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Monday, March 7, 2011

ICC World Cup : Canada beat Kenya by 5 wickets

Jimmy Hansra
(TOI)
NEW DELHI.
Jimmy Hansra struck a fine half-century under pressure as Canada defeated Kenya by five wickets on Monday to register only their second victory ever in the World Cup.
Hansra hit seven fours and two sixes in his knock of 70, his best in 11 one-day internationals, to help Canada overhaul Kenya's 198 with 27 balls to spare in the day-night clash at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.
The Indian-born Hansra, who came in to bat with the team reeling at 48/3, put on 132 runs for the fourth wicket with his captain Ashish Bagai to ensure the efforts of fast bowler Henry Osinde (4-26) did not go to waste.
Bagai remained unbeaten on 64 off 97 balls with seven fours.
Canada's previous World Cup win came against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup at Kingsmead, South Africa.
The result had little bearing on the quarterfinal hopes of either teams, languishing at the bottom of the Group A points table.
Canada's chase began in a dramatic fashion with opener Rizwan Cheema being ruled leg before wicket off the second ball of the first over but the batsman asked for a review and the decision was overturned.
Cheema though did not last long as he was bowled by Elijah Otieno after carting the paceman for a six and a four in the same over.
Zubin Sarkari was run out by a direct throw from Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande and opener Ruvindu Gunasekera was stumped off the bowling of off-spinner James Ngoche.
Ngoche could have picked up a second wicket in the same over when Hansra hit straight to mid-on but Seren Waters dropped a sitter, a mistake that was to cost the Kenyans.
Earlier, Osinde picked up three wickets in his opening spell to help reduce Kenya to 57/5 by the 15th over before a fightback by Tanmay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo.
Mishra hit a composed 73-ball 51 for his fourth half-century in one-day internationals and Odoyo also chipped in with 51, containing five fours and a six.
Osinde struck early for Canada, removing opener Morris Ouma off the second ball of the innings and his partner Waters in the fifth over.
The paceman then sent back David Obuya to grab his third wicket before Harvir Baidwan brought an end to a promising knock by Collins Obuya (31). Veteran Steve Tikolo (12) was given out lbw.
Kamande sought to rebuild the innings with Mishra, putting on 52 runs for the sixth wicket but portly leg-spinner Balaji Rao had him caught behind for 22.
Mishra's dogged fightback came to an end when he holed out tamely to Surkari off part-timer John Davison in the 43rd over.
-------------------------------------------------------
score card

Kenya innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
MA Ouma† c Baidwan b Osinde 0 2 2 0 0 0.00
SR Waters b Osinde 2 22 13 0 0 15.38
CO Obuya b Baidwan 31 53 35 3 1 88.57
DO Obuya c †Bagai b Osinde 2 11 8 0 0 25.00
SO Tikolo lbw b Rizwan Cheema 12 39 20 1 0 60.00
T Mishra c Surkari b Davison 51 120 73 3 0 69.86
JK Kamande* c †Bagai b Balaji Rao 22 49 58 3 0 37.93
TM Odoyo b Baidwan 51 86 62 5 1 82.25
NN Odhiambo b Osinde 4 8 9 0 0 44.44
E Otieno c Hansra b Rizwan Cheema 8 20 17 1 0 47.05

JO Ngoche not out 1 6 3 0 0 33.33

Extras (lb 4, w 10) 14











Total (all out; 50 overs; 214 mins) 198 (3.96 runs per over)
Fall of wickets1-0 (Ouma, 0.2 ov), 2-7 (Waters, 4.5 ov), 3-21 (DO Obuya, 6.6 ov), 4-41 (CO Obuya, 11.3 ov), 5-57 (Tikolo, 14.6 ov), 6-109 (Kamande, 29.2 ov), 7-166 (Mishra, 42.1 ov), 8-171 (Odhiambo, 43.6 ov), 9-193 (Otieno, 48.6 ov), 10-198 (Odoyo, 49.6 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ

H Osinde 10 2 26 4 2.60 (3w)
HS Baidwan 10 1 41 2 4.10 (2w)

