Chandrababu Naidu praised me: CM

The Telugu Desam chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, complimented his political arch-rival and Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

The Chief Minister wrote in his personal blog that the manifesto prepared by Mr Naidu was a clear compliment to his policies.

“The first thing that struck me about the manifesto is that it is an unwitting tribute to our government’s policies. Just about every promise represents a departure from Naiduism and towards our line since 2004. I take it as a compliment to our governance,” observed Dr Reddy.

Referring to the different poll sops included in the TD manifesto, Dr Reddy pointed out that many of them are already in vogue.

“Mr Naidu says he will give free power for 12 hours, health insurance, interest-free loans to farmers, etc. I humbly submit that we have already taken a lead in these schemes. Mr Naidu’s manifesto, therefore, abandons Naiduism and acknowledges our welfare policies as the way to the future. The details may differ, but much of what he is promising now has been delivered by us over the last five years,” Dr Reddy explained.

Demand for H-1 B down by 50% due to IT slump

BANGALORE: The slump in demand for IT, combined with protectionist pressures in the US, has led to a dramatic decline in the demand for H-1 B visas. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS ) has announced that it has received only 32,500 applications for H-1 B visas — or about 50% of the available quota of 65,000 — during the five-day window that it had provided for. And since the quota is nowhere near being met, the USCIS has said companies can continue filing these applications.

Just last year, it had received 1,31,800 applications — or twice the available quota — in the five days it accepted them. In 2007, the number of applications exceeded the quota on the first day the government began accepting them and compelled the USCIS to stop accepting applications after two days. In both years, it then used a lottery to award the visas.

H-1 B visas have been used by companies to bring foreign workers into the US mostly for IT work. In recent years, about 60% of the recipients of these visas have been Indians . Infosys, Wipro and Satyam together are said to have received 9,154 visas last year. The same for Microsoft was 1,037 and Intel 351.

The demand had encouraged many to call for an increase in the visa cap to at least 100,000. That move will now certainly falter. But it’s unlikely that the number of applications this year will fall short of 65,000, something that last happened 13 years ago. Navneet S Chugh, attorney in the US-based The Chugh Firm, said he expects the quota to get filled by the end of the year. “It’s unlikely it will last till September 30, 2010, as it is supposed to,’’ he said. He expects Indian numbers will continue to be around 60% this year.

This year’s decline in demand for H-1 Bs is seen to be on account of three reasons: one, the sharp decline in IT demand in the US because of the recession; two, the preference to do the same work offshore, in locations like India , where it’s significantly cheaper; and three, the protectionist pressures in the US, which is pushing US companies to prefer Americans to do the same jobs.

Microsoft had said it planned to file substantially fewer H-1 B applications because of the economic downturn. T V Mohandas Pai, head of HR in Infosys Technologies, said the fewer applications is a reflection of the business climate . “But the H-1 B window is not yet closed,” he said, suggesting that the company could file more applications.

Stella Nagesh, head of immigration (APAC) in Perot Systems, said she does not entirely blame it on recession. “Companies are generally tightening travel and therefore their spends on visas. Earlier, each company would keep hundreds of visas ready. It was a purely anticipation driven process. Also, companies are increasingly spreading their geographic footprint beyond the US and to the domestic market.’’

Rahul Gandhi Campaigns in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Apr. 10 : Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address various rallies across the Andhra Pradesh on Friday and Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh is getting ready for the first phase of polling on April 16.

Rahul Gandhi will address public at Maylavaram in Krishna District and Wyra in Khammam District on Friday afternoon.

He will also try to generate public support by interacting with the masses at Devarakonda in Mahabubnagar District and Qutbullapur in Ranga Reddy District in the evening.

On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi is expected to resume his electioneering by addressing rallies at Ramagundam in Karimnagar District and at Bhanswada segment in Nizamabad District.

Home Ministry says Chidambaram did not avoid journalist's query

Home Ministry says Chidambaram did not avoid journalist's query

New Delhi, Apr 7 : The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday refuted media reports of Home Minister P. Chidambaram refusing to answer a question put to him by journalist Jarnail Singh on the "clean chit" given to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 Sikh riots case.

