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killed, 3 injured in Mysore communal clash Mysore:
Two persons were killed and three others injured as two communities armed with
batons and weapons clashed over an alleged desecration of a religious school in
Mysore district of Karnataka on Thursday. According to the police, they had to
resort to lathi-charge and use teargas shells to disperse the crowd, as the news
about the desecration angered members of one community, who came out with weapons
and batons onto the streets and had a scuffle with members of another community.
During the clash, a 47-year-old labourer was caught in the scuffle and was beaten
to death, while the identity of the second person killed was not known immediately,
the police said. The three injured persons were admitted to a nearby Government
hospital. Following the incident, all the business establishments were shut down
in the area, and a prohibatory order under Section 144 of the CrPC was promulgated.
Air India employees
to go on strike over non-payment of salaries Top New
Delhi: Employees of India's flagship carrier Air India have announced they
will be on strike for two hours on Friday in protest against non-payment of salaries.
Air India has said it will not be able to pay the salaries tomorrow as scheduled.
In retaliation, the employees said they would go on a strike between two and four
in the afternoon, and thereafter on an indefinite strike. Civil Aviation Minister
Praful Patel has said the government cannot bail Air India out every time, and
it is time for the flagship carrier to tighten its belt and resolve its financial
woes. Air India's borrowings have risen from Rs.6, 550 crore in November 2007
to Rs.15, 241 crore in June this year. He said that the airline has been asked
to prepare a restructuring plan in the next 30 days. In reply to a question in
the Lok Sabha, Patel said the borrowings have gone up largely due to servicing
of debt on account of purchase of new aircraft and its operating losses, which
have compounded due to the present economic recession and the high oil prices
last year. He said the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) has
been advised to formulate "a concrete proposal for equity induction and provision
of loans". Patel also made it clear that there was no plan to retrench any employee
of Air India. He later told reporters outside Parliament that government's support
to Air India "cannot be taken for granted". The carrier plans to start a low-fare
airline for the domestic sector as new budget airlines gain market share. The
carrier may set up under the Air India Express brand, which now is a low-fare
unit for international routes, chief commercial officer Tara Naidu said.
Fuel price hike forces Parliament adjournment
Top
New Delhi: The UPA
Government and the opposition on Thursday traded charges over the fuel price hike
on the first day of the Budget session of Parliament. Non-Congress parties, including
UPA allies DMK and Trinamool Congress, slammed the hike and demanded a roll back.
The government, however, refused to budge on the issue. The issue was raised in
the House as soon as it met. Leading the protest were the Samajwadi Party and
Left parties. Members from BJP, Shiv Sena, RJD, BSP and TDP joined them. The furore
forced two adjournments during Question Hour. The House was later adjourned for
the day when it met after the lunch recess. Prior to the last adjournment, Petroleum
Minister Murli Deora rejected the demands for roll back and said the suggestions
would be considered "suitably" if there is a fall in international crude prices.
"In view of the continuous rise in global crude prices, a marginal increase had
become unavoidable," he argued and said the petrol price was raised by "only"
Rs.4 against Rs.6.9 as desired and diesel price by "only" Rs.2 against Rs.4.11
"keeping in mind the interests of 'aam aadmi' (common man)." He said the government
for which the projected subsidy burden amounted to Rs 30,000 crore did not increase
the retail prices of PDS kerosene and LPG. Earlier, the House witnessed uproar
over the hike. DMK member T R Baalu was strident in his criticism. "This government
is not a unitary government but is supported by DMK and Trinamool Congress. It
(hike in prices) is not at all good. It should have been discussed with party
leaders as also in the Cabinet," Baalu said. "I strongly condemn the act. It should
not recur. I am saying this as a close friend of Congress," he said, adding that
it was "nowhere justifiable" as the action has come a day before the Budget Session
was to start. He said: "It is an alarming situation that the government headed
by Manmohan Singh and supported by Sonia Gandhi and 'Kazhaignar' (Karunanidhi)
(is) taking such decision...(it) is not at all good. It should have been at least
discussed with party leaders, if not in Cabinet." Trinamool member Sudip Bandopadhyay
said the decision should be revoked. "We understand that international crude prices
have gone up. But this (price rise) will affect common people," he said. Accusing
the government of "violating parliamentary propriety", BJP leader Sushma Swaraj
said the move to hike petrol and diesel prices "raises suspicion as to which companies
will be benefited by this decision." "The government has been saying that the
public sector oil companies have been making profits and giving dividends to it.
