupees in India with the fake notes mainly being forged in Pakistan and carried to Bangladesh via Dubai.

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First body found after Tibet landslide buries 83

BEIJING: Nearly 36 hours after a massive landslide buried 83 gold mine workers in Tibet, Chinese authorities today recovered one body even as no signs of life have been detected.

The body was found after more than 30 hours of digging by hundreds of rescuers, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The disaster struck a workers' camp of the Jiama Copper Polymetallic Mine in Maizhokunggar County, about 68 km from Provincial Capital Lhasa in the early hours yesterday.

Rescuers are still digging with their bare hands, as the narrow and damaged local roads had prevented much large-scale machinery from entering, Xinhua reported.

A rescue worker had described the chance of survivors being found as "slim", the report said, as teams using sniffer dogs and radar combed the mountainside in a hunt for survivors that was hampered by bad weather, altitude sickness and further landslides.

The disaster zone is located 4,600 metres above sea level. Temperatures as low as minus three degrees Celsius have affected the sniffer dogs' senses of smell.

The report quoted a rescue worker saying there were cracks along nearby mountains, which indicated further landslides were possible.

Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said at the site an expert team has been formed to investigate the cause of the landslide.

A spokesman for the regional government said at a press conference that the identities of the buried miners have been confirmed as rescue work was continuing.

The victims were workers from Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Company, a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation, a state-owned company and the nation's biggest gold miner by output.

The landslide engulfed a three km area and 30 meters deep in average, covered with about two million cubic meters of mud, rock and debris.

As of noon time, more than 300,000 cubic meters of debris had been removed, according to Jiang Yi, an armed police officer engaged in the rescue.

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Union minister Vasan joins chorus of boycott of Commonwealth meet in Sri Lanka

CHENNAI: Joining the chorus for boycott of a Commonwealth meeting in Colombo over Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Union minister and senior Congress leader GK Vasan today said the venue should be shifted "if there is no change in Lanka's approach" towards ethnic Tamils.

"It is my personal opinion...I feel in the coming days, if there is no change in the approach of Sri Lanka (towards ethnic Tamils), the countries that voted (in favour of the US sponsored-resolution in UNHRC) should jointly make efforts to shift the venue of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to some other country," he told reporters here.

He also said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should attend the meeting on the basis of the collective decision.

Vasan's remarks come days after ruling AIADMK and M Karunanidhi-led DMK in Tamil Nadu demanded that India should boycott CHOGM scheduled to be held in November in Colombo. He said the Sri Lankan government should understand India's position and act accordingly.

Rejecting the charge that India watered down the US resolution against Sri Lanka at UNHRC, Vasan said India voted against Colombo for a second time. "The UPA government has clearly voted against the Sri Lankan government in the resolution. That shows the strong commitment India has towards the rehabilitation and resettlement of the Tamil people in the region," he said, adding India was in the forefront in bringing together major countries to vote against Sri Lanka.

It would be India's duty to ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka lived in peace in their own land and regain their original status... The government of India will successfully take steps for our Tamil people in Sri Lanka," he said.

On the IPL Governing Council's decision not to play Sri Lankan cricketers in Chennai matches, he said though there was no link between sports and politics, the move was right.

Referring to the ongoing students protests on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, he said he would convey their sentiments to the Centre.

Replying to a question on the charge against the Sri Lankan high commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam, that he tried to instigate north Indians against people of Tamil Nadu, Vasan said, "He should speak befitting his position".

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Four car bombs kill 19, wound 72 in Baghdad, officials say

BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials say four car bombs have struck Shia mosques in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people and wounding 72.

A police officer says the deadliest bombing was in western Jihad neighborhood when a parked car bomb exploded as worshippers were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers. Seven people died there and 25 were wounded.

Another police officer says four worshippers were killed and nearly 20 were wounded in a bombing in eastern Qahira neighborhood. He says three people died and 15 were wounded in the eastern Zafaraniyah district and that another car bomb killed five and wounded 14 in the northeastern Binook neighborhood.

Three health officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media.

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Two dead, dozens feared trapped in Tanzania building collapse

DAR ES SALAAM: At least two people were confirmed dead and dozens feared trapped after a building under construction collapsed in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam on Friday.

Hundreds of people, including residents and army rescuers, clawed through piles of rubble in an affluent area of the country's economic capital in the hunt for survivors.

The building collapsed as many people including children were working or playing nearby, witnesses said.

"I thought there was an earthquake and then I heard screaming. The whole building fell on itself," witness Musa Mohamed told AFP.

Dar es Salaam regional police chief Suleiman Kova said the rescue operation was "going well".

"So far we have managed to retrieve 19 people. Two of them are dead and are two seriously injured," he said as he briefed Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete during a visit to the scene.

Kova said that although it was too early to establish the cause of the accident, "the owner of the building would be held responsible and taken to task".

Scores of people were reportedly working in and around the building at the time of the incident at around 8.45am (0545 GMT).

Residents told AFP that during normal working days, the area bustles with activity from a mix of business people, passers-by and playing children

"My children normally come to play here during Sundays and holidays. I am not sure whether they are also trapped," one desperate local resident Elizabeth Richard told AFP through tears.

Next to her, rescue workers were dragging out pieces of wood, iron rods, chunks of sand and bricks from the 20-metre high piles of rubble with the hope of locating more survivors.

"I was terribly shocked with the strange noise," said Ramadhan Issa, a taxi driver who was having tea at a nearby restaurant at the time of the disaster.

"It will take us several hours to reach the pockets we suspect to have survivors," police officer Lameck Kundya told AFP.

Saidi Mecky Sadiky, the Dar es Salaam regional commissioner, said up to 60 people, including workers, food vendors and children could have been around the area, which has a mixture of both commercial and residential developments.

Kikwete posted messages of condolence on his Twitter account.

"We pray for those who have been afflicted by this tragedy. We pray for togetherness in this time of need," Kikwete said.

In 2008, another building collapse in Dar es Salaam claimed at least four lives.

"It looks like the city authorities are not serious with the enforcement of construction and housing laws. The city is undergoing a construction boom, but incidents of collapsing buildings are on the increase," city resident Rashid Abdallah said.

