Muthalik arrested to save V-Day in K'taka

Bangalore: Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik was taken into ‘preventive custody’ ahead of the Valentine's-Day by Karnataka police in Gulbarga.
The head of this extreme-right group, Muthalik had threatened to marry off young girls found in the company of boys on Valentine's Day.
Earlier in the day a strong demand was made in the Rajya Sabha to proscribe organisations like the Sri Ram Sene, which have been indulging in moral policing in Karnataka and threatened to disrupt the Valentine's Day celebrations on Saturday.
CPM MP Brinda Karat said the Sene cited the recent instance of a girl committing suicide allegedly after being humiliated in Bangalore on Thursday for moving around with a Muslim boy. Karat also said that the daughter of a CPI(M) MLA was abducted and threatened in Karnataka, where the Sene has acquired the role of the "Hindu twin" of Taliban.
Describing the incidents as a "slap" on the face of democracy, she demanded that the Centre should take steps to ensure safety of young people on the Valentine's Day.

Balaji back in Test squad, Kulkarni surprise pick for NZ tour

Chennai: Medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji made a comeback to the Indian Test squad while fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni got his maiden national call-up for the tour of New Zealand.
For Kulkarni it was a surprise call since he made his first class debut for Mumbai just six months back while Balaji returned to the Test side after being selected for the one-day side in Sri Lanka earlier this month.

The national selectors Friday announced the squad of 16 each for three Tests, five one-dayers and two Twenty20 games for the 42-day tour in New Zealand starting Feb 25.

Dinesh Karthik pipped Parthiv Patel as the second wicket-keeper in all the three squads, riding on his brilliant form in the domestic circuit.

Squads:

Test: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Amit Mishra, L. Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik.

ODI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar.

Twenty20: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar.

Shahrukh Khan's residence attacked

Mumbai, Feb 13 (PTI) Two unidentified persons allegedly threw kerosene bottles at actor Shahrukh Khan's bungalow 'Mannat' in suburban Bandra in the wee hours today. "Around 0230 hours, motorcycle-borne miscreants threw the bottles filled with kerosene and fled from the scene.
The security men at the residence 'Mannat' chased the miscreants but in vain," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Niket Kaushik told PTI. When the incident occurred, Khan was not in the house and nobody has sustained any injuries, he said adding that a complaint has been registered and further investigation is on in the matter.

Railway Budget Highlights

Passenger trains will have 22% more capacity.
Two per cent cut in AC-Fares.
43 new trains to be introduced in FY-2010.
Feasibility study for Delhi-Patna Bullet train going on.
Rail passenger growth up 14%.
43 new trains to be introduced in FY-2010.
Freight rate to remain unchanged.
Railways to spend Rs 4000 crore on pensions.
To invest Rs 2.3 cr in the next five years.
Railways has invested Rs 38,000 crore in 2008-09.
6th Pay Commission implementation to hike expense by Rs 13,500cr.
Railways cash reserves touch Rs 90,000 crore .
4 call centres set up for rail enquiry.
Customers can now book tickets online.
Profits registeres without hurting the common man.
Railways managed 8 per cent growth in freight loading.
Freight capacity up by 78%.
Railways got loans at 4%.
Mishap rate has dropped drastically.
Lalu: Our Rail Budget has always been for the poor.
This would be UPA's last railway budget during this term.
The budgetary support to the railway plan will be about Rs 10,800 crore, representing a significant step up of 37 per cent compared with Rs 7,874 crore in 2008-09.
Government officials said the minister was keen on gifting lower fares to the janata in an election year despite resistance within the ministry.
Expectations are that Lalu Prasad's populist budget for 2009- 10 will include a substantial investment of Rs 12,000 crore for the ambitious East-West freight corridor.
Lalu Prasad Yadav looks all set to keep his date with history when he rises to present the interim rail budget in Lok Sabha.

TCS alters hiring strategy to focus on real-time talent

Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest IT company, has changed its hiring strategy and will focus on just-in-time hiring or real-time talent management.
"TCS has decided to adopt the policy of real-time management whereby we will hire in the last three months of the final year of graduation rather than a year before," said S Ramadorai, managing director and chief executive officer, TCS.
This will not only help the company to optimise and increase its utilisation, but also align its hiring strategy closer to the demand and supply of business, a company spokesperson said.
The company is working on ways to reduce the two-month training period by half. TCS, with over 130,000 employees, has already freezed lateral hiring and plans to hire only on need basis.
"The decision is also been based on our constant interaction with the academia, which have been telling that students are not pursuing higher studies as they get jobs and also during the academic year they tend to get lax," added the company's spokesperson.
The decision will not impact the company's current hiring plan of recruiting over 24,000 students for FY10. The step comes immediately after the Nasscom announcement to hire students only in their eighth semester. "Some firms were hiring in the fourth or fifth semester of an academic year.
However, now the IT trade body and companies have decided to hire only in the eighth semester of the academic year," said Nasscom President Som Mittal.
Mittal felt that this will help the students as well as the industry. "When you hire that early, students get confused and do not focus on their studies. Besides, we also realised that since many would get jobs they would not concentrate on further studies," added Mittal.

