Navratilova has breast cancer - report

• Martina Navratilova, one of the finest female tennis players of all time, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, she has told U.S. online magazine People.
• "I cried," the report quoted Navratilova, 53, as saying about the moment in February when a biopsy came back positive after a routine mammogram revealed a cluster in her left breast.
• "It knocked me on my ass, really. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it's completely out of my hands."
• Wednesday's report said she would begin six weeks of radiation therapy in May following minor invasive surgery called a lumpectomy and the prognosis for survival was extremely good.
• She was diagnosed with a non-invasive form of breast cancer, the report said, called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, which in her case had not spread to the breast tissue.
• "It was the best-case scenario you could imagine for detecting breast cancer," Mindy Nagle, a good friend of Navratilova, told the magazine.
• Shelley Hwang, a breast surgeon at UC San Francisco, said DCIS strikes almost 70,000 American women annually and accounts for about one-fifth of all new diagnosed breast cancers.
• "The prognosis of someone with DCIS is excellent," she told the magazine (www.people.com). "There's only a one percent chance anyone with this diagnosis would die of breast cancer."
• The nine-times Wimbledon champion, who still plays tennis and ice hockey and competes in triathlons, said she was lucky, as she had not been getting regular check-ups.
• "I went four years between mammograms. I let it slide. Everyone gets busy, but don't make excuses. I stay in shape and eat right, and it happened to me. Another year and I could have been in big trouble."

Woods failed as a role model, says Masters chairman

• Scandal-hit Tiger Woods has failed to live up to expectations as a role model, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne said on Wednesday.
• In an unexpected departure from the southern reserve Payne usually displays at his pre-U.S. Masters news conferences, he said the world number one would be judged in the future by the sincerity of his efforts to change.
• "Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children," said Payne.
• "It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here; it is the fact he disappointed all of us and more importantly our kids and our grand kids."
• The disgraced Woods is making his return to professional golf this week after a break of nearly five months, following startling revelations he had had a string of extra-marital affairs.
• "Is there a way forward? I hope yes," Payne said. "I think yes. But certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par but measured by the sincerity of his efforts to change.

Woods failed as role model, says Payne

• Scandal-hit Tiger Woods has failed to live up to expectations as a role model, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne said on Wednesday.
• In an unexpected departure from the southern reserve Payne usually displays at his pre-U.S. Masters news conferences, he said one of the world's most marketable sportsmen would be judged in the future by the sincerity of his efforts to change.
• "Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children," said Payne.
• "It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here, it is the fact he disappointed all of us and more importantly our kids and our grand kids."
• The disgraced Woods is returning to professional golf this week after a break of nearly five months, following startling revelations he had had a string of extra-marital affairs.
• "Is there a way forward? I hope yes," Payne said. "I think yes. But certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par but measured by the sincerity of his efforts to change.
• "I hope he now realises that every kid he passes on the course wants his swing but would settle for his smile."
• World number one Woods, whose golfing dominance has placed him in the pantheon of sporting greats since he turned professional in 1996, had his squeaky-clean image ripped apart after he crashed his car in the middle of the night in November.
• EXTENDED BREAK
• The bizarre incident outside his Florida home triggered a storm of media speculation over his private life and the 14-times major champion took an extended break from the game to try to repair his marriage to his Swedish wife Elin.
• Woods, 34, admitted cheating on his wife and entered rehab for sex addiction before announcing last month he would return to competition at the year's opening major.
• In a highly anticipated news conference at Augusta on Monday, he took full responsibility for the marital infidelities which led to his fall from grace and he pledged to be more respectful of the game.
• "He forgot in the process to remember that with fame and fortune comes responsibility, not invisibility," Payne said. "I hope he can come to understand that life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who bring joy to the lives of other people.
• "We at Augusta hope and pray our great champion will begin his new life here tomorrow in a positive, hopeful and constructive manner but this time with a significant difference from the past."

Apple's iPad takes video gaming seriously

• Apple's iPad tablet computer hasn't been out a week yet but there are already over 830 video games that have been developed to suit the large format, high definition, multi-touch screen.
• That number doesn't even include the nearly 25,000 iPod Touch and iPhone games that will also play on Apple's latest gadget which is a mix between a smartphone and a laptop but also clearly aims to cater for the growing numbers of gamers.
• "The iPad is the fourth step in the gaming evolution," said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president of publishing at Gameloft.
• "The first being the microcomputer, the second being the game console and the third being smartphones. Each of these platforms revolutionized gaming in its own way."
• Apple has already sold over 500,000 iPads and Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty forecasts the tech giant will ship 8 to 10 million iPads this year worldwide.
• "Can the iPad sell 5 million devices in the first year without games and apps? Probably," said Kevin A. Wood, vice president and senior analyst of Technology Market Insights at research firm Infogroup/ORC.
• "However, Apple's ability to re-define this space of the computing world will be dependent on its ability to sustain excitement. Apps and games redefined what a smartphone was and what it could be used for, and we suspect that will be the same situation for the iPad."
• Peter Farago, vice president of marketing for research firm Flurry, said just over a third of the 2,300 plus apps currently available for iPad on iTunes.com are games, with entertainment apps ranking a distant second with 14 percent.
• GAMING ON THE GO
• He believes that games percentage will rise as Apple sells more hardware and attracts more game makers.
• "I think people are going to be blown away by iPad when they actually have the opportunity to interact with it," said Neil Young, founder and CEO of the largest iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad game developer, ngmoco.
• "When you play games on the large format, multi-touch fields using two hands it's much more 'Minority Report' than even the iPhone is."
• With seven iPad games available at launch, ngmoco is taking advantage of the multi-touch screen by allowing players of games like "Godfinger" and "We Rule" to multitask by literally sliding small game windows aside so they can focus on the bigger playing field and then read the story progression or check out friends' castles in between.
• Johnny Coghlan, head of publishing for Chillingo, which has 14 iPad games available, said the Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities allows for all of its games, including "Super Shock Football HD" and puzzle game "Quantz HD," to incorporate Crystal integration. This is the company's social gaming network that enables players to compete against one another and tout high scores.
• With its large screen, game makers can offer multiplayer options on a single iPad.
• Firemint's "Flight Control HD" offers split-screen competitive and cooperative gameplay for two players to successfully land a never-ending stream of planes.
• Gameloft's virtual card game "Uno" allows up to four friends to gather around an iPad and play.
• There are hundreds of free iPad games, while other games range in price from $5 to $13. Games range from EA Mobile's ubiquitous "Tetris" to SGN's third-person shooter "EXO-Planet."
• Some publishers offer lower-priced iPod Touch/iPhone ports as well as slightly more expensive iPad versions that take advantage of the new functionality.

Woods finds fairway with first shot at Masters

• Tiger Woods set off for one of the most eagerly anticipated rounds of all time by hitting his tee shot to the right side of the fairway in the U.S. Masters first round on Thursday.
• The disgraced world number one, playing in his first tournament for almost five months, struck a solid blow and looked calm as his ball bounced up the hill to finish just beyond a fairway bunker.
• Woods, a four-times champion at Augusta National, has not competed since winning the Australian Masters on Nov. 15 following stunning revelations about his extra-marital affairs.
• Under leaden skies, the galleries were packed at least five-deep all the way down the opening hole to watch the game's leading player start what media experts predict will be the biggest single-day television audience ever in the U.S.
• While Woods had to be feeling a little anxious about his emotional state of mind, he exuded a warm smile as he shook hands with playing partners, South Korean KJ Choi and American Matt Kuchar on the first tee.
• The official starter announced: "On the tee, Tiger Woods", prompting loud cheering by the fans crammed on either side of the fairway in front of the imposing clubhouse at Augusta.
• There were calls of "Go Tiger" and plenty of hooting and hollering in the loudest applause the world number one has received all week.
• The 34-year-old Woods is bidding to become the first player to launch his season with a major victory since fellow American Ben Hogan clinched the 1953 Masters.

