Panchayat orders marriage of minor

In a bizarre incident of meting out "punishment" to an eloped couple's families, a community panchayat here "penalised" the boy's family by ordering nikah of a minor girl belonging to the boy's side with the boy of the girl's family. What's more, the nikah was performed in the presence of the police at Thana Bhawam town of the district on Sunday.

Three policemen, including, sub-inspector Inder Singh, have been suspended and an inquiry ordered against them, Senior superintendent police (rural) M. Ashok Jain said. SP (rural) S.B. Pathak will conduct the probe, Mr Jain said.

The eloped couple has not been traced as yet. According to the police, a meeting of the community panchayat was called on December 4 soon after the couple "ran away" and it was decided that the family members of the eloped boy would have to perform nikah with the boy belonging to the eloped girl's family.

As per the panchayat diktat, minor girl, Rubina, 13 was married off to Sajid on December 9.

The parents of the minor girl reportedly did not object to the nikah, community members said

Top court rejects bail for PUCL activist

Civil right activists are extremely dismayed at the rejection of the bail petition of Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties general secretary and paediatrician Binayak Sen by the Supreme Court.

Dr Sen was arrested on May 14, 2007 on charges of aiding and abetting Naxal activity in Chhattisgarh under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPCA) of 2004. Dismissing the bail petition, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan said: "It did not agree with the grounds raised by Sen for enlarging him on bail."

Harish Dhawan, reader of economics at Delhi University and an activist, is shocked at why Dr Sen's bail plea was rejected. "The right to bail is only rejected if the state believes a person will abscond or else if because the accused may tamper with evidence. But the state is well aware that Sen was going to do no such thing especially since the chargesheet has been filed," Mr Dhawan said. Chhattisgarh PUCL president Rajendra Sail felt that if charges had to be brought against him, they should have been done so under the IPC or the Criminal Procedure Act. "Instead, he has been charged under anti-terrorist laws which we describe as black laws because it gives sweeping powers of arrest and detention to the state ," said Mr Sail

Advani is BJP PM candidate

Going into election mode, the BJP on Monday declared Leader of the Opposition Lal Krishna Advani as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the next parliamentary election.

The announcement was made by BJP president Rajnath Singh after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board.

It is learnt that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has endorsed the decision to project Mr Advani as the BJP's prime minister-inwaiting. Mr Rajnath Singh also held consultations with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee before making the announcement.

Mr Vajpayee is understood to have told the party president that his health did not permit him to play an active role any longer.

He said Mr Advani should be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the party into the next election, and said that his blessings and guidance would always be available to Mr Advani.

Mr Advani, 80, who was deputy prime minister and home minister in the Vajpayee government, said after the party's announcement: "I express my gratitude to the

Bhutto, Sharif talks remain inconclusive

Former Pakistan Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have failed to find a consensus to work together against President Pervez Musharraf.

"The joint committee of the APDM (the Nawaz Sharif-led All-Pakistan Democratic Movement) and ARD (Ms Bhutto's Alliance for Restoration of Democracy) has finalised 13 points out of 15 to compose the charter of demands during its final meeting (on Thursday). But the committee failed to come up with consensus on the issues related to reinstatement of deposed judges and restoration of the Constitution," committee members Senator Raza Rabbani and Ishar Dar told a press conference on Thursday night.

The difference on two of the main points and departure of Ms Bhutto to Dubai on Friday means that possibly there will be no more talks between the two major Opposition parties. "Both the alliances though agree on the notion that the judiciary should be independent but hold difference of opinion about the mechanism to make it independent," Mr Rabbani said. "There are two opinions on reinstatement of deposed judges," he added.

Both Mr Rabbani and Mr Dar refused to make the draft charter details with the media and said that the same would only be made public after its approval by Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto. Reiterating the stance that the option to boycott remains open, they were of the view that the group don't want postponement of the schedule of the general elections.

Responding to various queries, they said that the matter of independence of the judiciary was a policy matter and should be decided by the judiciary itself or by the next Parliament.

Sources privy to the meeting told this newspaper that the committee would give government the deadline of December 12 or 13 to meet the charter of demands and or else they would jointly boycott the elections.

LAND AREA OF INDIA - Isro prepares digital map

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has almost completed the digital mapping of the country. "Seventy per cent of the total land area of India has been digitally filmed with high resolution cameras on CARTOSATS 1 and 2, the country's resource satellites. We hope to complete the entire mapping by next year," Dr T K Alex, director, ISRO's Laboratory for Electro Optic System, told this newspaper.

Dr Alex said digital mapping could revolutionise infrastructure development in the country. "It will help us speed up the surveys for road building, and laying of high tension electric and telecommunication lines. Since satellite photographs are of high resolution, planners and engineers can work from their offices," said Dr Alex.

But the major advantage of digital mapping is in the preservation of land records and documents, according to Dr Alex. "Depending on the input we get from village offices and collectorates, it is possible to eliminate discrepancies associated with land dealings. The village level survey numbers and boundaries come in handy for the concerned authorities to detect malpractices in land transactions, if any. But this requires enormous output," said Dr Alex. He said it was possible to digitally map the world.

Ring roads for small and big cities too could be planned with the aid of the digital maps. "The digital images will provide us with the number and size of the buildings and other structures in the area. This is a major help in the planning process. City development is another area where these digital images could play a major role," Dr Alex said.

He disclosed that ISRO would have hyper spectral imagery cameras, which are capable of capturing images with more than 200 colours. "These are helpful in identifying the minerals on the earth's surface," said Dr Alex, an aerospace specialist who was honoured by the Astronomical Society of India for his outstanding contribution to remote sensing.

4-door Rs 2.5 lakh electric car on roads

India's first-ever four-door electric car is all set to be launched by city-based Bavina Industries.

The four-seater steel-bodied hatch-back resembling Hyundai Santro and Daewoo Matiz would zip through Indian roads from April 14, Managing Director of Bavina Industries S.Rajasekhar told PTI here on Friday.

The fully-loaded version of the car costs around Rs.2.5 lakh and boasts of facilities, including AC, power window and centralized locking, like any other small, premium hatch-back.

The fully-charged car would run for 110 km with AC switched on and another 20 kms without AC. It could give a maximum speed of 55 kmph and was likely to give a tight competition to the two-door fibre-bodied battery car Reva, introduced a few years back in the country. Initially the company would be assembling the parts at its city facility and later at its own unit at Marakkanam.

Gujarat Why is EC silent on Sonia remark:Naidu

Senior BJP leader N Venkaiah Naidu on Friday questioned the Election Commission for its notice to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his reported comments on Sohrabuddin Sheikh while maintaining silence over the statement made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"Why the EC has not issued any notice to Sonia Gandhi who charged that Modi was a merchant of death," Mr Naidu asked.

Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Mr Naidu alleged that Ms Gandhi's allegation that Modi was a ‘merchant of death' was ‘serious, offensive, provocative and inciting'. "Why is the EC is silent on Sonia Gandhi? They should explain it," said Mr Naidu.

The BJP leader alleged that Congress and ‘pseudo-secularists' were raking up the name of Sohrabuddin with ulterior motives.

"What is so great about Sohrabuddin? He was a criminal with terrorist links. Mr Modi was referring to his terrorist activities. He did not support any fake encounters," claimed Mr Naidu.

He also charged that Congress has neither leadership nor issues. "Modi has been rated as the best chief minister in the country by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Planning Commission. Gujarat has not seen any riot or killing during the last five years," claimed Mr Naidu.

Kuwait Petro in talks with RIL, IOC for oil refinery

Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) is in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd and state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) for setting up a multi-billiondollar "world-scale" oil refinery and petrochemical complex in India. Disclosing this Mr Saad A. AlShuwaib, CEO, KPC, said that he met top officials of RIL in Mumbai on Wednesday and held a meeting with IOC board members on Thursday to explore the possibility of setting up a 400,000 barrels a day refin ery and a chemical plant with an annual capacity of one million tonnes.