PA Desai 3 0 20 0 6.66

Rizwan Cheema 9 1 30 2 3.33


AS Hansra 3 0 15 0 5.00

WD Balaji Rao 10 0 36 1 3.60 (1w)
JM Davison 5 0 26 1 5.20










Canada innings (target: 199 runs from 50 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR
R Gunasekera st †Ouma b Ngoche 18 59 27 3 0 66.66
Rizwan Cheema b Otieno 17 18 13 2 1 130.76
ZE Surkari run out (Kamande) 10 29 26 1 0 38.46

A Bagai*† not out 64 150 97 7 0 65.97
AS Hansra c Ngoche b Odhiambo 70 121 99 7 2 70.70
TG Gordon b Odhiambo 3 12 11 0 0 27.27

JM Davison not out 4 4 1 1 0 400.00

Extras (b 1, w 11, nb 1) 13











Total (5 wickets; 45.3 overs; 199 mins) 199 (4.37 runs per over)
Did not bat HS Baidwan, PA Desai, H Osinde, WD Balaji Rao
Fall of wickets1-19 (Rizwan Cheema, 3.4 ov), 2-37 (Surkari, 9.5 ov), 3-48 (Gunasekera, 11.0 ov), 4-180 (Hansra, 42.5 ov), 5-186 (Gordon, 44.5 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ


TM Odoyo 5 1 18 0 3.60

E Otieno 8.3 0 45 1 5.29 (1nb, 4w)
NN Odhiambo 10 0 45 2 4.50

JO Ngoche 10 2 26 1 2.60 (1w)

JK Kamande 5 0 25 0 5.00 (1w)

CO Obuya 2 0 15 0 7.50 (1w)

SO Tikolo 5 1 24 0 4.80
---------------------------------------------------------------------

World's youngest grandmother at 23?

(TOI)
LONDON.
A 23-year-old woman from Romania has claimed to have become the "world's youngest grandmother", a media report said.
Mum-of-two Rifca Stanescu was 12 when she had her first child Maria. She urged her daughter not to follow her example -- but Maria gave birth to son Ion while only 11, 'The Sun' reported.
Rifca had married jewellery seller Ionel Stanescu when she was 11 and he was 13. They eloped because Rifca feared her father wanted her to marry another village lad in Investi in Romania. She was forgiven when she had her daughter -- making her mum, also Maria, a great grandmother at 40.
Son Nicolae was born a year later. The young mum later tried to persuade Maria to stay at school. But Maria left to wed when she was 10 and had her baby six months later, the report said.
Rifca cuddled grandson Ion, now two, and said: "I am happy to be a grandmother but wished more for Maria."
Britain's previous youngest grandmother was an unnamed 26-year-old from Yorks. Her daughter, 12, gave birth in 1999.

'Henry VIII’s blood type led to madness, wives’ miscarriages’

English King Henry VIII
(TOI)
LONDON.
English King Henry VIII, who married six times, suffered from a rare blood disorder which was responsible for the miscarriages of wives and also made him "unstable" , a new research has claimed.
Henry, who was king of England from 1509 until his death in 1547, was desperate for a male heir to continue the Tudor line. He did, in fact, produce three children, one from his first three wives, but many others were stillborn or lost through miscarriages.
Now, researchers claim to have found compelling evidence that he was "Kell positive" , a rare blood type which can cause serious health and fertility problems. Those with the blood group can pass it down to future generations. The condition could also be behind King Henry's transformation from a witty and athletic youth to an obese and unstable tyrant by the time he was in his 40s, according to the researchers.
If a man with the disorder conceives a child with a Kell negative partner, each child has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the condition. When a baby is conceived with same rare blood group as its father, then the mother would have difficulties with further pregnancies . The antibodies she produces during that first pregnancy will attack future Kell positive babies she carries -–triggering miscarriages. The team believe s that Henry's first two wives Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn suffered this fate.

