Dr. Death’ wants to relax before extradition

US District Court Judge Dennis Hubel yesterday set July 21 as the deadline for both the US and Australian Governments to effect Patel’s extradition, failing which he would be released on bail and placed under home detention
London: Controversial Indian-born surgeon Dr. Jayant Patel, who is facing manslaughter charges in Australia but is currently in jail in Portland, USA, says that he wants to spend the final weeks before his extradition to Australia relaxing at his luxury US home, attending church on Sundays and seeing a cardiologist.

Patel, who is also known as `Dr. Death’, is facing 16 charges, including the manslaughter of three patients during allegedly botched operations conducted at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland between 2003 and 2005. Patel, who was denied bail on Friday, has been described by his friends as emotionally and financially "broken".

Patel, 58, could be back in Australia within weeks, beginning the next chapter in Queensland's protracted legal battle to bring him to justice.

US District Court Judge Dennis Hubel yesterday set July 21 as the deadline for both the U.S. and Australian Governments to effect Patel’s extradition, failing which he would be released on bail and placed under home detention.
In weighing up the arguments for bail, Judge Hubel criticized the length of time it has taken Australian and US authorities to prepare Patel's extradition.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has 60 days to agree to the extradition. Assistant US attorney Dwight Holton, who is representing the Australian Government, told Judge Hubel the process usually took between two and three weeks and Australian authorities could arrive in Portland "within days" to return Patel to Queensland.

Patel, who is a US citizen, fled Australia in April 2005. A warrant for his arrest was issued in November 2006, but it was not until March 11 this year that he was finally arrested by FBI agents at his Portland home and extradition proceedings began.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars.

Poll strategy by August end, Sonia tells cadres

As Congress readies for election, Rahul mentions 'talent hunt' and restructuring Youth Congress and Students' wing
New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi put the Congress in election mode on Saturday, giving senior leaders till August 31 to chalk out and implement party strategy for the next round of assembly elections and possible Lok Sabha polls.
Amid heightened speculation about an early general election, the Congress president met with AICC general secretaries and state in-charges for two hours, discussing ways to strengthen the party organisation that has been battered by a string of recent election defeats.
Despite the obvious context, however, there was reportedly no specific mention of elections, the civilian nuclear deal, inflation, or election alliances in the meeting. “These issues may figure in the manthan shivir (introspective exercise) in the third week of July,” a senior leader said. A meeting of the Congress Working Committee too may be called soon.
Polls are due in October in J&K — where the PDP walked out on the Congress on Saturday — and later in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MP and Delhi. Lok Sabha polls are likely in March-April ’09 but may be held earlier if the Left pulls the plug over the N-deal.
Rahul Gandhi was among the 14 participants. He spoke of the 'talent hunt' he has begun to identify young potential leaders for the party, and said he was restructuring the Youth Congress and NSUI.

Zardari rules out another Indo-Pak war

Both the countries have exploded nuclear devices and need not prove their military prowess anymore. Two countries should now focus on peaceful use of N-energy.
London: There is little chance of an India-Pakistan war, Asif Ali Zardari, co-chair of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that heads the country's ruling coalition, has said. Instead, the two countries should focus on areas like cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy."
Both of our countries exploded nuclear devices in May 1998. We have now proved to each other and the world that we are firmly in the group of elite countries that have nuclear weapons. We do not have to prove our military prowess anymore," Zardari said.
His address was read out at the two-day Tehelka summit on "India & Pakistan - Designing A New Future" here Friday night.
"We know now that there is a consensus amongst the political parties of India and Pakistan, a consensus between our military and security establishments that peace must be established," Zardari said.
According to the PPP leader, "we do not need to continue investing in an area that brings little economic return to our peoples and countries".
"Let us turn our investment and co-operation towards the peaceful uses of nuclear energy," he added.
"Let us serve our people by bringing peace to our land that we all love," Zardari said.
The statements came on the day Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was in India, his first since assuming office in March, for talks on taking the India-Pakistan peace process forward.

Delhi most popular among foreign tourists

During 2006, the visits by foreign tourists showed an increase of 18.1 percent over 2005.
New Delhi: Most of the international tourists to India prefer Delhi as their choicest spot in India while, Andhra Pradesh attracts the maximum number of domestic tourists, according to official statistics.
In 2006, while 111.7 million Indian travellers visited Andhra Pradesh, famed for its temples, especially the Tirumala Tirupati shrine, 1.9 million foreign tourists came to Delhi."
In respect of foreign tourist visits in 2006, the top five states are Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, with the total share of these states being 64.31 percent,".These findings were put out by the Ministry of Tourism's annual publication India Tourism Statistics and were based on statistics collected from hotels and other accommodation.
Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan were the top five destinations for domestic tourists in India in 2006. For foreigners, they were Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the report said."
The five states accounted for about 73 percent of the total domestic tourist visits in the country," the report said.
In 2006, Uttar Pradesh attracted 105.5 million domestic tourists, Tamil Nadu 58.3 million, Karnataka 36.1 million and Rajasthan 23.4 million.
In the same year, the number of foreigners visiting Maharashtra was 1.7 million, Uttar Pradesh 1.33 million, Tamil Nadu 1.32 million and Rajasthan 1.2 million.
The report said the year 2006 witnessed a growth of 17.8 percent in domestic tourist visits over the previous year, which was considerably higher than the growth of seven percent in the year 2005 over 2004.
During 2006, the visits by foreign tourists showed an increase of 18.1 percent over 2005 as compared to an increase of 19 percent in 2005 over 2004, it said.
The report showed that very few tourists - both domestic and foreign - visit the northeast states.
In 2006, 80,137 domestic tourists visited Arunachal Pradesh, while only 607 foreigners could travel to this state. Similarly, Manipur attracted 116,984 domestic tourists as compared to 295 foreign ones, while Meghalaya had 401,529 domestic tourists and 4,287 international travellers.
Mizoram got 50,987 domestic travellers and 436 foreigners, while 15,850 domestic tourists and 426 foreigners visited in Nagaland. Sikkim got about 292,486 domestic visitors and 18,026 foreigners in 2006.
Assam was the only state that attracted both domestic and international tourists in 2006 in sizeable numbers. While 2.7 million domestic tourists went to the state, about 10,374 foreigners visited it, the report said.

