President Pranab Mukherjee to embark tomorrow on three-day visit to West Bengal

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee will leave tomorrow for a three-day visit of West Bengal where he will attend the valedictory function of 150th anniversary celebrations of the Calcutta high court.

Mukherjee will launch the 'Bichitra' ( Tagore Online Variorum) tomorrow at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. "On the same day, he will attend the valedictory function of the sesquicentennial (150th) celebrations of the Calcutta high court," a press release issued today by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

The President will visit Medinipur Collegiate School on the occasion of its 175th anniversary on May 6 and attend the presentation ceremony of a book of Bengali short stories at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

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BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain hospitalized

PATNA: BJP national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain has been admitted to a hospital here after he complained of chest pain.

Hussain complained of chest pain last night following which he was taken to a private hospital here, Bihar BJP President Mangal Pandey said.

Various medical tests, including ECG, were carried out. "The problem seems to have occurred due to gas. Hussain has been kept under observation," Pandey said.

BJP president Rajnath Singh enquired about Hussain's health over phone, party sources said.

Party General Secretary J P Nadda, who is in Patna, visited Hussain in the hospital as also BJP vice-president CP Thakur, Bihar health minister Ashwani Choubey and scores of legislators and workers.

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20 killed in sectarian violence in central Nigeria: aid worker

KANO: At least 20 people were killed in violent clashes between Christian and Muslim mobs in central Nigeria's Taraba state on Friday, prompting a round-the-clock curfew, an aid worker has told AFP.

"We have recovered 20 bodies from the violence so far," the source said Saturday, adding that the unrest had occurred in the town of Wukari, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state capital Jalingo.

"We are still going round the town in search of more bodies," he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media about death tolls.

Authorities have imposed a curfew in the area following the bloody clashes, officials said.

Local residents said Friday's violence erupted when the funeral procession of a traditional chief from the predominantly Christian Jukun ethnic group marched through a Muslim neighbourhood chanting slogans, which Muslims viewed as an act of provocation.

Tensions have been on the rise in the mostly Christian town of Wukari since February, when a dispute over the use of a football pitch between Muslim and Christian soccer teams set off sectarian riots that claimed several lives.

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Pakistani inmate's attacker sent to 7-day police custody

JAMMU: Vinod Kumar, who had allegedly attacked and critically injured a Pakistani prisoner in Kot Balwal jail here, was remanded to seven days police custody.

The forest court has remanded prisoner Vinod Kumar to seven days police custody in connection with the attack on the Pakistani prisoner after the police sought Kumar's custody for further investigation into the case, a police officer said.

52-year-old Sanaullah Ranjay, the Pakistani prisoner, was attacked and seriously injured yesterday, allegedly by Kumar after an altercation.

As he is already undergoing life imprisonment in jail, Vinod's police custody was necessary for investigation into the case, inspector general of police (IGP) Rajesh Kumar said.

Probe in the case has started and senior police officers were at the crime scene today as well, the IGP said.

"All necessary evidence has been collected. The weapon of offence...a brick...has been recovered," he said adding that Vinod has been booked for the attack.

The evidence is being put together and charge sheet will be prepared soon, he said.

According to preliminary investigation, Sanaullah was working in the jail garden when he entered into an argument with Vinod, a former Army jawan serving life term for fratricide. He allegedly hit the Pakistani prisoner on the head with a brick.

Sanaullah, a resident of Sialkot in Pakistan, was immediately shifted from the high-security prison to Government Medical College hospital in Jammu and later rushed to PGI Chandigarh in an air ambulance for further treatment.

The incident comes close on the heels of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's death due to a murderous attack on him in a Lahore jail.

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Chola period Buddha statue found by archeologists near Nagapattinam

NAGAPATTINAM: An ancient stone statue of Lord Buddha containing inscriptions believed to be dating back to 11th or 12th century during the later Chola period has been found by a group of archaeologists and historians at a village in the district.

The statue was found in a bush at Kranthi village earlier this week, during a field study undertaken by the members of association of archaeologists here.

The statue of Buddha, in meditative posture, is 32 inches tall and 22 inches broad. The face portion had sustained damage, association secretary Ramachandran told PTI today.

