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Gavit takes over as Pro-tem Speaker, Parliament members take
oath New Delhi:
Manikrao Gavit, senior-most member of the Lok Sabha, was appointed as Pro-tem
Speaker by President Pratibha Patil on Monday. Gavit was administered oath by
the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal attended the ceremony.
Nine-term parliamentarian, Gavit will undertake the duties of the Speaker of the
Lok-Sabha until the new speaker is elected on June 3. Soon after his appointment
as the Pro-tem Speaker, Gavit began administering oath to the Members of Parliament
of the newly constituted 15th Lok Sabha in the Parliament House. First two days
of the current session have been reserved for administering oath to the members
of the Lok Sabha. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was the first to take oath
in the capacity of the leader of Lok Sabha. Following him was LK Advani, senior
leader of the Bharatiya Janata party, who is also the leader of Opposition in
Lok Sabha. 6th
attack on Indian in one month in Australia New
Delhi: While thousands of Indians living in Australia asked for increased
security to ensure their safety on Sunday, a cab driver, hailing from Hyderabad,
was reportedly bashed up by an Australian, who was in an inebriated state. The
victim suffered injuries on face, leg, and hand besides being left behind with
two broken teeth. The local police then took the man to Alfred Hospital from where
his family was informed. "I have injuries on face, leg and hand. I have two broken
tooth as well," the victim, who went unconscious after the attack, claimed. The
incident reportedly occurred on Sunday morning with a 35-year old cab driver who
picked up the drunk passenger from the Chapel street for Blackburn suburb in his
taxi, before being attacked by him. "After we reached Blackburn the passenger
then asked me to take him to Ringwood when my taxi tyre went flat. I tried to
tell him I won't be able to take him any further. He started abusing me," the
victim said requesting anonymity, said a Times Now report. The victim, originally
hailing from Hyderabad, was then bashed up and punched by the attacker. The man
was discharged today, a family member said. Police, according to the victim's
family member, also got hold of the attacker. The victim however said that he
did not think it was a racially motivated attack but an "opportunistic crime".
On contacting the hospital authorities did not provide details of the victim.
There was also no official confirmation of the incident so far. Rudd
says Indian student attackers will be brought to justice Top Canberra
(Australia): Reiterating that Australia is committed to developing stronger
and closer ties with India, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told members of the Australian
Parliament on Monday that his government deplored and condemned the recent attacks
on Indian students in Australia. "I speak on behalf of all Australians when I
say that we deplore and condemn these attacks. These are senseless acts of violence.
Those who carry out these attacks stand condemned," Rudd said in his address.
Briefing members of parliament about his telephone conversation with Indian o
Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Rudd said that he had told him that his government
is "working closely with state governments to ensure that the perpetrators of
these crimes are brought to justice and that government agencies are responding
to these crimes to protect all students and others in our community." "I said
to Prime Minister Singh that the more than 90,000 Indian students in Australia
are welcome guests in our country. I also said that the more than 200,000 Australians
of Indian descent are welcome members of the Australian family. Australia is a
country of great diversity, harmony and tolerance," he added. He described Dr.
Singh as a friend of Australia, and an inspiring leader of his nation and welcomed
his historic second term victory. "The election (in India) itself was another
reminder of India's achievements as the world's largest democracy. I look forward
to working with Prime Minister Singh in the years ahead as we take our relationship
with India to the front rank of our international relations. We have many common
interests - those of history; those of the present; and those of the future as
two Indian Ocean democracies," Rudd said. "The more than 200,000-strong Indian
community in Australia has a long history of remarkable contribution to our nation.