"It could be a green-field project or a joint acquisition," Mr Al-Shuwaib said and added that the production from these proposed refineries would be exported from India.

Mr Al-Shuwaib said that the joint ventures could at a future date look at projects outside India. KPC is open to taking two partners, if necessary.

He said KPC would be willing to supply crude oil for this refinery and petrochemical project in India. "We would like to supply it with Kuwaiti oil. That is the main investment target for us," he said.

Kuwait Petroleum current ly exports around 250,000 bbl per day of crude to India on annual term-contracts to Indian companies like IOC and Reliance and is keen to raise the supplies. "We can raise it but it depends on the companies," KPC's managing director Mr Abdullatif A. Al-Houti said.

"We would like to be always committed to the Government of India in supplying oil (and) better relations for reliable supplies," Mr Al-Shuwaib said.

Mr Al-Shuwaib made it clear that they were not interested in taking stake in any of the existing refiner ies like the Jamnagar refinery or the refinery to be built by Reliance Petroleum Limited. They are interested in new projects.

Mr Al-Houti said that KPC would be look ing at IOC's 150,000 barrels per day Paradip project which has been reconfigured to include a refinerycum-petrochemical plant. Kuwait Petroleum Corp could not consider it earlier as it was only a refinery project and they were interested in an integrated refinerycum-petrochemical complex.

On high global crude prices, Mr Al-Shuwaib said: "We see prices going up and down. We don't see problems with the supply and demand."

70 killed in China coalmine blast

At least 70 miners were killed and 26 others still trapped on Thursday when a gas blast ripped through a coalmine in north Shanxi Province in one of the major colliery accidents in China's deadliest mining industry, officials said.

Officials said 70 bodies had been recovered as rescuers looked for survivours in the village-run Xinyao pit in Hongtong County of Linfen.

Fifteen workers were either rescued or they escaped the blast which initial probe showed was caused by illegal mining activity in an unauthorised coal seam, official Xinhua news agency said.

The exact number of miners trapped is not known yet, the report said. The legal representative and head of the mine have been detained by the police. The mine licenses have been sealed and bank accounts frozen, it said.

The bodies of the victims were being identified and efforts were on to know the cause of the blast.

The coal mining industry in China is considered the deadliest with accidents being frequent. From January to October this year, 3,069 deaths in 1,920 cases have been reported.

Authorities, however, said the number of deaths was less by 20.2 per cent and the cases by 19 per cent from the same period last year. Most of the accidents are blamed on flouting of safety norms by owners

India tests interceptor missile successfully

India on Thursday successfully tested a newly developed high-speed interceptor missile over the Bay of Bengal, defence sources said.

As part of an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) exercise, a Prithvi missile modified to "mimic" a hostile ballistic missile was fired from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa, some 230 km from State capital Bhubaneswar, about 11 a.m.

The new missile was fired from Wheeler Island a little over two minutes later and successfully intercepted the incoming target, destroying it over the Bay of Bengal, the sources said.

Sources said the missile AAD tested on Thursday was a new one and not a derivative or an update of any existing missile.

It was specially designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for this role.

In performance, the AAD is said to be slightly superior to the US PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) in interception, altitude and range against incoming ballistic missiles, sources said.

On Sunday, defence scientists had conducted a mock trial of the AAD system by using an electronic target fired from the ITR.

NANDIGRAM - Burnt bones, ashes recovered

Burnt human bones and ashes were recovered on Thursday from three of the five graves found at Bidyapith village in the CPI(M) stronghold of Khejuri near Nandigram.

"The graves which were under guard by a 15-member CRPF team after their discovery, were dug after Contai judicial magistrate Jaiprakash Singh arrived in the afternoon," superintendent of police, Midnapore, Satyeswar Panda said.

Eight human bones and ashes were found shortly after the digging began, he said. Asked why it took so long for the magistrate to arrive, Panda said: "We had written to the court on Wednesday and it is all upto them to decide when they will send a magistrate."

Asked about the identity of the bodies, Mr Panda said they could be of the five killed while making bombs on October 28, or those who died on March 14, or during the violence on November 8.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) Midnapore Sabhadipati, Niranjan Sihi claimed that the bodies found in the grave were of the CPI(M) men, who were killed in a bomb attack by Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee sup porters on October 28

State admits to failure of Child Labour Act

The Andhra Pradesh High Court was deeply annoyed by the labour department's claim that there was no child labour in the city and affirmed that it was highly prevalent. A division bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan pointed out on Thursday that hundreds of children were working in hotels and automo bile repair shops. The bench was dealing with a writ petition pertaining to implementation of Child Labour Prohibition Act. Justice Ranganathan also asked Advocate General, Mr C.V. Mohan Reddy, to accom pany him to see the small children who work in automobile mechanic shops in King Koti.

However, after claiming that there was no child labour in Greater Hyderabad, the labour department went on to say that it was difficult to curb it because of resistance from locals.

People sympathised with children and those who employed them since it provided a means of livelihood to poor familes, the department said in an affidavit.

The labour commis sioner openly admitted the department's inability in implementing the Child Labour Prohibition Act and said it was trying to curb child labour by booking cases under Minimum Wages Act, which

Musharraf's son defends his dad in cyberworld

President Pervez Musharraf's son Bilal and rock band Junoon's guitarist Salman Ahmed, who till recently were good pals, are now clashing in cyberspace over the imposition of emergency in Pakistan.

Ahmed, who was a supporter of President Musharraf's policies, especially his stand against terrorism and his vision of "enlightened moderation", has been prolific on the cyberspace, calling the President a "dictator" and "Pharaoh", since the imposition of Aemergency on November 3.

This provoked an angry response from Mr Bilal Musharraf. In his letters, which have now been taken off most websites, Mr Bilal Musharraf has accused Ahmed, who he says was a close friend and a spiritual guide of sorts since 1998, of indulging in "venomous rhetoric" against his father.

"No one is perfect, I realise. However, to the extent one can, one must try to reduce one's integrity gap which someone defined aptly as the difference between lived values and stated values," he said.

In his response, New York-based Ahmed wrote that despite their close friendship, "staying silent under the present conditions that Pakistan is undergoing, is no longer an option".

"My prior public support to your father's government along with that of the vast majority of Pakistanis was given in the belief that he would deliver on his public promises to fight extremism, respect civil institutions, bring accountability to corrupt politicians, open up a free and independent media and reduce the immoral gap between Pakistan's rich and poor," Ahmed said.

"My support for your father's government was never meant to be taken as a blank cheque for the state machinery to run amok and start dismantling civil institutions, making deals with crooks and plunderers, treating civil servants like common criminals, kidnapping and killing innocent Pakistanis under the guise of the ‘war on terror'."

Mr Bilal Musharraf also said Ahmed's association with Mr Musharraf was part of a "marketing strategy" by the rock musician.

Navy Day celebrated in Vizag

People thronged at Ramakrishna Beach to witness the annual Naval Operational Display conducted by the Eastern Naval Command marking Navy Day celebrations here on Tuesday.

Once again it was the Indian Navy's aerobatic team Sagar Pawan which won the hearts of the spectators.

The flying skills displayed by the naval pilots was breathtaking. Four Kiran Mark-2 jets built indigenously at HAL formed loops in the air, Two others formed a huge heart while a third one pierced it depicting cupid in action. The horizon at the Bay of Bengal was filled with Kiran jets which flying at a speed of 600 kmph.

Send me to Kolkata: Taslima

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen is increasingly getting desperate to get back to her home in Kolkata and is virtually sending out an SOS for help. "Why are they (the Centre) silent? I have not got any ray of hope from the government (about) my return to Kolkata. I need a home," said the writer in a telephonic conversation with this newspaper from her temporary abode, where she is a virtual prisoner of the Central security agencies who are keeping a watch on her movements.

