Libya mission succeeding: Obama

Washington: US President Barack Obama said Saturday the allied military mission in Libya was succeeding and the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi must be held responsible for his actions.

In his weekly radio address, Obama also called for Gaddafi to stop attacks against civilians.

"We're succeeding in our mission," Obama said. "We've taken out Libya's air defences. Gaddafi's forces are no longer advancing across Libya."

"So make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved."

Obama also praised the international community for its involvement, after NATO agreed to take over the enforcement of the no-fly zone. He vowed that US involvement would remain limited and that no ground forces would be sent into Libya.

"This military effort is part of our larger strategy to support the Libyan people and hold the Gaddafi regime accountable," Obama said, adding that efforts to freeze assets and cut off the regime have increased pressure on Tripoli.

"Our message is clear and unwavering," he said. "Gaddafi's attacks against civilians must stop. His forces must pull back. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach those in need. Those responsible for violence must be held accountable. Muammar Gaddafi has lost the confidence of his people and the legitimacy to rule, and the aspirations of the Libyan people must be realised."

Obama was scheduled to speak to the US public about the conflict in Libya in an address Monday evening in Washington.

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Qatar fighters patrol Libyan air space

Paris: Two Qatari Mirage interceptor fighters participated Friday in the UN mission to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, the French defence ministry said.

Along with Qatar - the first Arab country to take part in the operation - the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will send 12 warplanes to support the international coalition in Libya, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said earlier Friday.

French military command said that about 30 French aircraft had taken part in the operation in the past 24 hours.

The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya March 17, and permitted "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Libyan leader's Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.

The military operation in Libya, codenamed Odyssey Dawn, has been conducted jointly by 13 countries, including the US, Britain and France.

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Fans scramble for tickets for 'mother of all battles'

Mohali: Tickets for the much-anticipated India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal have been sold out days ago but the mad scramble for them continues with desperate fans flocking the PCA stadium here even Saturday.

Scores of fans could be seen moving around the stadium hoping desperately to grab a ticket from somewhere.

On Tuesday itself, the PCA had announced that 14,000 tickets at its disposal had been sold to the public through the designated bank and its counters and asked the fans not to approach them now. However, fans are not prepared to give up.

"I have been coming here since Monday, but have not been able to get any ticket," said Vikas Sharma, a young executive with a private company. Allegations that black marketers are making a killing have been flying thick and fast.

"The tickets are available, but if you pay Rs 3,000 for a Rs 250 ticket and shell out Rs 10,000 for a Rs 1,000 ticket. Those selling in black have managed to purchase tickets in bulk," alleged Ram Kumar, a bank officer in Chandigarh.

"The semi-final match is going to be mother of all battles, in a way even bigger than the finals. Genuine fans should not be deprived of watching the match and police should take tough action against those selling in black," he said. A good number of fans are also expected to come here from across the border to support Pakistan.

Representatives of some corporates willing to pay astronomical amounts could be seen making a beeline outside the PCA in their desperate bid to get tickets of the prized boxes.

Meanwhile, with top dignitaries from India and Pakistan expected to be there to watch the match, top police brass reviewed the security arrangements that will be put in place.

Nearly 2,000 cops are expected to be deployed in and around the PCA stadium as part of security measures, police sources said. Yesterday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent an invite to his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari to watch the match.

"We are also expecting many other top dignitaries from the two countries and therefore maximum security will be in place for the match," a Punjab police official said. Hotel Taj in Chandigarh, about 12km from here, where the two teams are staying has been turned into a fortress with 1,000 cops deployed for security.

Chandigarh and Punjab police are also coordinating to ensure adequate security for the high-voltage match. Hotels within a radius of 30 km from Chandigarh, including those in its adjoining towns of Panchkula and Mohali, have been booked to capacity in view of the great demand from the fans.

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Named after Hitler, Nagpur pool parlour upsets Jewish body

Washington: An international Jewish human rights organisation has asked the civil society in India to take up a Jewish demand for renaming of a pool parlour in Nagpur that is named 'Hitler's Den'.

The Los Angeles based Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was shocked by the parlour owner's insistence on continuing with the name, terming it "unacceptable".