Dr B Jambulingam of Kumbakonam, a renowned historian, said the statue contained all the features of the Buddha statues of the later Chola period, like broad shoulders, long ears, slender fingers and curly hair.

"The inscription in the statue suggests that the statue might belong to the 11th or 12th century AD," he said, and added that Buddha statues with such inscriptions were very rare.

Over 64 Buddha statues have been unearthed in the past from the erstwhile Chola country comprising of the present day Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvaur, Tiruchirappalli and Karur districts, he said.

The district administration had been informed about the statue and it would arrange for detailed archaeological examination, Ramachandran said.

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Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh kicks off free laptop distribution project

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh chief minister, Dr Raman Singh, on Friday kicked off state government's ambitious project of distributing free laptop to over one lakh students under the Chhattisgarh Yuva Sochna Kranti by personally handing over the machines to 43 students at a function in Durg. Later, 5537 final year students of 16 different engineering colleges in the district were to be distributed laptops.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said the Chhattisgarh Yuva Soochna Kranti will bestow the students with "power of technology, connecting them to the latest researches and innovations done across the nation as well as world, and will also help them in studies".

"The State Government has decided to distribute free laptops and computer tablets to one lakh students every year under Chhattisgarh Yuva Soochna Kranti Yojana. Under this scheme final year students of medical and engineering colleges will be provided laptops free of cost while the final year students of science, arts and commerce under graduation and post graduation courses will be distributed free computer tablets," said chief minister on the occasion.

Chief minister further said that despite being a new state of modern India, Chhattisgarh has achieved tremendous success at national-level in almost every aspect of development in state, within only 13 years of its formation. Chhattisgarh has successfully maintained its double-digit growth in last few years. It is self-dependent in the field of power production and is the only zero-power cut state of the country.

Chhattisgarh's annual power consumption per person is 1547 units, which is almost double than many other states. These are the obvious signs of development, added Chief Minister. Water Resource and Higher Education Minister Ramvichaar Netam, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Hemchand Yadav, MP Saroj Pandey, other public representatives, students and teachers of various colleges and other people were also present on the occasion.

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TMC-backed unions perform poorly in railway union polls

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress-backed unions have failed to put up an impressive performance in the railway union elections in West Bengal, finishing overall third in the three zones.

Contesting for the first time, the TMC-backed union captured 11.65 per cent votes in the election in Eastern Railway and 5.21 per cent votes in South Eastern Railway.

It's vote share in Metro Railway was, however, 23.59 per cent.

Left-backed Eastern Railwaymen's union (ERMU) won in the Eastern Railway and Metro Railway, bagging 46.44 and 46.11 per cent votes respectively.

The Congress-backed union secured 36.11 and 27.43 per cent votes in the Eastern Railway and Metro Railway respectively.

The Congress-backed South Eastern Railwaymen's Congress (SERMC) came first in the South-Eastern Railway capturing 45.32 per cent votes, followed by left-backed SERMU, which has captured 41.70 per cent votes.

The elections in the railway zones were held between April 25 and April 27 and results were declared on Thursday.

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Tamil Nadu government moves HC to cancel bail Ramadoss' bail

CHENNAI: Moments after a Villupuram court granted bail to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss, the Tamil Nadu government moved the Madras high court to get the relief cancelled.

On Friday morning, when vacation judge Justice M Sathyanarayanan settled to hear other cases, advocate-general A L Somayaji mentioned the issue of bail granted to the PMK leader, and said sought the court's for the state government to file an appeal to cancel the bail.

Permitting the government to move an appeal against bail for Ramadoss, the judge called for records from the Villupuram court which had granted bail to the PMK founder.

"Now that the court has called for the bundles/reports in connection with the case, the PMK leader cannot be released on bail as he will not be able to furnish surety and execute other bail formalities," said a senior prosecutor.

Ramadoss, along with several of his party cadres and functionaries, was arrested near Villupuram last week after he staged a demonstration against registration of cases against his party men and also against the violence resulting in the death of two Vanniar youths at Marakkanam on April 25.