PM under fire over Russian reactors

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came in for concerted attack in the Rajya Sabha for the failure to sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors with Russia. His inability to attend the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) summits was also questioned by a cross-section of MPs from different political parties to highlight their contention that the government was already coming under pressure from the United States over the civilian nuclear energy agreement.

BJP leader and former minister for external affairs Yashwant Sinha was the first off the mark during the debate on the nuclear deal in the Rajya Sabha to question the Prime Minister on his foreign policy. During a strong speech rejecting the nuclear deal, Mr Sinha went on to point out that the Prime Minister did not have the time to attend the SCO summit. Dr Singh was on his feet to insist that there was never any pressure on him or the government to "join or not join the SCO". He said that he had not gone for the summit as "all that I was interested was that if the Indian Prime Minister goes to these meetings, he should not sit in the side lounge, coffee lounge and be involved in an active manner". Mr Sinha took this up to ask the House to note that "our Prime Minister wanted to sit on the main table" and that he had now said that he would not go to the SCO summit meetings until he could do so.

Mr Sinha then moved on to speak of Dr Singh's recent visit to Russia, saying that in Moscow he did not sign the agreement for four nuclear reactors. Dr Singh was back on his feet saying, "What falsehoods you are preaching in this House." He said there was a draft agreement for the four additional nuclear reactors but it could have been operationalised only if India had the necessary safeguards agreement with the IAEA and the clearances from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. He said these issues were being debated and that is why the agreement had not been signed.

"The false propaganda being made here and outside is not related to the facts of the case," Dr Singh said.

Mr Sinha went on amidst interruptions from the treasury benches to insist that Dr Singh could have signed the agreement subject to the IAEA and NSG clearances. He then said "with full seriousness" that the government had "come under US pressure and did not sign the agreement.

Doctors are no different from MLA, says Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday criticised the striking junior doctors saying that they were no different from the MLA whose behaviour they were protesting against.

As the strike entered the third day, the HC asked the state government to refer critically ill children of Niloufer Hospital to private hospitals.

As many as nine children have died in Niloufer since the doctors went on a lightning strike on Sunday night.

The junior doctors had struck work protesting against the alleged attack on their colleagues by MIM MLA, Mr Afsar Khan, and a patient's attendants.

Medical services in other government-run hospitals too were hit as junior doctors went on strike.

The HC, which was hearing a petition on the issue by an advocate, Mr Raju, said that junior doctors were disrupting the functioning of the hospital just as the MLA had done.

A division bench comprising acting chief justice Bilal Nazki and justice Ramesh Ranganathan directed the state government to inform the court about the alternative arrangements made to treat patients. It also directed that the striking doctors be not allowed to enter the hospital.

Justice Nazki said, "They (junior doctors) are doing the same thing what the MLA had.

Bhutto, Sharif to meet tomorrow

Former Pakistan Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will meet on Monday to decide about the January 8 election.

"Both of them (Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif) will meet on Monday to decide the future strategy," Mr Sharif's close associate Raja Zafarul Haq told reporters.

Mr Haq, who is the chairman of Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), said, "They will decide whether they should participate in the election or not." Mr Zafr-ul-Haq said PML (N) wants a joint Opposition strategy regarding the election.

Ms Bhutto's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar has also confirmed the reports about the meeting. "We have the meeting scheduled unless there is any change. They will be discussing about the elections," he said.

Ms Bhutto has already said that her party will participate in the election scheduled for January 8 but Mr Sharif has said the polls would be meaningless unless the judiciary is restored.

The proposed meeting will be the first between the two key players in Pakistan politics since their return from exile.

In another report, the EC on Saturday rejected the candidacy of Shahbaz Sharif, brother Nawaz Sharif, because of pending criminal charges against him

NRI land is new target

Sever al NRIs who own land close to the new airport at Shamshabad are being harassed by local revenue officials.

The NRIs have been asked to prove ownership by the officials though there are no disputes.

Sources said the officials were doing it after being prodded by land sharks who have an eye on the prime property.

Mr M. Ramakrishna, a US-based business analyst, is one among these NRIs. He is now frequently flying to the city to protect his ancestral property in Ranga Reddy district.

Though the district revenue officer had approved his ownership of the land in 1975, certain realtors have raked up the issue again.

The Shamshabad tahsildar issued a notice to Mr Ramakrishna in April asking him to prove ownership.

Since then, Mr Ramakrishna has been periodically making rounds of the revenue offices Certain realtors close to a Congress leader are said to be behind the tahsildar's move.

Tahsildars are not empowered to reopen cases that have been disposed of by the district revenue officer, joint collector and collector.

"I fail to understand how a tahsildar can act in such a manner," said Mr Ramakrishna. "I have petitioned to the higher authorities but so far the case has not been settled."

Incidentally, Ranga Reddy revenue authorities had recently destroyed land records which were 30 years old.

Sources said some tahsildars were re-opening old cases on the pretext of following Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy's order to find illegal beneficiaries of assigned land.

A top district official said he had got complaints against the junior revenue officials and was examining them.

Illegal buildings can pay and stay

constructions on tanks beds, shikam lands, lakes and prohibited areas under the coastal regulation zone.

Multistoreyed buildings which do not have no objection certificates from fire services department and Airport Authority of India will not get authorised.

An ordinance titled AP Rules for Penalisation of Unauthorised Constructions 2007 will be issued within 10 days for regularisation of illegal constructions.

"Unlike the voluntary dis closure scheme of 1998, this is compulsory," said municipal administration minister, Mr Koneru Ranga Rao, after the cabinet meeting.

The minister defended the decision to regularise even totally illegal constructions. "What is wrong in it?" he asked. "We cannot demolish lakhs of structures."

Principal secretary (municipal administration), Mr S.P. Singh, said the expert committee had given special emphasis to the quantum of fines to be imposed for each violation.

The High Court had rejected the earlier penalty suggested by the committee (Rs 20 to Rs 40 per sq ft) as inadequate and directed it to impose exemplary fines which would operate as a deterrent.

In another major decision, the cabinet okayed the AP Regulation of Unapproved and Illegal Layout Rules 2007, which will be applicable to all UDAs, corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats.

The penal rate for regulation of unapproved layout/plot is equivalent to conversion charges. In addition to the penal amount, the applicant has to pay layout fee, betterment charges, development charges and land-use conversion charges.

Information and public relations minister, Mr A. Ramnarayan Reddy, said after the cabinet meeting that the government would amend HMC Act of 1955, AP Municipalities Act, AP Municipal Corporations act and AP Urban Areas (Development) Act

We were insulted by tax officials: Jaya Bachchan

Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan on Saturday alleged that the service tax authorities humiliated her family while seeking details on expenses on the wedding of her actor son Abhishek with actress Aishwarya Rai. "I received notices from tax authorities who wanted to know how much amount was spent on the marriage of my son," she said

We will fight till the end, says Tanvir FOCUS

Pakistan speedster Sohail Tanvir, who failed to fire on the fourth day of the Kotla Test, said that fall of Misbah's wicket turned the tables for his team.

"Misbah's wicket and then the wicket of Kamran Akmal were the turning points of the match. If Misbah had remained on the pitch for another hour, the scenario could have been different," Tanvir said.

But he appreciated Misbah's game. "He has played well in both the innings and his wicket was lost pretty late in the innings, so it was fine," he said.

However, Tanvir refused to accept defeat in the match.

"We will fight till the end. One cannot be sure of a win until the last run is scored," he said. Tanvir's statement comes at juncture when India just requires another 32 runs to win the Kotla Test against Pakistan with seven wickets and a full day in hand.

He held his teammates guilty for this situation.

"They played some wrong shots, otherwise there was not much in the pitch," he said.

The pacer from Rawalpindi said the pitch had not assisted him much. "There was not much help from the pitch for seamers," he said.