Hindu guru convicted of molesting girls in US

'Barsana Dham' Austin (USA)
(TOI)
WASHINGTON.
An octogenarian Hindu religious leader, head of a Hindu ashram, one of the largest temples in the US, has been convicted of molesting two young girls.
The girls, many of whose family members serve at the ashram 'Barsana Dham', a 200-acre Hindu ashram located in Austin. alleged that they were molested by Prakashanand Saraswati, who is known to his devotees as Shree Swamiji, when they grew up there in the mid-1990s.
His conviction at the ashram,, which attracts a large number of Hindu Americans from across the country every year, has sent shock waves among the community members.
"We are very disappointed with the verdict. We are certain that Swamiji is innocent. This is not the end of the legal process," said Aman Agrawal, spokesman of Barsana Dham.
The sentencing is scheduled for today. Convicted in all of the 20 counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years on each of the counts.
In their charges, two women Shyama Rose, 30, and Vesla Tonnessen Kazimer, 27, alleged that Prakashanand Saraswati tried to exploit them on numerous occasions over the course of several years, beginning when they were as young as 12.
The two lived in the campus of the ashram along with their other family members.
The charges by Rose and Kazimer against Prakashanand were first levied in April 2008 following which he was arrested.
He was later released on a USD 1 million bond. A third woman Kate Tonnessen, 31, too made similar allegations recently.

UK keeps eyes shut as ISI uses turf to hit India

(TOI)
LONDON.
Britain has been turning a blind eye to Pakistan's ISI's activities including a virulent targeting of India for the fear of losing its counter-terrorism cooperation on British soil, a source said.
"Please, could I ask you to re-direct your enquiry to the home office,'' a British foreign office spokesperson said, while the home office did not respond to TOI's queries on ISI's activities in the UK.
ISI's operations in Britain are among the most comprehensive outside Pakistan and draw heavily from the support of a million strong Pakistani community in the UK. There are at least three ISI agents posted at London's Pakistani High Commission as diplomats with the British government's knowledge . There are likely to be more at consulates in Birmingham and other places.
A Whitehall source said MI5 and MI6 — the UK's internal and external intelligence gathering agencies — are even aware of Lashkar-e-Taiba activities in the country. The British government has designated the LeT as a terrorist organisation and banned it. Britain's counter-terrorism officials are aware that the LeT receives assistance and protection from the ISI. Yet, the British authorities continue to soft-pedal on the ISI.
A recent interview of a Pakistani-descent taxi driver, Mohammed Adris, to the Derby Evening Telegraph was a typical example of ISI's tactics. Adris poured out his heart out about the alleged ill-treatment of Kashmiris. He said this was not first hand knowledge, but gathered from Pakistani newspapers and friends. "The Indian army has ruined people's lives in Kashmir. They kill young people,'' Adris told the newspaper. "It's not a Muslim country. There is no freedom for M u s l i m s there. My friends' families don't know whether, when they go to the mosque to pray, they will be killed because the army thinks they are terrorists.''
Adris was among a group of Pakistanis, who organised an ISI-encouraged conference in Derby for British MPs and members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to highlight the alleged plight of Kashmir last month. It was also aimed at persuading Pakistani Kashmiris to get involved in British politics. Derby in central England has a large Pakistani population.
The Telegraph reported that an English-origin councillor came back from the meeting with the impression that they felt a "very oppressed people'' .

US Army incorporates yoga in training

(TOI)
WASHINGTON.
The US Army has introduced yoga for the first time in its physical fitness regimen.
The changes in its "combat readiness test" are being made as part of an overhaul of its fitness programme for the first time in 30 years, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
The training will incorporate the elements of yoga and benefits of rest among other workouts. The new regimen, announced March 1, will be carried out in phases.
"There have been all kinds of rumors about what this is and what it isn't. People have said, 'It's yoga-like, it's like Pilates' ... And frankly, it is all those things," the Monitor quoted Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for initial military training at the US Army's Training and Doctrine Command, as saying.
He pointed out that tough training leads to stress, fractures and other injuries. Hence, the new doctrine extols the virtues of breaks on long marches. This new training is a departure from how the army tests its soldiers.
"We've only done push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run," for the past 30 years, said Hertling, but "none of those address the kinds of things soldiers are asked to do in combat".
To address this issue, shuttle runs and long jumps have been added to the fitness programme, he said.

