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SU-30 MK-I crashes in Rajasthan, pilot killed
New Delhi: A SU-30 MK-I aircraft of the Indian
Air Force on a routine training mission crashed 70 kms southeast of Jaisalmer
in Rajasthan, today. The aircraft had taken off from aircraft had taken off from
the Lohegaon air base in Pune. "The crash took place around 10:30 a.m. Both the
pilots ejected out of the aircraft. While Wing Commander SV Munje survived the
crash, Wing Commander PS Nara succumbed to his injuries," the IAF said in a statement
released today. "There is no reported damage to any civil property or life on
ground. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the reasons for the
accident," the statement added. This is the first crash of a SU-30MKI, which was
inducted into the IAF in 1997. The IAF operates three squadrons (approximately
55 aircraft) of the jet. New
chief for Western Naval Command Top Mumbai:
Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin on Thursday took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief
of the Western Naval Command from Vice Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi. Bedi retired
on Thursday after serving 40 years in the navy. An alumnus of the National Defence
Academy , Vice Admiral Bhasin was commissioned into the executive branch of the
Indian Navy in January 1972 and obtained expertise in navigation and aircraft
direction. He has served as the commanding officer of the INS Khukri, INS Mumbai
and INS Ranjit. As Rear Admiral, he worked as Chief of Staff of Western Naval
Command and was Fleet Commander of the Eastern Fleet. Before taking charge of
the Western Naval Command, Bhasin was acting as Officer on Special Duty to the
Chief of Naval Staff in Delhi . No
swine flu in India , says health ministry official Top New
Delhi: A senior official of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday
said that there is no swine flu in India , but added that should the virus hit
the country, the government is fully prepared to handle it. Vineet Choudhary,
Joint Secretary, Health, told a press conference here that there is no suspected
case of swine flu in India and that surveillance is in place at all airports.
Choudhary also said the ministry is in talks with companies that manufacture the
antidote. Earlier, the Government of Tripura had sounded an alert across the state
to check an outbreak of the deadly virus, official sources said. The decision
to issue the alert was taken at a meeting chaired by Principal Secretary of the
Health Department, Yash Pal Singh. Two health directors S R Debbarma and R K Dhar
were also present at the meeting. Debbarma said four district level meetings would
be organised soon with the chief medical officers and other health officials for
making people aware of the disease. The announcements in India followed a World
Health Organisation (WHO) warning that "all of humanity is under threat" from
a potential swine flu pandemic. The WHO raised the swine flu threat awareness
level to 5 out of 6, indicating that the world is on the brink of a pandemic.
Holland and Switzerland both confirmed their first cases of swine flu on Thursday,
bringing the total number of countri es affected around the world to 11. In Mexico
there have been eight confirmed deaths from the virus, with another 160 suspected
swine flu fatalities. There have been 93 confirmed cases in the US , 19 in Canada
, 13 in New Zealand , five in Britain , four in Germany , 10 in Spain , two in
Israel , and one in Austria . WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan urged all
countries to activate their pandemic plans as she made the announcement late on
Wednesday night. Phase 5 indicates that there is evidence of the virus being spread
from human-to-human in at least two countries in one WHO region. Phase 6, the
pandemic phase, is characterized by increased and sustained transmission in the
general population. Dr Chan said that raising the alert level was a signal to
governments, health officials and the pharmaceutical industry to take urgent action
in readiness to tackle a pandemic. Tata
owned Jaguar rescue bid in doubt due to Top
warring
Brit departments London:
The wrangling between the Treasury Department and the Lord Mandelson-led Business
Department might delay an 800 million pound emergency package for the Tata owned
Jaguar Land Rover. Jaguar Land Rover executives fear that even if they can agree
terms with the Treasury for the refinancing it may be months before they receive
the cash. Such a delay could force the carmaker to cut jobs in its 15,000-strong
workforce to stay afloat. Officials from the Business Department (BERR) met executives
representing Jaguar Land Rover this week to discuss the package, The Guardian
reported. The carmaker was warned that the conditions demanded by the Treasury
in return for supporting the 800 million pound package may be so exacting that
owner's Tata would not agree to them. A spokesman for Mandelson's department last
night denied there was a rift with the Treasury, but indicated that Tata was responsible
for securing financing for Jaguar Land Rover. The government announced this month
that the European Investment Bank had agreed to lend 340 million pounds to Jaguar,
but executives are frustrated that the government has yet to commit to underwrite
the loan, The Guardian reported. The 340 million pounds is part of the 800 million
pound refinancing package for Jaguar, made up of loans from banks led by government-controlled
Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. Tata is thought to have agreed
to provide 100 million pound. The Treasury has already agreed in principle to
guarantee only about three-quarters of the EIB loan. Jaguar has agreed to underwrite
the rest. But after three weeks of talks with civil servants, the Treasury has
still not indicated what conditions it will set for underwriting the loan. Jaguar
is concerned that the Treasury may demand that the government is given an equity
stake in the firm or that Tata pump another 300 million pound into its UK subsidiary.
