Saturday, May 17, 2008

Court slaps Rs 5 mn fine on Vodafone

New Delhi: Terming its prize scheme on more talk-time usage a case of "corporate greed, a consumer court has imposed a fine of Rs.5 million on leading mobile service provider Vodafone Essar."The company is indirectly promoting its business by offering prizes of 10 gold coins a day and one bumper prize of Maruti SX4 car to its subscribers whose talk-time is more than 20 minutes a day, which is unfair," said Justice J.D. Kapoor, president of the Delhi State Consumer Commission. Justice Kapoor, in his order Friday, directed that out of the fine amount Rs.100,000 shall be paid to the Society of Catalysts, a consumer voluntary organisation which had filed the complaint, and the remaining shall be deposited in the Delhi State Consumer Welfare Fund (legal aid). Vodafone had recently launched a scheme in which subscribers using talk-time of more than 20 minutes a day stood a chance to win gold coins every day and a car in a draw. To become eligible for the scheme, a large number of subscribers made unwanted calls, the complaint said.The complaint was filed through former Delhi chief secretary Omesh Saigal who argued the case in person. Denying the charge, Vodafone said the purpose of the scheme was first for the benefit of its high-end users, second for the benefit of the subscribers as a whole and third to reward their loyalty and usage and not to promote the firm's business interest. Justice Kapoor rejected the firm's plea and observed that if it was for the benefit of high-end users then every subscriber who had in the past called for more than 20 minutes a day should have been given prizes and if it was for the general benefit of all subscribers the scheme should have been open to all and not restricted to those with talk-time of more than 20 minutes a day. The NGO had conducted a sample survey and found that at least 10 percent of the subscribers were aware of the scheme and were making unnecessary calls to participate in the contest.The survey showed more than 40 million subscribers participated in this contest.

India reach Azlan Shah final after 12 yrs

Ipoh (Malaysia): India pulled off a narrow 2-1 win in their last round robin match against hosts Malaysia to book a berth in the final of the Azlan Shah hockey tournament here today.

First half goals by Shivendra Singh (9th) and Sandeep Singh (10th) put India in the driver's seat in the crucial match and they maintained the lead till the last minute before Mohammad Amin Rahim shot home a consolation goal for Malaysia.

With this win, India gathered 12 points from their six matches and set up a title clash against Argentina, who have finished with 14 points, tomorrow.

India, who lost their first two matches, continued with their impressive turnaround in the tournament to register their fourth consecutive victory and make the Azlan Shah final after a gap of 12 years.

India tried to keep the Malaysians under control in today's game and in the initial minutes Sunil had a golden chance to score the first goal when he took the ball with a solo run and had a shy at the Malaysian post without succeeding in beating home goalkeeper Subramanian.

Then it was the run of Indian keeper Adrian D'Souza, who continued with his good showing against Pakistan and single-handedly blocked three back-to-back attempts by the Malaysian strikers.

India got into lead in the 9th minute when a Sandeep Singh slapshot from outside the Malaysian circle was deflected in by Shivendra Singh.

The spirited Indian forwards initiated a few more moves, one of which resulted in two consecutive penalty corners in the 10th minute. The Malaysians warded off the two threats but conceded a penalty stroke off the second short corner. Sandeep Singh fooled the Malaysian custodian without much trouble to give his team a 2-0 lead.
The hosts came closer to open their account when a defensive lapse allowed Ismail Abu to take the inside the circle and shoot at the Indian post with only Adrian to beat. But the Malaysian hit it wide to spoil the chance.

Adrian was again in the thick of action when a good clearance from him prevented Seva Raju's attempt off a nice move.

The game became a drab affair with players from both sides getting involved in some mundane action in the last 15 minutes of the first session.

After the break, Indian strikers showed some agility and created a few opportunities.

Sunil hogged limelight with a gem of a move as he dribbled past some Malaysian defenders with skillful stick-work and tried score through a reverse hit. But the ever alert Subramanian stood like a wall to avoid any further damage.

Very soon India won two more penalty corners, but could not extend their lead because of their poor execution.

The home team stepped up their attack and earned two more short corners, but their efforts went in vain due to the impregnable Adrian.

The Malaysians stepped on the accelerator in the closing minutes to give some nervy moments for the Indians.

They got a penalty corner a few seconds before the hooter and Mohammad Amin Rahim at last put it past Adrian to score the consolation goal.

Bharti's MTN chase hits hurdle

NEW DELHI: Bharti-MTN negotiation on the proposed merger has hit a regulatory roadblock. A senior banker close to the deal said first round of talks in London has ended on a cordial note but left a huge task ahead - to find ways to overcome regulatory hurdles, particularly in India. It is learnt that Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal has agreed to go for merger of both the entities as it would create huge synergies but sought help from MTN management to find solution for meeting FDI norm in India, which stipulates that foreign holding in a telecom company cannot exceed 74%. According to the source, MTN management wants the deal to be completed at around 175 rand per share, which makes its market capitalisation of the company at about $50 billion. The source added that MTN management wants 50% of the deal should be done in cash and the rest through share-swap. Even if Bharti pays $25 billion cash, it will have to issue fresh shares worth $25 billion to MTN shareholders to complete the deal. Around 65% of the holdings in Airtel Bharti (M-cap around $40 billion) is with foreign entities. Issuance of fresh shares of $25 billion to MTN's shareholders will take foreign holding in the joint entity to over 78%, which is not allowed under Indian FDI norms. One way out is to increase cash component. But the source said Bharti is not even comfortable with 50% cash component, as it would require the Indian company to arrange for $25 billion. The company has tied up $12 billion. So it needs to raise $13 billion more. He added that raising entire amount under debt would create huge debt liability, which the company would like to avoid. Raising money through selling equity would also be difficult, as without participation from FIIs, it would not be possible for the company to raise such a large funds from the market. FIIs' subscription in equity would make it difficult to maintain FDI norm in share-swap. As FIIs' holding in Bharti Airtel is around 25%, the source said merger might face regulatory hurdle. The merger would also face problem in clearing the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) norms in South Africa, where 20% of merged entity's shareholding should be with black investors. If cash component is increased, proportion of black investors might go down below statutory requirements. Success of the deal now depends on merchant bankers, who will have to ensure that the deal goes through without violating regulatory norms.

Godman stages suicide bid before media, escapes with injuries

Aluva, May 17 (PTI) Controversial Kerala godman Himaval Maheswara Bhadrananda created a flutter by attempting suicide with his licensed pistol at a police station here today but escaped with minor injuries after police snatched the weapon from him in time. Television footage showed two shots being fired from Bhadrananda's pistol as police tried to snatch the pistol in front of a large media contingent gathered at the Aluva police station.
The media gathered at the police station after Swami, accused of threatening journalists of a local newspaper, called up a TV journalist and told her that he was going to shoot himself at his residence following which police were informed. The police then brought him to the police station.
Despite repeated pleas by police to hand over the pistol, Bhadrananda refused to do so and was seen pointing the gun to his head and stomach as he continued to talk to the police and some one on his mobile phone. Bhadrananda suffered a minor injury on his left arm while it was a miraculous escape for police and media personnel standing close by.
He was arrested and three cases have been registered against the godman for attempt to murder, attempt to commit suicide and misusing licensed weapon for illegal purposes, police said, adding that he was being questioned by top officials. Meanwhile, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said spiritual fraudsters would be dealt with sternly.
"No doubt, these kind of people would be dealt with sternly and the rackets operated by them suppressed mercilessly. They have become a grave threat to social peace and security, he said, adding what had happened in the police station was a slur on image of the police and it would be investigated.

I hope good sense will prevail on N-deal: PM

Maintaining that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal was in India's interest, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asserted that the country's strategic programme would remain unaffected by it and hoped 'good sense' would prevail among the Left parties.
To press his justification of the deal, he cited the support the agreement has got from former President A P J Abdul Kalam, former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and the scientific community.
Kalam, Mishra and the scientific community are of the "near unanimous opinion that the nuclear deal is in our national interest," Singh told journalists in Bagdogra before wrapping up his two-day visit to Bhutan.
The deal will enlarge our options to produce nuclear power, the Prime Minister said.
Seeking to allay apprehensions about the deal, he said, "We will continue to protect our strategic programme. I sincerely hope that good sense will prevail," he added.
Asked whether the May 28 meeting of UPA-Left committee on nuclear deal would be the last, he merely said, "let us wait and see."