Hate crime: Two Sikhs attacked in US, one dead

(TOI)
WASHINGTON.
Two elderly Sikhs were shot at by unidentified assailants in Sacramento in US, leaving one dead and the other in critical condition, triggering panic in the neighbourhood having a sizeable Sikh population.
Surinder Singh, 68, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, residents of Elk Grove in Sacramento, California-- were shot at by unidentified miscreants on Friday evening, when the two went out for their daily evening walk, police said.
Singh, who worked as a truck driver in India and Libya before moving to the US, five years ago, died on the spot.
He is originally from Pandori Ganga Singh village in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab. His funeral has been scheduled for March 12.
Atwal, hailing from Farallah village in Nawanshahr district of Punjab, who moved to the US in 2001, continues to be in critical condition.
Police have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime, but there is no such concrete evidence as yet.
"At present, we have no evidence to indicate there was a hate or bias motivation for this crime; however, the obvious Sikh appearance of the men, including the traditional Dastar headwear and lack of any other apparent motive, increasingly raise that possibility," Elk Grove Police Chief Robert M Lehner said.
Elk Grove Police has made preliminary notification to the local FBI office because bias motivated crimes are a violation of Federal as well as State Law, Lehner said.
A number of Sikhs living in the city, are in a state of panic and have alleged this to be hate crime.
No arrests have been made so far. More than a dozen odd local Gurudrawas at a meeting yesterday announced an award of USD 20,000 to anyone who provides a clue towards the arrest of those responsible for the incident.
They have also appealed to the Sikh community members to try and not wear traditional ethnic 'kurta' and 'payjama' while going for walks or any public appearance, said Gurjatinder Singh Randhawa, chief editor of the regional Sikh newspaper Punjab mail USA.
Both Singh and Atwal were in their traditional Sikh dress during their evening walk when they were shot at.

'Small shock waves' in Tibet if Dalai Lama dies: China

(TOI)
BEIJING.
Chinese officials expect a "little repercussion" and some "small shock waves" if the 76-year old Dalai Lama dies at this time. But they do not expect any major changes that can threaten the political stability in Tibet.
"Of course there will be a little repercussion due to religious factors, but we will take that into consideration and will surely guarantee the long-term political stability in Tibet," Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Communist Party's Standing Committee in charge of Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress, said on Monday.
Chinese officials have objected to a recent statement by the Dalai Lama, who recently said the system of reincarnation might be abolished after he is no more.
"What he said does not count," Padma Choling, chairman of the Tibet autonomous regional government, said. "I am afraid it is not up to anyone (to decide) whether to abolish the reincarnation institution or not," he said while pointing out that it is a 1,000-year old tradition.
Dealing with the issue of reincarnation is part of the larger program to avoid a possible upheaval in Tibet if and when the region's spiritual leader dies.
"I dare not say that Tibet will not see any incidents, big or small, forever, but I dare say that the current situation in Tibet is on the whole stable, and the Tibetan people wish for stability and are opposed to any king of trouble-making," he said.
Tibet's former governor, Qiangba Puncog, was even more forthright.
"Of course there will be some small shock waves due to religious factors, but we will take that into consideration and will surely guarantee long-term political stability in Tibet," he said.
Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party chief in Tibet, said frankly that the region was still facing "very grave challenges" in the fight against separatist activities.

Fierce fighting rages in Libya

 Gaddafi loyalists block rebels
(TOI)
CAIRO/WASHINGTON.
Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi struck hard at rebels advancing towards Tripoli and pounded the oil port eastern city of Ras Lanuf, as the US mulled land and air options amid growing pressure to arm the out-gunned opposition.
Pro-Gaddaf troops used fighters, gunships, tanks and heavy artillery to hold back the movement of the rebels towards his bastion Tripoli and used artillery and rockets to target them in Bin Jawad, Tobruk, Ras Lanuf and Misurata, Al Jazeera channel said.
It said there was fierce fighting in Misurata, located between Tripoli and Gaddafi's hometown Sirte, with reports of at least 18 people killed.
"For a few days the rebels were making gains, but overnight it would appear that pro-Gaddafi forces took some ground," the Arab channel said.
The see-saw battles between the rebels, seeking the ouster of the Libyan leader who has ruled for 41 years, and loyalists entered the 21st day, amid global concerns that the fighting could drag for months.
Amid an exodus of foreign workers, the UN and the EU announced that they were dispatching fact-finding missions to the north African nation.
US media reports said that President Barack Obama was coming under heavy pressure to act to stop attacks by Gaddafi's men on civilians.
The New York Times said the US military had prepared a blue print of land, air and sea options in Libya in case Washington and its NATO allies decide to intervene there.
The options, it said, could range from arming the rebels to putting hi-tech air craft in the international air space to jam Libyan military communication to sending teams of special forces to lead and guide the rebels.
"Euphoria in anti-government strongholds is fading as Gaddafi's forces draw line in sand on roads to key city of Sirte," al Jazeera reported from the frontline. Sirte is the hometown of the Libyan leader, who has made it a prestige to hold it.
Eight deaths including six rebel fighters were killed in the battle of Bin Jawad.
"For a few days the rebels made gains, but overnight it would appear that pro-Gaddafi forces are on the offensive and have taken some ground," al Jazeera said.
Hard pressed, the rebels are asking for UN backed air strikes as Gaddafi's Russian fighters and helicopter gunships are playing havoc with them.
The rebels also say that Gaddafi is using African mercenaries to suppress an uprising against his rule.
In the first overtures to the rebels, the Gaddafi government offered to open talks with them but this was promptly rejected.