Ambani , Premji and Sanjay Dutt invited to meet Barack Obama

In view of the global meltdown and the choppy business atmosphere, prominent business tycoons are about to meet the U S President Barack Obama on Friday. The big names that represent the India Inc in the `Business Council’ are Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Wipro Chief Azim Premji.
According to sources, Mukesh and his wife Nita have left for the US on Wednesday and are expected to meet Barack Obama at White House for two hours on Friday morning. The couple will be joined by Premji. `The Business Council’ is an association of CEOs of the world’s most important business enterprises. It works as an independent forum for exchange of ideas and development of positive and practical recommendations for action.
Meanwhile, reports also confirm that Bollywood's Munnabhai Sanjay Dutt who is UNESCO's goodwill ambassador to fight against malnutrition is likely to have a meeting with newly elected President of the United States - Barak Obama. The meeting is likely to be in February and in New York.
Ever since its inception in 1933, `The Business Council’ it has been called upon by American presidents for advice. The Council limits itself to 150 active members, each of whom is selected on the basis of personal qualities and position as the CEO of leading private sector businesses. While Mukesh Ambani joins the elite team as the leader of the biggest private sector enterprise in India, Azim Premji represents the IT industry that has developed an indispensible work relation between India and the US.
Other global leaders in the delegation include Dow Chem CEO Andrew Leveris, Delta Air Lines CEO Richard H Anderson, Best Buy CEO Bradbury H Anderson, Motorola president Gregory Brown, Micheal Dell of Dell and Tony Haward of BP. Premji, whose presence in the group assumes significance in light of Obama's stand on outsourcing, has significant business interest in the outsourcing space.
Sanjay Dutt’s advocate Fali S. Nariman told the court that as a consequence of being appointed as UN's Goodwill Ambassador on malnutrition, Dutt's presence was required in United States in the first week of February.
He said the Director General, Head of Observer Delegation to United Nations Economic and Social Council, has addressed a letter to Sanjay in this regard.
The letter dated January 2 from UNESCO to Sanjay, on behalf of Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina against Malnutrition, invited the Bollywood star to join the gathering of goodwill ambassadors, including US president-elect Barack Obama's grandmother Sarah Obama, in New York in the first week of February 2009.

Nithari murder case: Death for Pandher and Koli

Ghaziabad: Businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surendra Koli were Friday sentenced to death for raping and killing a 14-year-old girl from Nithari village four years ago.
In the first verdict in what have come to be known as the Nithari killings, which shocked the nation with its overtones of sexual abuse and cannibalism, Special Judge Rama Jain had Thursday convicted Pandher and Koli for raping and killing Rimpa Haldar.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier Friday asked the court to sentence Koli to death but were silent on Pandher. Koli and Pandher were arrested on Dec 29, 2006, after police found 15 skulls outside the businessman's bungalow in Noida adjacent to the national capital. The house (D-5) in Noida's Sector 31, is next to Nithari village.
Subsequently, more bones were found in the drain behind the bungalow. Eventually, investigations revealed that the remains belonged to four women and 15 young girls who had been raped, killed and mutilated.
The CBI in its chargesheet in the gruesome murder of Haldar in May 2007 had exonerated Pandher of abduction, rape and murder.
Two months later, however, the court reprimanded the agency and Pandher was made co-accused with Koli.
The CBI chargesheet stated that Haldar was strangled and then cut to pieces by Koli with two kitchen knives and an axe four years ago. It said Koli was suffering from necrophilia (urge to have sex with a corpse) and necrophagia (urge to eat the flesh of a body).

Three Indians feared dead in US plane crash

New York: At least three Indians are feared to have been killed in an airline crash late on Thursday outside Buffalo, New York, early reports said.
The crash occurred after 10pm New York time in the rural village of Clarence Centre, and claimed forty-nine lives. News reports quoted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as saying that the plane was carrying 44 passengers and four crew on a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, which is a route Indian travelers frequently take.
The identity of the Indians onboard, if any, is yet to be revealed.Authorities said that the Continental Airlines Flight 3407, operated by Manassas, Virginia-based Colgan Air, was heading towards the Niagara FallsThe Erie County, New York, emergency coordinator said there were "multiple fatalities" including one person on the ground. About a dozen homes around the crash site were evacuated.
Thee Buffalo News daily reported on its website that there were no survivors among the 48 on board and one fatality on the ground, citing airport sources.Television footage from the scene in New York state showed a huge blaze still underway more than two hours after the crash.The aircraft, described as a 74-seat Bombardier, was approaching Buffalo Niagara International Airport when it went down.
The Washington Times quoted State Trooper John Manthey as saying that the plane hit a house in Clarence around 10:10 p.m. Thursday. Flames erupted from remnants of the house and aircraft as firefighters sought to control the blaze.
Clarence is about 20 miles northeast of Buffalo. Manthey says authorities don't know if there were any injuries in the home. Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonet was quoted as saying that the crash killed one person on the ground and an unknown number of people on the plane.
He says the plane was approaching Buffalo Niagara International Airport, about 10 miles away. Continental Airlines says the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 was operating between Newark Liberty International Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

26\11 had local help, says Mumbai Police

The Mumbai [Images] police has claimed that 16 Indians were involved in the 26th November terror attacks on Mumbai. Police Commissioner Hasan Ghafoor told rediff.com that 16 people were involved who either finaced or helped the attackers with logistics.
Ghafoor said that the people involved in the attacks hailed from north India. A list of the names of these16 people has been sent to Pakistan as the Mumbai police believes that they are hiding there.
A total of 18 people were involved in the attacks with two--Sabahuddin and Faheem Ansari-- already in police custody