Asked if he was satisfied with his performance in his debut Test, Tanvir said, "if you're satisfied, your improvement stops."

On the pressure he faced while bowling Tanvir said, "I am never under pressure when on the field, as I know that one cannot give his best, when under pressure."

New Aussie PM vows to tackle Iraq policy

Australia's new leader Kevin Rudd vowed on Sunday to tackle climate change and Iraq war policy, a day after sweeping veteran Prime Minister John Howard from power in a stunning election landslide.

Mr Rudd pledged to implement his campaign promises as a new era dawned for Australia after Saturday's poll ended nearly 12 years of conservative rule by US President George W. Bush's closest remaining ally in the war in Iraq.

Voters abandoned Mr Howard, 68, who presided over a record economic boom and became Australia's second longest-serving leader, in a humiliating drubbing in which he is also likely to suffer the indignity of losing his parliamentary seat of 33 years.

As the campaign hubris dissipated, Mr Rudd, 50, said his centre-left Labour Party would immediately begin work on fulfilling campaign pledges, which included tackling global warming and withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.

In his first press conference as leader, he also reached out to Australia's traditional allies, offered Mr Bush an olive branch despite policy differences and called for unity at home following a bruising election campaign.

"This is a humbling experience, to be extended the trust and confidence of people right across the country," he said in his hometown of Brisbane, thanking voters and promising not to breach their trust.

"I would also say to those people that we will be a government for all Australians and that I will always govern in the national interest," he said.

Mr Rudd revealed he had spoken to major world leaders on the telephone, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr Bush. "I emphasised to President Bush the centrality of the US alliance in our approach to future foreign policy," Mr Rudd said, adding he planned to visit the United States in 2008 and that Mr Bush had welcomed the trip.

But Mr Rudd refused to say if he had discussed his campaign pledge to withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq with Bush, a plan Mr Howard and Mr Bush insisted would be a signal that the "terrorists" were winning the conflict.

Benazir files for reserve seat

For mer Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto filed her nomination papers on Sunday to contest the January 8 election.

A local election commissioner in Karachi said she filed papers in her name for a seat reserved for women. She will also file papers for the constituency of her family's ancestral seat in Larkana. Ms Bhutto, is allowing her party candidates to lodge their nomination papers ahead of Monday's deadline for registration, but has warned that they might be told to pull out in order to protest President General Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule. The decision to pull out will depend partly on what other Opposition parties decide, although Ms Bhutto has indicated she is in favour of taking part, albeit reluctantly.

"We should not leave the field empty," she told reporters on Sunday. Ms Bhutto said the return of Nawaz Sharif, is likely to energise the political process.

"With Mr Sharif's arrival, the political process will accelerate," she said.

"We welcome his return to the country, it will contribute positively to the political scene." Ms Bhutto returned home from exile on October 18 in 2007. She will be taking part in election after almost a decade.

Ms Bhutto, who lead Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has twice ruled the country between 1988 and 1999. Both times her governments were sacked by the Presidents on corruption charges.

The PPP is on a high and is expected to win or at least perform well in the January 8 elections. Meanwhile, on Sunday, PPP released final lists of the party candidates for reserved seats of minorities, for four provincial Assemblies and the National Assembly.

The party has nominated seven candidates for minorities' seats in the National Assembly, while nine each for Punjab and Sindh Assemblies and three for NWFP Assembly

12 MARINE STATIONS SOON IN TN

The 12 marine police stations, coming up in Tamil Nadu to check the activities of LTTE supporters and man its more than 1,000 km coastline, will soon become operational, according to Mr. Jagan M. Seshadri, additional director general of police and chief of the coastal security wing.

"The stations should be ready in a month's time. Many policemen have been given training on board ships and coaching in deep-sea swimming. We will be taking over the buildings as soon as the Tamil Nadu police housing corporation finishes constructing them. The work is progressing fast and senior government officials are monitoring the growth every month," Mr. Seshadri said.

These marine police stations have been established in all coastal states under a Union government scheme. Each station will receive two well equipped vessels, costing Rs 3.5 crore. In total, the Centre will be providing 24 vessels to the state police and will also bear the fuel expenses for the first five years, said senior police officials.

In Tamil Nadu, the Nagapatinam district will have three marine police stations, while Tanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram districts will have two each. And the Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts will have one marine police station each. "Each police station will have 42 policemen attached to it," the officer said. Currently, the state does not have any marine police station, expect the B6–Port Marine station, attached to the city police and managed by the Chennai port trust. It maybe recalled that in January, the police arrested five persons and seized three tonnes of steel ball bearing that were being smuggled to the LTTE. In February, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted an explosive laden boat near Kodiankarai (Point Calimere) and held a hard core LTTE member and four others. The Tamil Nadu police and the Coast guard later destroyed the fibre boat after its sides were found to be stuffed with improvised explosive devices. Incidents like these have heightened the need for marine police stations.

Sharif back in Lahore

Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was deposed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a coup on October 12, 1999 and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia a year later, finally managed to return home to Lahore on Sunday after living abroad for the past seven years.

He is the second former Prime Minister, after Ms Benazir Bhutto, to end his exile before the January 8 general election in Pakistan.

Mr Sharif had made an attempt to return to the country a little more than two months ago, when he flew in on a Pakistan International Airlines flight from London on September 10 this year, but he was arrested at the airport itself.

Complaint against disrespect to flag

A local organisation has filed a criminal complaint against alleged disrespect to India's national flag during the India-Pakistan cricket match on Sunday at SMS Stadium. The court has posted the matter for hearing on November 27. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Cricket Association [RCA] also directed its officials to investigate the matter. Suresh Mishra of Nagrik Morcha has moved a complaint before the fourth additional chief judicial magistrate against RCA president Lalit Modi, vice-president Vimal Soni and Shubhash Sharma for allegedly disrespecting the tricolour.

Health tourism led to ill-health

The much publicised effort of the government to promote India as a "Health Tourism'' destination is infact contributing to "ill-health'' in the country. A recent report, released by an NGO, Ensuring Universal Access to Health and Education in India, based on studies in the health sector, says that this "distorted'' priority of the government has led to subsidy shifts from the public to the private sector through land subsi dies for the construction of hospitals, cuts in import duties on drugs and equipments and inclusion of private institutions on government health panels.

This is being done by offering them space and profits in public hospitals, permitting private contracts of non-clinical services and investigations, and outsourcing services. Quoting from the Qureshi Committee Report, the report gives the example of Apollo Hospital which got 15 acres of prime land in 1988 for a token rent of one rupee per annum on condition that it would provide free treatment to one third of its patients. The hospital also got Rs 42 crores from the Delhi government which it was commissioned in 1996, it said..India today allocates less to health than Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand. Brazil and South Africa have already reached levels over 3 per cent of the GDP, while Western countries allocate 6 per cent and above to their health sectors. Calling the government's attention to raise the allocation for the health sector to achieve the 3 per cent of GDP target for health, as promised in the National Common Minimum Programme, the report raised concern over the district health sector reform projects taken up by the World Bank. "While the Bank invested heavily, the resources were selectively allocated....to items with high foreign exchange value..," it said. The report revealed that the 10th five-year plan and the draft approach paper to the 11th plan have further emphasised the need for promoting health tourism to earn foreign exchange and facilitate public-private partnerships. The privatisation services has given a handle to the World Trade Organisation to demand that the health sector be treated like any other "trade" or "business" and not be given any privileges due to social services, noted Imrana Qadeer, who has written the section on Status of Health Services in India in the report.

Parents donate ‘brain dead' girl's organs

The liver of an 11 year-old girl who was declared ‘brain dead' was transplanted to a 59-year-old man at Kamineni Hospitals. Shankari Thyagarajan of BPDAV School in Midhani in Hyderabad was a brain cancer patient and Kamineni doctors said the transplant was carried out with the consent of her parents.