France's ex-president Chirac goes on trial for corruption

(TOI)
PARIS. Jacques Chirac on Monday became the first former French president to go on trial as a court heard charges he embezzled public funds while he was mayor of Paris in the 1990s.
The 78-year-old, one of France's most popular political figures, was not present for the opening of the trial that will examine whether he misused public money to pay people working for his political party.
Chirac enjoyed immunity from prosecution as president from 1995 to 2007, but the case, which has already seen current Foreign Minister Alain Juppe convicted, has finally caught up with him.
The first day of hearings got under way in a packed court in central Paris. Chirac, who was Paris mayor from 1977 to 1995, was scheduled to make his first appearance on Tuesday after a first day given over to procedural matters.
The case could however promptly grind to a halt if a lawyer working for one of Chirac's co-defendants succeeds in getting a procedural matter referred upwards to France's constitutional court.
Chirac, best known internationally for his opposition to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, has denied any knowledge of corrupt payments and his lawyers accuse magistrates of harbouring a hidden political agenda.
He has been linked to a series of corruption scandals but never convicted. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of 150,000 euros ($210,000) on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust.
The hearings in Paris are the result of the merging of two separate cases -- one begun by magistrates in the Paris suburb of Nanterre in 1995, and another in the capital itself dating to 1998.
The case involves seven alleged ghost jobs for which Chirac is charged with conflict of interest and 21 other jobs for which he is accused of embezzlement and abuse of trust.
Nine other people are going on trial alongside Chirac, accused either of having ghost jobs or benefiting from those of town hall employees.
Chirac denies that the people employed in the jobs were used to prepare for the 1995 presidential election, which he went on to win, insisting they were all legitimate posts in the service of Paris.
Jean-Yves La Borgne, a lawyer working for one of Chirac's former chiefs of staff, said he will argue that under the constitution the accusations in the former case can no longer be heard since they date back too far in time.
So even before Chirac's first scheduled appearance on Tuesday, the judge may agree to submit the question for constitutional ruling. This process could delay the trial for months.
Paris city hall last year dropped its civil charges against Chirac in return for a payment of more than 2.2 million euros, from him and the right-wing UMP party.
Chirac paid more than half a million euros of this from his own pocket but did not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Anti-corruption campaigners are still bringing separate civil charges and Chirac's lawyers are expected on Monday to raise procedural points relating to these.
State prosecutors meanwhile have called for the case to be dismissed, making a conviction highly unlikely.
There have been reports that Chirac's health has deteriorated -- perhaps even to the point where he would be able to avoid trial. In January his wife Bernadette denied media reports that he was suffering from Alzheimer's.
Chirac declined to comment on the trial when questioned on Europe 1 radio on Sunday, saying only that he was "as well as can be."