According to a Home Ministry statement, the videotape is there and the Minister answered the question.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) does not come under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor any other Ministry put of pressure on the CBI. The CBI has only given a report to the Court. It is for the Court to accept the report or reject the report or order the CBI to do further investigation. Let us wait for the Court to take a decision on the report," Chidambaram is reported to have said.

Earlier, it was reported that Chidambaram had refused to answer and said that he did not want to make any political statement at a platform not meant for it.

Jarnail Singh, an accredited correspondent, then flung his shoes in Chidambaram's direction.

Later, Singh told NDTV: " My method (of throwing a shoe) could be wrong, but not my cause. There is no question of apologising for what I did."

The journalist was perturbed over no action being taken by the government to alleviate the miseries of Sikh riot victims, who had been waiting for 25 years for justice.

In a similar incident, last December, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network, had thrown shoes at former President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.



Journalist hurls shoe at P Chidambaram

New Delhi A journalist threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference on Tuesday, protesting against the minister's reply on his question on CBI's clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots case.

The shoe did not hit the minister and the journalist, a senior reporter with Dainik Jagran, was taken into custody.

The press conference was being held at the Congress headquarters where Chidambaram was presenting his party's report card on terrorism. The journalist asked the minister whether letting Tytler off the hook ahead of the elections was not politically motivated.

To which Chidambaram replied that CBI had only presented a report to the court and it was up to the court to either accept or reject it. The journalist wanted to ask another question but Chidambaram said he did not want to get into an argument and refused to take further questions.

The journalist then threw his shoe at the minister, saying 'I protest'.

It is the first of its kind incident in India but throwing shoes at political leaders has become a high-profile form of protest. The trend was started by an Iraqi journalist who had thrown shoes at former US President George Bush at a press conference in Baghdad last year.

Thereafter, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was meted a similar treatment while delivering a speech at Cambridge University. The Israeli ambassador to Sweden was also hit by a shoe when he was addressing an audience in Stockholm University.

Jarnail Singh released

Journalist Jarnail Singh who hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference was released by police after brief detention.

Station House Officer of Tughlaq Road Police station Anil Kumar Yadav told reporters that the scribe has been freed for the time being.

"No case has been registered against him. He has regretted about his action," the official said, adding that the journalist was questioned for his action and then he was released.

After being freed, the Sikh journalist of a Hindi daily, who has caused a flutter in the political circle, said the issue that he raised was an appropriate issue and the victims should get justice.

"May be my way of protest was wrong," said the scribe who later left with his journalist friends and Sikh supporters.

Meanwhile, Sunita Tiwari, who claimed to be his lawyer and had come to meet him at the police station, alleged that she was not allowed to talk to her client.

"I was misbehaved. The SHO asked the constables to take me out of the room. I wanted to talk to Jarnail as he was mentally disturbed," she said.

BJP condemns shoe hurling incident

BJP condemned hurling of a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram by a Sikh journalist at a press conference in New Delhi. "We condemn the incident," BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said in New Delhi.

Jarnail Singh of a Hindi daily hurled a shoe at Chidambaram protesting against CBI's clean chit to senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler accused in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Chidambaram was addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters.

2009 a "very dangerous year" - World Bank's Zoellick

World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned on Saturday of the consequences of an expected steep decline in economic growth across the world this year.

"I think 2009 is going to be a very dangerous year," Zoellick told a conference in Brussels, citing World Bank forecasts of a spike in infant mortality associated with the economic crisis, and a fall-off in world trade.

Zoellick proposed that the Group of 20 major and emerging economies -- whose leaders are due to meet in London next month -- establish a review process to see whether further stimulus measures would be needed to kickstart recovery.

3 UK teenagers jailed for total 19 years for killing Indian

LONDON: Three British teenagers who pleaded guilty to the sensational killing of an Indian sailor in Southampton in a racist attack in October
2007 have been sentenced to six and a half years each in prison.