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String of attacks kills at least 23 in Iraq

BAGHDAD: A series of car bombings in Iraq struck five Shia mosques as worshippers were emerging from Friday prayers, killing at least 23 people, officials said.

The attacks - four in Baghdad and one in the country's north - were the latest spectacular assaults staged by insurgents seeking to undermine the Shia-led government's efforts to achieve security across the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the bombings bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida's Iraq branch. The Sunni Muslim group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated blasts in an effort to sow fear among Shia and erode their trust in the government of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

In the first blast in Baghdad, a parked car exploded in Baghdad's western Jihad neighborhood, killing seven worshippers and wounding 25, a police officer said. Another bombing in the eastern Qahira neighborhood killed four and wounded around 20, while another blast killed three more and wounded another 15 in the Zafaraniyah district. A fourth car bomb killed five people and wounded 14 in the northeastern Binook neighborhood.

Three health officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials in Baghdad spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the media.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a group of worshippers as they were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers, killing three people and wounding up to 70, according to police Col Najat Hassan. A senior provisional health official, Sidiq Omar Rasool, confirmed the casualty figures in Kirkuk.

Also Friday, a roadside bomb struck a joint patrol north of Baghdad, killing an army officer and a police officer, a police official said. Seven others were wounded in the attacks in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad, the official added on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to the media.

Violence has ebbed sharply since the peak of Sunni-Shiite fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007, but Sunni insurgents still occasionally carry out high-profile attacks against Shiites, considering them to be heretics.

Friday is a particularly popular day for militants to undertake such attacks because of the rush of mostly men and boys who flock to the mosques throughout the country to hear traditional Muslim sermons and take part in communal prayers.

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83 workers buried in landslide in gold mining area in Tibet

BEIJING: At least 83 workers were buried after a massive landslide hit a gold mining area in Tibet today.

The landslide took place in Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, the regional capital, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The victims, including two Tibetans, were workers from a subsidiary of China National Gold Group Corporation.

Officials said rescue efforts were under way.

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UPSC withdraws mandatory English norm in civil services exams

NEW DELHI: Amid a nationwide controversy, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has withdrawn changes suggested by it in civil services mains examination, dropping mandatory English language paper requirement.

UPSC, which conducts the prestigious examination to select IAS, IPS and IFS officers among other, issued a corrigendum on Tuesday restoring the earlier practice of two qualifying papers in any Indian language and English, the marks obtained on which will not be counted for ranking.

"The papers on Indian languages and English will be of matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking," it said.

The aim of papers on Indian language and English is to test the candidates' ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express their ideas clearly and correctly, the corrigendum said.

There will also be separate papers on "ethics, integrity and aptitude" and "essay" of 250 marks each for the candidates taking the mains examination.

The paper on ethics, integrity and aptitude will include questions to test candidates' attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem- solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society.

The aspirants will be required to write an essay on a specific topic and in their own choice of language.

Under the earlier controversial norm put forth by the Commission, a language would be allowed as the medium of examination only if a minimum of 25 candidates wanted it.

"It may also be noted that there is no change in the pattern of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, which will be held on May 26, 2013," UPSC said.

UPSC had on March 5 issued a circular giving more weightage to English language. The move had led to an uproar inside and outside Parliament forcing the government to keep it in abeyance on March 15.

Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy had told Lok Sabha that 'status quo ante' will be maintained on the suggested changes.

Now, a candidate would be allowed to take up literature as an optional subject "without the conditionality of having to do his/her graduation in that language's literature."

From Civil Services (Mains) exams, 2013, there will be two qualifying papers of 300 marks each and five compulsory general studies papers (including one on ethics, integrity and aptitude) of 250 marks each, in addition to one optional paper of 250 marks.

There will also be a interview, for those who qualify the written exam, of 275 marks, taking the total of mains examination marks to 2025.

The last date for filling online application for civil services preliminary examination is April 4. The Mains Examination will be called sometime in August/September, this year.

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Rain lashes few places in Punjab, Haryana; farmers worried

CHANDIGARH: Light to moderate rain lashed few places in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday, increasing the worries of farmers in the two agrarian states over unseasonal showers destroying their crops at harvesting stage.

Among other places the rain lashed Chandigarh, Mohali, Ropar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Panchkula, Kurukshetra and Kalka.

The local Meteorological Department has forecast more rains at few places in the two states until Friday.

The wheat procurement is set to begin soon and if heavy rains or hailstorm occur at this stage, they can be damaging, Punjab Mandi Board President Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) President B S Rajewal said that farmers in the two states were praying and keeping their fingers crossed in the hope that it does not rain.

"No farmer wants rains at this stage, even if these were to fall down in the form of drops of gold. The wheat and oilseed crops are ready and if there is heavy rain or hail followed by high velocity winds, then farmers, who are eyeing a bumper crop, will suffer heavy loss," Rajewal said.

A farmer from Kurukshetra said that the farmers were hoping the weather holds good otherwise it can damage their wheat crop.

Lakhowal, who is also President of BKU (Lakhowal), said "if the weather does not play spoilsport, overall, we don't see much impact, as the government has made all necessary arrangements for procuring record 140 lakh tonne of wheat, which we are expecting during rabi marketing 2013-14 season starting April 1".

Lakhowal also said that heavy rains recently had caused some damage to the crops at some places in Punjab, for which special girdwari (revenue survey) had been ordered.

Meanwhile, a MeT official said that current change in the weather was due to a Western Disturbance over North Pakistan and adjoining J&K.

The maximum temperatures in the plains of Punjab and Haryana have been settling in the range of 26-29 degrees Celsius during the past few days, which is 2-3 degrees below normal level.

The days will be partly cloudy in Haryana and Punjab and light rain or thunder showers may occur at some places followed by thunder squalls with wind speed exceeding 45 kmph at isolated places.

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Finance minister P Chidambaram to inaugurate 300 new bank branches tomorrow

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Mar 28, 2013, 05.09PM IST

LUCKNOW: Finance minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate 300 new bank branches in the presence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav here, official sources said here.

"At the meeting with RBI governor D Subbarao on Jan 15, state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav requested him to open 3000 more bank branches keeping in mind the population of the state. Now RBI and state government has fixed the time table to open these branches by March 31, 2014", an official release issued here said.