J&K govt removes Amarnath board CEO

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government today removed Shri Amarnath Shrine Board CEO Arun Kumar after an inquiry found him guilty of misconduct during a press conference last week.
Kumar, who was also principal secretary to the governor, will be replaced by senior IAS officer Bharat Bhushan Vyas, who is presently posted as Commissioner Secretary in Finance department.
The government has also decided to recall S L Bhat from central deputation and post him as Commissioner Secretary in place of Vyas.
Kumar was found guilty by a three-member committee formed by the state government of making irresponsible remarks and violating All India Service rules during a press conference about the controversy surrounding the diversion of 39.88 hectares of land to the SASB.
The committee comprised of Financial Commissioner Coordination S S Sahni, Principal Secretary Social Welfare R K Jerath and Commissioner-Secretary to government (general administration) Basharat Ahmad Dhar.
Based on the report of the committee, it was decided to immediately withdraw Arun Kumar from the Raj Bhavan and attach him to the general administration department.
A show cause notice is being issued to the officer to explain his position and further action as warranted under rules would be taken accordingly.

Maintaining 9 pc growth impossible: Montek

The government is doing everything that it should do. "You will see the inflation coming down in some months,'' he said without saying to what level it would drop, Montek says.
Hyderabad: It would not be possible for India to maintain 9 per cent growth rate this year due to the growing inflation. However, the medium term growth target for the next five years for India can average around 9 per cent despite losing some steam this year, according to the Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
"I would be happy even if the growth rate is about eight per cent,'' he said adding that putting brakes on the monetary policy for a couple of quarters would slow down the economy for some time but it would bounce to average 9 per cent over the next five years.
The government is doing everything that it should do. "You will see the inflation coming down in some months,'' he said without saying to what level it would drop.
Ahluwalia said the current inflation was a result of the changes happening globally, particularly the rise in fuel prices. He hoped that the oil prices would "stabilise at a reasonable level".
He was in the city to inaugurate a two-day seminar on `Growth and development in the lagging regions of India', organised by the Administrative Staff College of India and the World Bank.
Admitting that some states and regions were not on the same development plank as others, he said there was a need for specific anti-poverty programmes for immediate result.
Similarly, there was a need to build infrastructure and connectivity to promote growth as many places in the north eastern states were lacking these facilities.
Even among the developed states like Maharashtra, there were still places that were far from being developed, he said citing Vidarbha as an example.
Though new economies were evolving, the focus must be on agriculture for providing large scale employment. The constraints in making agriculture more profitable should be identified and addressed at a local level.

Nano may hit road by Durga Puja

"We hope to start trial production during July or August. If everything went as planned, Nano would be rolled out from the plant during Durga Puja’’, Tata Motors said.
Kolkata: Tata Motors today said its ambitious Nano project was facing cost overrun but maintained the Rs one lakh car could be rolled out from its Singur facility by Durga Puja. Company Managing Director of the company Ravi Kant, who met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at Writers' Buildings here, told reporters that the entire project had been reworked at the plant site at Singur due to floods last year which had led to the cost escalation.
"We have already sunk in Rs 2,000 crore", Kant said, adding earlier the project cost was pegged at Rs 1,700 crore.
Stating that Tata Motors was fully committed to the Singur project, Kant said if everything went well as planned, then the Nano car would be rolled out from the plant during Durga Puja.
"We hope to start trial production during July or August" he said.
Asked whether there was a possibility of Nano being rolled out from any other plant of Tata Motors, Kant said, "Nano will be produced out of West Bengal".
Kant had visited the Singur plant yesterday to review progress and held long discussions with suppliers and vendors

PDP pulls out of Kashmir Govt

Srinagar: The PDP has pulled out of the Jammu and Kashmir government. The party has submitted its resignation to Governor N N Vohra, party President Mehbooba Mufti said today.
Earlier, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed decided to withdraw from Jammu and Kashmir's coalition government, following differences with the Congress over the land allotment to the Amarnath shrine.
Senior PDP leaders and legislators met here in the afternoon and decided to pull out of the government, a highly placed party source told IANS.
“Deputy Chief Minister and senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig has called on Governor N.N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar to communicate the party decision," the source said.
The PDP had said it would withdraw from the coalition if the controversial order of forest land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) was not cancelled by the end of this month.
The Congress-PDP alliance came to power in 2002 after the state assembly elections in which the National Conference was voted out of power.

3 killed in Indian Kashmir as protests over feared Hindu settlements turn violent

SRINAGAR, India (AP) _ Tens of thousands of demonstrators paralyzed cities in Indian-controlled Kashmir with protests against what they charge is a government plan to build Hindu settlements in the Muslim-majority region. Police used tear gas and fired live ammunition to disperse the crowds, which assembled for a sixth straight day Saturday in some of the largest protests against Indian rule since a separatist rebellion broke out in the Himalayan region nearly two decades ago.
Three people were killed, hundreds wounded and scores of vehicles set on fire, said Prabhakar Tripathi, a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force. At least 12 paramilitary soldiers and 29 civilians were injured in clashes Saturday.
The protests were sparked by the recent transfer of 99 acres (40 hectares) of land by the state government to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, a trust running a Hindu shrine, to construct facilities for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who flock there every year. The pilgrims come to see a large icicle in a cave that devout Hindus revere as an incarnation of the Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration.
But Kashmiris, long mistrustful of an Indian government that has suppressed the uprising with a heavy hand and has some 700,000 soldiers based in Kashmir, believe that India plans to turn the structures into a permanent settlement for Hindus. Indian officials dismiss the allegations, saying India has never tried to encourage Hindu migration to the region, India's only Muslim-majority state.
The Indian constitution also prohibits outsiders from buying land in Kashmir. "The issue does not stop there," said Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, head of the moderate faction All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
"There are thousands of acres of land occupied by the Indian army that also need be addressed." Protests Saturday by thousands of demonstrators in Srinagar, the largest city in the region, kept traffic and pedestrians off the roads and shut businesses and schools.
The protesters chanted anti-Indian slogans, threw rocks at police officers and damaged at least two police stations in Srinagar.

Karat to decide CPM stand on N-deal

The CPM politburo, when it meets on Sunday, is likely to authorise its general secretary, Prakash Karat, to take a decision, along with the leaders from the other Left parties, on announcing withdrawal of support to the UPA. "We have three chief ministers in the politburo. It can't keep meeting time and again.
Tomorrow we will discuss the possibility of what should be done if the government announces that it wants to go ahead and approach the IAEA board," a politburo member told Hindustan Times. The CPM will discuss the current political situation and its future course of action at a meeting of the party's politburo meeting.
Left leaders in New Delhi have maintained that they would immediately withdraw support to the government if it decides to ignore Left opposition and approach the IAEA board for the India-specific safeguards agreement. The politburo will discuss this position as it meets.
The other question is whether the Left would vote against the government, after it withdraws support, in the event of a BJP-led no-confidence motion or will it itself move the motion. The politburo will take a decision on this so that it can be discussed with the other Left parties.
The CPI and Forward Block have similar internal meetings lined up on July 3. Leaders of the Left parties after thrashing out the plans of action within each party, will sit together and chalk out the Left block's collective response to the government's moves, a Left leader said.
Since the unpleasant and inconclusive ninth meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal, on June 25, politburo member Sitaram Yechury has met the External Affairs minister and the committee's convenor Pranab Mukherjee twice. Yechury will apprise the rest of the politburo of the meetings with Mukherjee.
Discussions between leaders from the Left and those from the UNPA and the UPA allies that have been on since June 18 will also be discussed, sources said.