Shankari's eyes were donated to LV Prasad Eye Institute and one each of her kidneys to Kamineni and Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences.

Kamineni officials refused to provide any details of Shankari's parents stating that they did not wish to be identified.

The liver transplant surgery was performed in the second week of October, when Shankari was declared ‘brain died'. Doctors revealed details on Wednesday after the recovery of the recipient, Purushottam Bhai Kanji Bhai, a retired engineer from Surat, Gujarat.

Dr G. Satyanarayana who headed the transplantation team, said Mr Kanji was suffering from hepatitis B and cirrhosis. "He had developed a liver tumour that was spreading," the doctor said.

Mr Kanji had registered himself at Delhi, another hospital in the city as well as with Kamineni Hospitals.

Dr Satyanarayana said, "Shankari was treated in major cancer hospitals for six months. She was in a terminal stage and admitted to our hospital while unconscious."

"Experts who were not part of the transplantation team confirmed that Shankari was brain dead. The parents offered to donate the organs of Shankari's body," Dr Satyanarayana said.

Dr Satyanarayana said the hospital searched for a recipient of Shankari's age. They didn't find one. Following this, they checked out their waiting lists and spotted Mr Kanji who achieved a tissue match.

Mr Kanji was admitted on the day of the surgery. "Shankari was well built and her liver was well grown at 4 kg. Mr Kanji is short in physical stature and his liver had shrunk. We thought there may be a problem with the arteries but everything went well. The liver suited him well," Dr Satyanarayana said.

"Shankari's school principal came to us on Wednesday during the discharge of Mr Kanji. The school had organised an awareness campaign earlier on organ donation, in which Shankari had participated," he said.

Dr Satyanarayana explained that under the Organ Donation Act the consent of close family members was necessary in case of brain dead persons. If any one of the family members refuses, the transplant cannot be carried out. "In this case both parents gave consent," said Dr Satyanarayana.

Dr Satyanarayana said that the hospital got permission from the Directorate of Medical Education to conduct the organ transplantation.

Directorate of Medical Education incharge chief Dr A.V.Y. Chary who heads the organ transplantation committee in the State was not available for comment.

Airtel has plans to expand in state

Mobile service provider Airtel, today announced that it has lined up expansion plans for Tamil Nadu by 2008.

By the end of March 2008, said Deepak Mehrotra, Bharti Airtel Limited Director-South Hub, "Rural coverage would go up from 10,000 villages to 17,000 villages and we will increase SMS capacity by over three times from 1850 to 5850 messages."

He said, "To ensure seamless connectivity 100 per cent of national highways and over 80 per cent of state highways and railway routes would get covered by 2007."

Mr Mehrotra said, "Airtel's customer base is nearing five million mark in the state with about 2.5 lakh customers opting for Airtel every month. We have 2550 percent of post paid connections in the southern region," he added.

Elaborating on the investments he said, "Out of the Rs 3.5 billion investments by Airtel this year, a substantial amount was invested in Tamil Nadu and we will be increasing it further next year."

Diana case: Coroner to contest ruling

Justice Scott Baker, the coroner of the combined inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed, has said that he might appeal against a high court ruling blocking his decision to allow statements by paparazzi to be admitted as evidence.

"The coroner has immediately and successfully applied for leave to appeal. The court made clear in its judgment that there was no criticism whatsoever of the coroner. The coroner's immediate concern is to consider the practical implications of implementing the divisional court's ruling," Justice Baker said in a statement.

The Paul family and Ritz lawyers had challenged the decision of Justice Baker that the documentary evidence containing witness statements of the French paparazzi could be read to the jury. The lawyers had objected to transcripts of police interviews with the photographers and other statements being read out to the 11-member jury without being given an opportunity to cross-examine anyone about possible inconsis tencies in the paparazzi accounts. Two high court judges on Tuesday ruled in favour of the challenge and said that documentary evidence should only be used in an inquest if it was not disputed by any of the interested parties. The judges said that if the police officers, who originally took the paparazzi statements, were called as witnesses, there was "no reason" why the policemen could not read the statements out to the jury.

Afghan, US forces kill 50 Taliban

The Afghan police and US-led coalition forces killed more than 50 Taliban militants in fighting in southern Afghanistan, the government said on Wednesday.

The Islamist "terrorists" were killed in clashes in the volatile Charchino district of Uruzgan province over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement. There were no casualties to the Afghan and the US forces, the government said. The operation involved ground and air attacks, Uruzgan police chief Juma Gul Himat said.

Separately, a Taliban commander and four of his guards were killed in a police operation in Deh Rawood district of the same province on Tuesday, said the statement.

The Taliban, whose regime was toppled in 2001 by a US-led offensive, have stepped up their attacks in recent years.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is in "crisis" and risks becoming a divided state, as Taliban insurgents now control vast areas of unchallenged territory, a think tank warned on Wednesday. The Senlis Council called for the Nato-led force in the country to be doubled in size to 80,000, after a study found that 54 per cent of Afghan territory has a permanent Taliban presence.

"The security situation has reached crisis proportions," said Norine MacDonald of the think tank, which has offices in London, Paris, Brussels and Kabul. "The insurgency now controls vast swaths of unchallenged territory including rural areas, border areas, some district centres, and important road arteries," she added.

Software breaks barrier between two Punjabs

Chandigarh: New computer software developed by Patiala's Punjabi University will, for the first time, give Indian and Pakistani Punjabis common access to a huge volume of post-Partition literature that was until now unavailable because of differences in script.

The new software suite developed by Dr Gurpreet Lehal and his students at the Advanced Centre for Technical Development of Punjabi Language, Literature & Culture makes it possible to read Punjabi irrespective of the script Gurmukhi, Shahmukhi (Arabic), Devnagri or Roman - it may be written in.

For instance, it now needs no more than a click of a mouse to transliterate an entire book written in Shahmukhi (Arabic script used to write Punjabi in Pakistan) to Gurmukhi (Punjabi script used in India) or even Devnagri and Roman. Dr Lehal and his colleagues have been able to demonstrate not only the amazing agility of their product but are able to convert texts with a minimum accuracy level of 97 per cent. Written in Unicode, the universal coding scheme for multilingual documents, the new software suite is also capable of converting entire websites, including links from one script to another. Effectively peo ple orally familiar with Punjabi do not need to learn multiple scripts. By knocking down insurmountable script barriers Dr Lehal and his young researchers have literally opened up a whole new world for 10 crore Punjabis across India, Pakistan and the diaspora. The computer scientist describes a scenario that is happily no longer a dream: "A friend in Pakistan sends me his poem and the fact that I cannot read the Shahmukhi script is not a problem any more. I can now read the piece in Gurmukhi, Devnagri or even Roman." He is confident that his work will help Punjabis break down long persisting barriers. He said, "Young Punjabis living in the West can now access their heritage contained in Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi which will now be instantly convert ible to Roman script." Set for a formal launch next month, the software suite has already caught the fancy of the Indian and Pakistani business communities, which are together preparing to step up mutual trade and exchanges. "Besides lit erature and language, the software's translitera tion capability has a huge potential for business communication between Amritsar and Lahore," said an exporter in Amritsar. Sponsored jointly by Canada's International Development Research Centre and Asia Pacific Network Information Centre of Singapore, the software suite took four years and a grant of $30,000 to develop. It is cur rently available free for testing at Punjabi University's official website: http://s2g.advanced centrepunjabi.org

Music award for vocalist Sudha Raghunathan

The 20th music festival of Sruthi Laya Kendra will be held on December 15 and 16 in the city, announced Kendra founder and mridhangam maestro Karaikudi Mani on Tuesday.

Mr Mani said the Guru Surajananda Award would be given to Narada Gana Sabha secretary R. Krishnasamy in recognition of his services to music, art and culture. Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan will get the Sri Gowri Manohari Award, which comprises Rs 10,000 in cash, a memento and a citation.