The finance minister would tomorrow inaugurate 300 branches and start the process of opening up branches in the state, sources said.

About 80 per cent of these new branches would be opened in rural areas, helping in their development.

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Last date to apply for Haj pilgrimage extended to March 30

DEHRADUN: The last date for submission of applications for this year's Haj pilgrimage has been extended from March 20 to March 30.

People aspiring to go on Haj pilgrimage can now submit their applications latest by March 30 instead of March 20, Uttarakhand Haj Committee chief Haji Rao Sher Muhammad said here today.

The date has been extended for the convenience of Haj pilgrims, he said, adding that the process for issuing passports to the applicants has also been simplified.

They are being issued passports on the very day their police verification reports are being received, the state Haj committee chief said.

Announcing that efforts are underway by the committee to increase the limit on the number of Haj pilgrims in a year beyond 2,000, Muhammad said he has sent several letters in this regard to the Prime Minister, the external affairs minister and the chief minister and is optimistic about a positive outcome.

Muhammad informed that repeater Haj pilgrims have been permitted to undertake the pilgrimage on certain conditions like no subsidy will be given to male companions accompanying a female or a 70-year-old pilgrim going on the journey for a second time.

Those accompanying repeater Hajis will also be charged full air fare for their onward and return journeys, he said quoting a communication from the Ministry of External Affairs dated March 21.

Repeater Haj pilgrims with someone accompanying them on the journey will also have to give a written undertaking on a performa affidavit prepared by Mumbai Haj Committee in this regard prior to the journey, the state Haj committee chief said.

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Adarsh Housing Society Chairman Brig M M Wanchoo resigns

MUMBAI: In a fresh development, the Chairman of Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society and an accused in the multi-crore Housing scam, Brigadier (retd) M M Wanchoo, has resigned from the post due to old age and poor health.

"I hereby tender my resignation from the post of the Chairman of the Society due to my advancing age, poor health and deteriorating medical condition of my wife," said Brig Wanchoo in his resignation letter to the Secretary of the Society.

76-year-old Wanchoo, however, said he would continue to be the member of the Society.

His lawyer Mukhtar Khan confirmed to PTI that Brig Wanchoo has resigned.

Adarsh Housing Society, originally meant to be a six-storey structure to house Kargil war heroes and widows, ultimately came up as a 31-storey tower allegedly through collusion of bureaucrats, politicians and defence officers.

Several politicians, three former defence service chiefs and bureaucrats have cornered flats in the building that stands in the plush Colaba area.

Former Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde had been called by Adarsh Commission of Inquiry to give testimony.

Wanchoo is named as an accused in the case filed by CBI. According to the agency, Wanchoo, along with Adarsh secretary R C Thakur, had allegedly conspired with the members of Defence services, officers of Maharashtra Government and others to illegally get the land allotted in favour of Adarsh cooperative housing society in which they were the members.

CBI arrested eight persons for their alleged role in the scam.

Those included two retired Major Generals T K Kaul and A R Kumar, Wanchoo, former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, Adarsh promoter Kanhaiyalal Gidwani and Pradeep Vyas, the then city collector and currently, Finance secretary(expenditure) in State Government.

However, most of them, including Brig Wanchoo, got bail on May 29, 2012.

The two-member inquiry commission set up to probe the case is likely to submit its final report next week.

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Goa to file FIR against two former CMs and minister's son

PANAJI: The Goa government plans to file a first information report (FIR) against 151 people including two former Goa chief ministers, the son of a former Goa home minister, several state and central government officials, besides 100-odd mining firms in connection with illegal mining.

"The FIR will be filed by the state within six weeks as directed by the court," Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar told PTI.

The FIR is a fall out of directives by the Bombay high court's bench in Goa, which heard a petition filed by a Goan citizen Kashinath Shetye, who had sought action against all those indicted by the Justice M B Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal mining.

In its order delivered this week, the court directed that an FIR be filed against all the accused, including two former Goa chief ministers - Pratapsingh Rane (current leader of opposition) and Digambar Kamat, who were also mining ministers.

The name of Roy, son of former Goa home minister Ravi Naik, who was also named in the narcotics mafia nexus case, will be accused in the FIR, for his alleged involvement in transporting illegally extracted ore.

The complaint which will be converted to an FIR, names two former directors of the mines and geology department - J B Bhingui and Arvind Lolienkar, chairman of the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) P Mara Pandiyan, secretary of the ministry of environment forest and others.

Quoting Justice M B Shah Commission Report, the complaint accuses officials of the state transport department, state water resources department, Indian Bureau of Mines, state conservator of forests, Goa State Pollution Control Board, police department and others for protecting illegal mining.

"Not only has government natural wealth been robbed without taking permission, but police officials also went further and tried to suppress it by accepting protection money," the complaint which would be converted into FIR said.

The complaint had also demanded recovery of Rs 35,000 crore, which was shown as money plundered by mine owners.

The petitioner, who had moved the high court after police refused to file an FIR acting upon his complaint, has pleaded that the accused being persons in power, who are well connected to the power structure, had exerted pressure on investigators and authorities not to register the FIR.

"They had managed to ensure that the matter is not pursued in a manner that will incriminate them and the case is hushed up," he said.

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Goa govt to file FIR against two former CMs and minister's son

PANAJI: The Goa government plans to file a first information report (FIR) against 151 people including two former Goa chief ministers, the son of a former Goa home minister, several state and central government officials, besides 100-odd mining firms in connection with illegal mining.

"The FIR will be filed by the state within six weeks as directed by the court," Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar told PTI.

The FIR is a fall out of directives by the Bombay high court's bench in Goa, which heard a petition filed by a Goan citizen Kashinath Shetye, who had sought action against all those indicted by the Justice M B Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal mining.

In its order delivered this week, the court directed that an FIR be filed against all the accused, including two former Goa chief ministers - Pratapsingh Rane (current leader of opposition) and Digambar Kamat, who were also mining ministers.

The name of Roy, son of former Goa home minister Ravi Naik, who was also named in the narcotics mafia nexus case, will be accused in the FIR, for his alleged involvement in transporting illegally extracted ore.