It all began with the PMK-affiliated Vanniar Sangam's full moon conference at the coastal town of Mahabalipuram. While on their way to the venue, clash erupted at Marakkanam. The largescale violence left several vehicles gutted and traffic disrupted. Two youths were also found dead later.

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People from Kerala corner glory in civil service examinations

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the first time since 1991, a Keralite has come first in the civil services examinations while the second and fourth positions have also been bagged by people from the state.

Haritha V Kumar secured the first rank in the joint examinations.

V Sriram came second while a doctor, Alby John Varghese, came fourth in the all-India ranking.

This was Haritha Kumar's fourth and last attempt.

Speaking to the media here from Faridabad near Delhi, where she is undergoing training as an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official, she thanked her teachers and her family for her performance.

"I did not pass in my first attempt. In the second attempt, I got 179th rank and got selected for Indian Police Service, but I opted for IRS. In my third attempt, I got a rank of 290. This time I got what I aimed for as I was very keen to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official," said haritha Kumar, an engineer by profession.

For the examination, she chose economics and Malayalam literature as her optional subject.

"It will take me another three weeks to return to my home in Thiruvananthapuram as I am undergoing a training programme," she said.

Fourth ranked Varghese is a medical officer in the Kerala government service in Ernakulam district.

"This was my first attempt and I started preparing in January last year. I took medicine and Malayalam literature as my optional subjects. This is one examination where mugging will do no good. Instead, one has to work really hard and my childhood ambition to become a civil service official has been accomplished," said Varghese.

Raju Narayana Swamy, a Kerala bureaucrat in Kerala who secured the first rank in the same examination in 1991, said that he was pleased that the myth that Keralite's cannot perform well in the Civil Services Examinations is broken.

"The performance of Keralites this time has been exemplary. It is a fitting reply to people who say that Keralites can't do well in this examination," said Swamy.

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BJP demands compensation of Rs 25L to family of Chamel

JAMMU: BJP today demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Indian prisoner Chamel Singh who was attacked and beaten to death by inmates in a Pakistani jail and said, he should be granted the status of a martyr.

"A compensation of Rs 25 lakh has been demanded for the family members of Chamel Singh who died in Kot Lakhpat Jail on January 15 this year after inmates attacked him and beat him to death," Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna, who is looking after the Jammu Kashmir affairs of the party, said today.

In his letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Khanna has appreciated efforts of the government in giving a sum of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Sarabjit Singh, who was brutally beaten in Kot Lakhpat Jail and later on succumbed to his injuries on the early morning of May 2.

Khanna also expressed in his letter that Pakistan government has violated Human Rights norms.

Vital organs were removed before handing over the body of Chamel Singh to his family by Pakistani authorities after two months of his death, the MP said.

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Sikh group offers $1 million for Sajjan Kumar's conviction

NEW YORK, A US based Sikh rights group has announced a million-dollar reward for those individuals whose testimony and evidence may result in the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.

The reward will be given to those individuals who will come forward with tips, evidence and testimony leading to the reversal of a Delhi court's judgement acquitting Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) announced.

SFJ said it would engage top advocates to prosecute the appeal against the acquittal of Kumar before Delhi High Court.

The reward presented an "opportunity for those who witnessed the killings to come forward with testimony and evidence to help victims in seeking justice against those Congress leaders who organized violence against Sikhs," SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said.

Since Kumar was acquitted on the basis of "benefit of doubt" because complainant Jagdish Kaur's testimony was not corroborated by any independent witness, SFJ will campaign to find additional witnesses relating to Kumar's role.

Several Sikh leaders in the US have expressed their "dismay and shock" at Kumar's acquittal.

Sajjan Kumar's acquittal on Tuesday came almost three decades after an estimated 3,000 Sikhs were killed in three days of riots in India's capital and elsewhere after the Oct 31, 1984, assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

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Pak court allows police to interrogate Musharraf in Akbar Bugti case

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday allowed police officials to interrogate former President Pervez Musharraf over the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation.

Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi accepted a request from Balochistan Police to include Musharraf in the probe into Bugti's death.

Musharraf was the army chief when the operation against Bugti was ordered.

Shortly after the court issued the order, a five-member team of Balochistan Police went to Musharraf's farmhouse, declared a sub-jail by authorities, to question him.