"We are shocked and dismayed by the continued promotion and use of Nazi symbols, icons and even Hitler's Mein Kampf by businesses and publishers," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

"We are equally shocked by the 'Hitler's Den' establishment in Nagpur and dismayed by the owner's insistence that 'this is our identity' and that a second 'Hitler's Den' is opening in Laxmi Nagar," he said.

Noting that historically, anti-Semitism is alien to the people and culture of India, Cooper hoped that leaders of India's religious communities and civil society take the lead in demanding an end to a trend that trivializes and mocks the victims of genocide.

"In 2011, in our global village, such behaviour is unacceptable," Cooper said. A frequent visitor to India, Cooper brought the Simon Wiesenthal Center's 'Courage To Remember' exhibition on the Nazi Holocaust to the Gandhi Cultural Centre in New Delhi and Bangalore.

In 2009, he led a faith memorial service in Mumbai on the first anniversary of the 26/11 massacre at the Chabad House in Mumbai.

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Imran's party threatens to block NATO supplies

Islamabad: Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has warned the Pakistan government that if it did not immediately stop US drone attacks in the country's northwest, his party would block the road used to transport supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Imran, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, led an anti-US rally in Lahore Friday to protest the release of CIA security contractor Raymond Davis, who shot dead two men in the Punjab province city and escaped trial by paying "blood money" to their families.

The News International reported that as the protesters marched to the spot where Davis gunned down the two men, the demonstration was "a moderate affair, with songs and music playing a key role".

Imran described the protest as a "freedom rally", saying time has come to "liberate" Pakistan from the "slavery of the US".

He claimed 32,000 Pakistanis have been killed in American drone attacks so far, and warned the government that if it did not stop the remote-controlled US air strikes by pilotless planes, his party would organise a sit-in on the road used to send supplies to NATO forces based in Afghanistan.

Imran said it was regrettable that the government freed Davis by "forcing" the families of his two victims to accept "blood money" under Islamic compensation laws.

"It was a fixed match. The blood of Pakistanis is being sold," he said.

Imran expressed his party's firm resolve to ensure justice for every segment of the society.

He urged the youth to unite against the "forces of evil exploiting the rights of Pakistanis", the daily said.

The World Cup-winning cricketer criticised politicians who have stashed up wealth abroad, and said people would not allow such leaders to participate in national politics.

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Eight radioactive substances found in water at plant

Tokyo: Japanese nuclear authorities have identified eight radioactive substances in stagnant water in the basement of part of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, an analysis released Saturday by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency showed.

The highest levels found in the water in block 1 of the plant were of caesium 137, a radioactive isotope that was released into the environment in the Chernobyl disaster. It appeared at levels of 1.8 million becquerel.

Caesium 137, in contrast to radioactive iodine, has a relatively long half life of 30.2 years. It is created during nuclear fission. The water also contained Caesium isotopes 134 and 136 as well as iodine-131.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), has vowed to clear the water as quickly as possible to allow workers to continue efforts to cool the reactors.

Three workers, who were working to restore cooling functions at reactor 3, were exposed radiation levels in water that was 10,000 times the normal level, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the plant's operator, said Friday.

Those levels suggested the vessel might have been damaged and leaked radioactive materials, Nishiyama told a news conference.

Seventeen workers at the plant have been contaminated since the plant was damaged in a March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, Kyodo news agency reported Saturday.

That figure includes only those who have been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation, the maximum exposure for a nuclear plant worker for an entire year.

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After mortal combat India 'new dominant Australia'

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Ground operation in Libya could start in April

Moscow: The international coalition force is planning a ground operation in Libya that could start in late April, a high-ranking Russian intelligence service official has said.

"Information coming via different channels shows that NATO countries, with the active participation of Britain and the United States, are developing a plan for a ground operation on Libyan territory," he said Friday.

"From all indications, a ground operation will be launched if the alliance fails to force the Gaddafi regime to capitulate with air strikes and missile attacks.

"If the events in Libya follow this scenario, the ground operation could start" in late April-early May, he added.

The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya March 17, allowing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.

The operation to enforce the no-fly zone, codenamed Odyssey Dawn, is being conducted jointly by 13 countries, including the US, Britain, and France.

Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over the North African country and fired 162 Tomahawk missiles in the UN mission.

