| 140
killed, 816 injured in China riots Beijing:
At least 140 people have been killed in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang
in what has been described by the government as the area's worst case of ethnic
unrest in years. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news
agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighurs took to the streets of the regional
capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of
anti-riot police. Li Zhi, the Communist Party boss of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang
province, told reporters that the death toll from the rioting had risen to 140,
and added that 816 people had been injured and hospitalised. "Police have tightened
security in downtown Urumqi streets and at key institutions such as power and
natural gas companies and TV stations to prevent large-scale riots," Xinhua quoted
Xinjiang police chief Liu Yaohua as saying. The riot in Urumqi, a city of 2.3
million residents 3,270 km (2,050 miles) west of Beijing, followed a protest against
government handling of a June clash between Han Chinese and Uighur factory workers
in southern China. The China Daily put the number of protesters at 300 to 500
while the exiled Uighur American Association had it as high as 3,000. An unnamed
Chinese official said the "unrest was masterminded by the World Uighur Congress
led by Rebiya Kadeer", according to Xinhua. Rebiya Kadeer is a Uighur businesswoman
now in exile in the United States after years in jail, and accused of separatist
activities. She did not answer calls for comment. Exiled Uighur groups adamantly
rejected the Chinese government claim of a plot. They said the riot was an outpouring
of pent-up anger over government policies and Han Chinese dominance of economic
opportunities. The government''s claims of conspiracy by pro-independence exiles
echo the handling of rioting across Tibetan areas in March last year, which Beijing
also called a plot hatched abroad. Xinjiang is the doorway to China's trade and
energy ties with central Asia, and is itself rich in gas, minerals and farm produce.
But many Uighurs say they see little of that wealth. Almost half of Xinjiang''s
20 million people are Uighurs. The population of Urumqi is mostly Han Chinese,
and the city is under tight police security even in normal times.
India Inc. disappointed with Union budget;
Sensex crashes Top New
Delhi/Mumbai: India Incorporated on Monday reacted with disappointment to
the proposals for Budget 2009-10 introduced by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
It said that Mukherjee had remained silent on key points like the revamp of fuel
policy, corporate tax, and the disinvestment roadmap. The Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) benchmark Sensex suffered the biggest fall on any Budget day and in the
year too by plunging over 869 points on the BSE on concerns at the high fiscal
deficit (6.8 percent) set by the Union Budget. The Sensex, which started coming
down soon after the announcement of budgetary proposals, dipped below the 14,000-point
level before closing 869.65 points down at 14,043.40, surpassing the hefty fall
of 749 points on January 7. The key index had touched the day''s low of 13,959.44
as all the heavyweight stocks led by Reliance Industries suffered a heavy loss
6.53 per cent. Besides the fiscal deficit, trading sentiment also affected as
European stocks dipped to a seven-week low on worries that economic recovery might
still be far way off. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty also tumbled
by 258.55 points to 4,135.70, after hitting the day''s low of 4,133.70. Banking
sector stocks suffered the most, losing 8.17 per cent to 7,768.63, as ICICI Bank
tumbled by 10 per cent and HDFC Bank by 5.88 per cent among lenders as the Budget
did not have measures to open up the industry and on concerns that the borrowing
plan will reduce the value of bond holdings, brokers said. Apart from the fiscal
deficit, the other worry for captains of industry was the hike in Minimum Alternate
Tax from ten to fifteen percent. The Nifty also gave a thumbs down to the budget
announcements. Mukherjee left the corporate tax, customs and excise duty structure
unchanged. He abolished the Fringe Benefit Tax which was the bugbear of the industry.
Also, the deadline for Corporate India’s demand for a rollout of Goods and Services
Tax has been set as April 2010. He left the Securities Tax unchanged but scrapped
the Commodities Transaction Tax. Highlights
of General Budget 2009-10 Top New
Delhi: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday presented the General
Budget 2009-10 in the Parliament. The following are the highlights: 1.
Total budget expenditure for 2009-10 will Rs 10,28,032 cr
2. Modernisation
of national employment exchanges
3. 50 per cent of rural women in self-help
groups
4. Higher public investment in infrastructure
5. Defence outlay
has gone up
6. Rs 1,000 cr for Aila rehabilitation programme
7. Rs 25
cr each for AMU campuses in Murshidabad and Mallapuram
8. Rs 2,113 cr for
IITs and NITs
9. Pension of non-commissioned officers to be hiked
10.
Commonwealth allocation hiked to Rs 16,300 cr
11. Allocation of Rs 50 cr to
Chandigarh University
12. Government to hike allocation to National Ganga
Project to Rs 562 cr
13. One rank, one pension for ex-servicemen from
14.
Allowances to para-military forces at par with defence forces
15. Unique Identification
ID project to tap private talent
16. National action plan on climate change
17. Full interest subsidy for students in approved institutions
18. Goods
and Services Tax to be introduced from April 1, 2010
19. Govt committed to
tax reforms
20. New tax code to be set up in 45 days
21. Eliminate surcharge
on personal income tax by ten per cent
22. Hike in IT exemption for women
to Rs 1,90,000 and to Rs 2,40,000 for senior citizens
23. Anonymous funds
to charitable bodies to get some tax relief
24. Commodities Transaction Tax
to be scrapped
25. Small businesses exempt from advance tax
26. Custom
duty on LCD panels halved
27. Branded jewellery, mobile phone accessories
and drugs for heart diseases to become cheaper
28. Customs duty on bio-diesel
reduced
29. Tax holiday extended for textile units
30. Customs duty on
gold and silver import increased
31. More funds allocated to help Mumbai fight
floods during rains
32. Allocations for highways being stepped up by 23 per
cent.