Sonia, Advani, Mayawati campaign in north Karnataka

Bangalore, May 17 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Saturday campaigned for their party candidates in north Karnataka ahead of the third and final phase of assembly elections May 22.
The battle in Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bagalakot and Belgaum districts for 69 seats in the 224-member house is mainly between the Congress and BJP. BSP has fielded candidates in 217 constituencies across the state in a bid to enter the state assembly for the first time. Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) headed by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda is also contesting most of the seats in north Karnataka though it is perceived to have little mass base in the area. Voting took place for 89 seats in 11 districts on May 16 in the first phase and for 66 seats in 10 in districts in the second phase Friday. Counting is on May 25. Gandhi addressed meetings in Hubli, a busy commercial centre in Dharwad district and in Gulbarga from where state Congress chief Mallikharjun Kharge and former Congress chief minister N. Dharam Singh are seeking re-election for a record ninth time in a row. Dharam Singh is contesting from his home constituency Jewargi for the ninth time while Kharge had to shift from his home constituency Gurmitakal to neighbouring Chitapur (reserved for Scheduled Castes) as Gurmitkal has been de-reserved. Gandhi told people in Hubli and Gulbarga that the Congress, if voted to power, will ensure all-round development of north Karnataka which lags behind south Karnataka in several aspects. While she accused BJP of dividing people on the basis of religion and caste, Advani in his speeches at Bidar said the Congress was soft on terrorism because of its 'vote-bank politics'.

PM for separate agency to deal with terrorism

Bagdogra (West Bengal), May 17 (IANS) Making a forceful pitch for a separate authority to deal with crimes threatening the country's security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said several states showed reluctance to surrender power to such an agency.
His comments came against the backdrop of well-coordinated terrorist attacks across India in the last two years including the serial blasts in Jaipur this week and the challenges faced by both the security and intelligence establishments in coping with new-age terror, especially attacks with an element of surprise. 'Creating such an agency will facilitate the freedom to investigate crime which has inter-state aspects. Today many of these crimes, both terrorist and white-collar crimes, have multi-state aspects which need to be looked into,' said Manmohan Singh, while returning from his two-day visit to Bhutan. 'It is not a task which can be effectively discharged by a single agency of any particular state. So I think there is a case and we should explore the possibilities recognising that there is such a thing as federal crime and that investigation of federal crime should be entrusted to an agency which would be fully equipped to discharge this onerous function.' Manmohan Singh refused to comment on the investigations into the Jaipur blasts but said investigators would 'come to a decisive conclusion'. He added: 'Our intelligence structure has not weakened but it is certainly true that new challenges have arisen and assumed a more menacing form. 'The technology of terror has been miniaturised and they (terrorists) also have the advantage of surprise.' The prime minister admitted there was a 'systems problem', referring to intelligence capacities, but the need was to upgrade them, especially in states where core policing was ineffective. Manmohan Singh said the objective of the Jaipur attacks, which killed at least 61 people Tuesday evening, was to disturb the communal situation in the country and prevent normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. 'We have to be mindful of such nefarious designs and the aim is to adopt right strategies.' To a question on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's letter requesting him to hold a meeting of chief ministers to take stock of internal security, he said he had no hesitation in calling a meet but requested political parties to refrain from politicising the issue. 'I think this is not a matter which should divide political parties. I think terrorism constitutes a menace to our civilised existence and all political parties have an obligation not to politicise the human miseries that terrorists can inflict on innocent citizens of the country,' he said. 'The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and all political parties have an obligation to work together and to put their heads together to deal with this menace.'

Jaipur blasts trigger alert in Pak bound trains

Jodhpur, May 17(ANI): High alert has been sounded in trains to Pakistan after Jaipur has been hit by serial blasts on May 13 killing over 70 people. Security has been stepped up in Thar Express, a cross country weekly train between Jodhpur in India's Rajasthan state and Karachi in Pakistan's Sindh province.
Security officials said that thorough checks are being carried out and all passengers are being checked for anti-sabotage in the train.

Arresting inflation will take time, we must have patience: PM

Bagdogra (West Bengal), May 17 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Saturday accepted that inflation in the country was a matter of concern, and reiterated that his government was taking all possible steps to reduce it.
Interacting with the media here after ending his two-day visit to Bhutan, Dr. Singh said that when the UPA Government had come to power in May 2004, inflation was six percent, and his government had managed to bring it down to between five and five-and-a-half percent.
"Inflation is a problem, our objective was to keep inflation between 5 and 51/2 percent. When we came to office inflation rate was 6 percent. We succeeded in bringing it down. But in the last one year, there have been events over which we have no control but which have influenced the sentiments of prices in our country. There has been an investment boom all over the world and the prices of metal, steel, and cement have all shot up and as a result the whole sale price index in our country is now verging close to eight percent per annum," he said.
In the last year, however, he said, that there has been an investment boom all over the world, and as a result the prices of such commodities as steel, cement and oil had spiralled out of control, pushing domestic inflation up to nearly eight percent (7.83 percent).
We have taken effective steps - I have met the steel manufacturers and asked them, the commerce and industries minister to persuade the cement industry to moderate their price behaviour. I have been assured that action will be taken so I am hopeful that in the next few weeks there will be a moderation in the inflation, but I think we must not forget that what we are trying to do is in some ways unusual," he said.
"If inflation is the only problem, we could have a drastic monetary policy, sharply reducing the money supply by raising interest rates, but that will land us in a serious industrial recession and unemployment. We want to control inflation without hurting the rhythm of the growth process, which is moving forward at 8- 81/2 to 9 percent in the last four years. There is no magic solution to the problem. Prices do rise in the period between May and September," Singh added.
Furthermore, he emphatically said that the pressure of inflation had not be allowed to percolate down to the poorest of the poor or the underprivileged sections of society. They had been spared. Oil prices may have gone up, but the government had ensured that the prices of kerosene oil had remained at the same level, as it was a product used in a majority of households across the country.
"I would like to say that the government has adopted significant measures to insulate the poor and the underprivileged sections of society from the effects of inflation. In the last four years, prices of food grain through the public distribution system to both the above poverty line and below poverty line have not been increased at all. This has happened at a time when we have to give our farmers hefty increases by way of procurement prices to give them an added incentive to produce more wheat and rice," he said.
"Now it is because of this delicate balance, it is not easy and it takes time that transition problems arise - my request to every one concerned is to have patience. I am confident that with the excellent procurement of food grains - both wheat and rice, if we have a normal monsoon, we will see a moderation in the price behaviour, but one has to be patient," the Prime Minister said.
"One cannot say each week that the government must take some measures to bring down the prices or have some solutions, because you must recognize that even in a normal year, prices do rise seasonally between May and September. The real test will be the measures that we have taken, the RBI measures to raise the cash reserve ratio and other measures taken by the government to liberalise the import regime and restrict the exports I request the public at large and political parties to give these measures a chance to succeed. My feeling is that if the monsoons are normal in the next few weeks you will see a moderation in inflation after September 15th," Singh said.
"There has been a sea change in the international environment for energy. When we came to office the price of a barrel of oil was 35-36 dollars, today it is 122 dollars per barrel. We have to ensure that there will no adverse effects on the poorest sections.
"Our government has a two-fold strategy to increase production, ultimately that is the only way to bring about a balance between supply and demand without hurting the growth process.
"Imports need to be liberalised so that any attempt to cartelization by domestic producers can be discouraged. To discourage exports where necessary so that more supplies are available for the poorest sections of our society and simultaneously to see that our PDS is so operated that the poor are protected to a maximum extent possible against rising prices," the Prime Minister concluded. By Ashok Dixit (ANI)

Friday, May 16, 2008

The four Indian workers kidnapped in Sudan are expected to be released by Sunday, officials said in New Delhi.

Needing nothing short of a victory in their last round-robin match to reach the final, India will leave no stone unturned when they meet hosts Malaysia on Saturday in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Victory over Malaysia is essential for India as it will earn them a title clash against Argentina. But if the match ends in a draw, Pakistan will enter the final because of better goal difference.
The Indians are brimming with confidence after defeating three Beijing [Images] Olympics-bound teams in a row, but they will have to focus on containing the fast-moving Malaysians to snatch full points.
India stun Pakistan for third straight win
"The Malaysians are faster on their feet and quicker in movements. They rely on speed. Our prospects therefore would depend on who would control the tempo of the game," India's coach A K Bansal said.
"We have defeated three Beijing-bound teams (Canada [Images], Belgium and Pakistan). Theirs (Malaysia) is a senior team playing at home. But [now that] my boys have tasted success, they won't let go the opportunity easily," he said.
Bansal feels the Malaysians are good at penalty-corner conversions and India must tighten their defence to ward off that danger.
Malaysia have been tough opponents for India over the years. Last year, in the same tournament, India lost 0-1 to them in the semi-finals and missed the title match. This time though the hosts are languishing at the bottom of the table after badly losing their last three matches.
"This is an important match for us. I feel the Malaysians at home are very dangerous. In the existing situation, I feel we face the toughest challenge and we cannot afford to commit any mistake," Bansal said.
The Indian coach expressed happiness that all his 18 players are fit.
"Left-half Ranjeet Singh and striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi are fully fit. Now, my difficulty is to locate two players whom I can rest," he said.
Asked why V Raghunath is not being utilised, Bansal said, "How can I have three drag-flickers on the field? Both Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram select themselves on merit. I really face problems in making choices. All the 18 players are in good nick."
Sounding a word of caution, manager Pargat Singh said the Indian midfield should get its act together against the hosts.
"My concern is the midfield. We easily cave in and offer much leeway to the attackers due to a weak midfield. Unless the players understand this, things can go wrong against a team like Malaysia," he added.