Nithari verdict: Koli, Pandher convicted for rape, murder

Ghaziabad: In the first of the Nithari case judgments, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Thursday convicted businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surendra Koli for raping and killing 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar.
Special judge Rama Jain will pronounce the quantum of punishment Friday morning. While both Pandher and Koli were found guilty of murder and rape, Koli was also booked under the additional charge of abduction. Pandher was found guilty for destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy.
The two men were arrested Dec 29, 2006, after the Noida police found 15 skulls outside the businessman's D-5 bungalow in Noida on the outskirts of the national capital. Subsequently, more bones were recovered from the drain behind the bungalow. Eventually, investigations revealed that the remains belonged to four women and 15 young girls who had been raped, killed and mutilated.

Ask officially whatever you want: India to Pak

New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) With Pakistan saying it needs more information on Mumbai attacks to pursue probe, India today criticised it for talking through the media and asked it to seek officially whatever it wants. New Delhi made it clear that it will not "negotiate" through the media and reminded Islamabad about the official channels of communication which should be used.
"We would expect official communication from Pakistan whether they need anything extra and anything additional from us," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here. He was responding when asked about Pakistan saying it would require more information from India in connection with the Mumbai attacks as the dossier provided earlier was not substantial.
"They (Pakistan) should communicate officially, then we will be in a position to deal with it, otherwise it is going to be extremely difficult," Mukherjee said. Earlier, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon refused to comment on Islamabad's contention, saying Pakistan has been "saying various things at various times and in various forms to various audiences".

Satyam scam is a 'governmental scandal', says Advani

New Delhi: The Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000 crore) accounting fraud at Satyam computer Services was not a corporate scam but a "governmental scandal", senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani said.
"That all is not well with our corporate sector has been brought home with dramatic effect by the Satyam-Maytas scandal. But this is not simply a coporate scandal. It is also a governmental scandal," Advani said while speaking at the 81st annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
"It is impossible for such a huge fraud, involving allotment of lucrative land and plum infrastructure contracts without the involvment of those in power in Andhra Pradesh." "There must be a judicial enquiry into the matter," he said.
B. Ramalinga Raju, founder-chairman of the fourth largest IT firm in India, on Jan 7 shocked the nation as he admitted to the Rs.70-billion accounting irregularities in the firm over the years. The Maytas group includes companies promoted by his sons.
Ramalinga Raju, his brother B. Rama Raju, the company's former chief financial officer Vadlmani Srinivas and two former employees of the auditing firm Price Waterhouse are now in jail as investigations are under way.

Lashkar's Lakhvi planned Mumbai carnage: Pak minister

Islamabad: Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group had planned the Mumbai carnage, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said here Thursday.
"The Lashkar-e-Taiba which we have banned planned the attacks. One Zakiur Rehman of the LeT did the planning," Malik said at a press conference here to report on the progress in Pakistan's probe into the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai carnage that claimed more than 170 lives, including those of 26 non-Indians, and injured more than 300.
He said six people, including Lakhvi, had been arrested and a first information report registered against them for "abetting, conspiracy and facilitation" of a terrorist act.
According to Malik, one of the suspects, Javed Iqbal of Barcelona, had also been arrested and had provided names of the other suspects.
E-mail addresses had helped track down the ISPs through which the terrorists had networked during the Mumbai attacks, Malik said.
Pakistani investigators had also found leads from abroad, including the use of Austrian phones, payments from Spain and deals made in Italy.

26/11 conspiracy hatched on Pak soil, admits Malik

Islamabad: Pakistan admitted Thursday for the first time that "a part of the conspiracy" related to the Mumbai terror attacks was planned on its soil and that it had arrested six suspects.
But Interior Minister Rehman Malik insisted at a news conference here that the terrorists, who slaughtered some 170 people in Mumbai in November and who India says were Pakistanis, were "non-state actors".
Stressing that the Pakistani state had nothing to do with the Mumbai killings, he said: "This is an individual act, act of individuals or non-state actors. Their purpose is to create terror for their own motives. These motives need to be determined. Both India and Pakistan need to work it out."
"A part of the conspiracy has been done in Pakistan," the minister admitted, adding that a first information report (FIR) was registered in Islamabad Thursday.
"The alleged mastermind has been located and is under investigation," he said. He added that a total of six men had been arrested in Pakistan for their links with the Mumbai massacre.
Any Pakistani who directs, conspires or does an act of terrorism abroad would deemed to have committed the acts in Pakistan, he stated.
Pakistani had initially sought to deny any links with the 10 terrorists who sailed to Mumbai by sea from Pakistan Nov 26 and then went on a horrific killing spree that lasted three days.
Kasab is Pakistani
Nine of the terrorists were killed and one, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was captured. India said the terrorists were linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which has reportedly had close links with the Pakistani intelligence.
"Our leadership is fully concerned and serious in bringing all the culprits to justice," Malik said. "We are serious. We mean business. We have to bring these terrorists to justice."
He said Pakistan had gone the extra mile to prove its "sincerity, commitment against this act of terrorism". He added: "I would like to assure the government of India, the people of India, we are with you."
According to Malik, Pakistani investigators worked "day and night" and transformed information provided by India into credible leads to identify the conspirators in Pakistan who were linked to the Mumbai savagery whose victims included 26 foreigners.
He said three men facilitated "the acts of terrorism in Mumbai" and helped the terrorists, including Kasab, to reach the Indian city from the southern port city of Karachi.
The minister said the investigators had traced the owner of the shop that sold one of the rubber boats in which the terrorists sailed to Mumbai as well as its engine.
The shopkeeper provided the investigators a telephone number that led to more suspects as well as "hideouts of terrorists in Karachi", he disclosed.
A total of three boats used in the journey to Mumbai from Karachi had been identified.
"We have located those locations which were used by the terrorists (to train) before launching themselves," he said. "Some of the accused have given us the full run down."
All these "have given us a complete picture. Obviously these accounts lead to the (terrorist) leadership also", Malik asserted.
Pak desires more info
The minister, however, said Pakistan desired more information from India. He said a set of 30 questions had been sent to New Delhi through its envoy in Islamabad.
These included fingerprints of all the dead terrorists and also better pictures of the men who were killed by Indian commandos.
In one case, he pointed out, India had identified a dead terrorist as "Ali from Sialkot". This, he said, amounted to identifying a person as "John from New York" or "Sharma from Delhi".
"We are requesting this information. We have a joint responsibility. We need some help, we need more evidence."