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No end in sight for radioactive releases at Fukushima: IAEA

Vienna: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it could offer no timeline on when Japanese engineers could stop radioactive leakage from the stricken Fukushima plant, even though the likely source of the emissions has been identified.

"We don't know how long there will be releases," senior IAEA technical advisor Graham Andrew told reporters at the agency's seat in Vienna Friday.

In addition to suspected leaks of the vessel's shielding reactor cores at the plant's units 1 and 2, data also indicated a leak at reactor 3, IAEA officials said.

The IAEA's chief safety official, Denis Flory, said a number of steps would be necessary before engineers at Fukushima could start to assess whether there are, in fact, leaks before they could start to fix them.

First the reactor would have to be cooled and water would have to be injected to create an environment in which people could operate in the building and assess the damage.

"So we are not in this phase at all," he said.

The radioactivity being released from the power plant that was hit by a earthquake and tsunami March 11 probably comes out of the reactors rather than from spent fuel ponds, the officials said, noting the composition of the radioactive isotopes.

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Manmohan's initiative is a 'sixer' for peace: Pak media  

Islamabad: 'Aman ka chakka' or a 'sixer for peace' is how the Pakistani media hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's invitation to the country's top leaders to watch the cricket World Cup semi-final between the teams of the two countries.

Reports on the invitation extended Friday by Singh to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani featured prominently on the front pages of all Pakistani dailies today.

The News daily ran its report with the headline: "Aman ka Chakka - Singh invites Zardari, Gilani to watch semifinal". The banner headline in the influential Dawn newspaper read "Singh invites Zardari, Gilani to watch high voltage match," while the headline in The Express Tribune was "India opens fresh bout of cricket diplomacy".

Most reports referred to the invitation as a positive development that would boost the resumption of the stalled peace process between the two countries.

"If accepted, cricket diplomacy will provide a fillip to real time diplomacy, where the two countries are set to resume their bilateral dialogue when the Interior Secretaries meet just two days before their World Cup clash," the Dawn reported.

In its report, The Express Tribune said: "Analysts see the invitation as 'a smart diplomatic initiative through cricket' undertaken after the two countries resumed the dialogue process stalled in November 2008 when the Indian financial capital Mumbai was hit by terrorist attacks".

Singh Friday sent identical letters to Gilani and Zardari inviting the two to join him at Mohali on March 30.

"I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan on March 30. There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket that will be a victory for sport.

"It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match," he wrote.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Pakistan welcomed the invitation and a decision would be made after Gilani returned to Islamabad from an official visit to Uzbekistan.

The World Cup match will be played two days after a meeting of the Home and Interior Secretaries of India and Pakistan in New Delhi that will mark the resumption of dialogue between the two sides.

The Pakistani media also highlighted Prime Minister Singh's personal efforts to improve ties with Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, which took relations to a new low after it emerged that the assault was carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

"Mr singh is highly respected in Pakistan for his personal contribution to resuming the peace process, which was suspended following the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"The two prime ministers successfully negotiated a peace document in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009 but their efforts had been scuttled because of strong opposition in India," the Dawn reported.

"They made another breakthrough in Thimphu (Bhutan) last year, setting in motion concerted efforts for the revival of suspended talks even though it took both sides almost a year to agree on resumption of a full spectrum of dialogue starting on March 28 in Delhi," it added.

Cricket diplomacy between the two countries is not a new phenomenon. Former military rulers Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf used cricket matches to improve bilateral relations.

Zia-ul-Haq travelled to India in 1987 to witness an India-Pakistan Test in Jaipur at his own initiative to defuse tensions at that time. Musharraf watched a one-day match between the two teams in New Delhi in 2005.

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Rain threat to Sri Lanka-England quarterfinal

Colombo: There were showers at daybreak here and the weatherman forecast a thunderstorm and more rain as the city prepared for the Cricket World Cup quarterfinal between Sri Lanka and England at the R. Premadasa Stadium Saturday afternoon.

It rained Friday too, forcing the Sri Lankans to cancel their morning practice session. Another sharp shower in the afternoon and tarpaulins came out to cover the entire outfield.

Heavy rain washed out the group A match between Sri Lanka and Australia after 32.5 overs on March 6, leaving a packed house of 35,000 disappointed.

However, one reserve day has been provided to take care of rain interruptions in all the knockout games, including the semifinals and the final.