No comfy office, this IIM-B graduate is an 'aam' admi

Ashutosh Sawant
(TOI)
BANGALORE.
He will pass out of one of the most sought-after B-schools of the country. While 332 of his friends will get into those cushy jobs, he will work closer to Mother earth — working with farmers and help them produce export-quality fruits and vegetables and finally export them.
Ashutosh Sawant, a PGP second year student, has started a firm which looks at exporting frozen fruits like alphonso mangoes, frozen strawberry, pomegranate arils, frozen vegetables and cauliflower florets.
"The main reason why our products could not be exported was because we used farming methods that were unacceptable in other countries — like using banned pesticides. I will work closely with farmers, help them with best practices and finally export the produce," Ashutosh said.
Ashutosh has already started his pilot projects. Back at his hometown in Kadegoan, Karad taluk, Maharashtra, he has entered into a contract with the owner of a 150-acre mango grove. "I helped the farmers with the technical knowhow like dip irrigation and use of chemicals. They do not have access to such knowledge. I consulted with the Central Food Technological Research Institute. The first produce is almost ready," he said.
The total value addition to fruits and vegetables in India is less — around 4% — compared to global standards of 45%-50%, he points out. "I have seen my uncle sell pomegranates for Rs 8 a kilo when I buy for Rs 60 here in Bangalore. We produce 80% of world's pomegranates and export just 2%. Lots of them are being wasted, this provides an opportunity to process them," he says.
Once the produce is there, he will look at marketing it to retail chains in other continents. The processing involves cleaning them from chemicals, cutting them according to the specifications of the client and packing in refrigerated containers.

Black money trail: Hasan Ali detained, taken to ED for interrogation

Hasan Ali Khan
(TOI)
PUNE.
Hasan Ali Khan, the Pune stud farm owner facing charges of huge money laundering and tax evasion, was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate after a day-long search of his premises by its officials today.
About a dozen ED officials from Mumbai came down to Pune to search Khan premises in posh Koregaon Park area, a little distance away from the landmark German Bakery. Khan was picked up in the afternoon and driven away, presumably to Mumbai, for interrogation.
There was no official word from the ED and media persons waiting outside Khan's residence were not briefed about the operations.
Clad in white kurta and wearing sunglasses, Khan was seen inside a black Mercedes that left the Tulip bungalow located in Valentine Residential Society escorted by ED sleuths in two cars.
Khan's detention came a day before the Supreme Court's March 8 deadline to the government to inform it how it proposed to tackle black money hoarders.
The apex court while blasting the Centre last Thursday for not having the "will power" to act against black money hoarders asked why Khan and others were not subjected to custodial interrogation despite the probe agencies possessing sufficient material against them.
Meanwhile, his lawyer R K Gaur said Khan has not been detained and that he was being taken to the ED's office as part of a "routine investigation".
"Hasan Ali Khan has not been detained till now. He has been taken to the investigative agency's office. This is a routine investigation. It happens in all cases. The ED searched his premises and now has taken him to its office," he Gaur said.
Asked if there was any link between Supreme Court's remarks about the government's failure to ensure Khan's custodial interrogation and his detention, Gaur said, "SC has not directed anything. There must have been some remarks but no direction."
Gaur said Khan had not stashed any money in the Swiss banks. "There is no black money lying anywhere. Yes, there is an allegation. Everything has been accounted for. There is no such amount (USD 8 billion) lying in UBS and UBS has also said they have no relationship (with Khan)," he said.
About the Rs 40,000 crore penalty that the Income Tax authorities plan to recover from Khan for tax evasion, he said, there was no evidence of him having stashed away such huge amounts to warrant the penalty.

CWG overlays scam: CBI arrests MD of Indo-Swiss firm

(TOI)
NEW DELHI.
The CBI today arrested the managing director of an Indo-Swiss supplier firm while Enforcement Directorate (ED) intensified its probe into alleged irregularities in the award of contracts worth over Rs 600 crore for Commonwealth Games overlays.
Sandeep Wadhwa, MD of Comfort Net which is a part of the Switzerland-based Nussli India consortium, was arrested by the CBI in connection with the scam, sources said.
The ED, meanwhile, has claimed to have tracked money trail in the overlays scam and filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, official sources said.
The CBI action on Wadhwa came after the agency claimed to have got some evidence against Nussli India which was given contract of nearly Rs 140 crore for supplying tents, portable cabins, containers and other items for six venues.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with a Canadian firm's Indian unit to supply steel-based modular fittings for Commonwealth Games venues, they said.
The CBI had earlier accused former Director General V K Verma and other officials of Organising Committee of entering into a criminal conspiracy with Binu Nanu in awarding contracts for overlays for different venues of Commonwealth Games at exorbitant rates.
The agency has alleged that public servants abused their official position, cheated and caused undue losses to the Government and corresponding gain to four companies and themselves. One of the companies made accused by the CBI was Nussli-India consortium.
The total value of the overlays contracts that are under the scanner is over Rs 600 crore.
Earlier this year, the CBI has carried out detailed searches on the official and residential premises of all four companies which were alleged beneficiaries of overlays contract given for the Commonwealth Games.
Besides Wadhwa, searches were conducted at the premises of Binu Nanu and Roopana Binu, Director GL Events and Meroform India Sebastin Brunet, Director, G L Events and Vinay Mittal, Director, Deepali Designs and Exhibits.
Deepali Designs bagged contract worth Rs 230 crore, D Art Furniture Systems-ESG Arena of UK were given contracts for providing overlays for over Rs 90 crore, Nussli India got a contract for over Rs 140 crore and Meroform-GL services had bagged a contract worth Rs 165 crore, official sources said.
The CBI had earlier arrested Additional Director General of CWG Organising Committee K U K Reddy and supplier Praveen Bakshi, close aide of former OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi Deorukhkar Shekhar and Binu Nanu in connection with overlays scam.