Musharraf is facing charges over the death of Bugti. A court in Balochistan had issued a warrant for his arrest over the killing in 2011.

In a related development, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, who was Interior Minister in Musharraf's regime, appeared in an anti-terrorism court in Quetta for the hearing of a case over Bugti's killing.

Sherpao asked the court to excuse him from personal appearances in future hearings for security reasons.

The court adjourned the matter till May 16. Musharraf, 69, has been held at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad since he was arrested over the sacking of judges during the 2007 emergency and the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

He has been accused of providing inadequate security to Bhutto after she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in 2007.

Lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court to put him on trial for treason for imposing emergency.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years in self-exile to make a political comeback but he has been dragged to court over several issues.

On April 30, the Peshawar high court banned Musharraf from contesting elections for the rest of his life.

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Somalia famine killed 258,000, half of them young children: Report

NAIROBI: Almost 260,000 people, half of them young children, died of hunger during the last famine in Somalia, according to a UN report on Thursday which admitted the world body should have done more to prevent the tragedy.

The toll is much higher than was feared at the time of the 2010-2012 food crisis in the troubled Horn of Africa country and also exceeds the 220,000 who starved to death in the 1992 famine.

"The report confirms we should have done more before the famine was declared," said Philippe Lazzarini, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

"Warnings that began as far back as the drought in 2010 did not trigger sufficient early action," he said in a statement.

Half of those who died were children under five, according to the joint report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

"Famine and severe food insecurity in Somalia claimed the lives of about 258,000 people between October 2010 and April 2012, including 133,000 children under five," said the report, the first scientific estimate of how many died.

Somalia was the hardest hit by extreme drought in 2011 that affected over 13 million people across the Horn of Africa.

"An estimated 4.6 percent of the total population and 10 percent of children under five died in southern and central Somalia," the report said, saying the deaths were on top of 290,000 "baseline" deaths during the period, and double the average for sub-Saharan Africa.

Lazzarini said that about 2.7million people are still in need of life- saving assistance and support to build their livelihoods.

Famine was first declared in July 2011 in Somalia's Southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, but later spread to other areas, including Middle Shabelle, Afgoye and inside camps for displaced people in war-ravaged Mogadishu.

In Lower Shabelle 18 percent of children under five died, the report said.

The United Nations declared the famine over in February 2012.

During the famine, it was feared that tens of thousands had died, whereas the report now shows more people died than in Somalia's 1992 famine, when an estimated 220,000 people died over a year.

Famine implies that at least a fifth of households face extreme food shortages, with acute malnutrition in over 30 percent of people, and two deaths per 10,000 people every day, according to the UN definition.

Somalia, ravaged by nearly uninterrupted civil war for the past two decades, is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers and one of the regions that needs them most.

However, security has slowly improved in recent months, with Islamist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda on the back foot despite launching a deadly bombing campaign.

At the time, most of the famine-hit areas were under their control, and the crisis was exacerbated by their draconian ban on most foreign aid agencies.

The aid agency Oxfam said the "deaths could and should have been prevented".

"Famines are not natural phenomena, they are catastrophic political failures," Oxfam's Somalia director Senait Gebregziabher said in a statement.

"The world was too slow to respond to stark warnings of drought, exacerbated by conflict in Somalia and people paid with their lives."

Over a million Somalis are refugees in surrounding nations, and another million displaced inside the country.

Next Tuesday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and British Prime Minister David Cameron will co-host a conference in London to discuss how the international community can support Somalia's progress.

More than 50 countries and organisations are due to take part.

Oxfam said leaders should "ensure that this was Somalia's last famine" by helping generate jobs and "ensuring trained, accountable security forces".

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No one to head UP government as CM, ministers away on foreign trip

LUCKNOW: Who is the political boss in Uttar Pradesh these days? While Akhilesh Yadav has extended his foreign trip and has gone to London, his senior cabinet colleagues, urban development minister Azam Khan and public works department (PWD) minister and uncle Shivpal Yadav, have flown off to South Africa to attend the wedding of a state industrialist's son.