Teenagers, Chay Fields, Stephen Pritchard and Daniel Rogers had attacked Goa-origin Indian sailor Gregory Fernandes "like a pack of dogs" minutes before he collapsed and died, Winchester Crown Court was told.

The jail sentences were delivered yesterday. Fernandes, 32, was set upon by the teenagers who boasted that they wanted to 'beat a Paki' when they saw him and his colleague, Vinod P return to their ship, The Garonne, after a drink in a local hotel in Fawley, Southampton.

In the incident that hit headlines here and in India, the two were attacked until passerby Jody Miles rescued Fernandes and took him to nearby docks, where he collapsed and died. Vinod, 29, suffered a broken collar bone.

Justice Royce, jailed Fields, 16, Rogers, 18, and Pritchard, 18, to six and a half years each. All three had pleaded guilty to manslaughter during a hearing in February as well as a further charge of grievous body harm on Vinod.

A fourth teenager, now aged 15, was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order. He admitted inflicting grievous body harm on Vinod.

A fifth teenager was given a non-custodial 18-month supervision order. Justice Royce ordered that 250 pounds be released from public funds for Jody Miles as a token recognition of his bravery.

Detective inspector Dave Dilly of the Hampshire police said: "Mr Fernandes suffered heart failure brought on by the stress of the attack.

"He was having a drink and then a takeaway and there were lots of youths hanging around who had been drinking. Some part of that group chased him and his friend up the road and set upon him.

"A member of the public, Jody Miles, intervened and rescued Mr Fernandes, put him in his car and drove him to Fawley refinery. He then went back to help Mr Vinod.

But within seconds of being dropped off at the front gate, Mr Fernandes dropped down dead from heart failure brought on by the attack."

He added, "There was evidence that some of [the defendants], prior to setting eyes on Mr Fernandes, were saying they wanted to beat up a 'Paki' - that was the sort of language being used."

The village of Fawley which had never witnessed such a racially motivated attack, was plunged into shame and mourning. An emotional candlelight vigil was held in the village square and funds raised to help Fernandes' family in Goa.

Sudarshan announces retirement, Mohan Bhagwat new RSS chief

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief KS Sudarshan on Saturday announced his retirement citing health reasons, paving way for
Mohan Bhagwat
A file photograph of Mohan Bhagwat.
general secretary Mohan Bhagwat to succeed him.

Mohan Bahgwat is the new 'Sar Sangh Chalak' (chief) of the RSS.

Bhagwat’s appointment is expected to redefine relations with the BJP at a time when the saffron party is trying hard to come back to power at the Centre, PTI reported.

He replaces KS Sudarshan who steps down after being at the helm of the Sangh Parivar fountain head for nearly nine years when there were ups and downs in its ties with BJP during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's term as Prime Minister of the NDA government.

The election of Bhagwat as ‘Sar Sangh Chalak’ came on the second day of the three-day RSS conclave which is expected to redefine its relationship with the BJP.

BJP president Rajnath Singh and Bal Apte, on deputation from RSS, were present on the occasion.

59-year-old Bhagwat, who has good relations with the BJP leadership including L K Advani, was replaced as general secretary by veteran ideologue Suresh Soni. Soni used to be in the BJP hierarchy a few years ago as a joint general secretary.

A veterinary doctor, Bhagwat hails from Chandrapur in Maharashtra and became a pracharak (full time volunteer) of RSS from his early years.

Bhagwat's name had recently figured in the ATS chargesheet when one of the accused in the Malegaon blasts had linked him to ISI, a charge he had strongly denied.

Sudarshan's early years as RSS chief were tumultuous with the BJP in power at the Centre at a time when the Sangh Parivar came under attack due to the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat and the Jinnah controversy triggered by Advani during a trip to Pakistan.

Lost job? Banks may rework your home loan

BANGALORE: If you have trouble repaying a home loan because you or your spouse lost a job or suffered a salary cut or your builder has overshot
his delivery schedule, your bank
may be willing to help by reducing the monthly repayment and extending the loan tenure. Small enterprises faced with cash flow issues are also likely to find banks far more amenable today to restructuring their loans.