The complaint which will be converted to an FIR, names two former directors of the mines and geology department - J B Bhingui and Arvind Lolienkar, chairman of the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) P Mara Pandiyan, secretary of the ministry of environment forest and others.

Quoting Justice M B Shah Commission Report, the complaint accuses officials of the state transport department, state water resources department, Indian Bureau of Mines, state conservator of forests, Goa State Pollution Control Board, police department and others for protecting illegal mining.

"Not only has government natural wealth been robbed without taking permission, but police officials also went further and tried to suppress it by accepting protection money," the complaint which would be converted into FIR said.

The complaint had also demanded recovery of Rs 35,000 crore, which was shown as money plundered by mine owners.

The petitioner, who had moved the high court after police refused to file an FIR acting upon his complaint, has pleaded that the accused being persons in power, who are well connected to the power structure, had exerted pressure on investigators and authorities not to register the FIR.

"They had managed to ensure that the matter is not pursued in a manner that will incriminate them and the case is hushed up," he said.

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Manmohan Singh-Xi Jinping meeting will help build mutual trust: China

BEIJING: Ahead of the first meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Durban, China today said such a meeting will help to build mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries.

Xi, will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here.

Asked to comment on the meeting between Singh and Xi, the first after the Chinese leader took over as President following the once-in-a-decade leadership change in China.

"We hope these kinds of meetings will improve mutual trust and cooperation between China and other countries", he said.

Officials say BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping served as a major platform for leaders of India and China to meet often to discuss bilateral issues resulting in improving personal rapport and trust.

Former President Hu Jintao and ex-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Singh more than 14 times in the last few years on the sidelines of BRICS and other international conferences.

The new Chinese leadership was set to continue to the tradition.

Gearing up for the meeting, Xi has already proposed a five-point formula to improve relations with India suggesting that "peace and tranquillity" should be maintained on the border without affecting the overall ties pending the boundary dispute, the resolution of which, he said "won't be easy".

Xi, 59, who took over as the head of the Communist Party, President and military chief, in an interview to PTI and select editors of BRICS countries, spoke of the need for India and China with a combined population of 2.5 billion to cooperate in multilateral fora to safeguard the "legitimate rights and interests" of developing countries.

Xi had said China saw its ties with India as "one of the most important bilateral relationships".

He unveiled five proposals which included maintaining strategic communication to keep the bilateral relations on the "right track", harness each other's comparative strengths and expand win-win cooperation in infrastructure, mutual investment, strengthen cultural ties and constantly increase the mutually expanding friendship.

The Chinese leader had said the two countries should expand coordination and collaboration in multi-lateral fora to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and tackle global challenges.

"We should accommodate each other's core concerns and properly handle problems and differences existing between the two countries," he had said in the fifth proposal.

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China jails 20 on jihad, separatism charges in restive Xinjiang

BEIJING: Chinese courts have sentenced 20 people to up to life in jail on charges of separatism and plotting to carry out jihad in the restive far western region of Xinjiang, the government said on Wednesday.

The courts in Kashgar and Bayingol said the 20 - all ethnic Uighurs judging by their names - had had their "thoughts poisoned by religious extremism", and used cell phones and DVDs "to spread Muslim religious propaganda", the Xinjiang government said on its official news website (www.ts.cn).

Some of them bought weapons to kill policemen as part of their jihad and spread propaganda related to the banned East Turkestan Islamic Movement, the report said, a group which China says wages a violent campaign for a separate state.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to Xinjiang, chafe at Chinese controls on their religion, language and culture.

China has blamed violence in energy-rich Xinjiang - strategically located on the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Central Asia - on Islamic separatists who want to establish an independent East Turkestan.

Some Chinese officials have also blamed attacks on Muslim militants trained in Pakistan. But many rights groups say China overstates the threat to justify its tight grip on the region.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said the 20 were actually guilty of no more than listening to the US-funded Radio Free Asia and using the internet to discuss the importance of religious and cultural freedom.

"Giving heavy sentences to Uighurs (on the excuse) of terrorism is China's special way of carrying out suppression," he said in an emailed statement.

In December, a Xinjiang court sentenced three men to death and another to life in prison for attempting to hijack an aircraft in June.

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UN envoy to Afghanistan calls on Taliban to join peace process

KABUL: The UN envoy to Afghanistan called on the Taliban today to join peace efforts as the bulk of Nato combat troops prepare to leave the country by the end of next year.

"My message to the insurgency is basically a sort of long-term message: you are Afghans, you care, I assume, about your country, you care about peaceful stable future of the country," Jan Kubis told a news conference.
The withdrawal and next year's presidential election, when president Hamid Karzai will step down after 13 years in power, have lent urgency to the search for a negotiated settlement to end Afghanistan's decades of conflict.
The Taliban, ousted from power by a 2001 US-led invasion for refusing to give up al-Qaida after the 9/11 attacks, are leading a deadly insurgency against Western troops and the Afghan government.

When Nato troops leave, Afghan police and soldiers will take responsibility for security. There are fears that without some kind of settlement, the country could return to the horrors of its 1992-96 civil war. Pointing out that a "strong motivation" for insurgents was the fight against foreign troops, Kubis said: "There will be no international fighting force at the end of 2014.

"Take this into account. Adjust and take necessary measures to contribute to the surge of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan after 2014."

Efforts by the international community and the Afghan government to bring the Taliban to meaningful negotiations have largely been thwarted. The Taliban publicly refuse to hold direct talks with Kabul, considering it a US puppet.
The militia broke off tentative contacts with the United States in Qatar in March 2012 after the failure of attempts to negotiate a prisoner exchange as a confidence-building measure.

Karzai said he plans to visit Qatar, with US backing, to discuss the proposed opening of a Taliban office in the emirate as a prelude to possible peace talks.

The UN envoy welcomed Karzai's visit. "We took good note of the plan of Mr President to visit Qatar these days and again we hope that some messages are coming after this visit," Kubis said.

Until earlier this year, Karzai rejected the idea of a Taliban office in Qatar because of fears that his government would be frozen out of any deal between the United States and the militants.