Play will be continued from where it stopped on the scheduled day of the matches if it spills over into the reserve day, as per the playing conditions of the tournament.

"There shall be one reserve day allocated to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final on which an incomplete match shall be continued from the scheduled day," say the playing conditions.

"Every effort will be made to complete the match on the scheduled day with any necessary reduction in overs taking place and only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match cannot be bowled on the scheduled day will the match be completed on the reserve day," the playing conditions say.

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Indian American Nitin Kotak gets key research post

Washington: Indian American Nitin Kotak has been elected vice president and chief financial officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) engaged in advancing scientific research and education in the US.

Kotak, 53, joins the Institute from Bethesda-based Technest Holdings, Inc., where he was chief financial officer and treasurer.

"Nitin comes to us with great enthusiasm for our mission and significant experience in financial analysis, reporting, and compliance," said Cheryl Moore, HHMI's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

At HHMI, Kotak will oversee budget and financial analysis, the controller's office, treasury, internal audit, and procurement.

"I am very excited at this opportunity to be a part of this outstanding organization and work in a spirit of giving back to the community. I feel honoured to be selected for this great responsibility," said Kotak.

During fiscal 2010, the Institute made disbursements of $889 million, including $738 million for scientific research and $89 million in grants to support science education and international research. The Institute's endowment at the close of fiscal 2010 stood at $14.8 billion.

A senior member of three major professional institutes in India - the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Company Secretaries and the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants, Kotak started his career in 1981 working as the assistant company secretary for a Tata group enterprise, Tinplate Company of India.

He then spent more than 17 years working at ITC Limited where he held a variety of finance-related positions. In 1999 he moved to India-based Mattel Toys, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., as its chief financial officer.

Kotak moved to the US in 2003 to become director of finance and accounting for Able Laboratories, Inc., a publicly traded developer and manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals. A year later, he became Able's vice president for finance and accounting.

Kotak joined Technest in 2005 as vice president for finance and operations and became chief financial officer and treasurer in 2008.

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Troops open fire as protests explode across Syria

Damascus: Troops opened fire on protesters in cities across Syria and pro- and anti-government crowds clashed in the capital's historic old city as one of the Mideast's most repressive regimes sought to put down demonstrations that exploded nationwide demanding reform.

The upheaval sweeping the region definitively took root in Syria as an eight-day uprising centered on a rural southern town dramatically expanded yesterday into protests by tens of thousands in multiple cities.

The once-unimaginable scenario posed the biggest challenge in decades to Syria's iron-fisted rule. Protesters wept over the bloodied bodies of slain comrades and massive crowds chanted anti-government slogans, then fled as gunfire erupted, according to footage posted online.

Security forces shot to death more than 15 people in at least six cities and villages, including a suburb of the capital, Damascus, witnesses told The Associated Press. Their accounts could not be independently confirmed.

The regime of President Bashar Assad, an ally of Iran and supporter of militant groups around the region, had seemed immune from the Middle East's three-month wave of popular uprising.

His security forces, which have long silenced the slightest signs of dissent, quickly snuffed out smaller attempts at protests last month.

Syrians also have fearful memories of the brutal crackdown unleashed by his father, Hafez Assad, when Muslim fundamentalists in the central town of Hama tried an uprising in 1982: Thousands were killed and parts of the city were flattened by artillery and bulldozers.

The Assads' leadership centered on members of their Alawi minority sect, a branch of Shiite Islam in this mainly Sunni nation have built their rule by mixing draconian repression with increasing economic freedom, maintaining the loyalty of the wealthy Sunni merchant class in the prosperous cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

Bashar Assad now faces the same dilemma confronted by the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain ratchet up violence or offer concessions.

A day earlier, his government seemed to test the latter track, offering to consider lifting draconian emergency laws and promising increased pay and benefits for state workers.

As massive crowds rejected the offers, the worst violence appeared centered around Daraa, where the arrest of a group of young men for spraying anti-regime graffiti last week set off a cycle of growing demonstrations and increasingly violent government crackdowns.

The Syrian government said 34 had been slain in Daraa before yesterday, while the UN human rights office put the figure at 37. Activists said it was as high as 100.

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Jats seek written assurance on quota  

Chandigarh: Just hours after Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced that Jats had suspended their protests, leaders of the community Saturday said they would seek a written assurance from the government on reservation before withdrawing their stir.