Sudan: Abducted Indians may be freed soon

The four Indian workers kidnapped in Sudan are expected to be released by Sunday, officials said in New Delhi.
Negotiations for release of the hostages are progressing well, the officials told PTI, adding they could be free in a day or two.
P K Abhilash, Mohd Aseeb Shaikh, Biplab Biswas and Surjeet Singh, working for a private oil company Petro Energy Contracting Services, were abducted on Tuesday suspectedly by local gangs in oil-rich Heglig area in southern Sudan.
Kidnappers were soon identified and negotiations opened through various channels.

Hijacker working as cleaner at Heathrow?

One of the nine Afghans involved in a hijacking eight years ago was arrested after he was found working at Heathrow airport as a cleaner. Nazamuddin Mohammidy (34) was one of a group who took over an internal Afghan flight in 2000 and landed it in the UK, where they threatened to kill those on board unless they were granted asylum. Now it has emerged Mohammidy was recently arrested while driving a car around the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport.
Police suspected he was an unlicensed cab driver but were stunned when checks revealed he was one of the hijackers. He even had a British Airways pass on him.
British Airways spokesman said Mohammidy did not work inside the airport and did not have an airside pass.
'We have been helping the police with their inquiries into a man who is employed by our cleaning contractors. He does not work at the airport and does not hold an airside pass. He works at one of our properties about a mile away.'
Metropolitan police said the Afghan has been arrested at Heathrow and 'is going to appear in court. He has been charged with bodily assault and was in breach of bail.'
Mohammidy was among the gang, which claimed they were fleeing the Taliban and took over an Ariana airlines jet on an internal flight in Afghanistan in February 2000 armed with firearms and hand grenades.
The Boeing 727, with 160 passengers on board, was diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex. There the hijackers kept police and Special Armed Squad marksmen at bay for four days before giving themselves up.
All hijackers were jailed, but later had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal. They have since been living in West London [Images] rent-free and on state benefits at an annual cost of 150,000 pounds to the taxpayer.
Mohammidy was arrested over an assault charge. He is accused of beating up his former landlord.
Scotland Yard spokesman said Mohammidy had appeared in court over the bail breach, which took place in December. He will reappear before magistrates in Ealing on May 19.

Missing SIMI activist behind Jaipur blasts?

The recent serial bomb blasts in Jaipur may have links with Indore as one of the sketches of suspects released by Rajasthan police resembles an activist of the Students of Islamic Movement of India absconding from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
More: Serial blasts rock Jaipur
Though Madhya Pradesh police are tight-lipped in this regard, all the indications are directed towards SIMI activists Abu Faisal, who was arrested from a hotel in the Gwaltoli area of the city in 2006 while attending a meeting of the banned organisation. He was release later on bail.
According to sources, Faisal has been actively involved in anti-national and illegal activities since his release and was absconding after March 27, 2007.
Police Superintendent Anshuman Singh Yadav told PTI that he was unable to say anything on the issue and said that so far Jaipur (Rajasthan) Police had not contacted the state police.
However, he said that Madhya Pradesh police were in search of Faisal, but it has nothing to do with Jaipur bomb blasts.

'Strategic repositioning' of troops begins in J&K

Anticipating the possibility of more attempts by terrorists to cross the border, security forces in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] are carrying out 'strategic repositioning' to foil such bids.
Troops already present in the state are being redeployed and repositioned to deal effectively with any attempt to cross the border, army sources said in New Delhi.
They said no fresh troops were being moved into J&K apparently in the wake of bid by militants to cross the international border Samba in Jammu and firing at Indian post in Pangdhar in north Kashmir.
With snow melting on the upper reaches of Pir Panjal range countless passes have opened up and these are used by Pakistani militants to cross into Kashmir.
Redeployment of the troops in counter insurgency grid is being undertaken in view of threat by terrorists to step up violence in Kashmir.

BJP gains lead in K'taka 2nd phase: Exit poll

Bharatiya Janata Party emerged on top with 32-42 out of the 66 seats, which went to polls in the second phase of Karnataka assembly elections on Friday followed by Congress (15-20) and Janata Dal-Secular (8-12), according to an exit poll by NDTV news channel.
More: Battleground Karnataka
The BJP's vote share marked a three per cent swing in its favour, while Congress faced a loss of one per cent votes and JD-S two per cent, it said.
Others were expected to win around 2-4 seats, the exit poll said.
The saffron party had emerged winners also in the first phase of the poll held on May 10 when polling was held in 89 seats, according to the exit poll by the channel on that day.
After exit polls covering 155 seats (more than half of the total of 224), BJP has been projected to get 73 seats, Congress 45 and JD-S 42.
The third and final phase of polling will cover 69 seats.
A total of 66 Assembly constituencies in ten districts of Karnataka went to polls in the second phase of election, which decides the electoral fortunes of BJP chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, former chief minister S Bangarappa and former deputy chief minister M P Prakash.

Abhishek joins Ash in Cannes








On the second day, Ash walked the red carpet for French cosmetics giant L'oreal -- which she endorses -- with husband Abhishek in tow. Ash swapped her black gown for a slimmer sheath in grey and left her hair loose. Abhishek, in a black tuxedo, didn't do so bad either.







MTN's Nhleko, a soft-spoken dealmaker

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Phuthuma Nhleko, chief executive of South Africa's MTN, is one of the country's best-known black businessmen and may be eyeing the top position if his company ties up with Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel.
Nhleko, a U.S.-educated civil engineer turned corporate financier and MTN's CEO since 2002, has been instrumental in growing the company into a group with more than 68 million subscribers and operations in 21 African countries and in the Middle East.
A successful deal between MTN and Bharti would create the world's six-largest with more than 130 million subscribers.
Talks between the two companies are, however, at an exploratory stage and a number of other parties interested in sub-Saharan Africa's biggest mobile phone operator have emerged since news of the discussions broke earlier this month.
Emirates Telecommunications said last week that it was evaluating a possible bid for MTN, and China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier, has said it is interested in the South Africa market, but it has not yet bid.
If MTN and Bharti do eventually merge, analysts believe Nhleko would want to run the combined business.
"I am sure Phuthuma wouldn't want to disappear off the scene. I think he is still probably ambitious and wants to be involved and possible want to lead any combined group as CEO," said Rajay Ambekar, a portfolio manager at Cadiz African Harvest.
Media reports and analysts say Bharti may seek a merger or share swap with MTN to avoid a prolonged bidding war for the South African phone firm.
MTN, with a 290 billion rand ($38.36 billion) market capitalisation, operates in countries in east, central and west Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Zambia and Uganda.
Under Nhleko, it has also pushed into Iran, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan as well as Cyprus. Given its penetration in many difficult markets and hefty market value, analysts believe Nhleko is unlikely to allow MTN to go cheaply.
And if Bharti Airtel or any suitor is prepared to pay a premium to buy a stake in MTN, Nhleko and his top five management team stand to make a bundle.
Nhleko and four other executive directors own 26 percent of Newshelf 664 -- a management and staff-owned vehicle -- which in turn owns 13.09 percent of MTN.
The directors' stake is valued at nearly 10 billion rand ($1.31 billion) and Nhleko's share is worth about 2.9 billion rand.
MEDIA-SHY
Nhleko is an astute dealmaker, and spearheaded MTN's acquisition of Investcom in 2006 -- the 11th biggest M&A deal in South Africa since 1991.
He has been instrumental in transforming MTN from the second-largest mobile group in South Africa into sub-Saharan Africa's top player, while the acquisition of Investcom brought a substantial presence in the Middle East.
Despite all the international growth, however, MTN remains number 2 in its home country, where Vodacom has more subscribers.
Before joining MTN, soft-spoken and media-shy Nhleko was a chief executive of Worldwide Africa Investment -- in which he is still a majority shareholder.
He established Worldwide Africa Investments after a stint in corporate finance at Standard Bank, where he sharpened his dealmaking skills.
Away from deals, Nhleko relaxes by reading and listening to avant garde jazz. He holds an MBA from Atlanta University and a civil engineering degree from Ohio State University.