In recent months, there have been a number of attacks on young Indians studying
or working on Australia - in particular three recent attacks in Melbourne involving
six young Indians. We are a multicultural nation and we respect and embrace diversity
- diversity which has enriched our nation. That is why these recent acts of violence
are all the more deplorable. They are equally unacceptable. And deserve to be
met with the full force of the law," Rudd said. During
a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday to congratulate
him on his second-term win in recent elections, Rudd promised Indians were welcome
in Australia. "I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say that we deplore
and condemn these attacks. These are senseless acts of violence. The Commonwealth
is working with state governments to ensure the perpetrators of the crimes are
"brought to justice", the prime minister said. He promised Australia embraced
its multicultural society. "Australia is a country of great diversity, harmony
and tolerance. We are a multicultural nation and we respect and embrace diversity,
diversity which has enriched our nation," he said. "The Australian Government
is committed to developing a stronger, closer relationship with India ... (we
are) also committed to the safety of all Australians and all those that visit
our nation." Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull told parliament the attacks were
an "absolute disgrace" and "un-Australian". "As a country we are honoured that
so many foreign students choose to undertake their tertiary education here in
institutions right across the length and breadth of Australia," he said. Turnbull
said Australia was proud of its tolerant history. "We must not forget there is
no country (more than) ... Australia that has a larger percentage of its population
from immigrants," he said. "We''ve managed to develop a broad, multicultural society
with very little friction but these recent, brutal events in Melbourne threaten
that peace and tranquillity." He acknowledged the broad contribution Indians had
made to "every aspect" of Australian society. "We could not imagine modern Australia
today without the contribution of the Indian communities present among us," he
said. Air France
jetliner with 228 passengers and crew missing over Atlantic Ocean Top Paris:
Air France has lost contact with a jetliner carrying 228 people. The flight
bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris went missing over the Atlantic Ocean. The plane
was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, reports Sky News. Air traffic
control lost contact with the Airbus A330 at 0600 GMT as it crossed the Atlantic
ocean after taking off from Rio de Janeiro, it was due to land at the Charles
de Gulle airport in Paris at 0910 GMT. "Air France regrets to announce that it
is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris,"
said Brigitte Barrand, airline spokeswoman. Brazilian Air Force has begun the
search and rescue operations, and spotter planes were reported to be flying over
the Atlantic Ocean. To handle all the enquiries a crisis cell has been put up
at the Charles de Gulle airport. 16
of the world's most wanted living in Australia Top Melbourne
(Australia): Sixteen of the world's most wanted killers, sex predators, and
fraudsters are hiding out in Australia, according to the police. International
law enforcement agencies believe they are 120 internationally sought after criminals,
and these 16 have entered Australia and may still be here. Crime Stoppers International
has provided The Daily Telegraph exclusive access to the fugitive list as it begins
its month-long Internationally Wanted Fugitives Round-Up and Arrest campaign.
Countries with arrest warrants out range from Armenia to the US, China, Indonesia,
New Zealand and Canada. Despite its isolation and tight border controls, Australia
rates high on the list of countries believed to have attracted international fugitives,
who have either already visited or may be in the country. Of the wanted criminals
on the international list, the US had 60 believed to be within its borders, Canada
about 20, the UK 20, and Australia close behind. "I think that's because the country's
sort of isolated geographically; I think that people think they may be able to
hide here without being noticed," said Crime Stoppers Australia corporate affairs
director Peter Price. "These guys are hardened criminals and they may have come
in under false passports or false pretences," he added. Topping the list is former
South African lawyer George Prinsloo, 39, whose deceptively bland and urbane looks
mask his sexual predator's nature. He is wanted for luring underage girls away
from orphanages, drugging them and paying them to engage in sex acts and child
pornography. Also suspected of being in Australia is senior Canadian Hells Angel
bikie David Macdonald Carrol, 57, wanted for questioning over the deaths of 13
people as well as for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and gang
and drugs offences, between 1995 and 2001. Carrol remains on the run despite a
major police operation conducted by Canadian authorities in 2001 that resulted
in the arrest and incarceration of members of the Hells Angels and members of
an affiliated group, called the Rockers. Also wanted are seven alleged Indonesian
money launderers including Adelin Lis, 51. Lis, whose network of logging companies
were accused of illegally logging 30 billion dollars worth of Sumatran timber
between 1995 and 2008, was acquitted of illegal logging charges in late 2007.
Indonesian authorities are still pursuing him for money-laundering charges. The
Australian wanted-list includes Russian-speaking Armenian Arakel Sargsyan, sought
for crimes involving weapons or explosives. China,
new hideout of top ULFA commander Paresh Baruah Top New
Delhi: Indian Intelligence agencies have informed the Government that top
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) commander Paresh Baruah has moved to China
around a month ago. Baruah was operating from Bangladesh for past many years.