Lalu connects his village with in-laws'

ON THURSDAY, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav accomplished his long-cherished dream of connecting his ancestral village Phulwaria, with that of wife Rabri Devi's village at Salar Kala, a distance of 2.9 km. The railway minister opened a new rail line on a 17.5 km stretch between Hathua and Phulwaria in Gopalganj district, for rail traffic after flagging off a passenger train.
The remaining area of 79.64-km-long Hathua-Bhatni section is yet to be completed. The entire project will cost Rs 60 crore.
The railway minister also inaugurated the newly-constructed railway station building at Phulwaria and Salar Khurd respectively. The train to Phulwaria from Hajipur will touch new railway stations at Hathua, Lain Bazar and Salar Khurd on and reach Phulwaria in four hours.
Phulwaria, already has a helipad, a hospital, a telephone exchange, a middle school, modern block office, concrete roads with solar lights, and now a modern railway station. Now, Lalu has promised more for his village.
"A train to Delhi will soon run from here. The entire section will be electrified up to Hathua," he announced after inaugurating the Phulwaria station.
Announced in the 2006-07 Rail Budget, the Hathua-Bathua Bazar link on the Hathua-Bhatni section has been on top of the Railway Ministry's agenda. In fact, the Railway Minister reportedly wanted it to be completed by December 2007.
However, after Phulwaria station, construction work has barely begun. Only the digging part has been done till Bathua Bazar.

Indian students get 2 yrs work time in UK

Indian students pursuing education in British universities can now work in the UK for two years after completing their courses, instead of one year as allowed earlier.
Starting from Monday, students can seek employment for up to two years under Tier 1 of the Points-Based System (PBS) introduced by the government in early 2008 to replace an earlier scheme, according to official sources.
The students were allowed to stay in the country only for one year after completion of their studies under the previous International Graduate Scheme (IGS).
Indian and other international students will now be able to work in the UK for two years without the need for a sponsor or a work permit, the sources said.
Many self-financing Indian students take up work while studying or after completing their courses to recover the costs. In 2007 almost 22,000 student visas were issued across India, representing a 10 per cent increase in 2006.
The government also announced that from Monday, Tier 1 of the PBS will also be extended to include Entrepreneurs and Investors.
Tier 1 (post-study work) replaces IGS and the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme and provides a bridge from study in the UK to highly skilled or skilled work.
Under PBS, applicants need sufficient points to qualify for a visa. Points are awarded for objective criteria such as qualifications, previous earnings, age and UK experience.

'Cong hasn't approached me yet'

Though reports of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav cozing up to the Congress seemed to do the rounds, the man himself remained non-committal on the issue, saying that no one from the Congress has approached him for supporting the Indo-US nuclear deal so far. This is the first time that the SP supremo has gone on record to say anything about the nuclear deal.
He however gave ample indications on softening his stand for the Congress and threw enough hints that the UNPA may not be averse to warming up to Congress on the issue.
When asked if he would review his party's earlier stand on the nuclear issue, Mulayam said the UNPA will take a call on the issue on July 3. ''We will make our position clear on the nuclear deal after UNPA meet scheduled on July 3 in New Delhi'', ''Yadav said when asked repeatedly on Samajwadi Party's stand over the deal," adding that "It will be a combined decision by all the constituents of the UNPA."
However, he was quick to retort, ''Why are you insisting on this question... Maybe the issue (Indo-US nuclear deal) is resolved on June 29 itself at a meeting of UPA coordination committee'', he said.
''Anyway, I have even not seen the document on nuclear deal yet. How can I comment on it'', Yadav added.
When asked about his ''soft stance'' at a function in Delhi on the Emergency imposed during Indira Gandhi regime, Yadav retorted that in Uttar Pradesh more than one lakh cases had been imposed on people, mostly SP workers.
''The situation here is worse then Emergency where only SP workers are targetted and the number of cases lodged are more than that during Emergency. After the Lok Sabha election results the state government will be ousted like the Congress lost power after the Emergency'', Yadav said and asserted that the Samajwadi Party will fight against it tooth and nail.

Govt puts N-deal on fast track, may move IAEA next week

Even as it is giving final touches to its ''separation plan'' with the Left parties, the UPA government is looking at the option of making a formal request to the IAEA next week for convening a special meeting of the board of governors in August to present the India-specific safeguards agreement.
The plan to move the IAEA next week, top government sources maintained, would not only ensure that the PM will have something tangible to discuss with US President George Bush whom he would meet during the G8 summit in Japan beginning July 8, but it might also ensure a smoother run for the deal in the IAEA.
The sources pointed out that an important reason for New Delhi to hurry up the issue at the IAEA was to bring it before present director general Mohammed El Baradei's term ends in September. They maintained that Baradei was familiar with the details of the safeguards agreement and its approval by the board of governors would not pose difficulties. However, in the event that the safeguards agreement was taken up at the scheduled meeting of the board of governors in the second week of September, the sources contended that it could face problems on two accounts. One, Baradei would not be there at the helm of affairs at the IAEA. Second, there would also be changes in the board of governors itself, with Pakistan joining the board as a rotating member. The sources said it would be unlikely that Pakistan would not raise objections to the India specific safeguards agreement in case it was taken up at the September meeting of the board of governors.
Meanwhile, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on Friday that it is ''possible to arrive at an acceptable settlement'' on the nuclear issue.

Move over '.com' and get ready for '.sex', '.hotel' or '.sports'

London, June 27 (ANI): Come 2009, and almost any word will be able to replace ".com" in a Web page address - thanks to a decision made by the organization that manages the technical underpinnings of the Web, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, (ICANN).
ICANN unanimously approved the new guidelines as weeklong meetings in Paris concluded.
Top-level domain names, or TLDs, refer to Internet name suffixes, such as the ubiquitous .com, .net and .org, among others. Currently, there are more than 200 TLDs, which also include the two-character country codes used by websites, such as Britain's .uk.
Under the new plans, a domain name, the suffix at the end of a website address, can now be based on any string of letters.
This will allow individuals to register a domain based on their own name, for example, as long as they can show a "business plan and technical capacity".
The result could be the creation of thousands or even millions of new addresses.
ICANN also voted collectively to open public comment on a separate proposal to permit addresses entirely in non-English languages for the first time.
"We are opening up a new world and I think this cannot be underestimated," BBC quoted Roberto Gaetano, a member of ICANN, as saying.
Dr Paul Twomey, chief executive of ICANN, described passing the resolution as a "historic moment".
ICANN officials said some technical issues for the new system must still be worked out, but it could be reviewing the first applications for new TLDs as early as 2009. (ANI)