UK troops begin
pullout from Iraq Top London:
British troops are leaving Iraq today and returning home after over six years.
Britain will formally hand over operational authority in southern Iraq to the
US . British Defence Secretary John Hutton flew into Basra for a service to honor
179 British personnel who lost their lives in the conflict. British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown after talks in Downing Street with Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki,
said: "Today we are taking steps to strengthen and deepen our relationship and
to make it a long-term partnership of equals. Today marks the closing chapter
of the combat mission in Iraq . The flag of 20 Armoured Brigade will be lowered
as British combat patrols in Basra come to an end and our armed forces prepare
to draw down." The end of combat missions marks a major landmark in a controversial
and bloody military campaign that has lasted 2,232 days - longer than both World
Wars. Britain 's participation in the US-led war in Iraq has come at great human
and financial cost. The security situation in Basra province has improved significantly
in the past year. The UK handed military control of coalition troops in Basra
to the US army at the end of March. All but about 400 of the remaining British
troops in Iraq will be withdrawn by July 31. Under
pressure Pak to shift 6,000 troops from border Top
with India to Afghan side New
York: Under immense pressure from the United States and the international
community, Pakistan has decided to shift around 6000 troops from its eastern border
with India to the western Afghan border, The New York Times reports. The newspaper,
quoted a Pakistani official as confirming the movement of forces to a pre-Mumbai
attack position. The redeployment of troops is seen as an important step by President
Zardari ahead of the proposed trilateral talks with his US and Afghan counterparts
in Washington next week. Several American officials, in recent times, have questioned
Pakistan 's sincerity in the fight against extremism in the region. A senior military
official saw Pakistan Army's offensive in the Buner and Dir region of the NWFP
as a 'fake'. He said it was "inexplicable" that the incidents like the assassination
of Benazir Bhutto, attack on Sri Lankan cricket team and on a police training
academy had not "galvanised the Pakistan Army and civilian leaders to link arms
in a comprehensive, sustained campaign to fight back. The United States has repeatedly
asked Pakistan to focus more on its internal 'existential' threat rather than
India . CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus recently highlighted the immediate
need for Pakistan to address its internal threat. " Pakistan must reconfigure
its military forces to deal with counterinsurgency operations rather than to continue
its conventional focus on traditional rival India ," Petraeus said. However, US
also believes that convincing Pakistan that the internal threat posed by extremism
is a bigger threat to it than India is a "tough sell". Addressing a US think tank
recently, Senator Joseph Lieberman highlighted the need for Islamabad to understand
and realize who its real enemy was. "Pakistanis have to understand that their
major enemy in the region is no longer India , but its extremism. In fact, they
have a common enemy in that with the Indians," Lieberman told Council on Foreign
Relations. He said that it was very difficult to make Pakistan accept the fact
that it's internal problem is the root cause of all the trouble. Obama
says he does not want to run auto companies Top Washington:
President Barack Obama has said that he does not want to run American auto companies,
which are presently experiencing a major crisis. "I don't want to run auto companies,
and I don't want to run banks. I've got two wars I've got to run already--I've
got more than enough to do," CBS quoted Obama, as saying. Chrysler faces a government-imposed
deadline to finalize a partnership with Fiat SpA by this Thursday. "I am more
hopeful than I was 30 days ago that we can see a resolution," Obama said with
respect to the deal, though he noted that the "clock is ticking." The president
said deals reached with Chrysler's major debt holders and sacrifices from labor
unions improved the automaker's outlook for survival. "The details have not yet
been finalized, but I'm feeling more optimistic than I was about the possibilities
of that getting done," Obama said. The president said he saw potential in companies
like General Motors, in spite of the fact that the current recession simply added
onto the problems faced by an already-weak industry. Obama said he would like
to see the government extracted from auto business as quickly as possible. Third
phase election records 50 pc polling: EC Top New
Delhi: The third-phase of the Lok Sabha elections witnessed a largely peaceful
vote on Thursday with 49 to 50 per cent of the total 14.4 crore eligible voters
casting their votes in the nine States and two Union Terrritories that undewent
elections in 107 constituencies despite a scorching heat. According to the election
commission, the voting percentage recorded till evening were: Uttar Pradesh (45
%), Bihar (48 %), Madhya Pradesh (44 to 45 %), Karnataka (57%), Maharashtra (43
to 45 %), Gujarat (49 to 50 %), Jammu and Kashmir (30 %), West Bengal (for first
phase 64%), Sikkim (till last reports 60 %). “In Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed
45 per cent of voting, the polls were absolutely peaceful. No incident of any
sort was reported. While Madhya Pradesh, which witnessed 44 to 45 per cent polling
today, some incidents were reported,” said R. Balakrishan, Deputy Election Commissioner
during a press conference. Polls were held in nine States: Jammu and Kashmir,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Gujarat, Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, and two Union Territories: Daman and Diu and Dadar and Nagar Haveli.