The intelligence agencies have come to learn about Baruah's presence in China
through interception of conversations taking place between his mobile phone and
a satellite phone from China. The exact location of Baruah in China has been located,
an Indian Express report stated. Baruah, who heads the military wing of ULFA,
is assumed to have travelled to China to procure some arms for ULFA. The present
visit is perhaps Baruah's maiden visit to China. However, he is known to have
travelled to Bangkok and Pakistan in the past. Baruah's China visit holds significance,
as it has come at a time when the Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina
has initiated a crackdown on the cadres of ULFA and many other Indian insurgent
groups who have taken shelter in Bangladesh. Observers say Bangladesh under the
Awami League is becoming increasingly inhospitable for such militant groups that
had been using it as a safe territory for them for a long time. The Bangladeshi
Government, about two weeks ago, had arrested two former Director Generals of
the country's National Security Intelligence in relation with a weapons' smuggling
case. Bangladesh's CID had picked up Major General (Retd.) Rezakul Haider Chowdhury
and Brig Gen (Retd.) Abdur Rahim during a pre-dawn raid last month (May 16). Both
individuals are presently under Bangladesh police remand. The recently arrested
officials, Chowdhury and Rahim, are said to be known to Baruah, according to another
top NSI official Wing Commander (Retd.) Shahabuddin Ahmed, who was arrested by
CID earlier in the same case. Shahabuddin, in his confessional statement, claimed
that just before the arrival of the arms consignment Rahim, Chowdhury and some
other government officials had met at Chowdhury's residence to discuss ways to
ensure its safe passage to India. Shahabuddin claimed that Baruah, disguised as
one Ahmed, was present at this meeting. While further stating he said, Baruah
had also accompanied Chowdhury during a visit to the Combined Military Hospital.
Sources, however, have not denied the probability that these two officials had
helped in arranging Baruah's China visit. ULFA seeks to establish a sovereign
Assam via an armed struggle in the Assam Conflict. The Government of India had
banned the organization in 1990 and classifies it as a terrorist group, while
the US State Department lists it under "Other groups of concern". The militant
organisation initiated major violent activities in 1990. The Indian Army has been
carrying on military operations against ULFA since 1990. US
auto major GM to file for bankruptcy Top Washington:
President Barack Obama will push General Motors into bankruptcy protection
on Monday. The bankruptcy, to be filed in New York, is a significant turning point
for an industry that was once at the heart of the American economy. It culminates
a remarkable four months of confrontation between Washington and Detroit that
is expected to result in a drastic downsizing of the company, the New York Times
reports. It also places the government in uncharted territory as a business owner,
as it takes a majority ownership stake in the company during its restructuring.
In his remarks on Monday, Obama will spell out a strategy in which a shrunken
GM can make money even if new car sales remain at a sluggish 10 million a year
in the United States and even if GM, once the giant of the industry, drops below
its current 20 percent market share in this country. But to get there, American
taxpayers will invest an additional 30 billion dollars in the company, atop 20
billion dollars already spent just to keep it solvent. Reflecting the government's
extraordinary intervention in industry, aides say Obama plans to tell the nation
on Monday that he believes GM can be brought back from the brink of insolvency,
even if the company looks almost nothing like the titan of old. Administration
officials briefed reporters on the GM plans Sunday night, as President Obama began
to inform members of Congress. The White House insisted that the aides who talked
to reporters could not be named. The company will have to shed 21,000 union workers
and close 12 to 20 factories, steps that most analysts thought could never be
pushed through by a Democratic president allied with organized labor. Forty percent
of the company's 6,000 dealers will close, the workers' union will be forced to
finance half of its 20 billion dollar health care fund with stock of uncertain
value in the restructured G.M., and bondholders, including many retirees, will
be forced to take stock worth 10 cents for every dollar they lent the company.
The company's last steps toward bankruptcy took place over the weekend as a majority
of G.M. bondholders agreed not to challenge the filing in court and to exchange
their debt for stock at about 10 cents of equity for every dollar owed by the
company. The G.M. bankruptcy will ripple across several states where hundreds
of parts suppliers and car dealerships face imminent closings. |