33. Allocation for urban poor for provision for housing and basic amenities
to be raised to Rs 3,973 crore in the current year.
34. Allocation for Jawaharlal
Nehru Urban Renewal Mission increased by 87 per cent to Rs 12,887 crore.
35.
Central assistance for storm-water drainage project increased to Rs 500 crore
from Rs 200 crore in the interim budget
36. Print media stimulus package extended
by six months
37.Target for agriculture credit raised to Rs 3,25,000 cr in
2009-10
38.An expert panel will look into petroleum product pricing
39.
Domestic oil prices must be in sync with global prices
40.Fertiliser subsidy
to go directly to farmers
41.Export Credit Guarantee scheme extended till
March 2010
42. Storm-water drainage project fund hiked to Rs 500 cr
43.
Blueprint for national gas grid
44. Additional budget allocation to farmers.
45. Work on National Food Security scheme for subsidised food
46. Rs 100
cr one-time grant to expand banks in unbanking areas
47. Indira Awaas Yojna
hiked by 63 per cent to Rs 8,883 cr
48. Allocation for Prime Minister Gram
Sadak Yojna up by 59 per cent
49. Rs 39,100 crore allocation for NREGA
50.
Rural mega clusters in Bengal and Rajasthan
51. Interest subsidy on education
loans Bal Thackeray
admitted to Lilavati hospital Top
Mumbai:
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray was admitted to the Lilavati hospital on Monday
for a routine check-up of his health. According to party sources, the 82-year-old
Thackeray was admitted to hospital for a routine follow-up. Thackeray was hospitalized
last month after he complained of breathlessness. Unique
identity number to be rolled out in 12 to 18 months Top New
Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) will establish an online database with identity and
biometric details of Indian residence and provide enrolment and verification services
across the country. Presenting the budget proposals for the year 2009-10 in Lok
Sabha, Mukherjee said: "The first set of unique identity numbers will be rolled
out in 12 to 18 months. A provision of Rs. 120 crore has been proposed for this
project." He also said that the setting up of the UIDAI is a major step in improving
governance with regard to delivery of public services. Expressing happiness. "This
project also marks the beginning of an era where top private sector talent in
India steps forward to take the responsibility for implementing the projects of
vital national importance," he added. New
project to enable job seekers to register on-line Top New
Delhi: A new project for the modernization of the employment exchanges is
to be launched in Public Private Partnership. Announcing this while presenting
the Union Budget in Parliament today, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that
this would enable a job seeker to register on-line from anywhere and approach
any employment exchange. "Under the project, a national web portal with common
software will be developed. This will contain all the data regarding availability
of skilled persons on the one hand and requirements of skilled persons by the
industry on the other,' he said. "It will help the youth get placed and enable
industry to procure required skills on real time basis,: the Minister added.
Pak to address India's concerns ahead
of NAM summit Top Islamabad:
Pakistan has indicated that it is attaching immense importance to its meeting
with India on the sidelines of Non-Aligned Movement summit in the resort of Sharm
El Sheikh, Egypt, and is looking to make an allout effort to address New Delhi's
concerns. Foreign secretaries' of the two countries are to hold talks on the sidelines
of the July 14-15 summit. Islamabad has indicated that it is attaching immense
importance to the meetings. The foreign secretaries' talks are particularly being
touted as critical for the revival of the stalled peace process. "We are looking
forward to these two important meetings and we will see what is the outcome of
the foreign secretaries' meeting," said Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit.
Diplomatic sources say Pakistan would be attempting to come out with a trajectory
for future meetings. India had suspended the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan
following the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist strikes and since then, there has been little
official contact between both sides, the Dawn reports. Pakistan has already submitted
an appeal with the Supreme Court against the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD)
chief Hafiz Saeed and appointed Baqir Ali Rana as judge for Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism
Court-II. The appeal against Hafiz Saeed's release on Lahore High Court orders
last month would be technically filed on Monday after the 'numbering' of petition
submitted on Saturday would be done by the apex court's registrar's office. Meanwhile,
the five accused are expected to be indicted when the hearing in the case resumes
on July 18. Observers believe this step is specifically meant to address Indian
concerns about JuD chief's release and the delay in prosecution of the five accused
in Mumbai case because of absence of a judge in the court that was trying them.
Stress of $400m
debts killed Jackson, says pal Lou Ferrigno Top
London: Michael Jackson
died because of the stress of his 400 million dollars debts, according top his
pal 'The Incredible Hulk' star Lou Ferrigno. "He was under tremendous stress,
so much I think it killed him. He was 400 million dollar in debt. In the past,
he had backed out of doing live shows but this time he was under the gun. The
debts put a huge strain on him," the Mirror quoted him as saying. The actor and
bodybuilder had been training the legend for his demanding 50-date London tour.
He visited Jackson's rented Bel Air mansion three times a week to bring him back
in shape. He said: "He had undergone a five-hour medical in February and had passed
with flying colours, but he wanted to be fitter, "So I would go to his house with
an inflatable exercise ball and 3lb dumbbells. He did not like the dumbbells.
He said he didn't want big shoulders and big muscles like me. "I laughed and said,
'Michael, there's no way you will get big shoulders from 3lb dumbbells.'" The
'Sinbad of Seven Seas' star also revealed that he saw no signs of the King of
Pop using any sort of drugs while he was with training under him. He added: "I
was with him until the end of May and he was fine, there was no sign of drug use
and his flexibility was improving. That was important, as he was a little tight
in certain areas. He hadn't danced for so long." However, he agrees that his client's
diet was poor. He mentioned: "He ate only one meal a day, always in the evening.
He'd wake up and not have anything for the whole day, and when he did eat it was
always vegetarian." Lou claims to have become a close pal of the 'Thriller' singer
since they first met through a mutual friend in 1995. |