Azam Khan, who was detained at the Boston airport, returned from the US on April 29, only to go to South Africa the next day. Shiv Pal, who was looking after the state in the absence of Akhilesh too joined Azam to fly to South Africa. Another state minister, Rajendra Rana, has also gone to South Africa.

Chief secretary Javed Usmani, who had accompanied Akhilesh Yadav to the US and replaced him at the lecture on the successful management of the Kumbh Mela at the Harvard Business School (HBS), went to New York from Boston to be with his wife, who works for the UN.

While his work is being seen by agriculture production commissioner Alok Ranjan, there seems to be no one from the political executive to guide the government.

Minister of state for science and technology Abhishek Mishra, who also accompanied the chief minister, is staying put in the US where insiders say he has many friends and relatives.

NC Bajpayi, deputy chairman of the state planning commission, who was to join his wife and son in the US, also hitched on to the Harvard bandwagon and is said to be off for another one month.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak, termed it an absurd situation'', while accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) of trivialising governance in the state. Congress spokesperson Dwijendra Tripathi was equally scathing about the government's "casual approach" towards governance.

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Asian Development Bank to finance construction of India-Myanmar road

SILCHAR (ASSAM): Asian Development Bank would finance the construction of the 417km long Indo-Myanmar Road connecting Moore in Myanmar with Sutarkandi in Karimganj bordering Bangladesh.

The first phase of the road, to be laid under ADB's 'Proposed Road Consulting Mission', would be from Moore in Myanmar to Imphal in Manipur while the second phase would be from Imphal to Sutarkandi via Silchar, official sources said here on Thursday.

A high level delegation of ADB's loan consultation mission and a team from the Union surface transport ministry recently visited the proposed area and would soon submit a field study report to the Centre.

The final budget and other issues would be decided at a meeting between the Union surface ministry and ADB to be held in Delhi later.

The construction of the proposed road would lead to increased commercial ties between the two countries, sources added.

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Current account deficit to come down to 2.5% of GDP in 2-3 years: Montek

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | May 1, 2013, 01.27PM IST

NEW DELHI: Plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today expressed confidence that the current account deficit will come down to 2.5 per cent of GDP in the next two to three years from about 5 per cent currently.

"Traditionally we have seen it (current account deficit) at 2.5 per cent of the GDP at comfortable level. I think we will take at least two to three years to get there...I think this country for another 20 years can run CAD at around 2.5 per cent of GDP," he said.

Ahluwalia was addressing a meeting of the Asia Pacific Regional Committee here.

Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has projected India's CAD at around 5 per cent of GDP for 2012-13.

It had reached to a historic high of 6.7 per cent of the GDP in the quarter ended December 2012.

He said while bringing in investments, it is also necessary to manage the high current account deficit.

"There is no known forecast of India's macro economy that does not involve the significant current account deficit. If we have the capacity to grow at 8 per cent, it is extremely unlikely that the industrialised countries will grow at 8 per cent,", he said.

In this context, Ahluwalia said it is logical for the capital to be redirected towards India and other Asian countries.

However, the problem for India is that CAD is "too high," he said.

Talking about the falling economic growth, Ahluwalia said besides global slowdown, India is also facing many domestic problems and supply side constraints.

"While the global slowdown was an important factor for (falling) export, it wasn't the only reason why we slowed down...I think there are a lot of domestic problems. They are all connected with a supply side rigidity. In many ways, I think these rigidities are result of several years of rapid growth which always puts a lot of pressure on the system," he said.

Ahluwalia said the Planning Commission was looking for holistic solutions and there was a need for coordinated action among various ministries to spur growth.

"Our job really is to take a whole view and take holistic solutions to these problems because it's not possible for these problems to be simply resolved by individual ministry. They very often require coordinated action by different ministries.

"I have no doubt that we will be able to solve these problems much better than we have anticipated these problems (to be)," he said.

India's economic growth rate is estimated at 5 per cent in 2012-13, the lowest in a decade, on account of poor performance of manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors.

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Three British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

LONDON: Three British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, the ministry of defence (MoD) in London said on Wednesday.

The attack took place during a routine patrol in Nahr-e Saraj district, in Helmand Province. The soldiers received immediate medical care and were evacuated by air to the Military Hospital at Camp Bastion but could not be saved.