The president has often called the Taliban "brothers" in a gesture to promote reconciliation, but he also accuses them of holding secret talks with the US at the same time as they launch suicide attacks that kill civilians.
Pakistan, which backed Afghanistan's 1996-2001 Taliban regime, has pledged its support for an office in Doha to promote peace and for any Afghan-led initiative to stabilize the neighbouring country.

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Mumbai slips to 66th rank among world's leading financial hubs: Survey

NEW DELHI: India's financial capital Mumbai slipped to 66th rank in the list of world's leading financial centres, but New Delhi failed to make a mark, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) released on Tuesday.

GFCI which provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 79 financial centres worldwide ranked Mumbai at the 66th place, down three places from last year when it was ranked 63rd on the coveted list.

Mumbai is the only Indian city on the list, which was topped by London.

New York was ranked second in the list followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in the third and fourth place respectively.

Others in the top 10 are: Zurich (5th), Tokyo (6th), Geneva (7th), Boston (8th), Seoul (9th) and Frankfurt (10th).

Although New Delhi, the country's political hub, was added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and its progress was being monitored it failed to make it to the list.

Almaty, Baku, Busan, Guangzhou, Liechtenstein, New Delhi, Riga, Santiago, Tel Aviv and Tianjin have been added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and "we track their progress with interest" GFCI said, adding that "they have yet to acquire sufficient assessments to be included in the Index".

As many as 26 financial centres improved rankings from last year, 44 centres declined, 7 showed no change and 2 (Panama and Cyprus) entered the list for the first time.

All but six centres in the GFCI experienced a rise in the ratings.

According to the index, the 10 centres that are likely to become more significant in the next few years are: Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Beijing and Moscow.

Interestingly, nearly 40 per cent of the centres included in the GFCI ranking are located in emerging markets as they gain prominence in the global economy and the financial world.

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No politics behind funds for Bihar: Sharad Yadav

NEW DELHI: JD-U president SharadYadav on Tuesday welcomed the reported central government move to change the criteria for "backwardness" to release more funds for Bihar but said there was no need to derive political meaning from it.

Yadav said the media had reported Tuesday that the central government was considering changing norms to determine backwardness of states.

"Whatever is happening, it is worth welcoming," the Janata Dal-United chief told reporters here and added that too much should not be read into the government's move.

"There is no need to derive political meaning from this," he said.

Yadav, who is the convenor of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Deomocratic Alliance (NDA), said that the JD-U had been demanding special category status for Bihar.

Finance minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech last month said that the criteria for determining backwardness was based on terrain, density of population and length of international borders. He proposed to evolve a new method which would be reflected in future planning and devolution of funds.

Chidambarm's announcement was seen in political circles as a move by the Congress to wean JD-U leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar away from the NDA.

Nitish Kumar has been pressing for special category status for Bihar.

BJP leaders, however, dismissed suggestions that the JD-U would inch towards the Congress following the central government sanctioning more funds to Bihar.

They said the BJP backs the demand for a special category status for Bihar and there was a need to revisit norms of backwardness.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the JD-U was an integral part of the NDA.

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France probing killing of two Indians in Central African Republic

NEW DELHI: France is conducting a high-level inquiry into the killing of two Indian nationals by its troops in the Central African Republic (CAR), French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Indian counterpart A K Antony on Tuesday.

Drian also told Antony that Indian government would be informed about the outcome of the inquiry, defence ministry officials said.

"The French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian telephoned defence minister A K Antony this afternoon to convey his regret over the incident at Bangui airport in CAR in which two Indian nationals were killed and six others injured during firing by French troops guarding the airport," they said.

The French defence minister also conveyed his condolences to the families of the Indian nationals killed in the incident.

"He assured Antony that the French side was conducting a high-level inquiry into the incident and said the Indian government would be informed about its outcome," they added.

Two Indian nationals were killed and six injured by the French troops when they opened fire on vehicles approaching the airport in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

Around 300 French soldiers were dispatched to the CAR over the weekend to reinforce troops already present in Bangui seized by rebels on Sunday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Monday received a letter from France's President Francois Hollande expressing regret over the tragic incident.

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Amar Singh, Jaya Prada meet governor to seek pardon for Sanjay Dutt

MUMBAI: Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Lok Sabha MP from Rampur Jaya Prada on Tuesday met Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan, to seek pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt.

Dutt, who has already undergone imprisonment of 18 months, was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

"Amar Singh and Jaya Prada met the governor (on the Sanjay Dutt issue) this evening," a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said.

Before arriving at the Raj Bhawan, the duo drove to the Bandra residence of Sanjay Dutt and met the actor.

Actor-turned-politician, Jaya Prada, had earlier said she was "heart broken" at the news of Sanjay Dutt's jail term pronounced by the Supreme Court and called him an "innocent person", who had been caught wrongly.

"He is an innocent person. It is very unfortunate. Knowingly or unknowingly, it has been written in his fate that he has to struggle like this. Particularly for Sanjay Dutt, if you see the background of his family and all. His father Sunil Dutt served a lot for the country and even in politics he had a very good name. And knowing his nature and character as a great father, and his son, he also...innocently maybe...has done something," Jaya Prada had said.

Amar Singh has been close to Dutt and was his mentor when the actor briefly dabbled in politics.

Earlier, several celebrities including Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju, actor-turned-politicians Jaya Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha had sought pardon for Dutt.

Sinha had joined Katju in appealing to the Maharashtra Governor to pardon Dutt after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Katju has sought pardon for Dutt under Article 161 of the Constitution saying that he had not been found guilty of having played a role in the 1993 blasts and had suffered a lot.

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Sukumari, veteran Malayalam actress, dies

CHENNAI: Veteran Malayalam actress Sukumari died following cardiac arrest here on Tuesday in a private hospital. She was 74.

"She was undergoing treatment for burn injuries in our hospital for the last few days. She died following cardiac arrest," a source from Global hospital said.

Sukumari was admitted to the hospital after she sustained burn injuries while lighting a lamp in a temple recently. She even underwent plastic surgery.

In Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala State Film Minister KB Ganesh Kumar said her demise was a "shocking news".

"She was convalescing in a hospital in Chennai and we wish that her funeral is held in our state. I have already talked to chief minister Oommen Chandy and he has pledged complete support. Now the decision has to be made by her son Suresh Bhimsingh," Kumar told media person.