Inflation rises to 7.83%

There is no respite for the common man from rising prices. Despite the government's efforts to control runaway price-rise, inflation rose to a 44-month high of 7.83 per cent for the week ended May 3, against 7.61 per cent in the previous week, mainly on account of rising prices of essential food items and some manufactured products.
Inflation was last above this level at 7.87 per cent on September 11, 2004 as per provisional figures and 7.86 per cent for the week ended September 18, 2004, according to final figures.
The WPI based index inflation stood at 5.74 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago.
During the week, prices of food articles like fruits and vegetables, spices, coffee, masoor rose, compounding worries of the government and RBI amid a slowdown in industrial growth.
Among food articles, fruits and vegetables went up by 3 per cent, coffee 6 per cent, maize 4 per cent, spices and masoor by 1 per cent each. Even in manufactured category, prices of food articles like atta, coconut oil and khandsari went up.
However, prices of cement, iron and steel declined, giving some respite to the government.
Prices of some industrial fuels like naphtha, furnace oil and light diesel oil also shot up.
The Friday inflation data shook the stock markets too as the Sensex that was up by over 300 points in the morning, slipped into the red.
Last week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said that the prices of essential commodities had begun to come down and this would be reflected in the inflation index after some time.
He had said that the inflation figures released last Friday had come as a 'big relief' as it showed that the prices have stabilised.
Meanwhile, reports said that retail food prices had generally remained steady in the early part of May, despite the rise in inflation.
Barring groundnut oil, prices of 13 essential commodities in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai retail markets remained steady during the week ended May 9, according a government statement.
Prices of pulses and edible oils that have risen in the last few weeks due to short supply of the commodity in the country have remained unchanged.
In order to arrest rising food prices, the government on March 31 had cut the import duty on all edible oils. It extended the ban on export of pulses for one more year. Last week, it also suspended chana, potato, soya oil and rubber from futures trading.
Inflation, the silent killer: Complete Coverage

Brunei Sultan to visit India from May 20

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Ruler of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'Lzzaddin Waddaulah will undertake a four-day State visit here from May 20 during which the two sides will sign four pacts, including Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA). Sultan Waddaullah will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on wide range of issues, particularly focussing on ways to enhance economic ties between the two countries.
The two sides will sign BIPPA besides MoUs on Information and Communication Technology, Trade and Economic Cooperation and Cooperation in the spheres of culture, arts, mass media and sports. The Brunei Sultan will also meet President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed.

Cong attacks BJP on Jaipur blasts

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Stepping up its attack on the BJP on the Jaipur blasts, Congress today accused senior leader L K Advani and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of attempting to whip up communal frenzy in the poll-bound state. The AICC also hailed Shivraj Patil as a "successful" Home Minister and pushed for a federal crime investigating agency to deal with acts of terror.
"Terrorists should be condemned and those who are trying to take political advantage of the situation should also be condemned," party spokesman Shakil Ahmed told reporters. Ahmed said the job of "responsible" politicians is to calm the situation after incidents like terror attacks, but the language used by Advani and Raje showed that they are "trying to flare up the situation.
Gujarat is their role model". Asked to elaborate on the Congress dig that in Rajasthan after "8 PM, no CM", he said that "8 PM" is reference to "some advertisements on TV, about which I am not much aware".
Seeking to put the blame on the BJP government in Rajasthan over the failure to prevent the blasts, Ahmed, who is also Minister of State for Home, said that law and order is primarily the responsibility of the state government. Replying to questions on the "competence" of those heading North Block, Ahmed hailed Shivraj Patil as a "successful" Home Minister whose tenure, he said, has seen decline in the terrorist acts.
To a query whether the Centre was afraid to name Pakistan and Bangladesh in the wake of the terror strikes, he said such a perception was wrong. He said a federal crime investigating agency would strengthen the hands of the government in dealing with acts of terror.

Cops turn eye on Jaipur's Bangladeshi enclave

One of the features of Jaipur is that it a locality mostly comprising Bangladeshi migrants -- Bagrana. With the needle of suspicion pointing to the Bangladesh-based Harkat ul Jihad al Islami or HuJI, the Rajasthan police have turned their attention towards this transit camp.
Two days after the serial blasts, Bagrana, which lies eight km from the city on the Agra [Images] highway, is teeming with police vehicles. The police now focus on Bagrana because initial investigations indicated that one of the perpetrators, who bought a cycle used in the blast, spoke Hindi with a Bengali accent.
A police team arrived on Thursday morning and began checking the credentials of those in the basti.
"We have been asked to find out if any new person has come here. We have a door-to-door checking with the help of photo IDs. Those whose names are not on our records will be taken for questioning," Jeevan Ram Bishnoi, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jaipur rural, said.
The photo IDs he is talking about are the ones taken five years ago, when a large number of Bangladeshi migrants were relocated here from inside the city. Till then they were living in shanties outside the Jaipur railway station. The locals protested the presence of encroachment within the city and they were moved to Bagrana.
"Three months before we moved, the authorities came to us and asked what we lacked. We said we did not have a roof over our heads and there was no electricity. The authorities promised to give us both if we relocated en masse to Bagrana. True to their word, they provided us kuchcha houses and electricity supply," Mohammed Dabloo Miyan, a Bangladeshi who migrated to India 17 years ago, said.
Though officially, the Bagrana transit camp has 5000 people, many say the number may be high. But the policemen are not deterred.
"Our brief is to check everyone's credentials and find out if anyone had come here recently, including those who were visiting relatives," Bishnoi said as his men went from hut to hut with a community leader in tow.
Though the police are here only after the blasts, the intelligence department has always had its ears to the ground. The CID even has a dedicated junior officer tending to the basti.
"I have been monitoring this place for two years. It is a pain to keep tab of what is happening in such a huge population, especially when people are very reluctant to help," the officer, who did not want to be named, said.
Explaining how it is difficult to keep a tab on new entrants, he said: "Only three days ago, we found out that a new family had come in. Since I know the people, I identified the girl as someone from the basti who had left it long time ago. She has now returned. We had to detain her anyway since she is an illegal immigrant and technically she has come here only now. Like this there are so many people who keep going out and coming in all the time. It is really difficult to keep a tab."
The officer, however, claimed that the place is a hotbed of criminals.
"Most drug peddlers in Jaipur are from here. They are also involved in many other criminal activities," he said, adding that the police even arrested a man who allegedly gone to Pakistan for six months for arms training.
"This guy came here one day and my sources alerted me to it. When we picked him up and interrogated him, we found out that he had just returned from Pakistan and had missed the phone number of the contact he was to get in touch here for an operation. That time, a major attack was foiled," he said.
Another reason that makes it tough for the police and other agencies to monitor the transit camp is the disunity within the community. "The camp consists of both Bangladeshis and Bengali people. The two groups are always at each other's throats. The Bangladeshi camp is a closed group and they never give out any information," he said.
Residents, however, deny such charges.
"There are mostly rag pickers, rickshaw pullers and labourers. There might be one or two people who do wrong. But to blame the entire basti for that is not right," one of the residents said.
They also said the police never harass them and it was only after the blasts that they were asked not to venture out of the basti.
"But then, there was a curfew in town also. I strongly believe if you have not done any wrong, nobody will harm you. I saw a youngster being picked up from the basti and taken to police station in connection with a crime. This boy was a labourer and he was innocent."
"The moment a senior officer came in, he took one look at him and told the interrogators that he cannot be a culprit.
"Look at his face. He wouldn't be involved," that is the what the officer said. But the interrogators were not convinced and they thoroughly questioned him before realizing he was innocent and they let him off," Dabloo Miyan said.
Beyond everything, at least for early settlers like him, India is like a motherland.
"We won't go back to Bangladesh even if we are offered a comfortable life there. It is India that gave us a chance to earn a livelihood when there was nothing in Bangladesh and we will live here."
"All my six children were born here and I want to see them grow up here and do well for themselves," he said.