Pak fires 30 questions for more info on 26/11

Islamabad: Details of fingerprints of the 10 gunmen, their intercepted phone conversations with their handlers and the DNA of lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab were sought by Pakistan today as part of 30 questions it was sending to India to get additional information on the Mumbai terror attack.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik urged India to provide more inputs which he said are sought in the 30 questions to help Pakistan secure convictions in the 26/11 strikes.
Malik said Pakistan wanted the DNA samples of Kasab to establish his identity. Among the things Pakistan wanted from India were Kasab's national identity card, electronic and digital diaries seized and the confessional statement made by him in the Indian court and details of who helped in refuelling of one of the three boats used by the terrorists.
The other questions relates to the probe by Indian investigators on local links in the Mumbai carnage, call details from each of cellphone used by the terrorists since they had Indian SIM cards and DNA details of the nine dead terrorists.
Pakistan also wanted inputs on how Kasab identified Lashkar-e-Taiba Operations Commander and alleged 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi.

Sri Lankan cricket captain Jayawardene quits

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene resigned from the post on Wednesday.

The Sri Lanka Cricket Board sources said Jayawardene decided to quit the captaincy from both forms of cricket after the Test series against Pakistan.

Sri Lanka was handed a 4-1 drubbing by India in the recently concluded One-day series during which Jayawardene’s lacklusture performance was criticised by top cricket officials, The Colombo Times reports.

Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Duleep Mendis said Jayawardene''s decision had been accepted and a new captain would be appointed for the one-day home series against Zimbabwe, which follows the Pakistan tour.

Jayawardene, who sat out Sri Lanka''s Twenty20 international against India on Tuesday, called for a meeting with the selectors on Wednesday morning and proposed that the time was right to hand over the captaincy, ensuring his successor had sufficient time to build the team for the 2011 World Cup. He was asked to reconsider but reiterated the time was right, given the heavy season ahead.

He then met Mendis and informed his teammates.

"This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on the team for the 2011 World Cup," Jayawardene said in a statement.

"I have concluded that the time has come for fresh leadership to takeover. It was not an easy decision to make because being the Sri Lanka captain has been the source of enormous pride. I hope to play a major part in the team''s success as a batsman,” he said.

Wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who is vice-captain of the squad, is likely to replace Jayawardene.

Jayawardene was appointed ODI captain in 2004 and took over the Test captaincy from Marvan Atapattu in 2006.

One of his major achievements was taking Sri Lanka to the 2007 World Cup where it was defeated by Australia. In 2008, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup defeating India in the final.

Jayawardene led the side in 94 one-day internationals, winning 54 and losing 35.

He led the Lankan squad in 26 Tests, winning 15 and losing seven.

Despite his recent poor form in, he remains a prolific run-getter in the longer version of the game averaging 64.70 as captain.

First Look: Priyamani's 'Drona'

'Drona', a mega budget film by newcomer J.Karuna Kumar, tells the story of the clash between a father and a son. The film also deals with terrorism.
The father is an upright Police Officer, but his son has no scruples in taking the law into his own hands. Nithin plays the hero and Priyamani is the heroine.
The film has been hogging highlights as Priyamani, known for her deglamourised role in 'Paruthiveeran', appears in a hot number with Nithin.
Here are a few scintillating snaps from the 'rain dance!

The most loved item dancers of Bollywood!

There comes a moment in every Bollywood movie when the viewer gets exhausted of “emotion, romance, drama and tragedy”. It is that time of the flick when the Dolby surround panel gets alive, and the screen transforms itself into a dance floor! Angels descend to devilishly danceable drum beats! ‘Jhatka’s and ‘matjka’s rule the screen! ‘Seeti’s fill the hall!

Deepal Shaw represents Gen Y of Bollywood. For Deepal, being bold is just a way of life. Having debuted as a singer with ‘Baby Doll’ (2004), Shaw logged into Bollywood playing a porn star in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Kalyug’. Her release for 2009 is ‘Tumse’, starring Irrfan Khan.

To call Kareena an item girl would be like calling Venus a Vamp! But then, we can never undermine Bebo’s ability to tease the mercury when she is on an Item cameo. Watch ‘Don: The chase begins!’, if you are a doubter!