Mr Mani said that every year two senior vidwans were given financial assistance. This year also the proceeds from the festival would go to two musicians. Mridhangam player Bangalore Nagabooshanamiah is one of the recipients. "We have not yet finalised the other person,"he said

Hoda is chairman of chennai Metro Rail

The state government on Tuesday appointed Mr Syed Munir Hoda as chairman of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited. Currently, Mr Hoda is secretary to chief minister M. Karunanidhi.

An official press release said that pending formation of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited, Mr Syed Munir Hoda, would be posted as special officer, Chennai Metro Rail Project in the planning and development (special initiatives) department.

Mr Hoda was appointed as the chief minister's secretary after the DMK won the assembly election in May last year. Mr Hoda is expected to assume charge shortly.

The project comprises of three phases, and is being implemented to make the public transport system more efficient. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation recently submitted its detailed project report for the project.

The 46.5-km metro rail will comprise two corridors-one extending from Washermenpet in North Chennai to the city air port via Egmore and Teynampet and another from Fort St George to St Thomas Mount via Anna Nagar, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar and Alandur. The state Cabinet recently approved the the Rs.9,757-crore project, which it is hoped will ease traffic congestion in the metropolis. About 20 km of the railway line will be underground and the remaining on the surface.

The state cabinet decided to approach the Centre for financial assistance and loans to fund it. Japan's Bank for International Cooperation is also expected to provide financial assistance.Union finance minister P. Chidambaram who met Mr. Karunanidhi recently said that Chennai would get the same assistance as Bangalore and Hyderabad had received for building the metro rail.

The DMRC was requested to prepare the detailed project report at a cost of Rs 3.3 crore in 2005. Initially, the government considered having a major part of the 46.5-km structure underground. It was estimated to cost Rs.13,000 crore. The cost came down significantly after a decision was taken to only partly build the line underground.

Karnataka is back under Central rule

President's Rule was reim posed in Karnataka on Tuesday following the fall of the BJP-JD(S) government in the state headed by Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa. An early morning meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just before he left for the Asean summit in Singapore, took the decision. President Pratibha Patil signed the proclamation bringing the state under Central rule later in the day. The Karnataka Assembly has been kept under suspended animation for the time being, pending ratification of the proclamation under Article 356 by Parliament. Immediately after that the Assembly is likely to be dissolved.

The Union home ministry issued the proclamation imposing President's Rule in Karnakata shortly after receiving a report from Karnataka governor Rameshwar Thakur. The Centre's action comes a day after the first-ever BJP government in the South collapsed after the Janata Dal (Secular) decided on Monday to vote against a government it had earlier pledged to support in a confidence vote in the Assembly.

Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who is also parliamentary affairs minister, said the Union government would seek the approval of Parliament for the proclamation under Article 356 and later.

Convergence, AT&T style

Convergence has come really alive after Apple put together a phone, a media player and a computer of sorts in a sleek and handy way in its iPhone.

Now it has become difficult to say whether laptops are shrinking further or mobile phones are growing larger.

The latest addition to this trend is AT&T's Tilt. It has a seven cm sliding keyboard, touchscreen and a 400 megahertz processor put together in a compact manner. And the screen pops out with a tilt, which makes it easy for you to keep it on a desk and work on it.

Tilt is run on Windows Mobile 6, the latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, has Bluetooth and a 2.8-megapixel camera. It weighs about 200 gms and will snugly fit into your pocket.

Second rape case officially registered in Nandigram

The police on Saturday registered "a case of rape" on the basis of a complaint filed by the wife of a Bhoomi Ucchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) member. The complaint was lodged at the Nandigram police station. This is the second officially confirmed incident of rape that has come to light, following the "violent recapture" of Nandigram by CPI(M) cadre.

Confirming the rape case, superintendent of police (East Medinipur), S.S. Panda said, "A complaint has been lodged with the Nandigram police. We are looking into the matter." The 45-year-old woman claimed that she had been gangraped allegedly by CPI(M) cadres for two days. The cadre were looking for her husband, a BUPC member, who has been absconding since the CPI(M) cadre entered Gokulnagar on November 10.

The victim said after her husband took shelter in the relief camp in Nandigram, she had locked herself inside her house in fear. On November 14, three men forced open the door and asked her about her husband. When she said that she did not know about his whereabouts, they refused to believe her.

Bulletproof cars for Pak ministers, former PMs

Pakistan's former Prime Ministers and ministers will get official bulletproof vehicles with security escorts until the general elections in January, officials said on Sunday.

"The interior ministry has prepared a summary in this regard, which will soon be submitted to caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro for approval," a senior governement official told this newspaper.

"The government has so far provided bulletproof vehicles and security escorts to former Prime Ministers Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto and Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and leader of the house in Senate, Wasim Sajjad on their requests, while (former PM) Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has yet not requested for such security," he said.

They include minister for information and broadcasting Mohammed Ali Durrani, minister for religious affairs Ijaz-ul-Haq, minister for petroleum Amanullah Khan Jadoon and minister of state for interior Zafar Iqbal Warria.

City cops to set up passport centres

The city police have decided to set up passport application receipt centres to quicken the process of passport verification.

The Special Branch of city police will open receipt centres so that applicants can submit application directly.

A senior police official said, in this practice special branch police personnel accept the applications and verify them. After verification the application is sent to the passport office. So far in Hyderabad the passport applications were received by the passport officials or post office personnel. So the applicants have to go to the police for verification. This takes a few days. The centres are set to become operational this month, the official sources said.

Colleges to get commerce labs

Students pursuing Commerce courses at the graduate level will have to attend practical classes like Science students from next year. The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has decided to set up "Commerce labs" in colleges to provide prac tical exposure to students.

The government feels that the present curriculum is not enough to equip students with job skills required in the corporate sector. The students will be taught how to improve soft skills and lay emphasis on tapping opportunities in banking, retail management and human resources in these labs. "We held a brain-storming session with the heads of Commerce departments, deans of universities and representatives of Indian Commerce Association to discuss about the changes needed in the Commerce courses. As part of reforms in Commerce courses, we have decided to set up Commerce labs in all colleges across the State," said Mr M.D. Christopher, secretary, APSCHE.

He said the curriculum of Commerce courses like B.Com will be totally revamped to equip the students with job skills, soft skills and application orientation.

The syllabi of Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai and Utkal universities had been examined for the purpose, he said.

"Due to lack of information, particularly among the semi-urban and rural areas, Commerce students are not able to cash in on the new avenues. The reforms in Commerce courses will create awareness among students about changing realities in the business environment in the backdrop of rapid globalisation," said Mr Christopher.

Medical waste not disposed as per norms

Bio medical waste is not being disposed off by the hospitals and nursing homes in rural and semi urban areas in the State as per the Pollution Control Board norms posing danger to public health.

AP Private Hospitals & Nursing Homes Association (APNA) president Dr S.V.S. Rao on Sunday admitted, "No infrastructure was provided by the Pollution Control Board in rural areas for disposal of biomedical waste from hospitals."

APNA now demands that the government bring out an Act to put non-bailable cases against the rioters who attack hospitals after alleged medical negligence cases.

Dr S.V.S. Rao said, "An Act should be brought in to punish the rioters and recover the cost of the property damaged by them. The property tax on hospitals has to be decreased. Power tariff should be brought down to the level of domestic tariff. This will help decrease the medical bills of the patients."

He also asked the government to set up a special panel of doctors in consumer courts to review cases before the final judgement.

"The maximum possible compensation amount has to be fixed for cases against hospitals in consumer courts," he added.

MULLAPERIYAR ROW - Kerala decides to build new dam

The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to go ahead with constructing a new dam at Mullaperiyar despite strong objections raised by neighbouring Tamil Nadu that such a move would deplete the water available to irrigate its paddy fields. Responding, Tamil Nadu PWD minister Durai Murugan threatened legal action if Kerala went ahead with its decision to build a new dam across Mullaperiyar.