Woods one under as Watson and Mickelson shine

• Tiger Woods showed little early sign of rust in his first tournament for almost five months while veteran Tom Watson grabbed a share of the limelight at the U.S. Masters on Thursday.
• Disgraced world number one Woods, welcomed back from self-imposed exile by cheering crowds at Augusta National, calmly sank a five-footer to birdie the par-four third and was one under for the opening round after six holes.
• While he drew the day's biggest crowds, the 60-year-old Watson fired a flawless five-under-par 67 to share the early lead with fellow American Phil Mickelson, Britain's Lee Westwood and South Korea's Yang Yong-eun.
• American Anthony Kim birdied the last three holes for a 68 and compatriot David Toms bogeyed the 18th for a 69.
• The main focus was on four-times champion Woods as he set off for one of the most eagerly anticipated rounds of all time.
• Despite not having competed since winning the Australian Masters on Nov. 15 following stunning revelations about his extra-marital affairs, he parred the first two holes before recording his first birdie after a superb approach at the third.
• He recovered from his first wayward drive at the fifth, where he pushed his tee shot into the right rough, and remained at one under after parring the sixth.
• Under leaden skies, the galleries were packed at least five-deep all the way down the opening hole to watch Woods start what media experts predict will be the biggest single-day television audience for a U.S. golf event.
• EMOTIONAL STATE
• While the American had to be feeling a little anxious about his emotional state of mind, he offered a warm smile as he shook hands with playing partners KJ Choi of South Korea and American Matt Kuchar on the first tee.
• The official starter announced: "On the tee, Tiger Woods", prompting loud cheering by the fans crammed on either side of the fairway in front of the imposing clubhouse at Augusta.
• There were calls of "Go Tiger", not a hint of heckling and plenty of hooting and hollering in the loudest applause the world number one has received all week.
• While Woods began his opening round in strengthening winds, eight-times major winner Watson was putting the finishing touches to a vintage display.
• The 60-year-old, who came agonisingly close to the most remarkable major victory of all time before losing the 2009 British Open at Turnberry in a playoff, rolled in a five-footer to birdie the last.
• He threw his arm skywards in celebration to take a two-stroke lead over Toms before being caught by Westwood, Mickelson and Yang.
• "I did what I had to do today and took advantage of some of the holes that you could take advantage of at Augusta National," Watson told reporters.
• "I had a little bit of a different frame of mind going into this tournament. It seemed to help a little bit. The last four or five years I've gone into the tournament feeling like the course was too big for me.

Erratic start for Woods in second round

• Tiger Woods made an erratic start to Friday's second round at the U.S. Masters, offsetting an early birdie with a bogey to stay at four under par overall after six holes.
• That left him three strokes behind pacesetting American Fred Couples who was one under for the round after eight holes on a glorious spring day at Augusta National.
• Long-hitting American Ricky Barnes was at six under after five holes, a stroke in front of Britain's Ian Poulter who had completed seven holes.
• Again watched by huge galleries on his highly anticipated return to competition after a self-imposed break of almost five months, Woods made a scrambling par at the first after pulling his tee shot well left into pine trees.
• He recovered with a low, punched hook off pine straw on to the fairway before getting up and down from just short of a greenside bunker to stay at four under overall.
• Woods, who wore sunglasses in between every shot due to the glare and high pollen count, birdied the par-five second after chipping from just off the green to within three feet of the cup and knocking in the putt.
• Wearing a black sweater and black trousers, the 14-times major champion tipped his cap to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd packed around the second green.
• TIGER STUMBLES
• After narrowly missing a long-range birdie attempt at the third, Woods stumbled at the par-three fourth where he pulled another tee shot well left.
• From behind the left greenside bunker, he hit a lob wedge to 10 feet but missed the par putt to slip back to four under overall.
• Woods did not appear to be quite as sharp with his game as he was on Thursday when he exceeded his own expectations by opening with a four-under 68.
• Following startling revelations about his extra-marital affairs at the end of last year, he had been expected to be rusty at Augusta with his emotional state of mind questionable.
• Pin positions were a little more challenging for Friday's second round and many of the early starters were over par for the day.
• Conditions are expected to remain sunny for the rest of the round with a chance of winds gusting up to 32-kph later.

Tiger on tail of leaders Poulter and Westwood

Tiger Woods returned to familiar territory in typically gritty fashion at the U.S. Masters on Friday, surging ominously into contention with two back-nine birdies in the second round at Augusta National.

Looking composed at one of his favourite venues and showing no hint of rust in his first tournament for nearly five months, the world number one ground out a two-under-par 70 to end a difficult day of scoring just two shots off the lead.

Engaging with the Augusta fans at every opportunity in glorious spring sunshine, Woods rolled in a 20-foot putt at the 13th before sinking a 12-footer at the 15th on the way to a six-under total of 138.

The four-times champion, whose troubled private life appears to have had no effect on his golf, will go into Saturday's third round headed only by British pacesetters Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

Poulter fired a five-birdie 68, his only blemish coming at the last where he missed a seven-foot par putt, while Westwood briefly got to 10-under before losing momentum over the closing stretch for a 69.

"It feels good to be back and in contention," Woods told reporters after finishing level with playing partner KJ Choi of South Korea (71) and Americans Phil Mickelson (71), Anthony Kim (70) and Ricky Barnes (70).

"I usually put myself in contention most years here and this year I'm right there. We've got 36 more holes and I'm sure the golf course, they are not going to make it easy for us."

Poulter, who won his first PGA Tour title at the elite WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February, was delighted to share the 36-hole lead in the year's opening major.

"This is a nice position to be in and obviously winning a couple of months back is a huge factor in playing well this week," said the English world number seven, who, like Westwood, had never previously led after a major round.

"I'm in a position now where I can go out and be aggressive on the golf course. But it's only Friday so I don't want to get carried away."

Westwood, winner of last year's Dubai World Championship and the European order of merit, believes his time has come after a couple of close calls in majors during 2008 and 2009.

"It's the only thing really missing in my career," said the world number four, whose roller-coaster round included an eagle at the second and a double-bogey at the tricky 14th.

FINISHING OFF

"I've won everywhere around the world and money lists and here in the States. I know I've got the game and I know I've got the temperament. It's just going that one step further and finishing it off.

Woods, again watched by huge galleries on his highly anticipated return to competition, offset a birdie at the second with a bogey at the par-three fourth to reach the turn in level-par 36.

Wearing a green shirt, black sweater and black trousers, the American frequently tipped his cap to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd as he clawed his way into contention.

Unusually, he wore sunglasses in between every shot due to the glare and high pollen count.

"The pollen is just killing my eyes," he said. "I've been sneezing and hacking all week so I'm trying to keep it out of my eyes the best I can."

Woods was again in crowd-pleasing mode, having promised on Monday to give more respect to the game and the fans following startling revelations about his extra-marital affairs at the end of last year.

After teeing off at the par-three sixth he spotted a young boy wearing a baseball cap with 'TW' emblazoned on the front and he put a huge grin on the youngster's face by giving him a friendly hand slap as he walked by.

Having negotiated the first 12 holes in even par, he surged up the leaderboard amid roars of 'Go Tiger' with his birdies at 13 and 15, the first of them prompting him to raise his putter skywards in celebration.

Woods, who was watched for the second day in a row by his Thai mother Kultida but not his Swedish wife, is bidding to become the first player to launch his season with a major victory since Ben Hogan clinched the 1953 Masters.

Tricky pin positions, quickening greens and Augusta's notorious swirling winds posed continual problems for the field in the second round. The day's average score of 74.512 was almost 1.5 shots higher than Thursday.

While 16 players broke 70 in the opening round, that number dropped to just three on Friday when the cut fell at three-over 147. Former major winners Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink were among those missing out.

American boy, 13, will try to climb Mount Everest

If this 13-year-old American boy succeeds in his bid to climb Mount Everest, he has modest ambitions - pick a small piece of rock from the top of the world as a memento and wear it in a necklace.

"I will not sell it; I will not give it to anyone. It is something for myself to say 'this is a rock from the summit'," Jordan Romero from California, told Reuters in Kathmandu. He is due to leave for the mountain on Sunday.

If he succeeds, Romero will become the youngest climber to scale the 8,850 metres (29,035 feet) Everest summit. Currently a 16-year-old Nepali boy, Temba Tsheri Sherpa, holds the record of being the world's youngest climber of Mount Everest.

But Romero, sitting over lunch with his climbing father and stepmother in Kathmandu's tourist district of Thamel, said he was not after setting climbing records.

Romero said Mount Everest, that straddles Nepal-China border, was part of his goal to climb the highest mountains on all seven continents.