As inflation scorches India, FM loses cool

With inflation rising to 44-month high, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday warned steel and cement manufacturers of more administrative steps if rate cuts announced by them were not enough to check price rise.
"As I said we are waiting for steel and cement (prices) reductions to come into force but we always reserve the right to take administrative measures if they are not enough. But for the time being we simply have to remain a little patient," Chidambaram told reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.
Inflation, the silent killer: Complete coverage
Major steel producers decided to reduce prices by Rs 4,000 a tonne after meeting the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 7. Some cement companies have also announced Rs 3 to Rs 7.5 reduction on a bag of 50 kg.
He said if the price changes in steel and cement sectors kick in there is still expectation that inflation will moderate.
Steel and cement sectors together contribute 12 per cent to overall inflation.
For the week ended May 3, inflation rose to nearly four-year high of 7.83 per cent against 7.61 per cent in the previous week. But iron and steel prices declined by 1.7 per cent, while that of cement fell 0.4 per cent.
Chidambaram said that the rise in inflation during the week ended May 3 is "indeed worrying", but the decline in inflation rate in primary articles group is a silver-lining amidst dark clouds.
So far as the rise in inflation in fuel, power, light and lubricant category is concerned, the finance minister said "unless crude prices decline I am afraid we are stuck with high inflation in that group.
Some industrial fuels like naphtha prices increased by seven per cent, furnace oil by four per cent, light diesel oil and bitumen by two per cent during the week on account of flaring global crude oil prices.
Chidambaram said that in fuel, power and light group category, every item is linked to crude oil. In this category, lignite has shown a very sharp rise of 16.3 per cent because of overall fuel prices.
"I have asked people to look into why lignite prices have risen very sharply in the week," Chidambaram said.
In the manufactured category, he said, roll back of steel prices has not yet reflected in inflation during the week.
Aluminium, sulphate, synthetic yarn, agricultural implement have shown a sharp price rise, pushing up inflation in manufactured items category.
"The week has been a difficult week... I hope that what has happened in primary article group will be reflected sooner than later in the manufactured group. Overall, I am concerned but I hope we should just continue to be patient," Chidambaram said.

Jaipur blasts: 'Terrorists have no religion'

Twelve Muslims were killed and about 30 others from the community were injured in the serial blasts in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Muslim Forum said on Friday.
Of the total 64 deaths and 150 injured, the number of casualties from the community was 12 while 30 other Muslims were injured in the explosions, convenor of RMF, a conglomerate of 15 Muslim organisations, Kari Mueenudin told reporters in Jaipur.
He said there were economic losses to the traders of the community too as the business of jewellery, clothes, shoes and other artisan works are being done by the community.
Thousands of daily wage earners, mostly artisans, have not come back to work, he said.
Twenty per cent affected people were from the Muslim community, he said.
Kari said RMF wanted a fair probe to arrest the culprits responsible for carrying out the blasts.
"Terrorists have no religion., they just disturb communal harmony in a country like India, which is advancing and showing global presence," he said.
Kari said political parties should rise above party politics and enable the state and the Central governments to complete the investigation.

British PM concerned about tourists' safety in Goa

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed concern over the safety of British tourists in Goa [Images] and said that his government was ready to work with the Indian authorities to improve their safety at the tourist hotspot.
In a letter to Fiona MacKeown, Scarlett Keeling's mother who wrote to Brown about her daughter's death in March, the British prime minister said that his government had raised the matter with the Indian officials.
"While we cannot interfere with the investigation, British officials have continually worked to ensure the case is investigated thoroughly. I understand Scarlett's case was raised with a number of Indian officials," Brown said.
"During this, and other talks with Indian officials, we have raised a number of wider issues that have emerged as a result of Scarlett's death. Given the large numbers of British tourists visiting Goa each year, such tragic incidents affect their perceptions of India and Goa in particular," the British PM said in his letter.
Deaths of Britons have been reported in Goa in the recent years and the Scarlett case was also widely covered in the British media.
"We have offered to work with the Indian authorities to improve the safety of British tourists in the state through improving communication and information to tourists," Brown said.
Welcoming Brown's response, MacKeown said: "It is very good that the premier seems to be thinking along the same lines as myself in terms of seeking improvements in tourist safety in the region as well as offering British expertise on forensics and on policing."
Though, there has not been a noticeable drop in holiday bookings in Goa so far, tour operators fear the number of Britons may dip in final analysis.

Karnataka: Polling peaceful, turnout 60 per cent

Sixty per cent of an estimated 1.10 crore electorate exercised their franchise in the second phase of polling in 66 constituencies across 10 districts in Karnataka on Friday in a by and large trouble-free atmosphere, amid unprecedented security cover.
The security has been tightened in the light of Thursday's poll-related violence in which Naxalites shot dead two persons in Hebri in Udupi district and also some clashes between Congress and BJP workers in Bellary.
More than 56,000-strong security personnel's presence acted as a deterrent to trouble makers and also to Naxal outfits, which had given a call to voters to boycott polling in the districts of Udupi, Chikmagalur and Shimoga.
Polling station in areas which faced the threat were turned into a fortresses by securitymen and voters turned up in good numbers defying the boycott call.
No untoward incident was reported from the highly sensitive Bellary district following scaling up of protection in the wake of an alleged attack on a Congress worker by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former minister B Sriramulu on Thursday.
Barring two minor incidents of damaging EVMs, voting went on trouble free, police said.
In the first phase on May 10, an average of 66 per cent polling was recorded in 89 assembly constituencies.
Voters sealed the poll fortunes of 589 aspirants including BJP chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, his opponent in Shikaripura, S Bangarappa of Samajwadi Party, former Deputy chief minister M P Prakash, locked in a fierce battle against BJP MP G Karunakara Reddy in Davanagere's Harappanahalli segment and senior Congress leader R V Deshpande, bidding for seventh consecutive victory from his bastion Haliyal in Uttara Kannada district.

Pak Rangers may have helped in Samba infiltration

Maintaining that the role of Pakistani Rangers in the recent infiltration bid could not be ruled out, the BSF Friday said it would enhance its force strength by 1,000 in this sector and deploy high-tech gadgets.
Admitting that BSF had thought that the fencing was "impregnable", its Director General A K Mitra said "it is a lesson and we have learnt it... We are enhancing the strength by 1,000 personnel and deploying electronic gadgets which includes 22 hand-held thermal imagers."
He said the role of Pakistan Rangers' role in recent infiltration bid in this sector "cannot be ruled out" as "some cartridges used by the Rangers have been found."
Mitra's visit to Samba came in the backdrop of May 9 infiltration bid by militants from Pakistan and an encounter in which two terrorists were shot dead in the sector. Four civilians including a photo-journalist and two army jawans were also killed in the encounter.
To prevent any such infiltration bid in the future, Mitra said the fencing along the border at Samba would also be moved 100 metres towards the international border.
He said though the force had thought the fence was "impregnable", their "misunderstanding" has been cleared with the recent infiltration bid which he said was "partly successful as two to three people might have infiltrated."
"Militants had carried out recce before choosing spot for infiltration," he said.
About the re-fencing, Mitra said the 'bund' along with all vegetation would be cleared. Mitra also said two more battalions are being relieved of counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and they will now be posted in the Jammu region as reserves. Because of re-fencing 654 acres of land would be released for farmers, the DG said adding, the force would like to encourage them to do farming and it is there to protect them.
About support by Pakistan Rangers, he said the possibility can "never be ruled out". Mitra said two flag meetings were held with the Pakistan Rangers who have assured the force of extending their full cooperation to prevent such attacks. About infiltration from Bangladesh, he said it was a cause of concern but "the infiltration from that side is more of an economic migration."

Jaipur blasts: Hunt launched to identify suspected Bangladeshis

With the needle of suspicion pointing towards terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami in the May 13 serial blasts in Jaipur, the Rajasthan government has launched a manhunt to identify Bangladeshis "having criminal background" in the state within the next 30 days.
"Forty such Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in the state have been detained for interrogation," state PWD Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore told reporters.
"All district collectors and superintendents of police have been directed to start identification work of Bangladeshi migrants living with or without voter identity cards or ration cards and get their whereabouts verified from their homes," Rathore said.
The process has already begun, he said, adding district authorities have been empowered to cancel their ration cards or voter ID proof if they found any irregularity and criminal involvement in their declarations.
A survey in 2004 showed there were 2,500 Bangladeshis in Jaipur alone. The figure has now risen to over 10,000, Rathore said.
Senior state officials have held talks with their Central counterparts counterpart on the issue of deportation of Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the state, if required, he said.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

E-mail: Cyber cafe owner arrested

In a major breakthrough, the Uttar Pradesh police have taken into custody a cyber cafe owner at Sahibabad in Ghazaibad district of the National Capital region (NCR) from where the e-mail claiming the responsibility for Tuesday's serial blasts in Jaipur was sent by the militant outfit Indian Mujahideen.
The Ghaziabad police confirmed the news of taking Madhukhar Mishra and his son into custody for interrogation.
"'We are interrogating the duo to get all the information about the people who had used the cyber cafe,'' a police officer said.
Investigating teams from Jaipur are likely to arrive at Ghazaibad in the afternoon to interrogate the duo.
Guru-al-Hindi of Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the blasts in an e-mail sent to the media and even sent video clippings of the cycles used in the explosions.
Earlier in November, the organisation had taken responsibility of the serial blasts in three civil courts in Uttar Pradesh. However, that time the e-mail sent by them originated from Shakarpur locality of New Delhi and the ID used was different in the two cases.