"The cabinet has now decided to go ahead with the new dam at Mullaperiyar taking into consideration the safety of the people downstream and also the irrigation needs in Tamil Nadu," chief minister V. S. Achuthanandan told a crowded press conference after the cabinet meeting here.

The cabinet discussed the report submitted to the government on Tuesday by the expert committee constituted by the government to go into the safety concerns of the 111-year-old reservoir. The committee strongly recommended that since the structure was already suffering seepage, it would be unwise to concede to the Tamil Nadu demand to raise the dam's level from the present 136 ft to 142 ft for meeting its irrigation needs.

"The cabinet went through the expert committee report carefully and took this decision to go ahead with the new dam instead of increasing the level of the existing one. It has also been decided to call for a joint safety inspection by the officials of Kerala and Tamil Nadu," Mr Achuthanandan said.

The chief minister called upon the Centre to take immediate steps to evolve an amicable settlement of the dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar issue. With increased monsoon inflows, the dam height had reached 138.2 ft on November 6 and the expert committee reported several new seepage points on the concrete backing of the dam.

At the meeting between Mr Achuthanandan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart Mr M. Karunanidhi, convened in Delhi by the Union minister for water resources SaifU-Din Soz in November last year, the former had urged

Vitamin D does little to cut cancer risk

Vitamin D, long thought to possess miraculous cancer-fighting properties, is not so special.

A new study has discovered that Vitamin D does little to cut the risk of cancer in humans. The vitamin, linked to sunshine, was widely credited with warding off cancer, strengthening bones and cutting the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The study, published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found there is no relationship between vitamin D levels and the overall risk of dying from cancer.

The team of researchers, led by D. Michal Freedman of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, analysed data from a health and nutrition examination survey to examine the relationship between levels of circulating vitamin D in the blood and cancer mortality in a group of 16,818 participants aged 17 and older.

After about a decade of follow-up, 536 participants had died of cancer. Cancer mortality was not related to the level of circulating vitamin D for the overall group, nor was it related when the researchers looked at the data by sex, race, or age.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the relationship between measured serum vitamin D levels and cancer mortality for selected site and for all sites combined," the authors of the research have written. However, higher levels of vitamin D were associated with a 72 per cent reduced risk of colorectal cancer mortality.

"These findings must be put into the context of total diet and lifestyle." "There are many risk factors other than diet for colorectal cancer, and there are many possible dietary risk factors other than vitamin D that have been linked to cancer risk," Cindy Davis and Johanna Dwyer said in the same journal

Poverty drives family to suicide in LPG blast

A middle aged woman and her two children committed suicide by setting off an explosion using their LPG gas cylinder as they could not raise enough money to perform the funeral rites of her daughter, who died of jaundice.

Sources said, Ms. Rajarathnam's daughter Bhavani was suffering from jaundice and had been admitted to a private hospital in Raja Annamalai Puram, where she breathed her last on Tuesday evening. Her body was brought back home in Krishna Nagar in Tambaram.

Police said, Radhakrishnan (69) had been the sole breadwinner of the family. He had left the house that morning to raise money to perform the funeral rites. Soon after, neighbours noticed smoke emanating from the house, followed by a huge blast. Ms. Rajarathnam had apparently poured kerosene on the body of her teenage son Ganapathy, her 21-year-old daughter Meenakshi, the corpse and herself. She then opened the LPG gas cylinder and lit a match, setting off the explosion, according to the police. Tambaram police and District Fire Services officer Priya Ravichandran and her team rushed to the scene and put out the fire. Ms. Rajarathnam's body was unearthed under the rubble. Meenakshi and Ganapathy were rushed to the Kilpauk Government Hospital. While, Meenakshi died on the way to hospital, Ganapathy succumbed to his injuries later in the hospital. The Tambaram police has registered a case.

A middle- aged woman and her two children committed suicide by setting off an explosion using their LPG gas cylinder as they could not raise enough money to perform the funeral rites of her daughter, who died of jaun- dice. Sources said, Ms. Rajarathnam's daughter Bhavani was suffering from jaundice and had been admitted to a private hospital in Raja Annamalai Puram, where she breathed her last on Tuesday evening. Her body was brought back home in Krishna Nagar in Tambaram. Police said, Radhakrishnan (69) had been the sole bread- winner of the family. He had left the house that morning to raise money to perform the funeral rites. Soon after, neighbours noticed smoke emanating from the house, followed by a huge blast. Ms. Rajarathnam had appar- ently poured kerosene on the body of her teenage son Ganapathy, her 21-year-old daughter Meenakshi, the corpse and herself. She then opened the LPG gas cylinder and lit a match, setting off the explosion, according to the police. Tambaram police and District Fire Services officer Priya Ravichandran and her team rushed to the scene and put out the fire. Ms. Rajarathnam's body was unearthed under the rubble. Meenakshi and Ganapathy were rushed to the Kilpauk Government Hospital. While, Meenakshi died on the way to hospital, Ganapathy succumbed to his injuries later in the hospital. The Tambaram police has registered a case.

TN Chief Minister ready to give Thevar tag to 3 castes

The three communities of Kallar, Maravar and Ahambediar will be brought under the common umbrella of Thevars if they agree to the move, said chief minister M. Karunanidhi here on Wednesday.

He was speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statues of the Marudhupandiar brothers at Tepakulam in Madurai.

Chairman of the statue installation committee Pon Muthuramalingam asked the government to "bring the three communities under the common umbrella of Thevars and give them the most backward community status".

The chief minister the matter should be reviewed carefully and in the event of all the communities agreeing, there will be no problem in passing a government order.

Speakers at the function spoke of the valour and courage of the Marudhupandiar brothers who ruled Sivaganga and fought the British in 1801, nearly 60 years before the first war of independence in 1857.

Poet Vairamuthu said Marudhupandiar brothers had never bowed to the British and had set an example for others.

The place where the statues have been installed was the place where the Marudhupandiar brothers practiced throwing the boomerang, members of the organising committee said. Chief minister's son M.K. Azhagiri welcomed the gathering

Stalin on mystery visit to Bangkok

Mystery shrouds the sudden flight to Bangkok of local administration minister and DMK strongman M. K. Stalin on Tuesday sans the normal protocol and the elaborate "send-off" by the ruling party.

Mr Stalin took a 10.35 a.m. flight to Bangkok, accompanied only by close friend Ramajayam Raja Shankar. The usual bureaucratic and political paraphernalia were absent when the minister arrived at the airport shortly before the plane's take-off. The security personnel at the airport were taken aback when the all-powerful minister drove in for his sudden departure. The booking for the flight, made the previous day, was kept under wraps, sources said.

Bombarded with enquiries from the media and others regarding his whereabouts, the minister's office initially insisted he was unwell and was resting, but later admitted he had gone to Bangkok on some personal work. However, political circles here are agog with speculation regarding the sudden trip. The most heard reason was that it was on private business , albeit made at an important political juncture, when his party and the government were involved in an elaborate celebration of the birth centenary of the influential Muthuramalinga Thevar on Tuesday. The minister did not go through the ritual of garlanding Thevar's statue in Chennai, nor did he accompany his father and chief minister M. Karunanidhi to Thevar's native Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district down south.

Unconfirmed reports said the minister has been upset with his father for deciding to make stepsister and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi a Union minister. It is said that both the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have approved her induction into the Cabinet. Another report said Mr Stalin was not happy with KKSSR Ramachandran, one of his favourites, being recently divested of the plum health portfolio, reportedly under pressure from brother Azhagiri calling the shots

India second in atrocities on women

Domestic violence tops among the atrocities subjected on women across the world. The rate of violence in India is a high 19 per cent, coming after Zambia, which is leading in the world and reports a 48 per cent violence rate, according to a survey released on the second day of the 34th Triennial Congress of International Alliance of Women, hosted by the All India Women's Conference (A.I.W.C.), in association with the International Alliance of Women (I.A.W.) on Tuesday.