"It is just a goal," he said confidently. "If I don't succeed I am okay. I will try again."

Romero has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mount McKinley in Alaska among others.

Romero and his father Paul, a critical care paramedic, said the boy was ready to take on the climb and understood the risk of climbing the giant mountain.

"I know it requires a lot of patience. I will remain patient. I want to stay safe and make right choice," Romero said of his climb using the northeast ridge route on the Chinese side of the mountain.

'Date Night' takes early lead at U.S. box office

"Date Night," a romantic comedy starring sitcom staples Steve Carell and Tina Fey, narrowly claimed an early lead at the weekend box office in North America, according to preliminary sales data issued on Saturday.

The 20th Century Fox film earned $9.3 million during its first day of release across the United States and Canada on Friday, just ahead of last weekend's champion "Clash of the Titans" with $8.4 million, said tracking firm Box Office Mojo.

The studios will issue estimates for the three-day period on Sunday morning, and Warner Bros.' "Clash of the Titans" could well repeat at No. 1 if male youngsters outnumber the couples targeted by "Date Night." Both are on track to earn in the mid-$20 million range for the weekend.

"Date Night" stars Carell ("The Office") and Fey ("30 Rock") as a suburban couple pursued by crooks in a case of mistaken identity. The film was directed by Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum") and generally liked by critics.

"Clash of the Titans," the latest action film to jump on the lucrative 3D bandwagon in the wake of the success of "Avatar," has earned $92 million after its first eight days. Friday sales slid a hefty 68 percent from opening day, in line with expectations for the epic.

Rounding out the top five were former champion "How to Train Your Dragon" with $7.1 million in its third weekend of release; and the Miley Cyrus drama "The Last Song" ($3.6 million), and filmmaker Tyler Perry's sequel "Why Did I Get Married Too?" ($3.5 million), both in their second weekends.

20th Century Fox is a unit of News Corp, and Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

"How to Train Your Dragon" was produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc and released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. "The Last Song" was released by Walt Disney Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. "Why Did I Get Married Too?" was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Hindu ethos key to Indian democracy, secularism: Advani

• New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday said Hindu ethos was responsible for the success of democracy and secularism in India.
• 'In human history, intolerance towards a different point of view has been reflected most in the field of religion,' Advani said in the latest post 'Roots of Democracy and Secularism' on his blog.
• He said as opposed to the west, there has been an open-minded and liberal approach in India, even in religious matters.
• He quoted Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, from his book 'The Post American World' that every sect and sub-sect of Hinduism worships its own god, goddess, or holy creature.
• 'Every family forges its own distinct version of Hinduism. You can pay your respects to some beliefs, and not to others. You can be a vegetarian or eat meat. You can pray or not pray. None of these choices determines whether you are a Hindu. There is no heresy or apostasy, because there is no core set of beliefs, no doctrine, and no commandments,' Advani said quoting the author.
• 'Zakaria argues that it is this non-doctrinaire character that gives Hinduism its absorptive and assimilative power. I hold that it is this Hindu ethos that accounts for the success of both democracy as well as secularism in India,' Advani said.
• Advani said in late 1980s when he was BJP president, a Canadian television channel approached him for an interview on a serial 'The Rise and Fall of Democracies around the Globe'.
• He said the team wanted to know his analysis as to why democracy had been such a success in India.
• Advani said his answer was: 'I hold that the most important ingredient for a successful democracy is readiness of the people of that country to accept that on any issue there are bound to be divergent views and that citizens generally must be informed by an attitude of tolerance toward diametrically different points of view. And in India, this has never been lacking.'

BJP protests anti-Modi remarks by German parliament team

• New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday demanded an apology from Germany over the provocative remarks made by a German parliamentary delegation about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during a recent visit to the state.
• BJP leader Vijay Jolly, also the joint convenor of the party's foreign cell, termed the remarks a 'foreign intervention in India's internal affairs'.
• 'Describing Modi as a 'dictator' is intolerable. Tarnishing the image of a democratically elected chief minister by visiting German officials is unacceptable. This is undiplomatic and unfair to the Indian cause,' Jolly said.
• 'The single-day visit to Ahmedabad city, meeting Gujarat Congress leaders Shakti Singh Gohil and former MP Madhusudan Mistry and commenting that 'Christian conversion activity was becoming difficult under the new religious freedom law enacted by Gujarat government' is an alarming, mischievous act and comment by the visiting German MPs,' Jolly added.
• The party announced it is organising a protest outside the German embassy in New Delhi Monday.

Sonia not to visit Kumbh, conveys her greetings

• New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi has decided against going to the Kumbh festival this year to prevent any inconvenience to people at the religious gathering, said to be one of the world's largest congregations.
• In a message, Gandhi said she was grateful to the residents of Haridwar and saints who had invited her to the Kumbh festival. 'I wanted to come, but thinking that my visit on this occasion should not cause any inconvenience, I have been forced to drop the idea,' she said.
• Gandhi said the Kumbh festival was part of the country's tradition and people had an abiding faith in it for centuries.
• She said faith among people in a religious country like India evokes in them feeling of respect towards human values.
• She hoped that the approach of respecting human values in accordance with the thoughts of the country's ancient seers, saints and philosophers will continue to inspire the society towards justice, tolerance and high principles.
• Gandhi conveyed her greetings to all 'Kumbh-yatris (visitors to Kumbh)' and the devotees. The Kumbh this year is from Jan 14 to April 28.

Shutdown in Vasai against arrest of lawmaker

• Thane (Maharashtra), April 11 (IANS) At least five vehicles were damaged in stone pelting in Vasai and surrounding villages of Thane as protesters observed a shutdown Sunday against the arrest of legislator Vivek Pandit, police said.
• Pandit, Shramjeevi Sanghatana leader and independent MLA, was nabbed late Saturday night in connection with the blockade of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway.
• An official of Vasai police said that protesters pelted stones at passing vehicles, including a bus, smashing the glass panes and damaging them.
• However, he said there were no arrests made in connection with the incidents till afternoon.
• Meanwhile, large areas of Vasai town and surrounding villages observed a shutdown since morning in protest against the arrest of Pandit.
• This was the second day of protests demanding delinking of 18 villages from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC).
• In the first phase of the agitation in early March, the Shramjeevi Santhatana had succeeded in getting the government to concede to their main demand of delinking 53 villages from VVMC.
• However, the government delinked 35 and kept the fate of the remaining 18 in abeyance, prompting the Shramjeevi Sanghatana to revive its agitation.
• Pandit, an independent legislator backed by the Shiv Sena, reiterated before mediapersons that the state government's decision to exclude only 35 villages from the VVMC was not acceptable to them.
• 'We want even the remaining 18 villages to be delinked from the VVMC. Until this is done, the agitation will continue,' he warned.
• Pandit, who had undertaken an indefinite hunger strike last month for this, called it off after Chief Minister Ashok Chavan assured that his demands would be met.
• The 53 villages have a total population of around 60,000, mostly poor tribals and farmers.

Why Didi is afraid of Dada

• New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) It appears no Congress minister dares to talk with West Bengal's Communist leaders in the formidable presence of Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. But Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is an exception.
• Popularly called 'Pranab da', he even shared a car with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee - archrival of Mamata Banerjee - after a meeting at the prime minister's residence over price rise.
• Mukherjee is not believed to be too happy about Banerjee meddling in the central government's handling of problems in the Left-ruled state.
• But Banerjee, often addressed as 'Didi', had to be silent on Pranab da's open bonhomie with the Marxists because she fears he may lose his temper, which he often does. She also believes that he has the ability to broker a political alliance with the Communists in the state where she is making an all-out effort to end three decades of leftist rule, they say.
• -*-
• A Thackeray waits
• Is the Congress reluctant to open its doors to Smita Thackeray, who has fallen out with her father-in-law Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray? Or has she set her sights too high?
• Though it has been over four months since she sent clear feelers to the grand old party, matters haven't moved much. While Smita wants to be invited by no less than Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the party's Maharashtra unit finds no reason for the leadership to indulge her.
• State Congress leaders feel she is being over-ambitious and does not merit the prominence she seeks, a little birdie has it. They say she has the option of joining the party the way millions of others do - by filling up a membership form.
• -*-
• What an idea, madam ji
• The Jammu and Kashmir government faced a breakdown over a controversial bill allowing educated youths to apply for government jobs only in one's home district. But it seems the crisis was averted, thanks to 'madam'!
• The legislation would mean that Scheduled Caste candidates would have to stick to districts in the Jammu region only as there is nobody from Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley who falls in that category.
• Pitted against each other were lawmakers from the Valley and Jammu until Chief Minister Omar Abdullah knocked on 10, Janpath, the residence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
• From there he got a brief to ensure a provision under which Scheduled Caste candidates could apply for government jobs in any of the 22 districts in the state, sources say.
• The crisis was defused and the National Conference-Congress coalition saved.