Next of kin have been informed. "Their deaths come as a great loss to all those serving in Task Force Helmand," said Major Richard Morgan, a spokesman for the task force.

The Taliban launched its spring offensive on Sunday, saying it would target foreign military bases and diplomatic areas.

Nearly 450 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since Britain deployed its military there in October 2001, including six this year.

"Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones in this incident, which underlines the threats faced by our personnel as they continue to hand over security operations to their Afghan counterparts ahead of UK combat operations concluding by the end of next year," the MoD said.

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Car bomb in Baghdad Shiite suburb kills 4

BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials say a car bomb in a Shiite suburb of Baghdad has killed four people and wounded 12 others.

Two police officers say the parked car bomb went off early morning today in Hussainya and killed four civilians.

They added that 12 others, including four policemen who were in a nearby checkpoint, were wounded.

The Shiite-dominated district is located some 25 kilometers east of the center of the capital.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release information.

Violence in Iraq has spiked since April 23, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija.

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Questions in South Africa after Zuma's rich friends use military base

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's military faced questions on Wednesday over how a rich Indian family close to President Jacob Zuma was able to use a restricted military base to fly in VIP guests for a lavish society wedding.

An Airbus chartered by the Gupta family landed at the Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria on Tuesday to ferry in about 200 people from India — reportedly including Bollywood actors and foreign dignitaries.

Leading union confederation Cosatu and the ruling ANC said they were demanding answers from the South African National Defence Force over the alleged misuse of government resources.

"It is an absolute insult to the people of South Africa that private individuals can use a public facility for their social activities and that state officials should escort them," Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said in a statement.

He said Cosatu was seeking an urgent investigation into who authorized the airfield's use for a purely private function, warning of the possible risk to national security, and said those responsible should be disciplined.

The Gupta family, originally from India, is one of the richest in South Africa, with a range of businesses including Sahara Computers and the New Age newspaper which is considered the mouthpiece of the ANC.

The guests were being flown in for the celebrations kicking off Wednesday for the wedding of 23-year-old Vega Gupta in the resort of Sun City.

Media reports said Bollywood singers and actors were among the guests for the marriage of Vega, the niece of the three Gupta businessmen brothers, which is being described as the "wedding of the year".

Defence force spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said that as far as he knew no permission had been granted for a private citizen to use the base.

But Gupta family spokesman Gary Naidoo said that the force had granted permission for the aircraft — which was carrying "foreign ministers and other dignitaries" — to land at Waterkloof.

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Delhi gang rape: HC rejects bus owner's bail plea in cheating case

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court today dismissed the bail plea of Dinesh Yadav, owner of the bus in which the horrific December 16 gang rape incident took place, in a case of cheating and forgery for allegedly submitting false information to get transport permit.

Justice Mukta Gupta accepted the prosecution argument that the investigation in a preliminary stage and turned down Yadav's plea, saying "no interference is required into the order of trial court."

Challenging the trial court's March 12 order dismissing his bail petition, Yadav, 35, in his plea claimed he was in no way connected to the incident.

Yadav, arrested since January 2, sought bail on the grounds of parity saying co-accused Rakam Singh has already been granted bail in the case.

Police had registered a case of cheating and forgery under various sections of IPC against Yadav. They said he had submitted false information to the State Transport Department to get the registration certificate and the permit for the bus.

The 23-year-old girl was gang raped in the moving bus in south Delhi and died in a hospital in Singapore on December 29.

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Pak investigators to quiz Rehman Malik in Benazir Bhutto killing case

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani investigators probing the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto have decided to quiz Rehman Malik after being told by Pervez Musharraf that the former interior minister had decided details of her security on the day she was killed.

Malik was head of Bhutto's security when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in late 2007.

Federal Investigation Agency officials who questioned the former president after his arrest over the assassination were told that Malik decided details of security for the December 27, 2007 public meeting in Rawalpindi where she was killed.

Musharraf denied his involvement in the killing and said Bhutto was killed because of a security breach for which Malik was responsible, the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources in the FIA as saying.