Sam Bahadur's life and times

Will Smith compares Obama to Mandela

London: Will Smith has compared US presidential hopeful Barack Obama to one of the greatest political figures of the last 50 years, Nelson Mandela.
Smith, who is in London promoting his latest film ‘Hancock,’ discussed the movie but seemed more than happy to talk about the man who he regards as a political superhero, Obama.
The actor even went on to compare Obama with Mandela.
"Nelson Mandela is kind of the one person I've said yes to. And Barack Obama was probably only the second person that I've really to this level said yes to,” BBC quoted him, as saying.
"And that's because I believe what he believes in.
"I travel around the world a lot, and I was kind of used to people being happy when the Americans showed up. That sort of changed over the last eight years.
"So I'm excited about the new possibilities of hope and change that Barack is bringing,” he added.
Smith also described why he thinks people in his position should get involved with and try to influence people when it comes to politics.
"Individuals have to decide what they want to do," he said.
"I think I'm a pretty good judge if someone's a good person. So I just lend my support to people that I believe are good people," he added.

Sarabjit's case under consideration: Pak

The Indian prisoner in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in four bomb attacks that killed 14 people in 1990
New Delhi: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said his government was “considering” India's plea for clemency for Sarabjit Singh, the Indian death row prisoner convicted for alleged complicity in terror attacks in Multan 17 years ago.
“Sarabjit Singh's case is under consideration,” Qureshi told reporters when asked whether Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's recent announcement asking President Pervez Musharraf to commute death sentences for all prisoners would help Sarabjit Singh.
Hopes for Sarabjit Singh brightened when Gillani came out with this proposal, but evaporated as quickly when it became clear that the proposal applied to only those not involved in crimes like terrorism, bombings and spreading sectarian hatred.
The apex court in Pakistani sentenced Sarabjit Singh to death for his alleged involvement in four bomb attacks that killed 14 people in 1990.
During their delegation-level talks, the two sides decided that a joint judicial committee comprising retired judges of both countries would visit India next month to make further recommendations on issues concerning prisoners and fishermen in custody.
The Indian chapter of the judicial committee visited jails in Pakistan early this month.
“The agreement on prisoners should be followed in both letter and spirit,” Qureshi, who began his three-day visit to India, said after holding talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.
He was alluding to an agreement on providing consular access to prisoners in each other's country inked by the two countries last month.
India and Pakistan will exchange new lists of prisoners held in each other's jails on July 1 as part of efforts aimed at ensuring the humane treatment and speedy release of prisoners.

US team in Arunachal searching WW-II plane

The wreckages was found by a local tour operator and an American investigator who were searching for the missing crew of planes that flew from India to China
Kolkata/Itanagar: A three-member team of the US Defence Department visited Arunachal Pradesh to investigate reports about the discovery of wreckage of US fighter planes which went missing during World War-II on the eastern front.
Hundreds of planes and pilots went missing in the China-Burma-India (CBI) war theatre during missions to maintain the supply from Ledo in Assam to Kunming in China, avoiding Japanese fighter planes.
The wreckages came to light when Oken Tayeng, a local tour operator, joined an American investigator Clayton Kuhles three years ago in his mission to ascertain the fate of the missing crew of planes that flew from India to China, but never reached their destination.
Tayeng had found the wreckage of a US fighter plane 'Hot as Hell' at Damora in East Siang district last year, which was one of the 'Missing in Action' planes.
He also collected a bracelet from a local person with the name 'Flight Engineer Arnold Starinoha' engraved on it.
He also located the wreckage of another plane on a hilltop near Itanagar missing since 1944.
Governor Gen (Retd) J J Singh, a former chief of army staff, took notes from Tayeng who spotted wreckage of aircraft of the Allied Forces in eight locations in Lohit, Dibang Valley, Upper Sinag and Papumpare districts.
The governor's interest in Tayeng apparently followed US Consul General Henry V Jardine's statement during a recent visit to the state that the US government might approach India to help locate the aircraft wreckage and remains of pilots in Arunachal Pradesh.
The three-member US team, Joint Prisoner of War (Missing in Action) Accounting Command (JPAC) under the US Department of Defence, would arrive here and leave for the US tomorrow, a JPAC statement said today.
"Our team is here to coordinate details of future investigations of sites possibly associated with missing American servicemen from World War II," it added.

Sam Manekshaw is no more

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, whose military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war led to the creation of Bangladesh, died at the Military Hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu on Friday. He was 94.
The Padma Vibhushan and Military Cross awardee, who was admitted to the hospital for some time for "progressive lung disease", had slipped into a coma earlier in the day and the end came just after midnight at 00:30 am, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Manekshaw had developed 'acute bronchopneumonia with associated complications' and was placed under intensive care four days ago after his condition became serious.
The body of one of India's greatest soldiers will kept at the Madras Regiment Centre grounds in Wellington between 1100 hours and 1300 hours on Friday for the public to pay homage.
In a rare gesture, the Centre has decided to accord a state funeral to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the Defence Ministry said.
"The government has decided that the rare honour of a state funeral, usually given only to public figures, will be a fitting manner to honour Field Marshal Manekshaw. This is the first time a military person is being given a state funeral," a defence ministry official said.
Union Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju would represent the Central government at the funeral, while a representative of the Chief of Royal Bhutan Army Kinley Dorji would attend, representing the Bhutanese Army.
Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General M L Naidu and a Tamil Nadu minister would also be attending the funeral.
Defence minister A K Antony will not be attending the funeral.
"The defence minister will not be able to travel as it involves a long flight and then a journey by road to reach the place," the official said. He added that the participation of the chiefs of the three defence services was doubtful.
"The vice chief of army staff has already left. The chief of army staff is not in town and will not be attending. The other services will also be well-represented," the official said.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government announced a day's official mourning today. The National flag would fly at half mast throughout the state, an official press release said. Educational institutions in the Nilgiris would remain closed today as a mark of respect to the departed General, the release added.
According to Manekshaw's family members, the body will be taken to a cemetery in Ooty, where his wife was buried.