China has five airbases, extensive rail-road networks in Tibet: Antony

(TOI)
NEW DELHI.
Apart from nuclear missile bases in Qinghai province which clearly target India, China has built five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000 km of roads in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
People's Liberation Army is also rapidly upgrading several other airstrips in TAR as well as south China, to add to the five airbases from where Chinese Sukhoi-27UBK and Sukhoi-30MKK fighters have practised operations in recent times.
Moreover, with extensive road-rail links in TAR, PLA can amass upwards of two divisions (30,000 soldiers) at their "launch pads'' along the border in just 20 days now compared to the over 90 days it took earlier.
All this is not strikingly new but, soon after Beijing hiked its annual military budget to $91.5 billion, mounting concern over China's massive build-up of military infrastructure was reflected in Lok Sabha on Monday.
Cutting across party lines, 19 MPs came together to quiz defence minister A K Antony on whether the UPA government was taking "cognizance'' of the "increased Chinese military activities'' along the 4,057-km LAC.
Antony, in a written reply, said "necessary steps'' were being taken in consonance with India's national security concerns. "Military capacity enhancement and modernisation of armed forces is a dynamic process, which takes into account the cumulative challenges envisaged by the nation,'' he said.
"The total road network in TAR is assessed at 58,000 km in 2010. Extension of Qinghai Tibet Railway to Xigaze is in progress. Another railway line from Kashgar to Hotan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonmous Region is under construction,'' he said, adding the five TAR airfields were Gongar, Pangta, Linchi, Hoping and Gar Gunsa.
India is now, albeit belatedly, trying to strategically counter China. Just last week, for instance, saw two new Sukhoi-30MKIs touch down at Chabua airbase in Assam, the second airbase in North-East after Tezpur to house the multi-role fighters. Both airbases will have two Sukhoi squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets) each.
The Army, on its part, has raised two new mountain infantry divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers. While the 56 Division has its HQ in Zakama (Nagaland) under the Dimapur-based 3 Corps, the 71 Division at Missamari (Assam) falls in the operational command of the Tezpur-based 4 Corps.
IAF is also upgrading eastern sector ALGs (advanced landing grounds) like Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal. This comes after the reactivation of western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyama in eastern Ladakh.