Then why this secrecy," she asked. Akali Dal's Rattan Singh Ajnala said the new
government had given a "big gift" to the people on the first day of the budget
session. Independent member Inder Singh Namdhari said about 3,000 farmers of Palamau
in Jharkhand had written to the President seeking permission to commit suicide
because government has done nothing to save them from the drought conditions prevailing
in the region for the past three years. "You have only added salt to their injury
by increasing diesel prices," he said. Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete, M Thambidurai
(AIADMK), Narahari Mahato (Forward Bloc) and Shailendra Kumar (SP) demanded immediate
withdrawal of the hike. Farmers
oppose fuel price hike Top Rohtak
(Haryana)/Mumbai: Farmers have reacted strongly to the hike in the prices
of petrol and diesel. The delayed monsoon is forcing them to irrigate their fields
through tubewells, which consume around 15-20 litres of diesel. They said the
price hike would make the running of tubewells very difficult. "This is the time
to sow paddy in the fields. The monsoon has not arrived as yet. We have to use
tubewell water to irrigate the fields. The tubewell consumes around 15 to 20 litres
of diesel. But now, after the hike in prices of fuel, how will we arrange for
so much money to run the tubewell? It will be very difficult for us. We will face
heavy losses," said Rajendra, a farmer. The farmers said the prices of vegetables
and other commodities would also go up, as transportation costs would rise because
of the fuel hike. "With the increase in fuel prices, the prices of vegetable will
also go up," said Bheema Chavan, a vegetable seller in Mumbai. Petrol and diesel
prices rose by as much as 10 percent in India, on Wednesday, the first increase
this year and one of the steepest ever. Petrol prices rose by four rupees a litre,
while diesel rates were hiked by two rupees a litre. Prices were last raised in
June last year, when the average price of India's crude imports were 113 dollar
a barrel, but they were cut in December and again in January as oil prices tumbled.
The government has not increased the price of cooking gas and kerosene to protect
the poor and middle-class. Despite price increase, oil firms say they were likely
to suffer a revenue loss of 560 billion rupees on sale of petrol, diesel, cooking
gas and kerosene this fiscal. National
Intelligence Grid, NCTC to be set up by September Top New
Delhi: The Union Home Minister on Thursday said that it would set up a National
Intelligence Grid (NIG) and National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) by September
end in order to strengthen the intelligence sharing and analysing mechanism in
the country. The clarification was made in an action plan that was released in
New Delhi on Thursday. According to the Home Ministry Action Plan II, the establishment
of NIG would be completed by September 30, as the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), which
shares intelligence information with states and the security establishments, has
already come into existence in the first phase. The NIG would help the intelligence
and law enforcement agencies in the country to get a quick and secured access
to desired information. While the user agencies and the databases have been identified,
the complete NATGRID programme is would be delivered in three phases within two
years time. The Home Ministry has also targeted the date for final proposal and
acquiring necessary approvals for the set up of National Counterterrorism Center
(NCTC) as September 30. The aim of NCTC would be to create a 'National Network
Security Architecture', to address a host of problems that plague the internal
security structure. Highlights
of Economic Survey 2008-09 Top New
Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Economic Survey 2008-09
to Parliament today. The highlights of the Economic Survey 2008-09 are as follow:
1. Economic growth decelerates to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 compared to 9 per cent
in 2007-08 and 9.7 per cent in 2006-07. 2. Per capita growth at 4.6 per cent.
3. Deceleration in growth spread across all sectors except mining and quarrying;
agriculture growth falls from 4.9 per cent in 2007-08 to 1.6 per cent 2008-09.
4. Manufacturing grows at 2.4 per cent, slowdown attributed to fall in exports
and a decline in domestic demand. 5. Global financial meltdown and economic recession
in developed economics major factors in India's economic slowdown. 6. Investment
remains relatively buoyant, ratio of fixed investment to GDP increased to 32.2
per cent in 2008-09 compared to 31.6 per cent in 2007-08. 7. Fiscal deficit to
GDP ratio stands at 6.2 per cent. 8. Credit growth declines in the later part
of 2008-09 reflecting slowdown of the economy in general and the industrial sector
in particular. 9. Increased plan expenditure, reduction in indirect taxes, sector
specific measures for textile, housing, infrastructure through stimulus packages
provides support to the real economy. 10. Merchandise export grows at a modest
3.6 per cent in US Dollar terms while overall import growth pegged at 14.4 per
cent. 11. A large domestic market, resilient banking system and a policy of gradual
liberalisation of capital account to help early mitigation of the adverse effect
of global financial crisis and recession. 12. Sharp dip in the growth of private
consumption a major concern at this stage. 13. Medium to long-term capital flows
likely to be lower as long as the de-leveraging process continues in the US economy.