Manekshaw was born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar. He had his schooling at Nainital's Sherwood College. After completing his schooling, he should have gone to England to pursue higher studies; this was the promise made to him by his father but, fortunately for the Indian Army, Dr Manekshaw felt that this particular son was far too young to be on his own in a foreign country, even with his two elder brothers already studying there. So he was admitted to the Hindu Sabha College, Amritsar.
After a stint in Hindu College, he applied for and was accepted for entry into the first batch of the newly opened Indian Military Academy at Dehradun for training Indians for commissioned rank in the British Indian Army. He received his commission on 4th February 1934 and, after an attachment as was the practice then with a British Infantry Battalion, the 2nd Battalion the Royal Scots, he joined the 4th Battalion, 12 Frontier Force Regiment, commonly called the 54th Sikhs.
In 1937, at a social gathering in Lahore he met his future wife, Silloo Bode; they fell in love and were married on 22nd April 1939. Silloo is a graduate of Bombay's renowned Elphinstone College and also studied at the JJ School of Arts there. A voracious reader, a gifted painter and an extremely intelligent and interesting conversationalist, she has made an admirable wife and a wonderful mother. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment in action in Burma with the famed 17 Infantry Division. Sam was separated from his family for over three years and this separation was the cause of a celebrated example he was later to give while answering questions put to him in his capacity as Chief of the Army Staff by the Pay Commission.

On 22nd February 1942, occurred the much-publicised event when Sam was wounded. The retreat through the Burma jungle ended abruptly for him on 22nd February 1942, when seven bullets from a Japanese machine gun whipped through his body. The young captain who had just led two companies in the courageous capture of a vital hill was awarded the Military Cross.
"We made an immediate recommendation," a senior officer explained, "because you can't award a dead man the Military Cross." His orderly Sher Singh evacuated him to the Regimental Aid Post where the regimental medical officer, Captain G M Diwan, treated him overruling his protestations that the doctor treat other patients first. Sam was evacuated to the hospital at Pegu where he was operated upon, and then evacuated further to Rangoon, from where he sailed for India in one of the last ships to leave that port before it fell to the Japanese. He still carries the scars of this wound and I am not quite sure whether it is that or regular exercise that keeps his stomach in -- to the envy of people much younger than he.

Promotions followed in rapid succession and 1959 saw Manekshaw as commandant of the Defence Services Staff College. There his frankness got him into trouble with the defence minister, V K Krishna Menon, and his protege of the time, the late Lieutenant General B M Kaul; a court of inquiry was ordered against him.
The court of inquiry that was convened with the late Lieutenant General Daulet Singh, then Western Army commander, as presiding officer, exonerated Sam, but before a no case could be announced, fate intervened in the shape of the Chinese hordes that swept over what was always considered the impregnable Himalayas.

On 4th December 1963, Manekshaw took over as Army commander in the west, the second rung from the top. One of his brigade commanders was H S Yadav, the man who had been the principal prosecution witness in the case cooked up against him in 1961. At a party in an officers mess in Kashmir one evening, talk veered round to Yadav, and the senior brass, knowing the background and not averse to making a few points with the army commander, started on what each planned to do to catch or embarrass Yadav.
The army commander heard this for some moments and then butted in ('before I got sick' as he told me later) with 'Look chaps, professionally, Kim Yadav is head and shoulders above most of you, so forget about trying to catch him out. He just lacks character and there is nothing anyone of you can do about that.'

At a meeting in Delhi a few months later, Chavan, then the defence minister, asked him his views on which Army command Manekshaw considered most important, challenging and threatened. Eastern, said Sam, as it had the Chinese in the North, East Pakistan in the South and on its flank insurgency rampant in Nagaland and the Mizo Hills and, if all that was not enough to fill the hands of the incumbent, the troubled state of West Bengal certainly would. Chavan thought over the answer for a few moments and then asked if Sam would like to accept the challenge of taking over that command.
He accepted immediately. Manekshaw became the 8th Chief of Army Staff when he succeeded General Kumaramangalam on 7 June 1969. His years of military experience were soon put to the test as thousands of refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan started crossing over to India as a result of oppression from West Pakistan. The volatile situation erupted into a full-scale war in December 1971.
During this Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Manekshaw showed uncommon ability to motivate the forces, coupling it with a mature war strategy. The war ended with Pakistan's unconditional surrender, and the formation of Bangladesh. More than 45,000 Pakistani soldiers and 45,000 civilian personnel were taken as POWs. He masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the quickest victories in the recent military history. This led to the Shimla Agreement which opened the door to the creation of the nation of Bangladesh as separate from Pakistan.
The country honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1972.

How Gates makes a difference in India

Every life has equal value, believes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which works 'to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world'.
India was foremost on Bill Gates' healthcare plans. Gates believes that a country with such huge potential should not be burdened with dreaded diseases like AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
India has one of the largest HIV-infected populations in the world and this shocking facts about the HIV affected population drew his attention to this country.
Announcing one of the biggest grants for AIDS, the Bill Gates Foundation started its operations in India in 2003. The Foundation has invested a whopping $258 million to eradicate the killer disease from India.
The Foundation's goal "is to help apply science and technology to the problems of the neediest people", says Bill Gates.

RBI may hike key interest rates by 1%

Leading economists and financial sector analysts fear that the unabated inflationary pressures may push the RBI to further tighten the monetary policy by raising key interest rates by another one per cent.
"RBI could hike its benchmark rates to about 100 basis points during the year. The next phase of the rate hike would come in the July 29 policy," Crisil principal economist D K Joshi told PTI.
To anchor inflation, the central bank is likely to increase repo rate (short-term lending rate) by 25 basis points and CRR (the percentage of cash banks have to park with RBI) by 50 basis points next month when its come with the first quarterly review, he said.
For the week ended June 14, inflation soared to a 13-year high of 11.42 per cent against 11.05 per cent in the previous week.
If inflationary condition persists, the central bank would further increase rates in phases. On June 24, RBI increased the repo rate and CRR by 0.5 per cent each to tame inflation.
According to Goldman Sachs, RBI is expected to hike another 100 basis points through a combination of raising the repo rate, 50 basis points compared to our earlier expectation of 25 basis points and the cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points over the next three months, with risks towards more tightening.
Global rating agency Moody's, in its report, said RBI will further tighten monetary policy this year, but this will unlikely occur prior to the scheduled meeting in late July.

Quake rocks Andamans, Chennai affected too

Two successive intense earthquakes originating below the sea shook the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday evening and tremors were felt in Chennai but authorities ruled out any tsunami scare in the southern coast.
The temblors measuring 6.7 and 6.1 on the Richter scale hit the region at around 5:10 PM and 6:38 PM respectively, triggering panic among residents.
The Disaster Management Team in Port Blair said that the epicentre of the quakes was located close to the island, about 115 km northeast of Port Blair and 45 km below the sea.
"As such there is no tsunami warning," R V Sharma, Deputy Director General, Regional Met Centre in Chennai, said.
Its tremors were experienced in parts of Chennai too where employees ran out of their office housed in a multi-storeyed building after experiencing the shocks, police said.
"However, there are chances for more tremors and aftershocks," he said, adding the Met Centre was closely monitoring the situation. He asked people not to panic following the reports of tremors.
There was no immediate report of loss of life or damage to property.