Musharraf reportedly made the revelation when he was questioned on Sunday.

The FIA worked under Malik during his stint as Interior Minister in the Pakistan People's Party-led government.

It was during Malik's tenure that the FIA was tasked with investigating the assassination. The joint investigation team for the probe was constituted by Malik and it never examined him in connection with the assassination.

Musharraf said it was Malik's responsibility to persuade Bhutto not to come out of her bulletproof vehicle because police could not force her to remain inside, the report said.

He further claimed that Malik was a mediator between his regime and the PPP and he negotiated with police for security arrangements at the election meeting at Liaquat Bagh, where Bhutto and 23 others were killed in a terrorist attack.

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2G report: Chacko ready for amendments in form of dissent notes

NEW DELHI: Amid demands by opposition members for the outright rejection of the draft report on 2G, JPC chairman P C Chacko on Monday said he was ready to take their amendments in the form of dissent notes but would not change the text of the documents.

"I am willing for a detailed discussion on each of the (10) chapters. The text cannot be changed. The opposition's amendments can be in the form of dissent notes...let the two (draft and the dissent notes) be presented so that Parliament is aware of the two views," he told reporters outside Parliament House.

He said following the demand by 15 members of the JPC for his removal, he had met Speaker Meira Kumar to get clarity on whether he can convene the meeting.

"I had met the Speaker. Today itself I will announce the next date of the meeting," he said.

On Friday, he had said that the next meeting could take place on May 2 or 3.

Chacko had also expressed his willingness to consider amendments to controversial aspects of the draft report which has given a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram.

He had said that amendments could be considered if opposition members were able to convince him through discussion about anything wrong in the draft instead of indulging in politics.

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Pro-Khalistan group's proximity to US lawmakers raises concern

WASHINGTON: A marginalised Sikh group, which in the past had known supporters of Khalistan, have once again gained access to the powerful corridors of the Capitol Hill, raising concerns for India - this time piggybacking on the issue of hate crime that the community is facing in the US.

When more than two dozen lawmakers announced formation of the first-ever Sikh American Congressional Caucus last week at the Capitol Hill, it was the presence of quite a number of individuals and representatives of organisations, who in the past have openly supported Khalistan, raised eye brows among the friends of India in Washington.

"Sikhs who were present in the Sikh Congressional Caucus event in Washington were of the ideology of pro-Khalistan," said Dalwinder Singh Dhoot, chairman of California-based North America Punjabi Association (NAPA) said in a statement.

A number of eminent Sikh American organisations including NAPA were not invited either to the announcement ceremony on April 24 or at the reception held at the Capitol Hill. Neither was there any representation from the Indian Embassy.

"Neither we had any information about this Sikh Congressional Caucus nor were we invited to attend the event due to the reasons unknown to them (organisers)," NAPA spokesman Satnam Singh Chahal, said, adding that it looks like that the 28 US Congressmen who are its founding members have been "taken for a ride" by this pro-Khalistan group.

"Yes, yes, yes" Chahal told PTI when asked if the Congressmen "have been deceived" by this pro-Khalistan group.

"It is a big mystery as to why the majority of Sikh community were kept out of this," he said.

The bi-partisan Sikh American Congressional Caucus is co-chaired by Congresswoman Judy Chu from the Democratic Party and David Valadao from the Republican Party.

Chu told PTI last week soon after announcing the formation of the group that their focus would be on solely "domestic issues" mainly hate crime and enlisting Sikhs in the US Army and that they will not use this platform for "foreign issues" including the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India.

However, Sikh supporters of the group, who helped in pulling this together, noted that this is the first step in their larger goal.

"Our objective remains the same, but the path has changed. Now we will pursue our goal through dialogue and debate," a Sikh leader present at the launch had told PTI.

Veteran community leaders told PTI that several of the individuals present at the launch event and at the reception have been blacklisted by India and in the past have had not only supported militancy in Punjab but also had held protests in front of the Indian Embassy in support of Khalistan.

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Chinese join rush to live in Mars, 600 apply for Dutch project

BEIJING: Over 600 Chinese have applied to join an ambitious Dutch aerospace project that plans to send humans on a one-way trip to Mars for permanent settlement.