Pakistan in spotlight at Washington nuclear summit

• Pakistan will confront its reputation as a proliferator head-on this week when its prime minister addresses a global summit in Washington aimed at keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
• Arch-rival India and other critics could however undercut Pakistan by reminding the world of its nuclear smuggling, highlighting the Taliban insurgency and fanning fears of a Muslim country in chaos where militants could seize atomic material.
• "India will demand restrictions imposed on Pakistan's nuclear programme," said Shahid-ur-Rehman, a Pakistani journalist and author of "Long Road to Chagai", a book on Pakistan's nuclear programme.
• "Their main stress will be on securing Pakistan's nuclear assets by the world," he told Reuters.
• "Pakistan's efforts will be to counter that and convince them that our National Command Authority, which oversees the country's strategic assets, is very effective and that our nuclear assets are safe and secure."
• Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will speak at the summit after meeting President Barack Obama on Sunday. There are no plans for Gilani and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to meet, although the leaders of the nuclear-armed rivals may have a brief "encounter".
• Obama called the Nuclear Security Summit to reach a common understanding on the threat posed by nuclear terrorism and an agreement on steps to secure all loose nuclear material within four years to stop it falling into the hands of groups such as al Qaeda.
• U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the April 12-13 gathering of 47 nations is possibly the largest assembly of world leaders in the United States since 1945.
• Two countries not on the guest list are Iran and North Korea, both of which are locked in their own nuclear standoffs with the West. And both countries have allegedly benefited from the smuggling network of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and a national hero.
• PRESSURE
• It is this history -- and Pakistan's uncertain future -- that has put the country's nuclear programme in the spotlight this week. Experts say Pakistan's arsenal and stockpile of weapons-grade material represent the area of greatest risk, because of huge internal security threats from the Taliban and al Qaeda.
• "Because of Pakistan's so-called past, that there was proliferation from Pakistan and that Pakistani scientists had met Osama bin Laden ... there will be pressure on Pakistan," said Rehman, referring to reported meetings involving two retired Pakistani nuclear scientists before the Sept. 11 attacks.
• "America and the West's biggest concern is that weapons of mass destruction should not fall into extremists' hands and, in this case, they seem to be tacitly pointing at Pakistan. India and the anti-Pakistani lobby have always tried to exploit that and they will try to do it again."
• Pakistan dismisses that concern, calling it "speculative".
• "I do not see any possibility, whatsoever, of Pakistani material, or nuclear technology falling into the wrong hands," a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Abdul Basit, told Reuters.
• "India knows full well how secure Pakistan's strategic assets are."
• Obama says he's confident in the security of Pakistan's arsenal, but India isn't so sure.
• The neighbours have fought three wars since being carved out of colonial India in 1947 and engaged in several smaller conflicts, including one in 1999 that threatened to go nuclear.
• Both nations conducted nuclear tests in 1998.
• Currently, they have an agreement to share prior information about new missile tests they plan to carry out, as well as an agreement to share details about each other's nuclear facilities and their safety on a periodical basis.
• But their armies often exchange fire across the border, and peace talks are held only intermittently.
• "There is a lot of mistrust as India keeps on receiving reports of secret (nuclear) installations in Pakistan, and it believes that Islamabad is not sharing all its details," said Naresh Chandra, India's former envoy to Pakistan.
• India is aware, however, of Pakistan's importance to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, so it doesn't expect much American intervention between the two on nuclear issues, Chandra added.
• There is more at stake in Washington than nuclear one-upmanship between old enemies. Pakistan's economy has been hammered by energy shortfalls and high on its wish-list is a civilian nuclear deal with the United States like the one India received under President George W. Bush.
• It has been repeatedly rebuffed by the United States -- although lately more gently -- and media reports in Pakistan suggested China may step up and help with civilian nuclear technology.
• That would likely make India even more suspicious because of its own rivalry with China. The two fought a war in 1962.
• Washington also would like Pakistan's help in curtailing Iran's nuclear programme, although there appears little chance of that.
• According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India has between 60-70 warheads while Pakistan has about 60. Neither India nor Pakistan are party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that Obama hopes to strengthen.

Munde for OBC count in Census, sub-quota in women's Bill

• Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde has demanded a headcount of OBCs in the 2011 Census exercise, arguing that this is imperative if benefits of government schemes are to adequately reach the OBC population. Munde also appeared to be in agreement with the demand for a sub-quota for OBC women in the Women's Reservation Bill.
• Like the Congress, the BJP is opposed to counting OBCs as a separate category in the Census, with the argument that this would strengthen caste identities. When asked about this, Munde told The Sunday Express that "OBCs constituted a class", adding that "over 6,000 communities were bracketed under OBCs". He added that the "Union government once failed to present an accurate estimate of OBCs in the Supreme Court, in a case related to IITs", a reason why the matter acquires urgency.
• While Munde first made this demand at a convention of OBC leaders in Mumbai on Saturday, where NCP's Chaggan Bhujbal was also present, he went a step further while talking to this paper and said there should be an OBC sub-quota in the Women's Reservation Bill. The BJP is, however, firmly against any quota within quota in the Bill.
• "Some women groups demanding an OBC sub-quota in the Bill approached me for party's support. While I told them that I am bound by the party discipline, and thus opposed to the demand in principle, I am also sympathetic to their demand at the same time," he told this paper.
• Munde belongs to the Vanjari community (a denotified tribe, and regarded as an OBC community, outside the state) and was considered a rival of Nitin Gadkari when the two were confined to Maharashtra. After Gadkari's elevation as national BJP president, Munde was made the deputy Leader of Opposition in the LS.
• Munde has, in the past, also demanded reservation for SCs and STs in the private sector. Asked if his present demand had something to do with BJP's intra-party dynamics, Munde said: "I've fought for the cause of social justice in Maharashtra. Deendayal Upadhyay's antodyaya was all about furthering the cause of the disadvantaged. I'm talking about social justice, and I'm thus only talking about Deendayal Upadhyay's ideals."
• Sharing the dais, Bhujbal supported Munde's view on women's Bill but stressed the need for a separate Bill for OBC reservation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies.

Biman cautions party ranks

• Kolkata, April 11 -- The CPI(M) has failed to douse class consciousness within a section of its ranks and steer it towards people's movement, Biman Bose, state secretary of CPI(M), has admitted in a recent document being circulated by the party. "The duty of a mass organisation is not just to hold one or two committee meetings and recruit new members.
• It is the leadership's responsibility to lead the members into working class movement. It is unfortunate that even after all these years we have failed to introduce the required idealistic change among members.
• The party has failed to steer a section of members to emerge as warriors of the working class," Bose has said in the article, which analyses the Maoist movement and unrest in Bengal's tribal belts at length. Significantly, about six months before his death, former CPI(M) state secretary Anil Biswas had prepared a detailed report on decadence in the organisation and warned the leadership of a severe crisis.
• But a tremendous victory in 2006 Assembly polls apparently made the leadership too complacent to take action on his report. Till recently, Bose, Biswas' successor, had never made such scathing remarks in documents.
• CPI(M) leaders feel the rectification process and the imminent civic polls, which are nothing short of a precursor to the Assembly elections of 2011, has forced the state secretary to lash out. "A section within the party has failed to realise why we are not in power at the Centre though we have ruled Bengal for 33 years.
• Now, it has become all the more necessary to follow the eight conditions while inducting new members. The party cannot ignore this process at any level and under any circumstance.
• Unless ill or rendered incapable by age, every members has to work for the party," Bose has said. The state secretary has expressed noticeable concern over raising of funds.
• "We are aware that the party needs funds to perform. But members should be stopped from approaching rich businessmen, corporate houses and 'undesirable elements' for money.
• Money should be raised directly from the masses, though drives in every neighbourhood," said Bose. Earlier, the Left Front chairman had said that rectification in the CPI(M) would begin from the top and his Politburo colleague, Prakash Karat, had said that the party's "glorious history" in West Bengal had been tarnished by the greed for power and money of some.
• Attributed the decline in the party's fortunes in Bengal to "bourgeois influence on living standards, Karat had criticised the deviation of Marxists from simple living.