RBI hikes key rates, loans to be dearer

Challenged by unrelenting inflationary pressures, Reserve Bank on Tuesday announced stringent measures of hiking mandatory cash reserve of the banks and its short-term lending rate to them to suck up an estimated Rs 20,000 crore -- a move that could make loans dearer for housing, car and personal expenses as also to the industry.
The announcement of hiking cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points and the short-term lending (repo) rate by a similar margin comes close on the heels of RBI Governor Y V Reddy discussing with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram the prevailing inflation scenario.
Reflecting the Finance Ministry's view that monetary policy would be the first line of defence against inflation that has surged to a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent, the RBI after intense consultation today pronounced the new measures, part of which would be effected in installments.
In a precursor to raising the CRR from 8.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent in two installments beginning July 5 and the repo rate from 8.0 per cent to 8.5 per cent with immediate effect, Reddy had said on Monday that the apex bank would do every thing to ease the inflationary pressures.
Expressing concern over rising inflation, RBI said, "Besides oil prices there are some underlying inflationary pressures impacting inflation in India.
" The Reserve Bank said the move is "somewhat painful" but timely contraction of money supply has to be viewed in the context of new reality of high and volatile energy prices, which is not a temporary phenomenon any longer.
Justifying the move, the central bank said, "It is important to ensure that generalised instability does not develop and erodes the hard earned gains in terms of both outcomes and positive sentiments on India's growth momentum.
"RBI's decision will have an impact on interest rates on various loans as is evident from bankers' reactions. Commenting on the impact of RBI's step, PNB Chairman K C Chakrabarty said prime lending rate could go up by 50 basis points. "All the loans linked to PLR like consumer loans, home loans, personal loans are bound to go up. At the same time, deposit rates would also be increased.
"HDFC [Get Quote] Managing Director Keki Mistry said," if the cost of funding goes up, we will pass on costs to our borrowers."However, IBA Chairman MBN Rao said banks would wait for sometime before increasing home loans. According to United Bank CMD P K Gupta, banks may have to go in for a hike in interest rates even before the monetary policy, scheduled for next month. However, the quantum of increase will be decided after assessing the situation and the need of the individual bank.UCO Bank [Get Quote] CMD S K Goel said it does not mean increase in rates across the board. "We can adjust our short-term loans by half a per cent."According to Indian Bank [Get Quote] Chairman M S Sundara Rajan, "We have to look at the PLR next. The bank is likely to take a decision on first week of July. Accordingly, deposit rates would also be hiked."Industry chambers fear RBI's step may also harm India's economic growth, particularly manufacturing sector. Ficci said the move would affect the manufacturing sector, which is already facing slackening due to high interest rates. This would also affect overall rate of growth of the economy.

Sensex still in red: Hindalco drops 8%

Mumbai: The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 148 points at 14,423. Minor pull-back in opening trades saw the index touch a high of 14,511.
The index, however, soon slipped deeper into red and touched a low of 14,163 - down 408 points from its previous close. Selective buying at lower levels helped the index recover some of its losses. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 278 points at 14,293. The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,697 stocks traded, 2,222 declined, 425 advanced and 50 were unchanged on Monday. The NSE Nifty shed 81 points and ended at 4,266.
INDEX SHAKERS...
Jaiprakash Associates and Hindalco slumped 8% each to Rs 153 and Rs 148, respectively.
Larsen & Toubro tumbled 6.5% to Rs 2,396. Maruti and Ranbaxy plunged 5.5% each to Rs 688 and Rs 513, respectively. Reliance Infrastructure and Mahindra & Mahindra shed over 4.5% each at Rs 917 and Rs 549, respectively. Tata Steel slipped over 4% to Rs 746. Reliance and SBI dropped 3.5% each to Rs 2,022 and Rs 1,205, respectively.
ACC and BHEL slipped over 3% each to Rs 606 and Rs 1,361, respectively. DLF and ICICI Bank declined around 2% each to Rs 446 and Rs 721, respectively.
...AND THE MOVERS
ONGC surged 2.5% to Rs 887. HDFC advanced 1.4% to Rs 2,215. Wipro, Infosys and Satyam were up over 1% each at Rs 480, Rs 1,848 and Rs 460, respectively.
VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS
Reliance Capital topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 354.50 crore followed by Reliance (Rs 343.50 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 239 crore), Larsen & Toubro (Rs 191.75 crore) and Anu Labs (Rs 180 crore). Reliance Petroleum led the volume chart with trades of around 1.42 crore shares followed by Reliance Natural Resources (1.39 crore), IFCI (1.07 crore), Chambal Fertilisers (1.05 crore) and Ispat Industries (82.77 lakh).

India's richest five lose Rs 5 tn to bears

Mumbai: Companies run by India's five richest, including the two Ambanis, have lost a whopping Rs 5 trillion in market value in the current bear phase that began early this year.
The cumulative market value of the companies belonging to the groups led by the five wealthiest of the country, Ambani siblings Mukesh and Anil, real estate magnate Kushal Pal Singh, software czar Azim Premji and telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal, on Monday fell to about Rs 8.5 trillion.
This marks a significant fall from over Rs 13 trillion on January 10 — when market benchmark Sensex hit a life-time high of 21,206.77 points before going southward.
The Sensex has plunged close to 7,000 points from its peak and on Monday recorded its fourth consecutive day of losses to settle at 14293.32 points — marking a loss of close to 1,500 points in the past four trading sessions.
Among the five groups, the one led by Mukesh Ambani, has recorded the maximum value erosion of about Rs 1,71,000 crore (Rs 1,710 billion).
Mukesh emerged as the richest person in India in March this year with a net worth of about Rs 2 trillion. Although Forbes' magazine named steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal on the top of its 'India's Richest' list with a net worth of $51 billion, Mittal is not a resident of India.
, market capitalisation of ArcelorMittal, in which Mittal holds a 43 per cent stake, has grown by close to Rs 2 trillion (about $46 billion) during the same period and is currently valued at over 142 billion dollars.
In the Forbes India list, Lakshmi Mittal was followed by Mukesh ($49 billion), Anil Ambani ($48 billion), K P Singh ($35 billion), Azim Premji ($14.8 billion) and Sunil Mittal ($12.5 billion).
The market capitalisation of firms belonging to Mukesh Ambani group currently stands at about Rs 3.7 trillion, as against Rs 5.4 trillion on January 10.
The second biggest loss has been seen in market value of Anil Ambani group, which has fallen by about Rs 1.3 trillion to Rs 1.9 trillion dollars. This includes Reliance Power, which was not a listed company on January 10.
Total market value of five ADAG firms, excluding Reliance Power that got listed on February 11, stood at Rs 2.5 trillion on January 10 and has dropped to Rs 1.6 trillion currently.
Including Reliance Power, the group's total listed value currently stands at about Rs 1.99 trillion. Reliance Power has also seen a sharp erosion in market value by falling to about Rs 38,900 crore (Rs 389 billion) from over Rs 84,000 crore (Rs 840 billion) on listing day.
The country's biggest real estate firm, DLF, majority owned by India's third richest K P Singh, has seen an erosion of close to Rs 1.2 trillion. Its market value dropped to close to Rs 76,000 crore (Rs 760 billion) from about Rs 1.9 trillion on January 10.
Bharti Airtel, run by Sunil Mittal, has also lost about Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) during this period. The company currently has a market value of about Rs 1.4 trillion.
The smallest loss has been seen in Wipro, run by India's fourth richest Azim Premji. The company's market value has dropped by just about Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to about Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion).
The net worth of these people are calculated mostly on basis of their shareholding in the listed group companies.
While wealth figures for Premji, Singh and Mittal reflect holdings in only one of group firms — Wipro, DLF and Bharti Airtel, the two Ambani groups have more than one listed firms.