Partly under pressure from the RBI and the Centre, banks are on a drive to bail out small enterprises and individuals who have started to default or are close to defaulting on loan repayments. The RBI has told banks that if a customer has been regular in his loan repayments till September 1, 2008, but has subsequently faced difficulties, the account can be restructured.

Normally, after a 90-day delinquency period, banks go about recovering the loan by measures such as attaching assets. This fresh approach could be a relief for many. But the application for restructuring, as per the RBI notification, needs to be made by March 31.

"Home loans and SME (small and medium enterprise) loans are coming up most for restructuring. Some real estate developers too are making requests," says Albert Tauro, CMD of Vijaya Bank.

Mahpara Ali, chief general manager of SBI, agrees: "We have received a fairly large number of applications for restructuring. Home loan borrowers come from good educational and professional backgrounds, so they have the intention to pay back their dues. It is just the difficult times that have compelled them to delay payments. So we are reducing the EMIs and increasing the tenure period. We tell them they can pay as much as they can now. Later, when their situation improves, we can restructure the loan again to what it was."

SMEs too have been badly hit by the slowing economy. Many have not been receiving payments on time from their customers, many others — especially exporters and auto ancillaries — have seen sales slump, forcing them to default on loans. Tauro says a short period loan repayment moratorium is being considered for deserving SMEs.

SBI estimates to restructure about 50,000 accounts for SMEs. Some banking
officials expect one to two lakh SME accounts will be restructured.

D Muralidhar, president, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), says some members have applied for restructuring, and some have already received a fresh package. "But we have been getting complaints from the districts that bank branches are not taking enough interest," he says.

Even in Bangalore, not everybody is happy with the banks' approach. J R Bangera, promoter of Premier Starch Products, says he had asked for an additional loan limit because his customer payments had been delayed, and his tax payments were falling due. "But the bank has only granted an ad hoc limit for 15 days. So I'll have to go to the bank again soon. So much time is spent sitting in front of bank managers. The top brass in banks may have the right approach, but down the line, the managers don't understand the trouble we are in," he says.

Dell launches ultra-thin laptop

Dell has officially launched a high-end laptop computer which the company said is the thinnest in the world.

The laptop is the first product under Dell's Adamo brand. Adamo is derived from the Latin word meaning 'to fall in love'.
With a thickness of 0.65 inches (1.65 cm) and available in onyx and pearl colours, the new Adamo laptop is thinner than Apple's MacBook Air.

Adamo will 'serve as a flagship in a line of products created to disrupt the personal computing space with the combination of new design aesthetics, personalisation choices and sought-after technologies', Dell said in a statement.

However, some analysts doubt how the Adamo laptop, with price tags starting at $1,999, will be received by the cash-strapped consumers under the current economic environment.


Earlier this month, market research company Gartner predicted that as a result of economic downturn, global personal computer shipments will drop 11.9 per cent from last year in 2009, the sharpest year-over-year decline.

The Adamo laptop is available for on-line pre-order from Tuesday and will start shipping March 26, Dell said.

Lahore Police fired 423 bullets without even nicking a single 3/3 terrorist!

Lahore, Mar.18 (ANI): The Lahore police has been widely criticized for its incompetence to retaliate during the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, has now claimed that it fired 423 bullets during the shootout, but none of them hit the attackers.

According to a report submitted by the police officials, 17 policemen through 21 weapons fired 423 bullets at the assailants, but all escaped unhurt.

"The attackers were firing from a safe place, due to which they could not be hit," the report stated.

It also said that the security officials chased the terrorist after the incident, but they failed to arrest any of the terrorists.

The report, amazingly, also has a meticulous detail of arms used and shots fired from them during the gun battle.

245 fires were made through six SMGs, 73 fires through four MP5 rifles, 52 fires through five Glock pistols and 25 fires through three Beretta pistols, The Daily Times reports.

However, according to sources privy to the police department said that the policemen could not fire as many bullets as it is being claimed.