BJP and Left question govt's motive behind N-bill

• New Delhi, April 11 -- The BJP and Left on Saturday asked the UPA government to come clear on the need for the nuclear liabilities bill if the private sector was barred from nuclear power generation. This came after Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said that Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan categorically stated that there was no plan to open the nuclear sector for private players.
• "What is the need for the bill if the government has to run all nuclear power plants?" asked BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi at a seminar on the nuclear liability bill on Saturday. "We asked the same question to the national security adviser (Shiv Shankar Menon) but he gave no answer.
• " CPI's D. Raja also said there was no need for a three-tier liability regime as proposed in the bill if private sector is not allowed in the nuclear sector. "We feel that the government is not being truthful to its people in the bill.
• It (the bill) is the first step to allow private sector," Raja said. Joshi expressed similar apprehensions, quoting US government officials to point out that companies in America were getting ready to invest in civil nuclear energy in India once the bill was passed by Parliament.
• The government had listed the introduction of the nuclear liabilities bill in the first part of budget session, but backtracked when the Opposition made it clear that they would seek voting at the time of introduction. After that, the government had discussed the bill with some Opposition parties.
• On the Centre's argument that the bill could be discussed by a parliamentary committee, the leaders of the major Opposition parties said the standing committee recommendations were not mandatory for the government to accept. "We are not against nuclear energy," Raja said.
• "But our opposition to the bill will continue till the government states the scientific reason for the liability cap and the need for bringing the bill now." Tiwari said the liability in the bill was better than that in Canada and China, and on a par with that of France, where nuclear energy is 85 per cent of its total energy generation.

Naxals obstruct developmental work in Orissa

• Orissa, April 10 (ANI): The rapidly spreading Maoist menace has severely affected developmental work in Orissa. The residents of the state's Pattama village are living under constant fear of Naxal attacks, which have deprived them of even basic amenities like water, electricity, medical facilities, employment etc.
• However, the authorities claim that the situation is under control and the people will be able to avail the facilities soon.

Maoists kill two CPI (M) leaders in West Bengal

• West Midnapore, April 10(ANI): Maoists on Saturday shot dead two local leaders of Communist Party of India (CPM), in West Bengal. Around 15-20 armed guerrillas stormed Bandgoda village of West Midnapore district in West Bengal and gunned down Kaushik Datto and Pawan Mahato.
• Both were members of the local committee of CPI (M). The extremists tied and shot the duo charging them to be informers of the security forces

We were absolutely rubbish: Ganguly

• Bangalore, Apr 11 (PTI) Furious with the Kolkata Knight Riders'' performance in the loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore here, skipper Sourav Ganguly said his side was "absolutely rubbish". Fuming at the post-match press conference last night Ganguly hit out at his players for Kolkata''s seven-wicket loss in the Indian Premier League match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.
• "I thought we played good cricket for the first 10 overs and for the next 10 we were absolutely rubbish. In one line, we were rubbish," Ganguly said.
• Visibly upset after gathering his team''s sixth loss, Ganguly said, "I don''t mind losing, but we were pathetic on the field. Let''s be honest.
• I can talk, I can lift them up but they need to lift themselves. I can''t go and field for them.
• I can''t go and bowl for them." Going back in time, Ganguly said: "When I was leading India, I had some serious talent to look after.
• That probably helped. Hopefully, these guys will look after themselves.
• " Kolkata dropped as many as three catches and fielded shoddily as RCB chased down the 160-run target with ease, winning with 17 balls to spare. Asked if the Kolkata fancied their chance of qualifying for the semifinals slated for April 21 and 22, Ganguly said: "We have to play better cricket.
• If we play cricket like this we don''t deserve to be in the semifinals. There are other teams who are playing better cricket than us.
• If we have to get there, first let''s play better cricket and win matches." Kolkata have 10 points from 11 games and are placed sixth in the points table.

State power supplier wants tariff hike in eastern suburbs, Navi Mumbai

• Mumbai, April 11 -- If you live in a part of Maharashtra that receives power from state-owned supplier, Mahavitaran, brace yourself for higher electricity bills. Mahavitaran has proposed an average tariff hike of 14 per cent for the current financial year.
• If the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission approves of the hike, it will affect at least 160 lakh consumers in the eastern suburbs, Thane, Navi Mumbai and the rest of the state. The provider has proposed a 3 per cent hike for domestic consumers below the poverty line, who use up to 30 units.
• Mahavitaran wants only 1 per cent hike for monthly domestic consumption up to 100 units. The proposed hike for other consumption slabs is between 6 and 15 per cent.

Water, living cost your biggest worries

• Mumbai, April 11 -- Water shortages and a high cost of living are Mumbai's two most critical problems, say the city's residents. The first found its way to the list of concerns for three-fourths of 10,374 people interviewed in March in a Hindustan Times-Ipsos Indica Research study.
• The second was a problem for two-thirds of the respondents. The survey is part of HT's Mumbai First initiative, through which we examine in depth your hopes for and concerns about the city through the year.
• "Water is no doubt a big concern," said U.P.S. Madan, project director of the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit, a think tank. "Policy makers are addressing the supply side, with the construction of the new Middle Vaitarna dam.
• But apart from that, we must manage the demand side too - by plugging leakages, re-using water and considering time-of-day metering." "But to me, infrastructure is the biggest concern, mainly housing and transport," he said.
• Infrastructure did emerge as one of the top two issues for the city's future, just behind education. While top-notch educational facilities made it to 54 per cent of people's visions for the city, world-class infrastructure featured in 52 per cent of interviewees' wish lists.
• Nishit Pandey, 44, corporate director of McDonald's for the western and southern regions, who grew up in Delhi but has lived in Mumbai for the past 23 years, acknowledged that infrastructure was a problem in all Indian cities, but felt others were addressing the issue more systematically. "Not only is Mumbai's infrastructure absolutely inadequate," he said.
• "But new developments are being carried out in a haphazard manner." He cited the three barely-used skywalks in Bandra, Santacruz and Vile Parle as examples.

HC reduces murder convict's death penalty to life term

• Mumbai, April 11 -- The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has reduced the death sentence of a 48-year-old murder convict to life imprisonment. Maroti Shrirame, a resident of Yavatmal, will not be hanged, but will have to spend at least 20 years in prison for murdering four people and injuring four others.
• A division bench of Justice A.P. Lavande and Justice P.D. Kode said a death sentence is given in the "rarest of rare" crimes. "The number of persons assaulted and/or killed, and/or number of injuries caused by itself will not be a factor for making the case 'rarest of rare'," the 127-page judgment said.
• The HC has upheld the life sentence of Shrirame's son, Vinod, and the three-year sentence of their relative Gopikisan alias Om Parashram (36). The court has also upheld the acquittal of two others, Parashram Gadmade (72) and Purushottam Gadmade (40), due to lack of evidence.
• On September 14, 2004, Shrirame assaulted Sunil Jawalkar, a resident of the same village, with a sword. Shrirame suspected that Jawalkar, a married man, was having an affair with his daughter.
• Neighbours had witnessed Shrirame assaulting Jawalkar. Vinod and Gopikisan attacked those who were with Jawalkar and tried to intervene.
• Sunil and three of his relatives died while being taken to hospital. The sessions court at Yavatmal had sentenced Shrirame to death and Vinod and Gopikisan to life imprisonment and three years' imprisonment respectively.
• The trio had challenged their sentence and the government had challenged the acquittal of Gadmades before the high court. Shrirame's lawyer, T.A. Mirza, argued that Shrirame and his relatives attacked Jawalkar to save his daughter's honour.