The Dutch project, while triggering enthusiasm to explore outer space, is also under fire with the trip being viewed by some as a suicide mission, with applicants being shipped to a planet that is uninhabitable by humans.

The project, Mars One, is being launched by a Dutch non-profit organisation, and is scheduled to take four humans to the Red Planet in 2023.

In the first three days after it was launched this week, over 20,000 people from all over the world submitted their applications online, with more than 600 coming from China, state-run China Daily reported.

Bas Lansdorp, co-founder of Mars One told the media in Shanghai that he is confident of turning the dream into reality, and plans to attract more than five lakh applicants.

The Chinese enthusiasm to travel to Mars is building up as China, which has a well funded space programme focussing on Moon missions and building a space station is planning a three-phase Mars space missions to collect samples from the Red Planet by 2030.

The three stages are remote sensing, soft-landing, exploration and return after collecting automatic sampling, according to Ouyang Ziyuan, China's Chief scientist for Lunar missions.

But India may steal the march as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is bracing to launch its first Mars mission in November to become the first Asian country to accomplish it.

NASA has already landed a rover on Mars remaining well ahead of other space programmes of the world.

India's Mars Orbiter Mission is expected to be launched in mid-October this year, will carry five experimental payloads with a total weight of 14.49 kg.

Lansdorp said that when about 40 candidates have been fully trained, the final decision on choosing the first settlers will be made by a TV audience vote.

Lansdorp said Mars One chose Shanghai as the second stop for the application press conference after New York because he believes many Chinese, including youngsters, are very interested in becoming astronauts, especially as the country already has its own astronauts.

Ma Qing, a 39-year-old bookseller, said, "I think the chance to be part of the project is a cool way for me to change a dull daily life.

Besides, the air on Mars must be much cleaner and easier to breathe," he said with sense of sarcasm referring to China's vows with pollution.

But Chang Tianxing, a space-lover from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said, "I think such a task is only suitable for senior, experienced astronauts.

Exploring life on Mars, with everything starting from scratch, is mission impossible for us.

Pang Zhihao, a space expert, said the trip to Mars will require a four-member crew, including an experienced astronaut who can drive the spaceship.

Lansdorp said that by selling live coverage of the Mars mission, it will be easy to raise the USD six billion needed to fund the project.

"There will be 4 billion Internet users by 2023, much more than for the Olympic Games," Lansdorp said, adding that organisers of the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics earned USD one billion a week.

But Pang said the project may cost more than Lansdorp imagines. Pang said the distance between Earth and Mars means the trip will take eight to nine months using existing technology.

Pang also referred to the harsh environment on Mars, saying sandstorms there can last half a year and be six times stronger than severe typhoons on Earth.

Lansdorp said the first Mars settlers will be able to live on vegetables.

According to the project brochure, applicants will pay an administration fee based on their country's per capita GDP.

For example, a Chinese applicant would pay USS 11 to join the space trip.

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7,121 Indian soldiers deployed in UN missions: Antony

NEW DELHI: A total of 7,121 Indian soldiers have been deployed in the UN missions and 18 troops have been killed in various operations there since 2010, defence minister A K Antony informed the Lok Sabha today.

In a written reply, he provided the details of soldiers deployed in UN Mission and the number of casualties which have taken place there during last few years.

He said so far this year, six Indian soldiers were killed in UN operations, five of whom died in South Sudan. Last year four soldiers were killed in Congo, followed by one each in Lebanon and South Sudan.

Maximum deployment of 3,766 Indian troops is in Congo, followed by 2,249 troops in South Sudan, he said.

On the assistance provided to the next of kin of the soldiers killed, Antony said, "USD 70,000 is paid to the next of kin of the deceased from UN HQ through Permanent Mission of India, New York."

He also said that the Indian government pays the next of kin all the benefits and entitlements including death benefits, death cum retirement gratuity, provident fund subscription, liberalised family pension and ex-gratia compensation.

On steps taken to ensure security of soldiers in these missions, Antony said, "Soldiers deployed in peacekeeping missions are equipped with personal protection kit. Infantry Combat Vehicles are also deployed in the Mission as per the operational necessity."

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