A fantastic dancer, Koena got her Bollywood break through Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Road’. Her ‘Khullam Khulla’ number became a big craze.

If grace is what you want in an Item Number, you have to invoke Mrs. Malaika Arora Khan! For she is the deity of Item numbers! Malaika makes the Item Dance look as if it is a traditional dance form of India!

A synonym of Oomph, Mallika Sherawat has so much fire in her eyes that she can gut your house with a mere wink! Try this one, only if you are ready to get “fanaa”!!

Mumait Khan is India’s answer to..well.. whatever is hot, elsewhere. The lass oozes glam!

Rakhi Sawant has the whole of India unquestionably under her spell; a feat we would like to call “Rakhee Bandhan”. Here is the godmother of all item dancers on earth!

When Shefali Zariwala gyrated to the tunes of ‘Kaanta Laga’, ‘Kabhie Aar Kabhie Paar’, Pyaar Hame Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya’ and ‘Dil Kya Karen’, India danced with her. Well… almost!!!

Urmila might be on the bitter half of the thirties, but there is no taking away her glory on the floor. The travel from ‘Rangeela Re’ to ‘Mehbooba’ and ‘Tandoori Nights’ had been one helluva trip!!!

Here is one Czech model-actress (Jana Synkova), who thinks that Bollywood is the most happening place on the planet. She made her screen debut with the item cameo, “Babuji” in ‘Dum’. Yana, has, ever since, been a hot fav with the item number buff.

Are you in touch with Pak, Chidambaram asks Modi

New Delhi: Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday rebuffed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for saying that terrorists from Pakistan could not have attacked Mumbai without help from within India.
"You should ask Narendra Modi and Pakistan if they are in contact with each other," said Chidambaram, while explaining what he thought of Modi's remark. The minister refused to elaborate.
Speaking at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive meeting in Nagpur, Modi said: "Such a big terror attack on India cannot take place without any internal help." The Pakistan media used Modi's remarks to insist that the Mumbai terror attacks that killed some 170 people in Mumbai were abetted by what it said were alienated Indian Muslims.
Modi, however, said on Tuesday that he has been quoted out of context. "I meant to say that if Pakistan executed such a massive operation then it would not have been possible without a local recce. There must have been some networking. The Indian Government should also probe that angle," the Chief Minister had said.

Mumbai attack: India's restraint should not be seen as weakness: Antony

Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Wednesday said that India's descision to maintain its restraint in connection with Pakistan's probe of the dossier on the November 2008 attack should not be seen as a sign of New Delhi's weakness.
Addressing the media on the sidelines of the Aero-India show here, Antony said: "India's keeping restraint should not be considered its weakness. Our armed forces are fully prepared and we are reassessing our diplomatic options as well."
Commenting on the prevailing tense security scenario in South Asia, Antony said: "We have come to the conclusion that India will have to modernise its armed forces as soon as possible, because the security scenario in the neighbourhood is not going to improve in the future."
He further went on to say that the country has to be ready to confront any challenges to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Considering the present scenario around India, the country will have to be ready to meet any challenges, and India, is making all efforts to ensure that incidents like the Mumbai attack don't occur in the future," the Defence Minister said.
Expressing his delight at seeing the range of aircraft from all over the world on display at this Aero-India show, including the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, the Advanced Light Transport Aircraft (ALTA) Paras, Euro-fighters, F-18s, MiG 35s, Sukoi 30s and F-16s, Antony said: "I was excited to see the performance of the LCA as the country's Defence Minister."
However, he acknowleged that the country's armed forces were in need of modernisation, and ensured that nothing would come in the way of meeting this targetted objective.
"Modernisation of the armed forces will be given top priority despite the country's economy facing a slowdown," Antony said.
Commenting on the Indian Government's proposed plan to acquire 126 fighter ircraft, the Defence Minister said: "There is tough competition and contracts will be dealt with in a transparent manner. No compromises will be made on quality."
Dispelling rumours surrounding the government's acceptability of the LCA and the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun, he said that these two projects are "on the verge of sucessful completion."
Antony's comments soon after he inaugurated Asia's largest air show, Aero India 2009 at the Yelahanka Air Force station here.
Antony also handed over the keys of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) "Dhruv", hich was on display at the air show to the Ecuadorian Air Chief, marking the first export of the Dhruv ALH from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Talks are also on with Mauritius and Surinam for exporting "Dhruv".
The seventh edition of the five-day show would see the participation of 592 companies from 25 countries -- 303 international and 289 Indian. In size and number this is going to be the biggest air show hosted by India, so far.
Billed as Asia's premier event in the aviation sector, the five-day international trade expo-cum-conference will showcase an array of fighter jets, helicopters, transport and civil aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and a host of products/technologies that form the eco-system of the multi-billion dollar global aerospace industry.
Aero India 2009 will provide an ideal window of opportunity for companies to not only network with the Indian Industry but also to benefit from the sharing of expertise in the fields of research and development production and product support with other global players.
A number of aircraft, including F-16, F-18, MiG-35D, Eurofighter, IJT, Dhruv, Hawk, C-17, Embraer 135 business jet Legacy 600, C-130J, Citation XLS, G 550, AN-12 Cargo and A-310 MRTT are on display.
A 10 member Chinese delegation is here for the show for the first time. Defence Ministers of France, Peru, Bolivia, Surinam, Mongolia, Oman and Maldives will also witness the show. Sixteen junior ministers and Air Force chiefs of 11 countries are also Participating in the Aero India 2009.
Aero India 2009 is organised by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Germany and Italy are the largest participants with 31 company each coming to the show. The UK (26), Russia (24), USA (22), Australia (10), Belgium (17), Italy (19), Israel (11) are the other countries having large number of their companies coming to Aero India 2009.
The highlights of the Aero India 2009 are business-to-business meetings and human resource focused activities, apart from a space pavilion. There will be structured business-to-business meetings to offer maximum business opportunities to participants. By Praful Kumar Singh