Want a charter flight to Pune? Log on and pool in

Mumbai, April 11 -- Kedar Hiremath (42) didn't expect a response when he posted a request to share a charter flight to Udaipur on a social networking site two months ago. Three days later, when a group of strangers wrote back, Hiremath thought it was spam. But the Marol-based entrepreneur made the journey worth a few lakhs for one-sixth the cost. "I knew flight pools happened in California. But this was a pleasant surprise," he said. Hiremath is now a member of an online community keen to promote flight pools. Several social networking sites have a few such groups. Airnetz Aviation, a city-based company that offers charter trips, has launched a social networking portal offering flight pools. The company's market survey found that most of its clients use phones with push mail facility (such as Blackberry) and discuss their travel plans on social networking sites. "We want to tap a segment that cannot afford to hire the whole aircraft. It's a thin yet potential segment," said Ameya Gore, spokesperson, Airnetz. With charter companies allowing passengers to split costs, a return trip from Pune on a fully-booked six-seater turboprop would cost Rs 12,000 a person. The cost of hiring a luxury car such as Toyota Corolla is the same. Charter companies are experimenting with these techniques because they expect the segment to grow. "People interested in flight pool comprise 10 per cent of the business.

From Rashtrapati Bhavan with love...

• Ranchi, Apr 11 (PTI) A storm last month had ripped off Kantha Singh''s shed that took care of 40 orphans and President Pratibha Patil, whom he met last year, was his only hope. Singh, after trying all other sources, faxed a letter to the President on March 30 stating that the shed constructed by him for the orphans had been destroyed in a storm forcing the children to sleep and study in the open under the scorching sun.
• Moved by the plight of the children, Patil has sent a cheque of Rs 75,000 out of her discretionary funds for the immediate construction of the shed. Singh is no ordinary man.
• A class XII pass-out, he was a motor mechanic who owned a garage in Ghatsila in East Singbhum district of Jharkhand. In 2002, he along with few other locals formed an organisation called ''Dampara Vikas Samity'' to expedite development works in Dampara mausa.
• In 2004, he set up an orphanage in an abandoned government health centre in Ledha village with 14 children. Later on as news spread, villagers started sending more children, most of whom were tribals and whose parents had died or were abandoned by family.
• Having no source of income, Singh took to begging to feed the children under his care. President Patil, after learning of his initiative, invited him and his kids over to Rashtrapati Bhavan for lunch and a tour of the majestic place.
• "The President had asked me to keep monitoring the developmental activities being carried out by the orphanage. It is our policy that we keep an update of those who visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Now, tattoo can be removed cheaply

• Aparna New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) When Sonia Mehta got her boyfriend''s name inked on her right arm two-years ago, little did she know that the tattoo she wished to treasure lifelong will soon become a nightmare. She now wants to get rid of the tattoo desperately since her boyfriend dumped her in December last, but the high cost of the removal -- nearly Rs 50,000 to 80,000 -- is much beyond her pocket and Mehta (name changed) is forced to live with the unwanted body work.
• But what she missed out is that the help is at hand. A new laser treatment called ''Q-switched Nd-YAG laser'', which has been recently introduced at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) in Delhi charges only Rs 6,000 for tattoo removal.
• "We are the first in Delhi to use Q-switched laser treatment, which is cosmetically superior to older destructive modalities, and it costs just Rs 1,000 per sitting," Said Dr H K Kar, HoD Dermatology, RML Hospital. "As only six sittings are needed for complete treatment, the total cost of the tattoo removal is only Rs 6,000, which is a meagre amount as compared to that of other hospitals, especially the private ones, which charge nearly Rs 8,000 to 9,000 per sitting," Dr Kar said, adding they also take more sittings.
• With the growing trend of tattooing in the country where not only the youngsters but even older people are getting smitten by the amazing body art slowly, the tattoo removal business is also gaining momentum. "The simple fact is that people have changes of heart.
• Nowadays before getting a tattoo, the first thing youngsters ask is, will I be able to remove it, thus the techniques to remove these items are becoming more and more in demand," said Suhash Kothari, who runs a tattoo parlour in the city. To cash in on the situation, many hospitals are offering laser treatments claiming to have specialists for this purpose, but Kar cautions that laser tattoo removal is not without its risks.
• "Not all the treatments like skin peels, various creams, dermabrassion and even some types of laser techniques are so effective. Not only this, if it is done by inexperienced professionals, it can lead to scar and blister the skin," the laser specialist warns.
• He said, "Though the latest Q-switched Nd-YAG laser technique is very effective, it is not available everywhere.In the capital, for now, only RML has introduced this technique and other hospitals like AIIMS and Maulana Azad are still in the process of getting it".

Fighting on all fronts

Dantewada, April 10 -- As soon as you enter the thick jungles of Dantewada - 400 kilometres from Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur - children not older than 10 years seek your attention. Barefoot, tribal malnourished boys and girls have blocked our road with tree branches. "They want us to pay a rupee or two. They need the money to celebrate the mango festival," Poshan Shaao, the driver of our vehicle, tells us. We do as he tells us and are allowed to proceed. On a 40-kilometre stretch between Sukma and Dornapal, a Maoist stronghold in Dantewada, vehicles are stopped at more than 30 places and passengers made to pay "tax". Apart from this mandatory imposition, the stretch is quiet - with dense forests and hills on both sides. Take a right turn from Dornapal and you head towards the Chintalnar forests, where more than 200 Maoists massacred 76 security personnel on April 6. Chintalnar is another 50 kilometres inside the forests from Dornapal. The road is pathetic. There is no human habitation. All you see every 20 kilometres are camps of the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) 62nd battalion. "It's a dangerous stretch, saheb. Naxals must have laid landmines at several places for security forces. But you need not worry. They would know that you are from the media," says Poshan. Earlier, the government didn't bother to carry out any development here, now the Maoists don't want it. They've destroyed all government buildings, roads and mobile towers. For the Naxalites it is a war. But the government, too, is prepared. It has deployed 24 battalions in Chhattisgarh - 14 from CRPF, and five each from the Border Security Force and the Indo Tibetan Border Police. But CRPF bosses say another 8-10 battalions are needed for the security forces to dominate. Those on the ground agree. Says Deputy Commandant Satwant Yadav, heading a company of CRPF's 62nd battalion at Kanker Lanka: "The distance between two CRPF camps in the jungles is as much as 30 kilometres. You can't expect reinforcements to reach you in time." The forces here work in the face of adverse conditions - no proper housing, no clean drinking water. But, for the moment, that's not bothering them. They are still shocked over the loss of 75 colleagues last week. "Many of them were friends, some from my village in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. We were sent to help them. But by 10 am it was all over," says Prahlad Dubey, a CRPF constable posted at Chintagupha, seven kilometres from the site of the massacre. The battalion Dubey is part of moved to these jungles last year from Arah in Bihar. The security personnel here haven't taken kindly to the remarks made by senior army officials in Delhi after the ambush. "What do they mean when they say those who were killed had not been trained by the Army? Even three days after the incident, no one has bothered to send extra forces," said a livid jawan at the Chintagupha post. For them, the Naxal threat is real and constant. "On January 1, the Naxalites planted a bomb in the hand-pump from where we fetch drinking water from outside the base. Fortunately, the bomb went off on its own and we had a close shave," says Amarjit Singh, a jawan at Chintagupha. The soldiers they they want more powers to question the locals. "It will immediately become a human rights issue. How about the human rights of those killed by the Naxals on Tuesday?" asks a jawan. If the Naxals don't get us, disease will, says a jawan. A soldier died of malaria last month without timely medical help. Brain fever, too, is widespread. "Even if we wanted to take him to the hospital, the Naxals would have blown our vehicle off," says Lakhwinder Singh, posted at Chintagupha. Can't they use the mine-proof vehicle stationed at the CRPF post? "It is non-functional. Had the vehicles been in order, we might not have lost so many men," said a jawan. In Dornapal, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) guards a Selwa Judum camp where more than 15,000 people who fled 600 villages in the region, live. Complains Dinesh Sharma of the SSB platoon posted at the camp in Dornapal, "There is no water, no light, no proper fencing and we are exposed to Naxals from all sides." To win the war against Maoists, the CRPF and the state police need to coordinate better, say top officials. The Maoists have reached as close as 70 kilometres from Raipur, says a senior intelligence official of the state police. "Their objective is to take control of all mineral-rich areas," he adds.

PM-Obama talks to focus on nuke liability bill, Pak, Afghan

The controversial nuclear liability bill, US arms supplies to Pakistan and situation in Afghanistan are expected to figure prominently at the meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have with President Barack Obama here.