Jaipur Serial blasts leave trail of destruction




























karnataka

It is over to the second phase of the Karnataka elections where nearly 1,1 crore voters will decide the fate of 589 candidates contesting the polls from 66 assembly constituencies spread across 10 districts of the state on May 16.
While the first phase of the polls which took place on May 10, largely concentrated on urban Karnataka, the second phase will focus on rural Karnataka, which has been complaining of a regional imbalance.
Polling will commence on May 16 at 7 am and will end by 5 pm. The Election Commission of India has set up over 12,000 booths in the 10 districts which will go to polls in the second phase. The districts that will go to polls in the second phase are Raichur, Uttar Kannada, Koppal, Chitradurga, Bellary, Davangere, Shimoga, Udupi, Chikmagalur and Dakshin Kannada.
While polling is expected to be peaceful by and large, the EC is taking no chances. Over 1 lakh security personnel have been posted across the state for the second phase.
The big fight in the second phase is undoubtedly the one between BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa and SP candidate S Bangarappa from Shikaripura in Shimoga. The battle is hyped and could be a waterloo for the losing candidate.
While Bangarappa hopes to sign off from politics on a winning note, for Yeddyurappa there is a lot more at stake. He is the face of the BJP and his loss would mean the loss of the party in Karnataka.
Bellary, the mining capital of Karnataka, is another constituency to watch out for. The party winning here will have a major say in the government. It is an out-and-out Congress-BJP fight in Bellary.
The battle of the brothers -- Kumar and Madhu Bangarappa, sons of S Bangarappa from Soraba in Shimoga, will also be interesting. The winner of this battle would inherit the father's legacy who has won seven times in a row from this constituency. Coastal Karnataka will also be important as the battle is expected to be an interesting one. It has been the strong hold for the BJP for several years and in the 2008 poll, the Congress expects to overturn that.
While the first phase was largely a fight between the Congress and the JD(S), the second phase according to poll pundits is the battle of the BJP. Most districts, which will go to polls in the second phase, are Lingayat-dominated areas, which means that the BJP has an edge.
The BJP is branded as a Lingayat party and its chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, too, belongs to the community. The Congress, meanwhile, will try and make inroads into the BJP's vote bank in the Dakshin Kannada and Bellary districts which have been the BJP's strong hold for some time.
The Janata Dal (S) will be a mute spectator in the second phase of the polls. Dubbed as a party of Vokkaligas, they do not have much support from the community in the second phase as they are a minority in these belts.
During the campaigns, leaders apart from talking about stability and terrorism have tried to focus on development. Barring Dakshin Kannada and Udupi, the rest of the districts are in bad shape and need urgent development work. Leaders have been talking in terms of better roads and water facilities.
Like several parts of Northern Karnataka, the districts falling under the second phase have been facing the problem of regional imbalance. Several places in Shimoga, Chitradurga, Koppal, and Bellary need better roads. Both the Congress and the BJP have prepared separate manifestos for Bangalore and the rest of the state. While the Congress has promised free televisions, the BJP talks about free power. There are also various schemes that have been introduced for those living below the poverty line.

Jaipur blasts bear no unique signature

The serial blasts in Jaipur on May 13, which killed about 60 innocent civilians, have many general characteristics, which are common to many terrorist organisations in South Asia.
Among important examples of such characteristics are the use of bicycles to plant Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in crowded places and mixing projectiles like the ball-bearings of cycles with the explosive.
Bicycles as carriers of IEDs have often been used by different terrorist groups since the jihad against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Jihadi as well as non-jihadi groups have been using cycles. Among the non-jihadi organisations which use bicycle bombs is the United Liberation Front of Asom, ULFA.
The greatest advantage of bicycles for terrorists is that they are used by millions of people and unattended bicycles left in crowded places do not attract suspicion. Cycles are also used under certain other circumstances -- when the terrorist organisation has only limited funds, when it has no capability for stealing cars and motorcycles and having them driven to the targeted place and when it wants to use an unconscious cut-out for having the IED reached to the spot without using its cadres for this purpose.
ULFA uses such cut-outs for having cycles fitted with IEDs left in crowded areas for which they are paid. In this manner, ULFA cadres escape identification and arrest.
Ball-bearings are also often used to increase the lethality of the explosive. The LTTE has been using them for nearly 20 years now. When the Sri Lankan authorities imposed severe restrictions on the sale of ball-bearings in the Tamil areas, the LTTE started smuggling them in sackfuls from Tamil Nadu.
By mixing ball-bearings with the explosive, one cannot only increase the lethality of the IED, but one can also economise on the use of the explosive. A small quantity of explosive can cause a large number of casualties if mixed with ball-bearings and other projectiles.
By mixing ball-bearings, a low-intensity explosive can be made to cause a high-intensity killer effect.
The IEDs at Jaipur were activated by mechanical timers. According to published details of one IED, which failed to explode, the timing mechanism was an ordinary clock. This was similar to the modus operandi of the Khalistani terrorists in Punjab in the 1980s.
The new trend among jihadi organisations in other countries has been to use the alarm mechanism of mobile telephones for timing an IED. This was apparently not used in Jaipur.
In recent months, the police in Karnataka, Goa [Images], Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had claimed to have neutralised a number of jihadi sleeper cells constituted by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, LeT, and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, HUJI, with the help of the Students Islamic Movement of India, SIMI.
During their interrogation, those arrested reportedly spoke of the plans of these organisations to attack Israeli and Western tourists in Goa. In fact, Goa had been repeatedly figuring in interrogation reports as a possible target for attacks by the LeT or the HUJI or both.
Jaipur had not figured in the interrogation reports.
The fact that Jaipur and not Goa was attacked is mysterious. This would indicate one of two things: Either those arrested and interrogated earlier had misled the police by talking freely about Goa when their real target was Jaipur; or the Jaipur blasts were carried out by an organisation totally different from the organisations (the LeT and the HUJI) to which those arrested earlier belonged.
Tourism has been an important target of the terrorists all over the world. Al Gamah Al Islamiyah of Egypt used to attack tourist targets in Egypt in the 1990s. The Jemaah Islamiyah of Indonesia targeted the Australian tourists twice in Bali in 2002 and 2005. Al Qaeda [Images] targeted foreign tourists (mainly Israelis) in Mombasa in 2002, in Casablanca in 2003 and in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt in 2005.
Their primary targets were foreign tourists though locals also got killed. In Jaipur, there was no targeted attack on foreign tourists. No foreigner has been killed. They did not attack restaurants, bars, hotels etc, which are known to be frequented by foreign tourists. The terrorists targeted the tourist potential of Jaipur, not foreign tourists in particular.
Some police officers and embedded journalists have already started blaming the LeT and the HUJI even though the blasts do not carry any unique signature of any organisation. The only way of identifying the organisation responsible is by arresting the perpetrators and interrogating them. Till we reach that stage, it will be premature and unwise to blame anyone.
Almost 24 hours after the blasts, two television channels of New Delhi claimed to have received an anonymous e-mail claiming responsibility for the explosions on behalf of a group called 'the Indian Mujahideen.' The e-mail was purported to have been sent by guru_alhindi_jaipur@yahoo.co.uk
The most significant thing about this message is that it has included the picture of one of the cycles alleged to have been used in Jaipur with the number of the cycle readable. If a cycle with that number had, in fact, been used in Jaipur, this claim could acquire some authenticity.
In the 1980s, the Irish Republican Army used to follow a similar modus operandi whenever it planted an IED. Through phone calls, it used to give clues to the police to enable them to establish the authenticity of the IRA's claim of responsibility.
It may be recalled that before the blasts outside some courts in Uttar Pradesh in November last, a message claiming responsibility for the blasts on behalf of 'Indian Mujahideen' was received by local television channels. There was also a reference to Guru-al-Hindi in another message. This was suspected to be a reference to Afzal Guru, who has been sentenced to death in the case relating to the attack on Parliament in December 2001 and who has appealed for clemency.
The message of November 2007 had also claimed that the Indian Mujahideen had nothing to do with the LeT or the HUJI.
It is not clear whether the cycle is the one recovered by the police with the IED intact after it failed to explode and whether they released the photo to the media. If so, the inclusion of this photo in the e-mail is not significant. If not, it is.
If the cycle figuring in the photo is found to have been used and successfully activated, that would be an indication that an organisation of Indian Muslims hitherto unknown to the police has been operating undetected.
In this connection, please refer to my following comments in my article on the November blasts in UP:
It has been reported that an e-mail message purported to be from 'Indian Mujahideen' received by some television channels before the explosions indicated that these explosions were about to take place.
However, it referred to explosions in two and not three cities. 'Indian Mujahideen' does not refer to any organisation, but it refers to Indian Muslims in general and says that the Indian Muslims have decided to take the offensive and wage a jihad.
In justification of this decision, it refers to the severe penalties awarded to the accused in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993, and the lack of action against Hindu police officers, who committed atrocities on Muslims. It also refers to the Gujarat riots of 2002 and the recent assault on arrested Jaish-e-Mohammad suspects by some lawyers.
The message is not only a warning of their intention to act, but also an explanation of why Indian Muslims have decided to act. The main point, which the sender of the message has sought to convey, is that the criminal justice system treats the Muslims severely, but is lenient to the Hindus.
The language used is typically Indian, the context and arguments used are typically of Indian Muslims and the issues raised are those which have been agitating the minds of sections of Indian Muslims like the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, lack of action against the Hindu police officers of Mumbai who were found guilty of excesses by the Srikrishna Enquiry Commission, the severe penalties awarded to Muslims who had retaliated in March 1993, and the Gujarat riots.
It admits that the Muslims were responsible for the explosions in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and in a restaurant and park in Hyderabad, but says they were not responsible for the blasts in Malegaon in September, 2006, on the Samjhauta Express and the Mecca Masjid of Hyderabad this year (2007). It is silent on the recent blast in the Ajmer Sharif, a Muslim holy place famous for its tolerant Sufi tradition.
It says that the Indian Muslims have decided to wage a jihad for Islamic rule and talks of a 'war for civilisation.' It warns that their next targets will be police officers.