Dhoni hails Pathan brothers for T20 win against Sri Lanka

Colombo, Feb 11 (PTI) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has hailed the Pathan brothers -- Yusuf and Irfan -- for their match winning eighth-wicket partnership and said if it wasn't for the them, the result of the match would have been different especially with the middle order finding it tough to score runs against the Sri Lankan spinners.
Yusuf and Irfan shared a crucial 59-run unbeaten eight-wicket stand to set up a pulsating three wicket victory for India in the one-off Twenty20 match against the Lankans yesterday.
"It was tough match, both when we were bowling and when we were batting as well. We played a couple of bad shots in the middle of the innings and the pressure came back to us.
"It was tough to score runs against the spinners as the ball was turning a lot. At one point of time, it even became difficult to rotate strike. But we have to keep that in mind as it was a good learning for us. The Pathan brothers brought us back into the game," Dhoni said after the match last night.
Man-of-the-match Yusuf, who picked up two important wickets for 23 runs during the Lankan innings and scored a breezy 22 to set the foundation for the victory, said he just played his natural game.

'Attacks on India likely to continue'

A Rand Corporation study on the November 26 terrorist attacks on Mumbai has concluded that India will remain a target of Pakistan-based terrorism for the foreseeable future because of the inability of New Delhi and the international community to compel Islamabad to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in that country.
Titled 'Lessons of Mumbai', the report posts the possibility of an escalating terrorist campaign in the region and the rise of a 'strategic terrorist culture'.
Citing Pakistan's 'inherent incapacities' to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and the expanding participation of Indians in Islamist violence, Angel Rabasa of the Rand Corporation, lead author of the report, said all of these coalesced into a grim prospect for the subcontinent.
Asked to elaborate on the doomsday scenario, Rabasa said, "There is an infrastructure of terrorist groups in Pakistan that have been targeting India at least for the past 15 years. and there seems to be very little indication so far that the government of Pakistan is able or willing to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure."
"There are some limitations as far as India and the international community is concerned with regard to the Pakistani policy and to the presence of these terrorist groups in Pakistan. As long as these terrorist groups are in place, they will target India. There are two basic premises: one, that these attacks are likely to continue as long as this terrorist infrastructure continues to be present in Pakistan and two, that there has been an unwillingness or inability on the part of the Pakistani authorities to shut down these infrastructures."
The root cause of the problem, Rabasa says, is that there are different power centres in Pakistan, and the civilian government is incapable of controlling the army and the Inter Services Intelligence. "It is conceivable that even the Pakistani military establishment may not have control over elements in the ISI that continue to support these terrorist groups. We do not see Pakistan as a unified actor in dealing with terrorist groups � there are multiple power centres. It is very hard to engage Pakistan to a reasonable degree."
All of this coupled with the nuclear deterrent, Rabasa argues in the study, limits India's options. "There is always a risk of escalation to nuclear level," Rabasa says, arguing why India cannot safely consider an armed response. "It seems to me that the Pakistani nuclear doctrine does not preclude the first use of nuclear weapons. Asif Ali Zardari has walked back from that at some points, but then he does not control the nuclear weapons of Pakistan. The ultimate decision makers, I guess, are the military in Pakistan. This is the constraint for conventional action as far as India is concerned."
Further, Rabasa argues, terrorist groups in Pakistan have diversified their infrastructure, "and so it is very difficult to disable these groups by a military strike on their facilities. You can always use military means, but the question is whether it would achieve the objective, mainly dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in that country."
Asked about India's use of massive international diplomacy and whether it could form an effective strategy, Rabasa said the point worth keeping in mind is that as far as the US is concerned, Pakistan has become the epicentre of global terrorism.
"Al Qaeda has established itself in the tribal areas of Pakistan and there are also other terrorist groups. Even the United Kingdom has suffered terrorist attacks that had links to Pakistan. Terrorists finding sanctuaries in Pakistan is an international problem and therefore, there is a major international interest in securing Pakistani cooperation in dismantling these terrorist infrastructures."
Rabasa pointed out that if the US was to succeed in its offensive against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, it had to start by eliminating terrorist sanctuaries. "The US is constrained by the fact that it relies on Pakistan for logistical support for its operations in Afghanistan. Therefore, to be able to find ways to persuade sectors in Pakistan that tolerate these terrorist groups, the US needs to find ways to review its reliance for logistical support on Pakistan," Rabasa said, arguing that as long as the US was reliant on Pakistan support, it would lack full freedom to move against terrorist infrastructures in the region.
The comprehensive study points the finger directly at the Lashkar-e-Tayiba for the Mumbai attacks, but stops short of arguing that there was some level of complicity by the ISI. "We know that LeT has historically had links with ISI -- in fact, the LeT was established with the support of the ISI," Rabasa pointed out.
"But we do not have enough information to make the judgment as to whether ISI, or elements within the ISI, were involved in the terror attack or had knowledge of this specific operation. The LeT has been allowed to operate very openly in Pakistan, but we do not have enough evidence to suggest that there was complicity between the ISI and LeT."