Singh, who is here on a four-day visit to attend the April 12-13 Nuclear Security Summit, will hold talks with Obama at Blair House tonight, their second meeting in four months. They had last met here on November 24 during Singh's State Visit.

The Prime Minister is expected to inform Obama that the nuclear liability bill is going through democratic processes in India and he hopes it to be passed by Parliament at the earliest, sources said.

The Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, whose passage is crucial for implementation of the historic Indo-US nuclear deal, has got caught in a political quagmire with opposition parties strongly objecting to certain aspects of the proposed legislation.

The opposition parties are particularly opposed to the provision of Rs 500 crore 'cap' on damages to be paid by the operator in case of a nuclear accident. The government has indicated that it is willing to consider changes, including changing the nomenclature of 'cap' to 'norm' but wants the bill to be referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament.

Singh is also expected to convey to the US President India's apprehensions over the end-use of military aid given by America to Pakistan, sources said. India has been maintaining that the military supplies and monetary aid given by the US are often used by Pakistan against Indian interests.

The two leaders will also discuss the situation in Afghanistan in the backdrop of the new Afghan-Pakistan strategy unveiled by Obama a few months back. Singh is expected to underline that India would continue to play its role there as it has vital stakes involved.

India has made it clear that it would continue to play a role in the war-torn Afghanistan "with or without America" as it has crucial stakes in the stability of the country on its periphery.

Sources said India's policy on Afghanistan will be determined by its own interests and not by what others do. They noted that India and the US had common goals in Afghanistan that the country should be stable, peaceful and there should be no outside interference. But the question was about reaching there, they said while emphasising the need for coordination.

The comments came in the backdrop of a talk that the US was planning to leave Afghanistan for which it was looking for a strategy. At one time, the US had talked about handing over the security of Afghanistan to regional countries like Pakistan, Iran and others.

This, however, could not happen because of the US' own problems with Iran and internal situation in Kyrgyzstan. Indian government believes that Pakistan would not be entrusted with any prominent role in the affairs of Afghanistan even though "some parts" of Pakistan would be used by the US in Afghanistan.

About options that India has in case the US-led forces quit Afghanistan, the sources said India will devise its strategy according to the evolving situation and work with those who matter.

Chidambaram blames Pak for hefty defence budget

• Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Saturday that earmarking Rs 1,47,000 crore for India's defence budget was 'absolutely necessary and inevitable' as neighbours like Pakistan did not have a friendly attitude towards the country.
• "Had the neighbouring countries been stable, peaceful and were oriented in a friendly manner towards India, our allocation of such a big fund for defence in the budget would not have arisen," he said at a meeting organised by Puducherry PCC as part of the 125th year celebrations of party formation.
• Referring to internal security, Chidambaram said the budget for the current fiscal is expected to be Rs 40,000 crores to address the requirements of para military forces and the police.
• "Terrorists, divisive forces and Naxals are on the prowl fomenting violence by exploiting and intimidating the poor and have-nots and more particularly the tribal people," he said, adding, allocating such amount becomes necessary "to manage the machinations of these elements.

ISI still backs Taliban: US

WASHINGTON: US officials believe that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) still supports the Taliban despite recent signals that the spy agency had started cracking down on the Islamist group, says the Washington Post.

The recent capture of the Afghan Taliban's second in command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar seemed to signal a turning point in Pakistan. But US officials now think that even as Pakistan's security forces worked with their American counterparts to capture Baradar and other insurgents, ISI, quietly freed at least two senior Afghan Taliban figures it had captured on its own, the influential US daily reported Sunday.

The Post cited unnamed US military and intelligence officials as saying the releases, detected by American spy agencies but not publicly disclosed, are evidence that parts of Pakistan's security establishment continue to support the Afghan Taliban - something that India has always maintained.

The officials, it said, declined to identify the Taliban figures who were released citing the secrecy surrounding US monitoring of the ISI, but said the freed captives were high-ranking Taliban members the US would want in custody.

US officials, the Post said, think that "Pakistan continues to pursue a hedging strategy in seeking to maintain relationships with an array of entities - including the US and Afghan governments, as well as insurgent networks - struggling to shape the outcome in Afghanistan, even as it aggressively battles the Pakistani branch of the Taliban."

The ISI wants "to be able to resort to the hard-power option of supporting groups that can take Kabul" if the US suddenly leaves, a US military adviser was cited as saying.

Pakistani intelligence officials told the Post in Islamabad the ISI was committed to dismantling insurgent groups and denied that any Taliban operatives had been released after being captured.

The daily said US officials concur that the collaboration between the CIA and the ISI has improved substantially, but say they see ongoing signs that some ISI operatives are providing sanctuary and other assistance to factions of the Taliban when their CIA counterparts are not around.

CIA officials, according to the Post, think that the ISI's connection to the Taliban is active. But "it's not clear how high that goes or who knows about it," a US counterterrorism official was quoted as saying. "The Pakistanis did a sharp change of policy after 9/11, and it's not certain everybody got the memo - or read it if they did."

Mild quake hits Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: An earthquake of light intensity has struck areas of Himachal Pradesh adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, an official said here Sunday.

"An earthquake of light intensity hit Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district at 6.23 p.m. Saturday. It was measured 2.3 on the Richter scale. However, there is no report of any loss of life and damage to property," meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

He said the tremors of the quake felt for a few seconds in the entire district.

"Its epicentre was at latitude 32.8 degrees north and longitude 76.0 degrees east. The area is adjoining Jammu and Kashmir," the official added.

Earlier, Chamba district was hit by a quake of moderate intensity July 17 last year. The quake measured 4.8 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was Holi and Bharmour region in the district.

Himachal Pradesh had witnessed the most devastating earthquake of the century that struck the Kangra valley in 1905, killing more than 20,000 people.

Pitched battle over 'people's war' at JNU

NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University campus became a battleground on Friday night when members of disparate student organizations clashed over what was seen as an attempt to support the Naxalites and 'celebrate' the massacre of 76 CRPF men.

The National Students Union of India (NSUI), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Pari-shad (ABVP) and Youth for Equality (YFE) came together to allege that a campus function by the JNU Forum Against War on People was used by Maoist supporters to celebrate the Dantewada killings. But the organizers said the meeting was only meant to oppose Operation Green Hunt launched by the government.

The NSUI national general secretary, Shaikh Shahnawaz, recalled: "Members of Democratic Students Union (DSU) and All India Students Association (AISA) organized a meeting to celebrate the killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh. They were even shouting slogans like 'India murdabad, Maovad zindabad'. How can this be allowed inside a Central university?"

To oppose the holding of the function, NSUI and ABVP activists took out a march to the venue where a clash broke out among the students. "How can an administration let anti-India activities take place? Such organizations which celebrate the death of security personnel should be banned, just like SIMI was," said a PhD scholar from Tapti Hostel, Bharat Kumar.

The university administration said no permission had been taken to organise the meeting. Condemning the incident, vice-chancellor B B Bhattacharya said: "By organizing such a meeting at this point of time when the nation has lost 76 precious lives is very insensitive on their part. Moreover, they have not taken any permission, which is a typical JNU attitude of defying rules just for the sake of it. Now that they managed to get the desired provocation, the campus will see a series of ritualistic protests to seek media attention, which is unfortunate. A few students and our security received minor bruises."

Samar Pandey, a member of the JNU Forum Against War On People, said that permission had been taken for the meeting. "NSUI and ABVP students tried to disrupt the meeting against 'Operation Green Hunt' and misbehaved. We took permission and pasted our pamphlets," he said.

Interestingly, this issue has brought together arch-rivals ABVP and NSUI against DSU and AISA while Students Federation of India (SFI) is seen taking a neutral stand though a few of its activists were spotted with the ABVP-NSUI alliance. YFE has been carrying out a candlelight vigil since the Dantewada day to salute the martyrs while NSUI and ABVP will now observe an anti-Naxal week on the campus.

Meanwhile, the assistant dean of students, Sachidanand Sinha, said: "We will not allow peace on campus to be disrupted. We will take suitable action on Monday."