India's infrastructure growth slips to 9.6%

India's infrastructure growth slipped to 9.6 per cent in March 2008 from 10.5 per cent in the same month last year.
Growth in six core infrastructure industries slowed down to 5.6 per cent during the fiscal 2007-08 from 9.2 per cent in the previous year.
Barring cement and finished steel production, the other industries -- crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal and electricity -- registered a decline in growth in March 2008.
Sluggish performance of the manufacturing sector pulled down growth in overall industrial production to a six-year low of 3 per cent in March this year from 14.8 per cent in the year-ago period.
The slowdown in core growth might set back the nation's economic growth, as the 2007-08 Economic Survey had pointed out.

Security forces bust a militant hideout in Kashmir

Poonch, May 15 (ANI): Following three infiltration bids in the space of four days, security forces uncovered a militant hideout in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday May 14.Three pistols, three pistol magazines, four AK magazines, 145 rounds of AK ammunition were seized by personnel along with two kilograms of RDX, 10 detonators, three hand grenades and some documents.
The Indian army accused Pakistan on Wednesday of violating a ceasefire by firing across a military control line that divides Kashmir between the two countries. But Pakistan denied that any firing had taken place.

'India ranks fourth in list of terror-hit countries'

The recent serial bomb blasts in Jaipur have only reinforced India's position of being one of the worst terrorism-hit countries in the world. Barring trouble-torn nations like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, terrorist violence claims more lives in India than in any other nation.
According to the 2007 Report on Terrorism brought out by the National Counter-terrorism Centre, a US Government agency, 1,093 people were killed in terrorist incidents in India last year. These also included the killings of Hindi speaking people in Assam by the ULFA activists and the deaths caused in Naxalite violence in Chhattisgarh.
The report also listed 13 high-casualty incidents of terrorist violence in the country, including the serial blasts in UP and Hyderabad and the Samjhauta Express blast.
Worldwide, 22,685 people were killed by terrorists in about 14,000 terrorist strikes. Iraq alone accounted for 13,606 of those deaths. Afghanistan with 1,966 casualties and Pakistan with 1,335 deaths were the other countries to have witnessed large number of killings by terrorist organisations, the report, released on April 30, said.
While Pakistan recorded more than 850 major and minor incidents, not all of which led to casualties, Iraq had more than 6,200 incidents of terrorist violence.

No politics now, give us our law: Raje to Sonia

On the eve of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Jaipur to meet victims of the serial bomb blasts, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje questioned the purpose of the visit, saying if Gandhi wanted to make a "political point", this was not the time.
"What's the point? If you are coming to make a political point, it's not the time. If she is coming to bring something for the aggrieved people, we all welcome her. Until you start changing the way you deal with us (states), how can you help us by coming here? If the UPA had re-introduced POTA or if we had got the RCOCA (Rajasthan Control of Organised Crime Bill which is pending with the Centre), may be, we would not have it (the blasts)," Vasundhara Raje told The Indian Express on Wednesday evening.
When Gandhi visited the state during the floods last year, Rajasthan demanded Rs 3,200 crore. "We got nothing. The state government bore the entire expenses of rehabilitation and compensation," said Vasundhara Raje. Earlier, Sonia had gone to Banswara but people got "nothing" from it.
"When I go somewhere, I want to see the problems of people and try to solve them. Otherwise, what's point of going there?" the CM said.
Miffed by the Centre's perceived attempt to play politics over the blasts, she demanded a meeting of all Chief Ministers to discuss internal security. She was particularly perturbed about Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal's comment immediately after the blasts that the Centre had given intelligence inputs about a terror threat to the state.
"How could we ignore this attempt to play politics at such tragic times? What intelligence inputs do they send? It comes every month or every quarterly and the contents remain the same - never specific, just general. They never say whether there could be a terror strike in three days or even three months. They never say where it could happen or when. Their intelligence inputs are like weather reports. Why can't we have a meeting of all CMs to discuss and find ways to work together?" Vasundhara Raje said.
Citing a string of recent terror strikes in different states, she emphasised the need for the Centre and the states to come together and share intelligence. Recalling that the RCOCA Bill has been pending with the Centre for two years which also refused to re-introduce POTA, she said the states needed something to deal with terror with an "iron hand".
"If the Centre had no problem with similar laws in Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, why not Rajasthan and Gujarat? You have to give a level-playing field, especially because Rajasthan and Gujarat have not witnessed such incidents in the past," she said.
The CM was confident that the terror strikes would not impact tourism in the state. "What happened to Mumbai? Did people stop going there? What happened to New York? Have people stopped going there? There won't be any impact here as well," said Vasundhara Raje, asserting that she will take strong steps to crush terror threats.

Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility for bombings

JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - A little-known militant group called the Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for setting off bombs in Jaipur that killed 61 people and injured 216 people this week, police said.
A video clip sent by email to national media showed one packet strapped on the back of a bicycle. The email said that the packet contained a bomb, police said.
The video was broadcast on national television channels. Indian media also said the video showed a serial number of one of the bicycles.
"We are examining the authenticity of the video and the claim at the moment," Pankaj Singh, a senior police officer, told Reuters in Jaipur.
Eight bombs, many strapped to bicycles, ripped through the bustling streets of Jaipur on Tuesday evening.
India has suffered a wave of bombings in recent years, with targets ranging from mosques to Hindu temples. But it is unusual for any group to claim responsibility for attacks.
On Wednesday evening, police released a sketch of a man in his mid-20s suspected of being involved in the bombings. Witnesses who helped prepare the sketch told police that the man was seen near the scene of one the bombings and spoke Bengali.
Islamist militant groups in both Pakistan and Bangladesh intent on fanning hatred between Muslims and Hindus in India, and damaging a fragile peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad, are often blamed for bomb attacks in India.
In the past few years, bomb blasts in Indian cities have killed hundreds of people. The deadliest was in July 2006, when seven bombs on Mumbai railways killed more than 180 people

Email claims responsibility for Jaipur blasts

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) A mysterious email by an outfit known as "Indian Mujahideen" has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blasts in Jaipur and the central security agencies and Rajasthan Police are now trying to work out the source of the mail which has warned about more such attacks in the country. The email, which was sent last night to various television channels, has given the frame number (129489) of the bicycle which was planted at Choti Chaupad near Kotwali in the Pink City.
The frame number of a bicycle recovered by the Rajasthan Police from the spot is same, informed sources said, adding the email was written yesterday from a cyber cafe in Sahibabad in the outskirts of the capital. The email id used was "guru_alhindi_jaipur@yahoo.
Co.Uk", the sources said, noting that the account was created yesterday itself using the UK domain of the Yahoo.
The email said India should stop supporting the US in the international arena, "and if you do continue then get ready to face more attacks at other important tourist places.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops 'worrisome': PM

New Delhi/Srinagar, May 14 (PTI) For the second time in less than a week, Pakistani troops opened unprovoked fire on an Indian border post at Tangdhar in Northern Kashmir in a development which was described as "worrisome" by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "It is worrisome," Singh said as the violation of the five-year-old ceasefire was taken up by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) through the hotline.
"India's concerns over the unprovoked firing were conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart," Defence Minister A K Antony said. The Prime Minister voiced concern over the firing while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Defence Investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"We have taken up the matter at the level of DGMO," Singh said making it clear that all issues having bearing on the Indo-Pak relations would be taken up during the forthcoming Foreign Minister level talks between the two countries.