During the third phase of elections, the prominent leaders in fray included Congress
president Sonia Gandhi (contesting from Rae Bareli), the BJP’s prime ministerial
candidate L.K. Advani (Gandhinagar), the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda
(Hassan), BJP leader Jaswant Singh (Darjeeling), Janata Dal (U) president Sharad
Yadav (Madhepura), CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta (Ghatal) and Communist Party of
India (Marxist) leader Basudeb Acharya (Purulia). There were 1,567 contestants
including 101 women in this round. Elections were conducted at 1,65,112 polling
stations with 6.6 lakh personnel being on poll duty. As 15,193 polling stations
had been identified as being naxalite-affected in seven Lok Sabha constituencies
in Bihar and three in West Bengal, the Election Commission had arranged to thwart
any attempts by the outlaws to disrupt polling. Two
injured in landmine blast in Purulia on polling day Top Purulia
(West Bengal): Two Central paramilitary force personnel were injured when
Maoists exploded a landmine near a polling booth in Biramdih in West Bengal 's
Purulia District on Thursday. The incident took place at around 7:50 a.m. during
patrolling of the area. Polling was suspended at the booth following the blast.
Security reinforcements have been rushed to the site. Narhari Mahato from the
All India Forward Bloc and Shantiram Mahato from the Congress supported by the
Trinamool Congress are the main candidates contesting the polls from this area.
Lankan Tamil
refugees land on Andhra coast Top East
Godavari (Andhra Pradesh): A group of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees touched the
Indian shores when the dinghy boat in which they had set sail, was rescued from
the high seas, off the Uppada in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.
The local fishermen found the boat with ten refugees in an unconscious state,
and informed the nearby police station. Soon after the arrival of police at the
spot, the refugees were shifted to a hospital. The refugees are reportedly very
weak due to lack of food and liquid intake. Out of the ten, two refugees who are
children and three others are said to be in a critical condition. "To escape the
attacks of Sri Lankan army, all 20 members started in two boats from Sri Lanka.
Out of those 20 members, 10 members died due to intense hunger. We were drinking
only sea water for the past ten days. We had no food to eat," recalled Maria,
one of the refugees. Describing the situation in her native country, Maria said,
" In Sri Lanka, there are no chances of peace due to the attacks of the LTTE and
Sri Lankan Army. They (people) are living with fear. Already so many people have
died in those attacks." These refugees are being given medical care while further
enquiries are in progress to ascertain the actual facts and figures. "We are providing
food and medical treatment to them. Those who are in serious condition, we are
shifting them to the Kakinada Civil Hospital. After getting all the details from
them we will enquire further. After confirming whether they are telling the truth,
we will book a case and take action as per the Indian law," said N. Nageshwar
Rao, Circle Inspector, Uppada, East Godavari district. Hearing
on Bofors case extended till September 8 Top New
Delhi: A Delhi Court on Thursday postponed the hearing of the Bofors pay off
case till September 8 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought two
months time to decide its future course of action on the lone surviving suspect,
Ottavio Quattrocchi. The CBI on Tuesday had requested Interpol to remove the Italian
businessman's name from its list of most wanted persons. Filing the status report
before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, the CBI's counsel, Additional
Solicitor General P. P. Malhotra, informed the court that the Red Corner Notice
issued against Quattrocchi was withdrawn in November last year. Malhotra contended
that efforts to extradite Quattrocchi from Argentina have been unsuccessful because
of various reasons and it did not seem achievable in the near future too. However,
Malhotra made certain that the CBI is keeping all options open and would need
two months to consider them. "It is stated that during the course of investigation,
the Red Corner Notice was recalled. Extradition proceedings have not been completed
for various reasons," Baweja said. The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal
in India in the 1980s, when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others
were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply
the Indian Army with 155 mm howitzer guns. The court had on February 10, 1997,
sent letters to Malaysia and the UAE seeking the arrest and extradition of Quattrocchi.
The CBI had registered the FIR in the Bofors case on January 22, 1990, three years
after Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987, claimed that A B Bofors, the makers of
the 155 mm howitzers, had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence
officials to secure the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal. The contract between the Indian
government and the Swedish Company for the supply of 400 field guns was signed
on March, 24, 1986. Go
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