Delhi airport scanners will find your assets explosive

• NEW DELHI: The silicon implant may leave the beauteous looking 'explosive' but the compliment could return to haunt the bold and the beautiful who take a flight out of Delhi come July.
• The Indian authorities are planning to install body scanners at the Delhi Airport on a trial basis and some manufacturers have told them the machines won't recognize silicon implants for what they are. As also, surgical implants such as pacemakers, artificial heart valves and orthopaedic devices. The scanner will indicate that all of these are items concealed on the passenger's person, requiring a closer look!
• Leading companies conveyed this to the Indian security and aviation agencies as they evaluate two technologies for possible use. India has been offered two platforms most commonly used abroad — millimeter wave and backs-catter scanner. One provides an X-ray kind of image; the other does not show the body shape.
• Is there a solution to the problem? "Body scanners are globally used as secondary level checks. Only people who have emerged as requiring this are made to pass through them. Obviously, common sense will be used with technology while using the scanners and directing people to go there," sources said. A scanner whose screen comes to life only if a passenger is really trying to sneak something on to a plane is still being developed.
• The level of technological advance wherein scanners recognize silicon implants for what they are is still a while away. Unless technology of popping up only something suspicious on scanner screen gets checked globally, Indian airports — beginning with IGI — may get either millimeter or backscatter system. Sources said, "Silicon implants are common nowadays. A manufacturer from Hong Kong said the fear of finding someone artificially enhanced as a suspicious passenger was the reason why some airports are yet to adopt scanners."
• "We're working out a system that takes care of privacy and health issues while not compromising with security in any which way. There may be female personnel to man scanners for ladies and males for men scanners. The screen where images come up may be located somewhere else so that a passenger does not feel the person behind the counter is looking at his or her scans and gets uneasy," said sources.

3G bids inch up on second day of auction

Bids rose on the second day of India's multi-billion dollar third-generation (3G) auction, with one provisional winning bid for national cover touching 40.85 billion rupees ($922 million), or about a 17 percent premium to the base price, government data showed.

A total of 10 rounds of bidding had been completed by Saturday, India's Department of Telecommunications said on its website, without disclosing which company had bid how much.

The widely-watched auction started on Friday and the multiple-round bidding process is expected to take about two weeks to complete, officials have said.

On the first day, bids were at about a 12 percent premium to the base price of 35 billion rupees for all-India spectrum.

4.7 lakh students sit for IIT-JEE

Nearly 4.7 lakh students on Sunday appeared in the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination for admission to prestigious 15 IITs, ISM Dhanbad and IT-BHU.

The number of candidates has gone up to 4.72 lakh this year against four lakh candidates last year, Prof T S Natarajan, Organising Chairman, JEE 2010, said.

The students qualifying the test will be eligible for admission into B.Tech programmes in these institutes offering over 10,000 seats.

About 90,000 candidates from National Capital Region have registered for the test. The results will be announced on May 26.

The IITs have decided to conduct on-line counselling for general category students this year. This will give relief to students who earlier used to go to different counselling centres for securing a seat for themselves.

However, the OBC candidates will have to go to the exam centres for counselling where their certificates will be examined.

The test comprises two sessions. The first session started at 9 am and will continue till 12 while the second session will start from 2 pm. The papers had questions on Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Why CRPF men were fodder for Naxals

Five days after the Maoist massacre of 76 CRPF men in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, it is now evident why they were fodder for the battle-hardened Naxals - only 45 of the 81-strong Company had received guerrilla warfare training to fight the enemy.

Home minister P. Chidambaram may have backed the CRPF men by claiming that they were not poorlytrained as was being alleged, but his own ministry later released a statement contradicting what its boss said.

The statement says only 45 members of the CRPF's 'A' company of the 62nd battalion had completed the 45-day anti-Naxal training at the agency's Counter Insurgency and Terrorism (CIAT) school in Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh) on March 25 and returned to Dantewada.

The rest of the group - from the 'C' and 'G' companies - which went on the 'area domination' exercise on April 4, had only received basic pre-induction training nearly a year ago when they were first sent to Dantewada.

Sources said these men had been waiting for their turn for almost a year to be trained at either of the CRPF's two CIAT schools in Silchar in Assam and Shivpuri.

Despite their lack of training, they had been posted at Dantewada from early 2009. The schools could not train them owing to their limited training capacity of only around 2,600 personnel a year.

On the other hand, nearly 6,000 men of six battalions of the CRPF's Special Action Force (SAF) commando unit have received a three-month-long guerilla training since 2008 in various batches before deployment in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, all of them Naxal-infested areas.

Four such SAF battalions were operationalised at their bases in Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh, Khunti and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand and Bhandara in Maharashtra on April 1 only after they completed the training.

However, according to the home ministry statement, the CRPF's regular battalions are forced to wait to learn survival and combat skills to confront the Naxals.

None of the 81 men of the 62nd Battalion, even the 'A' Battalion, was trained in anti-Naxal warfare by the army, which has otherwise trained 10 battalions of the CRPF, the home ministry admitted.

The statement said: "Pre-induction training was imparted with specific reference to the area in which they were to be inducted. Anti-Naxal training is more intensive training. 'C' company and 'G' company will undergo anti-Naxal training when their turn comes in the cycle. As regards training capacity, the CRPF
has CIAT schools in Silchar and Shivpuri with an annual capacity to train 1,829 personnel and 750 personnel respectively. Four more ad-hoc training schools are being set up, one of which will be for the CRPF."

A CRPF source said that even pre-induction training was a concept started just a year ago by the then DG of CRPF, A.S. Gill, who wanted forces going to Naxal areas to be first familiarised with the terrain rather than just being pushed into action after shifting them from completely different theatres of action such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East.

A senior CRPF officer however clarified that the entire 62nd battalion of the CRPF had spent three years fighting the Naxals in Rohtas district of Bihar before being given the Dantewada assignment last year. "It cannot be said that the battalion had no experience in fighting Naxals," he said. "Each of them had received pre-induction training." But a reliable MHA source admitted that the ongoing oneman inquiry by former BSF

director general E.N. Rammohan would expose the tactical shortcomings and the violation of standard operating procedures by the CRPF party.

The source said that the CRPF party had committed cardinal mistakes like not splitting themselves into various small groups while on the exercise, but walking into the ambush in one large group.

PM in US to attend Nuclear Security Summit

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Washington on Sunday morning on a four-day visit to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on April 12-13.
• At the Nuclear Summit to be attended by leaders of 46 other countries also, Singh is expected to pitch for firm response to the challenges of proliferation and possibility of terrorists gaining access to atomic material.
• The Summit will discuss ways to strengthen global initiatives for securing nuclear material and installations amid concerns of terrorists gaining access to these.
• Singh is expected to share India's apprehensions about terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction
• During the official-level deliberations, India will raise concerns about the possibility of terrorists gaining access to nuclear material in Pakistan.
• The summit, an initiative of Obama, will focus on dangers posed by clandestine proliferation and illicit trafficking of nuclear material and the possibility of terrorists acquiring atomic material.
• Ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama during which Afghanistan will figure, sources said India's policy on Afghanistan will be determined by its own interests and not by what others do.
• Amid talk of the US looking for a strategy to exit Afghanistan, India on Saturday made it clear that it would continue to play a role in the war-torn nation "with or without America" as it has crucial stakes in the stability of country on its periphery.
• "We will play a role in Afghanistan with or without the US because Afghanistan is in our immediate periphery and we will do all to protect our periphery," sources said.
  
  The sources noted that India and the US had common goals in Afghanistan that the country should be stable, peaceful and there should be no outside interference. But the question was about reaching there, they said while emphasising the need for coordination.
• The comments came in the backdrop of a talk that the US was planning to leave Afghanistan for which it was looking for a strategy.
• At one time, the US had talked about handing over the security of Afghanistan to regional countries like Pakistan, Iran and others. This, however, could not happen because of the US' own problems with Iran and internal situation in Kyrghzstan.
• Indian government believes that Pakistan would not be entrusted with any prominent role in the affairs of Afghanistan even though "some parts" of Pakistan would be used by the US in Afghanistan.
• About options that India has in case the US-led forces quit Afghanistan, the sources said India will devise its strategy according to the evolving situation and work with those who matter.
• On Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, the sources said it has been saying that it was willing to do more in that country in terms of fighting terrorism. "India will be happy if Pakistan does our job against terrorism," they said.
• With regard to the conditions within Afghanistan, the sources said military situation was better than six months ago but politically, the country remains fragmented.
• During their meeting, Singh and Obama are expected to discuss Afghanistan in the context of the new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan unveiled by the US President a few months back.