"The policemen found no time to take their positions and open fire at the militants, and were injured before firing bullets,"

Gandhi items to return to India after New York auction

Items that belonged to revered Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi were sold at auction for $1.8 million on Thursday to an Indian tycoon who plans to donate them to his country.

The seller had tried at the last minute to withdraw the items -- Gandhi's trademark wire-rimmed glasses, worn leather sandals, a pocket watch and a metal bowl and plate -- after the planned sale caused uproar in India.

But the auction in New York went ahead despite protests by the Indian government.

The items were sold by Antiquorum Auctioneers to Vijay Mallya, chairman of UB Group, said Tony Bedi, who bid for Mallya.

Mallya, who as head of UB Group runs Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries that owns Kingfisher beer, will donate them to India for public display, Bedi said.

"I am sure all Indians will be pleased that these Gandhi items will be coming home," Bedi told reporters.

California-based collector James Otis, the seller, said earlier on Thursday that the items had been withdrawn. A lawyer for the peace activist said the sale was illegal.

"I never intended for my actions to cause such controversy," Otis told reporters before the sale. "I pray the outcome is positive and one that Gandhi would approve of."

He said he would have donated the items to India if the government had agreed to increase spending on the poor.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

The auction was sharply criticized in India. Many view the items as part of the national heritage and want them placed in a museum.

Some Indians said the sale went against the philosophy of a man who shunned material possessions and led an ascetic life.

"The issue here was not to put Mahatma Gandhi's legacy on the auction block," Ravi Batra, a lawyer for Otis, told reporters.

The Indian government announced earlier on Thursday that it planned to bid for the items, which had been expected to fetch $300,000.

It had previously held talks with the auctioneers to stop the sale, government officials said.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, pioneered the philosophy of nonviolent resistance and was a major figure in the struggle for Indian independence. He was assassinated in 1948 in New Delhi by a Hindu radical.

The Zenith pocket watch was given to Gandhi by Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi, who was not related to Mahatma Gandhi, was the daughter of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and was herself an Indian prime minister. She was assassinated in 1984.

Mahatma Gandhi used the plate and bowl for his last meal.

High drama before Gandhi items' auction

New York, March 6 (IANS) Confusion prevailed for hours in the run up to Thursday's auction of Gandhi memorabilia as a throng of journalists gathered at the East 57th Street headquarters of Antiquorum Auctioneers handling the sale.

But shortly after 1 p.m., the auctioneers' chairman, Robert Maron, said that despite some news reports that Los Angeles collector James Otis had decided to pull out, the auction would proceed.

'There is a lot of propaganda because the Indian government is trying to get this item,' Maron was quoted as saying by the New York Times. 'The consigner has not pulled the item. The auction is not going to stop. In two hours, we'll know the outcome,' he said.

But around 2:30 p.m., Ravi Batra, a lawyer who said he was representing the owner, Otis, a peace activist, pro bono, entered the auction house, and announced that Otis was trying to halt the sale. Within an hour, Batra was booted from the auction house by employees, the Times said.

'Escorting me off the premises is the same as escorting James Otis and his wishes off the premises,' he said as he was leaving. He criticised the auction house for trying to make money on 'the altar of Gandhi's legacy.' Batra said: 'The right to sell belongs solely and singularly to James Otis and not to Antiquorum.'

Robert Maron, the chairman of the auction house, declined to comment on Otis's last-minute change of heart. 'We fully complied with the consigner's wishes,' he said, referring to Otis. 'We now have a fiduciary obligation to the buyer.'

The auction house argued that it was too late for Otis to withdraw from the sale. 'Anyone who consigns an item for sale has entered a legally binding agreement to put that item up for sale,' said Julien Schaerer, an official at the auction house. Asked if Otis had tried to pull the items out of the auction, Schaerer declined to comment.

Before the auction began, about 40 bidders had registered, from Australia, Germany, Austria, India, Canada and the US, among other countries. In comparison, there were only six registered bidders in October for a watch belonging to Albert Einstein, which sold for almost $600,000.