Sharif barred from contesting by-poll

Islamabad: A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday disqualified former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif from contesting by-elections, Dawn News TV channel reported.
The three-bench full court, however, has conditionally allowed Shahbaz Sharif, who is the chief of PML-N and younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, to hold office of chief minister of Punjab province

Sonia Gandhi consults UPA allies on Indo-US nuclear deal

New Delhi: As Left parties continue to be unrelenting on their position on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday began consulting leaders of key UPA allies who disfavoured early polls.
Gandhi held discussions with NCP president Sharad Pawar, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in an effort to break the logjam over the issue that has created a face-off between the Congress and Left parties.
The leaders of the UPA constituents conveyed to Gandhi that they back the nuclear deal but do not favour early polls, particularly because of high inflation.
Emerging after the meeting, Prasad said the nuclear deal is good for the country as it will help meet its energy requirements.
He, however, disfavoured early elections and cited rising prices of essential commodities besides floods in North East as the reasons for this.

We will try to convince Left on N-deal: Congress

Noting that the Indo-US nuclear agreement is in "national interest," the Congress on Monday said the government would try its best to take along the Left in going ahead with the deal.
"The Left has given the government outside support for the last four years. We want to take them into confidence, take them along in going ahead with the deal," AICC spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.
He expressed the hope that the scheduled meeting of the UPA-Left committee on nuclear deal would yield some positive outcome.
Ahmed added that the next meeting was not compulsorily the last meeting of the UPA-Left panel on nuclear deal.
"A decision may be taken to meet again," he said.
"It was only with their consent that the government held negotiations with the IAEA. They have some concerns which the government will try and assuage in the meeting on June 25.
It is only through dialogue that a way ahead can be found. It is through dialogue that new opportunities arise," Ahmed said.
He said had there been no hope for a breakthrough, the talks would not have taken place.

Will PM quit over nuclear deal?

New Delhi: Caught between the UPA government's political compulsions to clinch the nucleal deal and the Left's vehement opposition to it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is reported to have told his party high command that he would rather quit than succumb to pressurues to abandon the deal.
A saving grace for the Prime Minister is that UPA’s coalition partners came out in strong defence of the government on the India-US nuclear deal on Thursday, even as they expressed apprehensions — evident also in the Congress — that a bitter parting of ways with the Left parties on the issue could weaken the secular challenge to “communal forces” before and after the elections.
Mukherjee is believed to have rejected the Left’s suggestion that while going to atomic watchdog IAEA, the government should also publicly say that it would not sign the 123 agreement.A day after the UPA-Left meeting to sort out differences over the deal was deferred till June 25, the ruling coalition allies held hectic consultations among themselves while also keeping in touch with the communists in a bid to find a way out of the imbroglio.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s 13 Talkatora residence became a hub of activity.
Among the late-night callers was CPM’s Sitaram Yechury. Sources said the meeting failed to break the stalemate. Mukherjee is believed to have rejected the Left’s suggestion that while going to atomic watchdog IAEA, the government should also publicly say that it would not sign the 123 agreement. At the time of going to press, Mukherjee was engaged in discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
At various points in time during the day, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD’s Lalu Yadav and LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan also visited Mukherjee to discuss the latest turn of events that threatens to create a situation where the ruling party has to assess the political implications — including early Lok Sabha polls — of pushing for the deal without the Left on board.
Lalu said the nuclear deal was necessary for the country’s development and that it would be unfortunate if it fell through. The railways minister — who met Yechury on Thursday — told HT that he had impressed on the Left leaders that such an opportunity (of signing the deal) would not come India’s way again. He felt the government was unlikely to fall but added, “We are all preparing for elections, anyway.
”Pressed about the possible timing of the elections, Lalu said, "It would not be held in the rainy season."
In an indication of how the nuclear issue would play out on the ground, Lalu linked the deal with bread and butter issues: "Governments come and go, but assets must be created for the next generation." He said instead of bickering, leaders must sit together and resolve issues with a cool head, adding: "We need both (the deal and the Left)".
Pawar also wanted the Left view on the nuclear question to be taken into consideration. "We are with the Congress on this issue, but committed to address the concerns of other supporters," Pawar told HT.
NCP spokesman DP Tripathi said it "was difficult but not impossible" to operationalise the deal by working out a consensus of all UPA supporters including the Left. PMK leader Ambumani Ramdoss, whose party is now out of the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu, said his party was "entirely with the Congress" on the nuclear deal.
The DMK has already extended unconditional support to the deal.With the allies coming out in support of the Congress and the government even while emphasizing the need for keeping the Left on board, the ruling party, as part of the consultative process, could call a meeting of the Congress Working Committee and of the UPA coordination panel.
A year ago, allies had rallied behind Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue in the same manner. This occasion, the UPA constituents -- as also a section within the Congress -- remain plagued with fears that an acrimonious split with the Left might help consolidate the communal forces, while damaging the long-term interests of the secular grouping in an era of coalition politics.
Theories in circulation include one suggesting that SP might bail out the government if the Left withdraws support. SP leader Rashid Masood said his party "would support whatever cause was good for the country".