The flip-flop between the community leaders and the Hooda government became evident Saturday morning after one of the prominent Jat leaders said the decision to withdraw the protest would be taken Saturday afternoon.

"We had a meeting with Chief Minister Hooda Friday night. Hooda assured us that all our demands will be met in the coming days but still we have not ended our stir," Hawa Singh Sangwan, president of the Haryana Jat Arakshan Samiti, told IANS.

"We are still evaluating the situation and waiting for a written assurance from the government. We cannot trust their verbal promises. We are holding meetings at various places in the state today and probably we can end the protest by noon," Sangwan added.

Hooda had early Saturday claimed that Jat protesters have suspended their stir and would lift the blockade of railway tracks.

Jat community members have been protesting in Haryana for the last three weeks and had blocked rail tracks at several places. They are seeking reservation in government jobs for the community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.

The community had constituted a 31-member committee that held a meeting with Hooda Friday night at Jind town, 220 km from here.

Hooda has agreed to set up a Haryana Backward Classes Commission within a month.

The commission would consider the demand of the communities of Roar, Jat, Jat Sikh, Tyagi, Bishnoi and any other community who wishes to be under the ambit of the backward classes in the state.

Besides Sangwan, Benayan Khap president Nafe Singh and representatives of other khaps (caste councils) attended the meeting.

The Jat leaders earlier held meetings with union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi but the stalemate over giving them reservation under the OBC quota had continued.

The protesters, including women, children and the elderly, had blocked rail tracks at 15 points across Haryana. The worst affected were the districts of Hisar, Bhiwani and Jind.

Thousands of passengers were put to inconvenience as the authorities cancelled several trains passing through Haryana in the last three weeks.

The Jat leaders had earlier announced that they would block the Delhi-Ambala-Amritsar rail track if their demand was not met by March 25. The deadline ended Friday.

The leaders also warned that if their demands were not met by March 28, they would block all roads and rail tracks in Haryana, including those going to Delhi.

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Fake flying license scam: four arrested  

New Delhi: Four persons, including a DGCA official and a pilot, have been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the fake flying license scam.

Police said they have arrested DGCA official Pradeep Kumar, pilot Pradeep Tyagi and two touts. One of them has been identified as Lalit Jain.

With the fresh arrests, a total number of 10 people have been taken into custody in connection with the racket.

Acting tough against pilots obtaining their commercial licences by submitting fake records and documents, DGCA had recently grounded 14 pilots.

A person is eligible to fly a commercial aircraft only when he or she secures a CPL, which is given out after a person completes 200 hours of flying during the training.

However, the 14 pilots whose licenses have been revoked had allegedly not flown the mandatory hours and are alleged to have got fake certificates from a Rajasthan flying training institute. DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan had recently told PTI that the CPLs of around 10,000 pilots was under the scanner, besides about 4,000 holders of Airlines Pilots Training License (ATPLs).

He had also said that DGCA would conduct third-party audit of all the 40 flying schools in the country in the wake of cases of forgery behind securing of licences coming to light.

Describing as serious the issue of some pilots getting licenses on the basis of forged marksheets or through illegal means with the help of flying schools, Government has vowed not to show any leniency.

"There are about 40 flying schools. Now there is an audit of these schools... Blanket order has been given to go ahead into the complaints. There is no leniency to anybody," Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi had said.

"This is a big fraud playing with human lives. There will be no leniency to anybody. We will go very strongly by abiding with the laws. Every angle would be looked into. The issue is very serious," he had said.

The Minister said the Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) had discussed the issue with him "more than once" and steps are being taken to address the issue. Bharat Bhushan, the Director General in DGCA, said essentially there are two types of frauds in regard to fake pilot licenses.

One type of fraud related to not passing the Commercial Pilot License(CPL) exam and producing false marksheet to procure the flying license while the other related to flying schools crediting flying hours in certificates which has actually not been undertaken by the persons concerned, he said.

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Season 5 March 24 2011 part 3

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Season 5 March 23 2011 part 4

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Season 5 March 21 2011 part 2

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Season 5 March 21 2011 part 3

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Season 5 March 24 2011 part 2

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Season 5 March 21 2011 part 4

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Season 5 March 23 2011 part 3

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