Kiran Bedi, DGP, bureau of police R&D, raised concern over the cases of domestic violence while elaborating on the work done in the field of violence against women, trafficking and prostitution. The survey showed that women are at the greatest risk of violence from men they know. In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States, 40 to 70 per cent of women murder victims were killed by their partners. Addressing the Congress of 60 nations, president of A.I.W.C. Manorama Bawa said the International Congress aims to minimise the vulnerability of women to all sorts of threats, violations, and discrimination.

Shortage of docs: Minister

There is a big shortage of doctors both in India and abroad, said Oscar Fernandes, Union minister of state for labour and employment on Sunday.

At the valedictory function of a seminar on ‘Current advances in life sciences' at the SRM dental college hospital, Mr Fenandes said when the ministry had to recruit eighty specialist doctors for the ESI hospitals, there were only eight qualified doctors for the job. "We had to start recruiting all over again. The situation is no different in other countries. I am told that with the people living longer in European countries like Germany and Portugal, more doctors are needed for treating people," he said. The minister told students that 37 percent of the doctors, practicing in the United States, were from India. There is also a great need for nurses from India. US officials estimate they would need around one million nurses to take care of their ageing population.

Fr Xavier Arulraj, chairman of Tamil Nadu Economic Minorities Development Corporation Limited, announced that as many as 399 Christians and 366 Muslims, entering professional courses would receive their scholarships this year. He also said next year there were plans to introduce educational loans at a low interest rate of 3 per cent for poor students from minority communities.

State ready to face monsoon: Stalin

Local administration minister M. K. Stalin on Sunday reviewed the arrangements for monsoon relief by the city corporation. He also inspected the community halls in Perambur and Gopalapuram that are kept ready to accommodate public in case of water inundation. The minister also took a stock on the noon meal centres that are kept ready by the corporation in low-lying areas.

"Community halls, government schools and noon meal centres are kept ready to accommodate people in case of necessity. Currently the situation is normal and there is no need for any evacuation," Mr Stalin told reporters during his inspection. The chief minister has instructed government machinery to be alert in the wake of downpour. Following the instruction, state ministers have camped in several districts to ensure early monsoon relief measures. Corporations and local bodies across the state have been told to be alert, Mr Stalin said. Pointing out that the corporation has taken several preliminary arrangements to tackle monsoon, he hoped there would no be major water inundation in the city.

Till now 139 storm water works measuring about 55 kilometres have been completed at a cost of Rs 22 crores. Further 151 storm water drain works to a distance of 35 km at a cost of Rs 25 crores are underway, Mr Stalin said.

In a span of one hour the corporation would provide food to 6,000 evacuated people and two noon meal centres are kept ready for the purpose. Captain canal, Kodungayur canal and Mambalam canal have already been desilted. Currently desiltation of Virugambakkam canal and Otteri Nullah is underway, Mr Stalin added.

Mayor M. Subramanian, corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni, Perambur MLA S. K. Mahendran accompanied Stalin during his visit. Meanwhile a government press release said Mr. Stalin conducted a review meting at the secretariat on the monsoon arrangements made by the local bodies and village panchayats across the state.

The corporation authorities are also monitoring parts of Velachery, Perambur and Pulianthope where water inundation is common during monsoon. On Saturday the corporation commissioner Rakesh Lakhoni held a high level meeting among the corporation officers of all ten zones.

Rs 65 lakh seized from kidney scam doctor

Investigators from the income tax department have so far seized cash and jewels worth more than Rs 65 lakh from the house and lockers of Dr. P. Ravichandran arrested in connection with the kidney scandal and the lockers of his family members.

"Apart from Rs 23 lakh we recovered from the doctor's house in Mugalivakkam, Rs. 26 lakh in currency was seized from the bank locker of his wife. Jewels worth nearly Rs 16 lakh were also recovered from her locker," a senior IT official told this newspaper on Sunday. The investigators had found the cash bundles stuffed in the lofts when they raided doctor's house immediately after he was arrested by Mumbai police. A kidney donor had complained to the Mumbai police that the doctor had cheated him by not paying the promised amount of Rs. 4 lakh for his kidney. IT officials have been questioning the family members of Dr. Ravichandran for the last couple of days. "We questioned his wife also. We are sure that he had conducted scores of kidney transplants charging something between Rs 10 lakh and 15 lakh per operation. We are trying to find out where he had parked his funds," the official noted.

The IT sleuths who now have a clear picture about the doctor's modus operandi feel that the doctor could have lot of benami investments. The Mumbai police had picked up the doctor's brother- in- law along with another surgeon for further enquiries.

The arrested doctor was functioning from St Thomas hospital in St. Thomas Mount and Bharati Rajaa Hospital in T Nagar. Following the arrest, the government had cancelled the kidney transplant licences given to these hospitals.

According to IT official, Dr. Ravichandran had one guest house and many rented bungalows in Nandambakkam for lodging the kidney patients arriving from foreign countries. "He kept a doctor in one of these guest house just to look after residential patients," the officer noted. "He had a nine member team to take care of the surgeries. As soon as the kidney is removed from the donor's body, it will be replanted into the patient's body. The surgeries are usually conducted early in the morning,' he added. It may be recalled that scores of kidney patients who were staying in the guest houses in Nandambakkam had vanished within two days of the news of the arrest of the doctor.

Nehru's policies caused Kashmir problem

Accusing successive Congress governments of "inept handling" of internal security, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said the "faulty" policies of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are responsible for the Kashmir problem.

"The issue of integration of states after Independence was handled cleverly by Sardar VallabhBhai Patel but Nehru, who took charge of handling the Jammu and Kashmir issue, failed in his endeavour and referred the matter to the UN," he said addressing a function organised to release a special internal security edition of RSS monthly Rastradharma here.

Mr Advani alleged that the Congress mishandling of internal security led to the border dispute with China and "India had to face the defeat" in the 1962 Chinese aggression. He also attacked the Congres for "failing miserably" in dealing with terrorism and the Naxalite problem and was going in for a nuclear deal with the US due to which the country would lose its nuclear autonomy.

Claiming that the Bharatiya Jan Sangh was the first party that demanded conducting tests in its convention at Varanasi in 1966, Mr Advani said after the first nuclear test in Pokhran 1974, the Congress "could not muster the courage to conduct further tests". He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had in the Rajya Sabha opposed the Pokhran nuclear tests conducted by the NDA regime in 1998.

4 Indians abducted from Nigeria oil rig

In yet another case of those infamous Nigerian abductions for ransom, three young technicians from a village in south Tamil Nadu and one from Thane in Maharashtra were picked up along with two Polish crew by armed militants from an offshore rig off Port Harcourt in the oil-rich African country on Friday, according to information reaching here.

"The Nigerian militants boarded the oil rig, Floating Production Storage & Offloading (FPSO) of Mystras at 6 am local time (1100 IST) and took away the six men, including two Polish nationals. They are demanding US$ 50 million. We are very worried," said Jaipal Sudarshan, brother of abducted Ajith Kamaraj

Better Eye Sight

Teacher to student; “tell me, who has better eyesight, a human or a bird?”

Student: “A bird, sir”.

Teacher: “How can you say that?”

Student: “Birds never wear glasses”

Before And After marriage

A well dressed mouse was going on the road. Another mouse asked him, “Where are you going? He replied, “To attend the marriage of his cousin, the LION. He enquired, “But you are a mouse, how could your cousin be a lion,” The former answered back. “Before marriage, I was also a lion.”

Advice Misunderstood

A patient was suffering from cold during the winter season and he went to a doctor. The doctor gave him a medicine for 3 days and advised him not to take bath., After about month, he again came to the doctor and asked, “Dr can I take bath now”.