Taliban is infiltrating into Pak troops: Report

The Pakistani Frontier Corps has been heavily infiltrated and influenced by Taliban militants, according to classified US documents appeared in a daily in London [Images] on Sunday.
There are "box loads" of reports of the troops joining militants in attacks on coalition forces, the classified US 'after-action' reports, compiled following clashes on Pakistan-Afghan border, said.
"The United States and NATO have substantial information on this problem. It's taking place at a variety of places along the border with the Frontier Corps giving direct and indirect assistance," the report in The Observer quoted an unnamed American official as saying.
"I'm not saying it is everyone. There are some parts that have been quite helpful. But if you have seen the after-action reports of their involvement in attacks along the Afghan border you would appreciate the problem."
The US documents reportedly describe the direct involvement of Frontier Corps troops in attacks on the Afghan National Army and coalition forces, and also about detailed attacks launched so close to Frontier Corps outposts that Pakistani co-operation with the Taliban is assumed.
The report quoted an unnamed source as saying: "The reality on the ground is that there are units so opposed to what the coalition is doing and so friendly to the other side that when the opportunity comes up they will fire on Afghan and coalition troops. And this is not random. It can be exceptionally well co-ordinated."
It quoted another unnamed source who had seen the documents as describing an attack last year where two Frontier Corps outposts appeared to have been directly involved in firing on Afghan forces before a militant attack.
The report said that Frontier Corps personnel had in the past been implicated in the past in murdering US and Afghan officers.
As the most high-profile case, it cited the example of Frontier Corps member killing Major Larry J Bauguess during a border mediation meeting.
James Appathurai, a NATO spokesman, said: "The real concern is that extremists in Pakistan are getting safe havens to rest, recuperate and retool in Pakistan and come across the border. The concerns have been conveyed to the Pakistan authorities."

FM in Saudi Arabaia, seeks more oil supply

India on Sunday asked the oil-producing countries to increase supply to control the prices as the present global inflation could not be tolerated.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram who is in Jeddah to talk to Saudi Arabia authorities for finding a solution to the ongoing oil crisis said, "My presence in Jeddah emphasises the global nature of inflation. We cannot operate under these prices and oil-producing countries need to calm oil markets."
Talking to NDTV, Chidambaram said, "Saudis have assured that supply will not be a problem."
On their part the Saudi Oil Minister Ali-al Naimi said, "We have already increased our supplies substantially."
Chidambaram along with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora had left for Saudi Arabia on Saturday night as part of efforts to address the issue of spurt in global oil crisis, a development that pushed the inflation in India to a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent.
Wondering as to how oil prices have doubled from $70 a barrel from August 2007, Chidambaram said, "There is ample evidence that large financial institutions, pension funds, hedge funds etc have channelised billions of dollars -- nay, trillion of dollars -- into commodity investments and commodity derivatives."
It is the common knowledge that these financial transactions are unregulated and highly opaque, the finance minister, who accompanied Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to the meeting, said, adding the demand for oil generated by these funds is purely speculative.
As per the price band mechanism, proposed by Chidambaram, consuming countries will guarantee that oil prices will not fall below an agreed level and producing countries will guarantee that oil prices will not rise above a guaranteed level.
"In the band between these two levels, let prices be determined by market forces. This is the only way to shelter the world from volatility and unpredictability in oil prices," he said.
Asserting that India has rediscovered its inner strengths in the recent years and acquired the capacity to end poverty, the Finance Minister said, "I speak with great anguish because the goals that we have set for ourselves are in great peril (because of surging oil prices)."
Pointing out that high oil prices have improved the balance sheets of oil-producing nations and companies, Chidambaram also called upon the oil producers to fund capacity expansion.
"Fresh investments are not materialising perhaps because of anticipated fall in demand. This is plainly wrong. The cyclical behaviour of oil markets is amply established and we know that oil production provides attractive returns in the long run," he said

Left leaders get death threats for blocking N-deal

New Delhi: Four top Communist leaders Sunday received death threats by mail for blocking the India-US civil nuclear deal and for allegedly "harassing" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury and Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders A.B. Bardhan and D. Raja got identical copies of the letter in flawed English, sources in both groups told IANS.
"May God bless this country to eliminate these r------ by any means. People are fed up with you.
Enough is enough," read the letter, apparently written by one Vinay Kateri from Mumbai.
Confirming that he had received the letter, Raja told IANS. "These kind of things keep happening in politics. We do not take it seriously.
"A CPI-M source said Karat too had got the hand written letter along with a computer printout.Accusing the Left leaders of "hijacking national interests," the letter asked the Communists, who are bitterly opposed to the nuclear deal, not to behave like "terrorists."
"Do not hold this country for ransom. Do not behave like terrorists," the letter said. It said the Communists were "suffering from blood cancer, namely anti-American virus."
"People of this country are tired with the r------- behaviour and for harassing the government for the last four-and-a-half years." A noting in the letter says a copy had been sent to the Congress office.
Alleging that the Left had blocked economic reforms and foreign direct investment, it warned that the Karat and his party would not get not even 15 Lok Sabha seats in any future election.
There was, however, a word of appreciation for Yechury. "Of the four, we consider Yechury as a just and a reasonable person. Please try to convince the three remaining r------," it said.

Expert: New AIDS threat emerging in India among 'call center Romeos'

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ A new AIDS threat is rising in India's numerous call centers, where young staff are increasingly having unprotected sex with multiple partners in affairs developed during night shifts, a top AIDS expert has warned. While India has made great strides in bringing down its HIV infection rate, the promiscuity among "call center Romeos" is a great concern, Dr.
Suniti Solomon, who detected the first HIV case in India in 1986, told an international medical conference Saturday. The United Nations, however, still estimates there are some 2.5 million Indians living with HIV and AIDS now.
"India has reached a plateau of the infections," Solomon told the International Congress on Infectious Diseases, which ends Sunday. Her concern now is the call centers, where many of the young staff work at night to correspond with the daytime working hours of their American and European clients.
"They have all the money. They huddle together in the night.
They are young, they are sexually active, so naturally they start," Solomon, who runs an AIDS center in the southern city of Chennai, told The Associated Press in a separate interview. She said at least three or four call center workers visit her clinic every week to get tested for HIV because they are worried after having unprotected sex.
It is estimated that India's call centers employ some 1.3 million people, mostly youths fresh out of school and colleges, earning a starting salary of 25,000 rupees (US$600) a month, more than a government doctor's paycheck. "You will see call center Romeos are a major high risk for HIV," Solomon said.
There are no figures for how many call center workers are infected with HIV. Citing confessions by the visitors to her center, Solomon said groups of young men and women rent apartments along the beach during the weekends and end up having multiple-partner sex. "If they are having sex just among themselves, and all are non-infected it is fine.
But if there is one person who has gone out of this group and brought in the virus, it will spread to everyone," she said. While the "call center Romeo" situation is a reflection of recent liberal values, India's anti-AIDS fight is also hampered by society's coexisting conservatism, Solomon told the conference.
She said this is evident in Hindu activists' opposition to circumcision which is proven to help inhibit HIV transmission on the grounds that it is against tradition and religion of Hindu-majority India. Solomon said she does not expect India to accept circumcision for preventing HIV infections.
A recent government study to gauge the acceptance for circumcision triggered a massive backlash by Hindu fundamentalists, who called it "obnoxious" and "a conspiracy." "If you go out into the streets and say I will do this (circumcision) to reduce HIV, there will be a chaos," she said.
"Vaccines have failed. Microbicides have failed.
This is one tool we have in hand but we can't use it.".