Pakistan registers case against Kasab, 13 others

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday registered a case against Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab , the lone terrorist captured alive during the Mumbai attacks, and 13 others in connection with the terror strikes.
The case was registered on the basis of the probe conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency and the decision made by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet during its meeting on Monday, TV channels quoted unidentified sources as saying.
The case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Geo News channel reported. It quoted sources as saying that the case was registered at the Dockyard police station in Karachi.
Geo News also said that the three persons, who were arrested earlier in Karachi, were among the others named in the case. Nine more persons had been identified but were yet to be taken into custody, the channel reported.
Legal experts said that Pakistan will need the cooperation of Indian authorities to proceed with the case and bring it to court. Pakistani authorities might also need to seek access to Indian witnesses to proceed with the case, they said.
During its meeting on Monday, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet decided to register a case and conduct further investigations to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, according to Pakistan laws.
The meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ,said it would be "exceedingly difficult to complete the investigation and proceed with the case without substantial evidence" from India.
It also decided to send further queries to Indian authorities. Pakistan detained or placed under surveillance some 124 members of the Lashker-e-Taiyba and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
The LeT and Jamaat founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and communications expert Zarar Shah are among those detained.

Pakistan's nukes not a deterrent for India, says Antony

Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that Pakistan's nuclear capabilities may be a factor in any hesitation by India to carry out a surgical strike against terror camps and said its restraint should not be construed as a weakness.
"It (nuclear weapons with Pakistan) has nothing to do with that (decision not to strike). India's restraint should not be taken as a weakness," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of the Aero India show in Bangalore.
Blaming 'responsible elements in Pakistan' for the November 26 Mumbai [Images] terror strikes, he said the attacks were inspired and sponsored by these sections in the western neighbour.
Stating that the security situation in the region would not change in the near future, the minister said, "I do not think there is going to be a big improvement in our vicinity."
He said modernisation of the armed forces was a top priority of the government and added that the meltdown, though it had impacted the nation's economy, would not be allowed to affect the budgetary allocations for defence of the country.
"We all know that there has been some impact of recession. Compared to other countries, we are less affected. But we still have problems. Despite this, modernisation of the defence forces will be our highest priority and it will continue," he added.

Pathan brothers lead India to win

World champions India relied on a late blitzkrieg by Pathan brothers Yusuf and Irfan to snatch a thrilling three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the one-off Twenty20 International in Colombo on Tuesday night.
Chasing a stiff target of 172, Irfan (33 not out) and Yusuf (22 not out) scored 59 runs from 25 balls in the tense final moments to steer India home in a pulsating floodlit contest at the Premadasa Stadium.
Suresh Raina (35) and Yuvraj Singh (32) were the other notable performers for the visitors as India capped their brief tour of Sri Lanka with a stunning victory in the Twenty20 game in addition to their 4-1 ODI series triumph.
Earlier, captain Tillekaratne Dilshan led from the front, smashing his maiden half century to guide Sri Lanka to a competitive 171 for four.
Electing to bat at the Premadasa Stadium here, Sri Lanka made a rollicking start with openers Sanath and Tillakeratne Dilshan scoring more than 10 runs per over in the first five overs.
But once Jayasuriya was out for 33 in the sixth over off Irfan Pathan , Sri Lankan wickets fell at regular intervals and some intelligent bowling by the Indians saw the home team slowing down the pace to just cross the 170-run mark.
Captain Dilshan (61) survived a close call in the very first ball of the innings off Zaheer Khan and five deliveries later he was dropped by Irfan when on zero.
Ishant Sharma was shown scant respect by Jayasuriya who hit the young fast bowler for one four and two huge sixes to take 18 runs in the fourth over.
The young Delhi fast bowler conceded 26 runs from his first two overs and was replaced by Irfan.
Sri Lanka were on the top after reaching their fifty in the fifth over with Jayasuriya being the main contributor before the Indians applied the brakes.

India snatch thrilling win

Colombo:World champions India relied on a late blitzkrieg by Pathan brothers Yusuf and Irfan to snatch a thrilling three-wicket victory over Srilanka in the one-off Twenty20 International here tonight.
Chasing a stiff target of 172, Irfan (33 not out) and Yusuf (22 not out) scored 59 runs from 25 balls in the tense final moments to steer India home in a pulsating floodlit contest at the Premadasa Stadium here.

Suresh Raina (35) and Yuvraj Singh (32) were the other notable performers for the visitors as India capped their brief tour of Sri Lanka with a stunning victory in the Twenty20 game in addition to their 4-1 ODI series triumph.

Earlier, captain Tillekaratne Dilshan led from the front, smashing his maiden half century to guide Sri Lanka to 171 for four after he won the toss and elected to bat.

Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya contributed a quickfire 17-ball 33 in the first Twenty20 match between the two sides

Al-Qaida warns India of more 26/11-style attacks

London: A top al-Qaida commander, who was reported killed in a US drone strike last year, has appeared in a video warning India of more Mumbai-style terror attacks if it tried to attack Pakistan.
"India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan," Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, believed to be al-Qaida's military commander in Afghanistan and ranked behind No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, said in a 20-minute video in Arabic received by BBC. Yazid, who the Pakistani military said may have been killed in fighting last August in the Bajaur tribal region, said: "The Mujahideen will sunder your armies into the ground, like they did to the Russians in Afghanistan.
"They will target your economic centres and raze them to the ground." Yazid denounced the ban on militant groups in Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks and asked the people of Pakistan to rise up and overthrow the government and President Asif Ali Zardari, the BBC reported.
The al-Qaeda leader is said to have been involved in a number of terror attacks, including last year's Danish Embassy bombings, in Pakistan and had claimed the responsibility of assassinating former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He was last heard in August 2008 when he confirmed the death of al-Qaeda chemical-weapons expert Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar.

Get serious about war on terror, Obama warns Pak

In a stern warning to Pakistan, President Barack Obama on Tuesday asserted that his administration will not allow "safe havens" for Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists operating with "impunity" in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
This is the message his special envoy Richard Holbrooke, currently in , has been asked to deliver to Pakistan, Obama said.
"My bottom line is that we cannot allow Al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region," Obama said in his first press conference after assuming office on January 20.
"You've got the Taliban and Al-Qaida operating in the Federally-administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and these border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Obama said.
The 47-year-old President said one of the goals of Holbrooke, as he is travelling throughout the region, is to deliver a message to Pakistan that they are 'endangered as much as we are by the continuation of those operations, and that we have got to work in a regional fashion to root out those safe havens."
Obama, who took questions on the situation in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in his hour-long news conference, said the US has not seen concerted efforts to destroy such 'safe havens'.
"What we haven't seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that would ultimately make our mission successful," he said.
"We are going to have to work both smartly and effectively, but with consistency in order to make sure that those safe havens don't exist," he said.
The new administration is carrying out a thorough review of the US policies on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Obama said he appointed Holbrooke as Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan with the purpose of eradicating terrorism from the restive tribal areas.
Holbrooke is currently in Pakistan from where he would be going to Afghanistan and then to India, for meeting and consulting with the leaders and people in the region.
When asked if he had any timetable for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Obama said: "I do not have yet a timetable for how long that's going to take. What I know is I am not going to make -- I'm not going to allow Al Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden to operate with impunity, planning attacks on the US homeland."

India capable of facing any security threat, says Antony

India is capable of facing any threat to its security coming from any quarter, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said in the wake of a warning from a top Al Queda commander.
"One thing I can tell you. Whatever threat coming from any quarter, our armed forces are always ready to face them," Antony said on the sidelines of a function in Thiruvananthapuram.
Commenting on Pakisthan Demand for more information from India to complete its probe into the Mumbai terror attack, Antony said he had nothing more to add than what External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said on the matter.
"My senior colleague Mukherjee had already made India's position clear on the matter. He had already explained this categorically. We are one government, one voice," Antony added.

Why Al Qaeda threatened India

The latest video threatening to carry out more 26/11 type attacks in India, is adding to the concerns of the security forces, who already have their hands full dealing with the likes of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and home-grown jihadi outfits.
Intelligence Bureau agents say India has never been on Al Qaeda's direct radar though the latter has backed outfits like the Lashkar and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami to operate in India.
According to the IB sources, the reason for Al Qaeda's sudden, aggressive stand is because of India's growing proximity to the US. Al Qaeda's position is clear: 'Whoever is a friend of America is an enemy.'
The IB sources say Al Qaeda suspects the India-US relationship will prove fatal for its operations in Afghanistan. It hopes its threat will act as a cautionary note for India's security and strategic planners and slow down Indian designs of helping the US in Afghanistan.
Although Al Qaeda has not directly interfered in India, its influence in several attacks is clear. The Mumbai terror strikes were inspired by earlier Al Qaeda attacks, the IB sources add. Moreover, the training modules and motivational speeches used to prepare for the 26/11 attacks were lifted directly from Al Qaeda manuals.
Even the attacks in Bangalore and Surat had Al Qaeda thumbprints, investigating agencies say. Investigating agencies say an integrated chip was used in these two blasts, and this technology is lifted from Al Qaeda manuals. An integrated chip was first used in Indonesia by the Jemaah Islamiyah, a wing of Al Qaeda.
Another interesting theory for Al Qaeda's sudden interest in India is because of the split in the Lashkar and HuJI over Pakistan's policy towards the US. IB sources told rediff.com that several Lashkar and HuJI leaders are adamant that not an inch of ground should be conceded to the US for its war in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence directorate directed the Lashkar to go soft on this issue. This led to a split in the Lashkar with several of its terrorists shifting base to Afghanistan and aligning with Al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda is now under pressure from its new Lashkar recruits to do more than the Lashkar in the 'war' against India, especially in Kashmir.

Underworld threat to Kasab

February 10, 2009 19:44 ISTMohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab [Images], the lone terrorist caught alive in the November 26 terror attack in Mumbai [Images], is facing threat from the underworld, the police said on Tuesday.
"We have received intelligence inputs stating that Kasab's life may be under threat from the underworld," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria [Images] said. Maria said final touches are being given to the chargesheet in the terror attack case but refused to reveal the date by which it would be filed before a special court set up for the trial.