Sukumari started acting at the age of 10 and featured in more than 2,500 films in various languages. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri.

In 2010, she won the National Award for her performance in the Malayalam film "Namma Gramam".

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa had paid her a visit. They acted together in "Pattikkada Pattanama".

Some of Sukumari's best films include "Ezhu Nirangal", "Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil" and "Chiriyo Chiri".

She is survived by son Suresh Bhimsingh.

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US secretary of state John Kerry makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

KABUL: US secretary of state John Kerry paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday for talks with President Hamid Karzai, a US official said, with both sides hoping to stabilise the country before most US-led NATO combat troops leave by the end of 2014.

Kerry and Karzai will discuss a host of issues including Afghan reconciliation, the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces and Afghanistan's elections, the US official told reporters.

Karzai's government is trying to open formal negotiations with the Taliban, who have remained resilient in the face of superior NATO firepower in the war now in its 12th year.

Karzai is due to travel to Qatar within days to discuss the peace process and the opening of a Taliban office for the purposes of conducting negotiations.

The trip would be the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

Commenting on Karzai's trip, the US official told reporters: "I wouldn't want to overplay it but I think that it's a very positive sign. It's another step on a continued path toward ... getting to some sort of reconciliation process.

"Nobody is expecting that he will open an office there in a week. Nobody is expecting that he will be sitting down with Taliban in a week. This is a long process and this is one more small but positive step in that ... process."

Tensions between the United States and Afghanistan have deepened in recent years over a range of issues, including civilian casualties during air strikes, night raids and the transfer of prisoners.

The official acknowledged the difficulties in the US-Afghan relationship but said he believed they had resolved a number of them, including an agreement to remove US forces from part of Wardak province where they were accused of mistreating local residents.

He also said the United States believed that the two nations had moved beyond an incident in which Karzai recently accused Washington of colluding with the Taliban to keep foreign forces in Afghanistan, marring US defense secretary Chuck Hagel's first trip to Pakistan since taking on his new post.

The official said Kerry had wanted to visit Pakistan on this trip but had decided not to given the May 11 election, in part to avoid any appearance of seeking to influence what would be Pakistan's first civilian to civilian electoral handover.

The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history, either through coups or from behind the scenes.

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Mamata Banerjee rallies her support to Sanjay Dutt

KOLKATA: Showing solidarity with actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said he has "already suffered a lot" for his "blunder" and wished him a "calm and peaceful life".

"Many requests from the civil society and film personalities have come to me to see that Sanjay does not suffer any more. Though it is not in my hand, I feel that he has already suffered a lot for the blunder he committed earlier. From complete wreck, he has again picked up his career to unfold his potential," Banerjee said on Facebook.

Describing Dutt's late father Sunil as a friend, Banerjee said had the Congress leader been alive, he would have made all efforts to prevent Sanjay from "any more sufferings".

"I knew Sunil Dutt ji during my Parliament days, when together we strongly fought against TADA. Eventually, government had to withdraw TADA. It was good that TADA was eventually withdrawn."

"If he were alive, he would have no doubt made all efforts to see that Sanjay does not suffer any more. My heart also echoes the same sentiments. Let us all pray that Sanjay lives a calm and peaceful life," said Banerjee.

Upholding the conviction of the actor under the Arms Act by a TADA (Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) court, the Supreme Court March 21 sent him to five years in prison.

Dutt has been asked to surrender within four weeks.

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1991 Jain hawala case: Ex-DIG sentenced to jail for taking bribe

NEW DELHI: A former senior CBI official was on Monday sentenced to one-year imprisonment by a Delhi court for demanding and accepting bribe for not invoking TADA against the Jain brothers in the controversial 1991 Jain hawala case.

Former CBI DIG O P Sharma, 75, who was supervising the hawala case, was handed down the jail term and slapped with a fine of Rs one lakh by special CBI Judge Pradeep Chaddah.

The court held him guilty of demanding bribe from the Jain brothers -- Surendra and Janendra Jain-- for not arresting them in the controversial case in which names of senior politicians and government servants had cropped up.

None was convicted in the main Jain hawala case. "In the case in hand, convict, who was a high-ranking CBI officer and was duty-bound to act truthfully and honsetly, deviated from the path. He sought bribe from the hawala dealers, who were under investigation by his department, to let them off the hook.

"In a way, he had compromised with security and well-being of the nation as the hawala dealers were funding terrorist activities in the country," the court said.

Taking a lenient view after considering Sharma's age and background, the court granted him bail till May 25 on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and a surety of like amount.

While convicting Sharma, the court had held that CBI has proved that he took bribe in a case which was being supervised by him pertaining to hawala transactions.

CBI prosecutor Praneet Sharma had told the court that in April, 1991 a case under TADA and FERA was registered by CBI against one Ashfaq Hussain Lone, a deputy chief of intelligence of Hizbul Mujahideen. The arrest led to alleged hawala brokers Jain brothers.

The case was being supervised by Sharma. During its probe, the CBI team had raided the residential and office premises of industrialist Surendra Jain and Janendra Jain.

The team seized a huge amount of cash. A diary was also seized which contained names of politicians and bureaucrats to whom payments had been allegedly made by Jain.

CBI submitted Sharma thereafter started threatening Jains with invoking TADA against them and demanded a bribe for not doing so.

CBI said in the charge sheet that Surendra had then contacted L K Kaul, who knew Sharma, and asked him to intervene. He then agreed to pay him bribe in instalments and alongside recorded their conversations with Sharma. Nearly Rs 19 lakh was allegedly paid to Sharma before a trap was laid by CBI to nab him.

In June 1991, Kaul had made a written complaint with CBI against Sharma, after which the raiding party reached Sharma's residence in south west Delhi and recovered an airbag containing cash.

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India among top 20 global real estate investment markets: Cushman & Wakefield

The author has posted comments on this articleRajshri Mehta, TNN | Mar 25, 2013, 06.28PM IST

MUMBAI: According to Cushman & Wakefield's latest report International Investment Atlas, the global property investment market recorded a modest 6% rise in activity during 2012 with volumes reaching US$929bn (714bn).

In what was a difficult year in most markets, investment volumes rallied in Q4 signaling the beginning of real momentum and a return of confidence in the market which could see volumes this year increase 14% to exceed US$1 trillion mark (815bn) for the first time since 2007.