14. Revisiting the agenda of pending economic reforms imperative to renew the
growth momentum. Andhra
parliamentarian Jagannath apologises for slapgate Top Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Congress MP MS Jagannath on Thursday apologised for slapping a
bank manager on Monday. Speaking to reporters he said, " It is an unfortunate
incident. I applogise for it." Earlier reports said that Jagannath had been summoned
to New Delhi to explain his behavior, but today he said he had not received any
such summons from the party headquarters. "I have not got any summon from the
high command in this regard. It is my duty to brief my leader, hence I will do
so." The Congress MP from Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh's Mahabubnagar District
had earlier denied slappin AP Grameen Vikas bank manager Ravinder Reddy, saying
that he had tried to put his arm around the latter's shoulder. Employees of the
grameen banks in the Congress-ruled state were up in arms and staged protests
in several districts and stopped disbursal of loans under government schemes.
The bank branch where the incident happened has threatened to go on strike from
today. Police booked a case against the MP on charges of assault and use of criminal
force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty and said investigation
was on. The manager claimed he was manhandled and his shirt torn. The Andhra Pradesh
Bank Association has said that it will approach the state human rights commission
to inquire into the matter. Chinese
nuke power to rise 10-fold by 2020 Top Beijing:
China is planning an installed nuclear power capacity of 86 gigawatts (gW)
by 2020, up nearly 10-fold from the 9 gW capacity it had by the end of last year,
said two people familiar with the matter. The revised target for nuclear power
is part of the government's efforts to increase the share of alternative energy
in the predominantly coal-based energy mix. The goal, which is part of an alternative
energy development roadmap covering 2009-20, seeks to have at least 12 gW of installed
nuclear power capacity by 2011, the sources said. The plan "will call for the
government to accelerate nuclear power development in coastal provinces and autonomous
regions, namely Liaoning, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong
and Hainan," the sources said. In order to achieve the goal, the government will
also set up a "reasonable number of nuclear power plants in inland provinces in
Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan and Hubei", they said. The target, which the people said
had still not been finalized, was substantially bigger than earlier goals. China,
the world's second-largest power market, now has 11 working nuclear reactors,
producing 9.1 gW as of the end of last year. China is now adding more than 24
reactors, which includes five plants scheduled to start construction this year.
According to the draft alternative energy development stimulus plan, the government
is also planning to have 150 gW of installed wind power capacity by 2020, of which
30 gW will come from offshore wind farms, the people said. Installed wind power
capacity should reach 35 gW by the end of 2011, of which 5 gW will come from offshore
wind farms, the China Daily says of the draft plan. China, which is now the fourth
largest wind power producer in the world, had 12.17 gW in installed capacity as
of the end of last year. It plans to build seven huge wind farms with a minimum
capacity of 10 gW each by 2020, Shi Pengfei, vice-president of Chinese Wind Energy
Association, said earlier this week. The seven bases, once completed, will have
a combined capacity of around 120 gW, according to Shi. Construction of these
bases, which is spread across six provinces, would require an investment of around
1 trillion yuan, the official said. 'Killer
surgical drug' found at Jacko's home Top London:
A killer surgical drug was reportedly among the cocktail of prescription drugs
found at Michael Jackson's LA home after he passed away on June 25. Propofol,
dubbed "the milk of amnesia", which is used to anaesthetise patients before surgeries,
was said to have emerged at the singer's mansion. Experts warned the white fluid,
also called Diprivan, could bring on cardiac arrest, from which Jackson apparently
died, if mixed with narcotic painkillers like Demerol, allegedly given to the
star before his death. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Pearlman Hicks, who never
treated the King of Pop, warned about the disastrous consequences of the drug,
believed to have been given to Jackson as a sleeping aid. "Diprivan is an anaesthetic
drug. It is used in operating theatres. It should definitely not have been in
Michael Jackson's home...It is such a dangerous drug it could kill you in a minute.
It needs to be administered by a trained professional in a controlled environment
and should only be used when surgery is taking place. To hear that it was in Michael's
house is a very frightening thing," British tabloid The Sun quoted him as saying.
Jackson's nurse Cherilyn Lee also revealed that she had teamed up with the icon
three months ago to help him with his insomnia and restore his energy values for
his comeback concerts in London. The nutritionist revealed that she was mortified
on being told that doctors had previously given Propofol to Jackson. She said:
"I told him it wasn't safe. I said this medication will cause a lot of problems.
I said, 'You're so concerned with wanting to sleep and sleep well - but my concern
is, if you have something like this, will you wake up'?" |