Attempt to suicide must be decriminalized: Supreme Court

(TOI)
NEW DELHI.
The Supreme Court on Monday observed that time has come to decriminalize attempt to suicide by erasing the punishment provided in Indian Penal Code and asked Parliament to examine it.
"We are of the opinion that although Section 309 of IPC (attempt to suicide) has been held to be constitutionally valid in Gian Kaur's case by Supreme Court, the time has come when it should be deleted by Parliament as it has become anachronistic," said a bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra while delaying with the issues relating to euthanasia. "A person attempts to suicide in a depression, and hence he needs help, rather than punishment. We therefore recommend to Parliament to consider the feasibility of deleting Section 309 from the Indian Penal Code," said Justice Katju while writing the judgment for the bench.
The Law Commission in its 210th report to the government on October 17, 2008, had differed with its earlier 156th report in 1997 subscribing the retention of attempt to suicide as a penal offence. In its 210th report, the commission had recommended to the government to "initiate steps for repeal of the anachronistic law contained in section 309 of IPC, which would relieve the distressed of his suffering."
The bench referred to a Constitution bench judgment in Gian Kaur Vs State of Punjab [1996 (2) SCC 648], which held that both euthanasia and assisted suicide were not lawful.
The bench had ruled that right to life under Article 21 did not include right to die. It also said that euthanasia could be made lawful only by legislation.
Justice Katju said as SC in Gian kaur's case had conceded "the debate even in such cases to permit physician assisted termination of life is inconclusive", no final view on euthanasia was taken. It laid down the law and procedure on passive euthanasia. The law panel's 196th report to the government on April 28, 2006, had comprehensively dealt with the issue in a 435-page volume which included a draft bill. The recommendation was identical to what the SC ruling on Monday.
The panel, headed by retired SC judge M Jagannadha Rao, had said: "We have thought it fit to provide an enabling provision under which patients, relatives, next friend or doctors or hospitals can move a division bench of HC for a declaration that proposed action of continuing or withholding or withdrawing medical treatment be declared lawful or unlawful."

Aruna lives, but others can die with dignity

(TOI)
NEW DELHI.
Euthanasia or mercy killing in its passive form has taken legal root in India. The Supreme Court on Monday broke new ground with a judgment sanctioning passive euthanasia -- or withdrawal of life-support systems -- on patients who are brain dead or in a permanent vegetative state, and whom doctors have lost hope of reviving even with the most advanced medical aid.
The court, however, clarified that active euthanasia, involving injecting a potent drug to advance the death of such a patient, was a crime under law and would continue to remain so.
A Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra, laid down the guidelines for the concerned high courts alone to give a final go-ahead for passive euthanasia, involving withdrawal of life sustaining drugs and/or life support system, in a brain dead or PVS patient, after bona fide consent from the patient's relatives and the doctor's opinion.
The court devised this rather long-winding procedure, while pointing out that it would have to hold good until Parliament enacts a law on this issue, since it was wary of passive euthanasia being misused by unscrupulous relatives to grab the property of the terminally ill.
While laying down the guidelines, the two-judge bench rejected the euthanasia plea for Aruna Shanbaug who is in a permanent vegetative state for the last 37 years after a brutal sexual assault in 1973. It said the high courts must take the help of expert doctors before deciding on passive euthanasia pleas.
The court said an expert panel, comprising a neurologist, psychiatrist and a physician, would examine the patient and give a report. The HC would issue notice to concerned parties and give an expeditious judgment since delay could aggravate the mental agony of the relatives, the bench said.
Agreeing with a 1993 UK decision in the Airedale case, the bench said: "While giving great weight to the wishes of the parents, spouses, or other close relatives or next friend of the patient and also giving due weight to the opinion of the attending doctors, we cannot leave it entirely to their discretion whether to discontinue the life support or not."
"We make it clear that it is experts like medical practitioners who can decide whether there is any reasonable possibility of a new medical discovery which would enable such a patient to revive in the near future it," it added.
"We agree that the approval of the high court should be taken in this connection. This is in the interest of the protection of the patient, protection of the doctors, relatives and next friend, and for reassurance of the patient's family as well as the public," said Justice Katju, who authored the 110-page judgment for the bench.
Why was the court insistent that a final view should be taken by high courts? It was probably a result of the apprehension expressed by Attorney General G E Vahanvati that unscrupulous relatives in collusion with hospital staff could engineer a consent to grab the property of a dying man. However, Vahanvati had opposed euthanasia in all forms, claiming that India was not emotionally ready for it.
The bench said when an application for euthanasia is filed, the Chief Justice of the HC should "constitute a bench of at least two judges who should decide to grant approval or not. Before doing so, the bench should seek the opinion of a committee of three reputed doctors to be nominated by the bench after consulting such medical authorities/medical practitioners as it may deem fit."
"For this purpose a panel of doctors in every city may be prepared by the HC in consultation with the state government/union territory and their fees for this purpose may be fixed," the court said.
While appointing the panel, the HC must issue notice to the state and close relatives of the patient, and in their absence to the patient's next friend, and supply a copy of the report of the doctor's committee to them, the court said and asked the HC to decide passive euthanasia pleas expeditiously.