India was (20th) among the top 20 real estate investment markets globally with investment volume of INR 190 billion (USD 3466 million) recorded in 2012. Majority of the investment in India were through institutional sales (67%) while remaining were through private equity (PE) investments (33%). The market witnessed institutional sales (excluding apartments) of INR 128 billion, concentrated in commercial development sites and office segment including stand-alone and pre-leased office buildings. However the investments in institutional sales saw a decline of 37 % over last year. On the other hand private equity investment in India increased by 7% in 2012 and was noted at INR 62.0 billion.

In terms of value, majority of the Private Equity in Real Estate (PERE) investments were noted in ready income generating / operational office assets at INR 32.3 billion saw an increase of 34% over 2011. Under construction residential projects continued to witness the highest number (25) of PERE deals in 2012 and witnessed private equity investments at INR 28.5 billion.

Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, "Investment in ready income generating / operational office assets have gained strength over the last few years due to lower risk and steady cash flows associated with this type of investment. With increase in number of high value transactions in this sector, the market is moving towards a mature phase."

China remained the largest global investment market overall thanks to the surge in land sales seen in late 2012. Nevertheless, the US began to close the gap at 2nd position followed by the UK in 3rd place.

Investment Volume ( USD Billion)

Rank	Country	2012
1	China	304.1
2	USA	267.1
3	UK	56.3
4	Germany	45.6
5	Japan	34.7
6	Hong Kong	27.6
7	Australia	24.6
8	Canada	23.2
9	France	20.6
10	Singapore	16.7
11	Sweden	15.4
12	Taiwan	9.9
13	Norway	8.6
14	South Korea	8.2
15	Russia	8.0
16	Denmark	8.0
17	Switzerland	6.3
18	Netherlands	4.6
19	Poland	3.7
20	India	3.4

statement over last year , South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, Source: Cushman & Wakefield, RCA, KTI and Property Data: Deals over US$5mn including land

In 2012, China and the USA were two key engines of the strong finish - the former benefitting from a record high in land right sales and the latter seeing a rush of activity to beat year-end capital gains tax hikes. However growth was far from limited to these two global heavyweights and a range of other markets in all regions saw a final quarter rally notably Spain, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, India Indonesia, Thailand, India and Australia.

India City Performance in PERE market

Bengaluru witnessed the highest number and value of private equity investments at INR 32.5 billion in 2012, recording more than double of investment over last year, followed by Mumbai with INR 13 billion and NCR with INR 7 billion of investments. However, Mumbai witnessed a marginal decline of 2% while NCR witnessed a decline of 44% in total value of investments compared to 2011.

Sanjay Dutt added, "Bangalore witnessed some high value investments in pre-leased office asset which has led it to be the top runner in the PERE market. However NCR and Mumbai continue to be preferred locations for investments due to the opportunity they offer. NCR market in 2012 saw lower number of investments, as it is an active residential sales market, which obviated the need for PE funding in many projects."
Announced PE Deals Volume - INR billion

City	2011	2012
Bengaluru	16.1	32.5
Mumbai	13.2	13
NCR	12.6	7
Others	15.9	9.6
Total	57.8	62.0

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research

Asia Pacific - investment activity to rise 15-20% in 2013

Improved macroeconomic conditions with sustainable growth across the region will boost activity and performance resulting in 15-20% increase in investment activity forecast. Investment demand will increase as faith grows in China's soft landing but demand will also broaden and other markets such as Australia and Japan will be an increasing target for overseas investors while markets such as India and Indonesia are likely to be on the rise.

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EU suspends sanctions on most Zimbabwean firms, people

BRUSSELS: The European Union said on Monday it would immediately suspend travel bans and asset freezes on most Zimbabwean firms and people on its sanctions list after Zimbabweans approved a new constitution curbing presidential powers.

"The EU ... has today agreed to immediately suspend the application of measures against 81 individuals and eight entities," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

Ten people, including President Robert Mugabe, and two companies, including state-run diamond miner the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, remain on the sanctions list, an EU source said.

The European Union has been gradually easing its sanctions on Zimbabwe as part of a strategy to encourage political reform after 33 years of Mugabe's rule.

In a March 16 referendum, nearly 95 percent of voters approved the new constitution, bringing the southern African state closer to an election.

Ashton said the "peaceful, successful and credible" vote was a significant step in the implementation of an agreement that created an uneasy coalition between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai following violent and disputed elections in 2008.

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Jammu Kashmir govt suspends 3 forest guards for illegal tree felling

BHADARWAH (JK): Jammu and Kashmir government has suspended three forest guards for their alleged failure to check smuggling of forest timber and chopping of trees in Bhaderwah belt of Doda district.

Mushtaq Khan, Irshad Ahmed and Rishi Kumar were suspended by Conservator Forest Chenab Circle, M M Gupta for failing to check smuggling by timber mafia, forest officials said.

"The action was taken after finding that the accused have failed to check felling and facilitating illegal activities," Gupta said, adding that further action against the erring officials will be taken by chief conservator after completing the probe.

The smuggling of green gold and cutting of forest trees in connivance with some forest officials was busted with the arrest of 10 smugglers in two different operations from Kellar and Neeru Ranges of Bhadarwah forest division on February 28 and March 6.

Forest ministry has constituted a high level fact-finding team of Chief Conservator, Jammu, Ravi Kumar Kesar and Joint Director Forest Protection Force, B M Sharma, they said.

The probe team after visiting Compartment 57 of Dandi Block and Compartment 49 of Puneja Block of Neeru range reportedly found illegal felling of hundreds of young trees besides dozens of stumps of recently cut green cedar trees, some of them burnt.

Commissioner Secretary Forest Ejaz Iqbal has denied that some officials of Bhadarwah forest division were being shielded and action was taken only against beat guards.

"I have not received report yet, then how can I shield someone. I had ordered inquiry into the incident, so there is no question of me trying to shield my relatives posted in Bhadarwah Forest division.

"Anyone found guilty will not be spared at any cost and strict action will be taken against the culprits," he said.