Harbhajan banned for 5 ODIs, warned of life ban

Mumbai, May 14 (PTI) Temperamental off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today got away with a five-match ODI ban for slapping his India teammate S Sreesanth but was warned by the Cricket Board of a life ban for any further misconduct on his part. A day after BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati submitted a 14-page report to the Board, the BCCI's Disciplinary Committee acted swiftly to impose the ban on the beleaguered spinner who will now miss the forthcoming tri-series in Bangladesh and two matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
The 27-year-old Harbhajan, who had already been banned from the ongoing Indian Premier League and fined a whopping Rs three crore match fee for the level 4 offence, was summoned by the Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Sharad Pawar, to hear his views on the incident which happened after an IPL match in Mohali on April 25. "The Committee accordingly decided to ban Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals, starting today and further observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life-ban," the BCCI said in a statement after the committee's hearing.
"The Committee invoked Rule 3.2.
1 of the BCCI Regulations for Players, Team officials, Managers, Umpires and Administrators. Under this provision, the maximum punishment that can be meted out to a player is a ban up to a maximum of 5 ODIs and/or 3 Test matches," Pawar told reporters.
He said a copy of the report was given to Harbhajan who was heard by the committee before taking a final decision on the quantum of punishment. PTI.

Indian, Pakistani commanders meet after Kashmir truce breach

Srinagar/New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Indian and Pakistani commanders staged a flag meeting at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday evening following violation of a truce that has been in force since 2003, an official said.
'The meeting was held following pressure exerted by the Indian side. We had asked for a meeting in the morning but this was refused. They finally relented in the evening,' the official said in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as worrisome the truce violation that occurred when Pakistani troops opened fire in the Tangdhar sector Tuesday evening. 'It is worrisome. The issue is being taken up at the military level,' the prime minister told reporters on the sidelines of a defence investiture ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday. The incident, however, will not lead to any rescheduling of President Pratibha Patil's visit to the Tangdhar sector on May 23, officials in the national capital said. Pakistan, meanwhile, has denied there was any truce violation. 'There was no firing from our side,' a statement issued in Islamabad Wednesday night said. Senior officers of the two armies spoke on the hotline earlier Wednesday to resolve the imbroglio. The director general of military operations (DGMO), Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, spoke on the hotline with his Pakistani counterpart Maj. Gen. A.S. Pasha at 3 p.m., an Indian Army officer said in New Delhi. According to the officer, this was the first time that firing along the LoC was being classified as a truce violation. 'In the past too, Pakistani troops have opened fire in support of infiltrators who were trying to sneak across. The fire was returned from our side. 'This time, there was no infiltration involved and our troops did not return fire. Therefore, we have classified it as a truce violation. We hope this will not recur,' the officer said. The DGMOs normally speak on the hotline once a week on Tuesdays. Indian Army spokesman Lt. Col. A.K. Mathur said in Srinagar: 'Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing at our posts. They fired scores of rounds. However, we did not retaliate,' he added. There were no casualties on the Indian side.

Serial blasts; eight picked up for questioning

Wed, May 14 12:05 PM
Jaipur, May 14 (PTI) Eight persons were picked up for questioning for their suspected role in the serial blasts that rocked the city killing at least 60 people as authorities today clamped curfew in 15 areas as a precautionary measure. Those picked up for interrogation included a man who was injured in the explosions and a rickshaw puller as investigations pointed towards involvement of Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) in the explosions, informed sources said.
The toll in last night's blasts has been unofficially put at 85. One live bomb placed on a handle bar of a bicycle and found near the blasted areas have been defused, police said, noting that all the explosions were triggered with the help of timers between two Hanuman temples in heavily crowded areas of the old city.
"We have collected sufficient evidence from the place of the blasts. These things are being analysed by our technical experts.
There was one explosive which we have defused," Superintendent of Police, Jaipur, Raghvendra Suhasa said. Preliminary examination of the blast site indicated the possibility of ammonium nitrate being used in the explosive devices which were filled with ball bearings and small iron pipes to act as splinters, the sources said.
The blasts showed that HUJI, which is being mainly run from Bangladesh, has managed to establish cells in the desert state, they said. Curfew, which came into force at 9 am, has been imposed in 15 police station areas as a precautionary measure.
It will remain in force till 6 pm. PTI.

Terror target: Mandir on Tuesday, Masjid on Friday

Wed, May 14 09:35 AM
Be it the attack in New Delhi that came before Id-Diwali, the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi or the blasts at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad or the explosion on Tuesday at the Hanuman Mandir in Jaipur, there's a chilling pattern to these acts of terror: target places of worship or 'religious' occasions that draw the maximum people.
The intention is not only to cause maximum loss of human lives but also to inflame communal passions and hope it escalates to a bloody showdown between communities.
Targets and dates have been carefully chosen. A close look at recent attacks reveals the sinister design: Hindu temples have been targeted on Tuesdays, an auspicious day for the devotees of Hanuman, while Muslims and their mosques have been attacked on Fridays.
Consider this:
* Sankat Mochan Temple, Varanasi March 7, 2006: Twin blasts in city left 28 dead, injured over 100. Blasts took place on Tuesday when the temple is packed with devotees.
* Jama Masjid, Delhi April 14, 2006: Low intensity blasts at India's most famous mosque left 14 injured. First blast took place as the faithful prepared for Friday prayers.
* Noorani Masjid, Malegaon September 8, 2006: Blasts on Friday coincided with the Shab-e-Barat. First bomb went off outside Masjid. Blasts at Mushaira Chowk and graveyard too. The toll: 38 killed, over 200 injured.
* Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad May 18, 2007: 14 persons killed, more than 50 injured in blasts and subsequent police firing in adjoining areas. Blasts took place during Friday prayers.
* Ajmer Sharif Dargah October 11, 2007: Terror struck the revered Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti as thousands were breaking their Ramzan fast, a day before the Friday prayers. The bomb inside the complex killed two persons and injured another 28.

Neogel-90 used in Jaipur blasts: Central Security agencies

Wed, May 14 09:26 PM
New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) Central Security agencies today claimed that Neogel-90, an explosive used for commercial purposes, was used in the last evening's serial blasts in Jaipur despite Rajasthan Police's assertion that one kilogram RDX had been used to carry out the explosions. Senior officials of the Bomb Data Squad and Central Security agencies said the samples collected so far did not show any traces of deadly RDX but resembled to Neogel-90 Neogel-90, an ammonium nitrate-based material, were covered with copper plates and it is hazardous when it comes in contact with metals like copper.
Neogel-90 is usually used in the construction of roads. The use of Neogel-90 in terror attacks might be new to India though there were reports of two isolated seizures of similar explosives in the country and its neighbouring region -- one in Vadakkaenchery in Palakkad district in Kerala on February two, 2005 and another at Kantipur in Nepal in February 2006, when 475 kg was recovered.
Rajasthan Director General of Police A S Gill and Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal were claiming that nearly one kilograms of RDX had been used in one of the blasts. However, analysts said this was not possible as the magnitude of damage by one KG of RDX would have been too high.
According to the sources, 90 per cent of the causalities in last night's blasts in Jaipur were caused by the puncturing of vital organs like the skull and heart by metal balls that were packed into the explosive devices. May 13, being the anniversary of Pokhran-II nuclear tests, there was a talk that militants could have chosen Jaipur as the target as Pokhran was located in this state.
On this day in 1998, India conducted its second test two days after shocking the world.