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Lokpal to be discussed after April 22 in Parliament: Union Minister V Narayanasamy

NEW DELHI: The contentious anti-corruption Lokpal bill will come up for discussion next month in Parliament after the ongoing one-month recess of the budget session, Union Minister V Narayanasamy said today.

"The contentious Bill, Lokpal, we are trying to pass in the Parliament. The government has done a lot on Lokpal. The Bill has been passed in Lok Sabha. It went to Rajya Sabha, from there it was sent to a select committee.

"The committee gave its recommendation and now I have requested discussion on the Bill in Rajya Sabha. After April 22, we are ready to discuss on it," Narayanasamy told reporters during National Editors' Conference here.

The budget session, which began on February 21 and is having a month-long break from March 22 to April 22, will conclude on May 10.

Narayanasamy, who is minister of personnel, public grievances and pensions, also said that the successive governments for past 30 years have tried to pass the Lokpal which is being wrongly considered as an outcome of agitation led by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and others.

"The impression has been created that Anna Hazare and others wanted the Lokpal Bill to be brought. This impression had come into the minds of people may be through electronic media and print media, the kind of projection you have given to them.

"I would like to correct it slightly. This was not the initiative taken by them. In fact, successive governments for the last 30 years have tried this. Several bills were brought before the Parliament and it could not be passed because there was no unanimity," he said.

Narayanasamy said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted a Group of Ministers on anti-corruption measures, months before Hazare started his agitation, to consider various matters including legislative and administrative to tackle corruption and improve transparency in the governance.

"The GoM has been discussing on it," he said.

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Vikram Seth, Mahasweta Devi and Manglesh Dabral are popular in Pak: Fahmida Riaz

PATNA: Indian writers like Vikram Seth, Mahasweta Devi and Manglesh Dabral are quite popular among book readers of Pakistan, writer-author from the neighbouring country Fahmida Riaz said. "Vikram Seth is a popular name in Karachi. His book 'A suitable boy' is taught in Karachi University," Riaz, who was here to participate in Patna Literature festival, told . Besides, Seth, the urdu version of Mahasweta Devi's Hindi book 'Hazare Chaurasi ki maa' is widely read.

Books of Hindi writers like Manglesh Dabral, Uday Prakash and Vibhuti Narayan are also in great demand, Raiz said. Riaz has lived in India from 1981 to 1987 in exile when Zia-ul-Haq was Pakistan President and got angry after reading her "Bhagat Singh ki Murat" (Statue of Bhagat Singh) dedicated to the revolutionary freedom fighter.

"Restriction imposed on movement of writers and artistes in the wake of tension between governments of the two countries is painful and people in our country are fed up," she added.

Riaz had served as the President of Pakistan Urdu Dictionary board during the PPP's ( Peoples Party of Pakistan) rule.

She lamented that majority of literatures available in two countries were mostly found "biased" against each other to suit interest of the political class at the helm of affairs.

"Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Zinnah has been portrayed as a demonic personality in India but in reality he was secular in nature.

The Pakistani literary fraternity favoured frequent interaction between art and cultural personalities between the two nations to ease tension and promote people-to-people contact", she added.

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Manmohan Singh to leave for Durban on Monday to attend BRICS Summit

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves on Monday on a four-day visit to Durban in South Africa to attend a five-nation Summit on March 26 and 27 that could launch a BRICS development bank and discuss ways to reform governance in international financial institutions.

Accompanied by a high-level delegation including finance minister P Chidambaram, commerce minister Anand Sharma and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, the Prime Minister will also have an opportunity to meet with the new Chinese leadership on the Summit sidelines when he calls on President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

The highlight of the Summit of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is the possible setting up of the BRICS bank. But there is no no clarity on its corpus.

The bank is expected to promote growth and investment in its member-states and other emerging markets and will be a strong voice in the lobbying for the reform of international financial institutions.

The BRICS finance ministers, who have met four times in the past on the issue, will be meeting in Durban tomorrow ahead of the Summit when a clear picture may emerge. "There are still some issues to be resolved. If everything goes well, whatever is the final decision will be included in the Summit communique," say Indian officials.

"Things are moving on that and they are moving pretty fast," they say. There has been speculation that the size of the bank could be about USD 50 billion.

India had last year mooted the idea of BRICs-led South- South Development Bank, mainly funded and managed by BRICS countries to recycle surpluses into investment in developing countries for infrastructure and sustainable development projects.

The new Chinese President has backed the establishment of the BRICS bank, supporting the South African Presidency's priority in firming up that move.

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Mamata Banerjee's comments on rape encouraging criminals: CPM

KOLKATA: Alleging that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's recent comments on rape were "encouraging" lawbreakers, the CPM on Sunday said her "weird theories" were mere attempts to hide her administration's failure to prevent crimes against women.

In a strong attack against Banerjee, the state's principal opposition party said: "The chief minister thinks she is the last word in everything and anyone has to accept whatever logic she advances. She is not amenable to reasoned argument. She cannot stand reasoned criticism."

The editorial in Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) Bengali mouthpiece Ganashakti accused Banerjee of turning a deaf ear to the speeches of the opposition members in the assembly and refusing to abide by the "basic norms of parliamentary democracy".

"The Trinamool Congress supremo wants every individual to follow in the footsteps of her party leaders and behave like her lackeys."

"She wants everybody to remain silent. She wants to be the only one with a voice," said the editorial.

The CPM said that while the chief minister wanted to enjoy power, she was loathe to take responsibility for people's inconveniences.

The editorial came two days after Banerjee linked the rising number of rape cases to the swelling population and young boys and girls becoming more modern in their approach, besides women now daring to register complaints.

"You are saying rape incidents are on the rise. But the population is also swelling. There are more number of cars, shopping malls are increasing. Young boys and girls are becoming more modern. Won't you welcome them," Banerjee told opposition members Friday while closing the debate on the governor's address in the state assembly.

She said earlier women were too shy to lodge complaints. "But they are now coming out to register their complaint. This is a good sign for the society."

Describing Banerjee's theory as "weird", the editorial said she was advancing such "ridiculous logic" to hide "her administration's failure" in preventing atrocities against women, including rape.

"Such comments would only encourage criminals. The outlaws will become more active as the government has not talked of its resolve to take a tough stand and effective steps."

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