Krishna in Myanmar to sign infrastructure deals

Yangon: Marking the first high-level engagement with Myanmar's three-month-old civilian government, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna arrived here Monday on a three-day visit during which they sign major infrastructure and development project pacts. Accompanied by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Krishna flew in here from New Delhi on a special aircraft. He was received by Yangon regional Minister for Education, Health and Foreign Affairs Nyan Tun Oo and Indian ambassador V.S. Seshadri. The new civilian government of President Thein Sein took charge March 30 after his party won the November 2010 elections. The civilian government has replaced the military junta under Senior General Than Shwe that ruled Myanmar for over 22 years. Krishna's visit is looked at by India as an opportunity to engage the new civilian regime and to take stock of broad-based engagements with Myanmar. Before leaving for Delhi, Krishna said in New Delhi: 'The visit will give us an opportunity to further vitalise our multi-faceted relationship. We will exchange of views on enhancing security cooperation and collaboration in connectivity, IT, energy, agriculture, power, telecommunications and infrastructure.' Krishna will meet the Myanmar president and the foreign minister. The two sides will sign memorandum of understanding on a project to link India's Manipur state with Tiddim in Chin state of Myanmar for more border trade. India has also offered to cooperate with Myanmar on a trilateral highway to Thailand. They will also sign an agreement setting up Myanmar's second industrial park with Indian help. India will supply 100 computers to Myanmar's land records department to digitalise its operations. Myanmar is the only Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) country that India shares a land border with. India's interaction with Myanmar continues strongly, despite Western nations disapproving this relationship, citing poor democratic credentials of the erstwhile military junta, which is still influential. India supported the former military rulers' desire to carry out political reforms in the country. The urgency shown by India to have close relations with Myanmar is also the result of increased Chinese involvement in Myanmar's infrastructure projects such as roads, ports and power plants. Myanmar shares a 1,642-km winding and porous border with four northeastern states of India - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.....

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Nomination for National Awards.

Kochi: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Government of India has called for nominations for National Awards for the Empowerment of persons with diasbilities in 13 categories.The awards will be distributed on the occasion of the international day of disabled persons on the Dec 3,2011. Ministries departments, Public sector undertakings, State governments, Union territory administrations may forward the nominations to the Section Officer (DD-1V), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Room No.242, A Wing, 2nd Floor, Shastri Bhavan,New Delhi-110 001. Last date is August 16, a government press release said. PTI

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Kerala gives boost to power sector

Thiruvananthapuram : In an effort to give boost to the state's power sector, the Congress-led United Democratic Front government has decided to tap wind power and offer incentives to tribals for this. The government is offering incentives to the tribals who are willing to allow windmill construction on their lands for power generation projects, state Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed Monday said. 'We will take over the land if the tribals are willing to give it to us. If they agree, they would be adequately compensated in the price of the land and also we will enter into a long-term agreement with the tribals,' Mohammed said, while talking to reporters. Under the long-term accord, 'the tribals will be paid a fixed amount of money from every unit of power that is generated from the windmills that come up on their land,' he said. The government has identified two places in Palakkad district (Attapadi and Kanjikode) where the land is owned by the tribals. The 80 MW windmill power project will be set up jointly by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). 'This is going to be operational in the first 100 days of our government. Since this is a project of the state and the centre, there will be no allegations of any sort of corruption,' he added. Mohammed also announced that in the first 100 days of the Congress-led government coming to power in Kerala, school children would be taught how to save power, under a special Energy Smart Campaign. 'All children from Class 5 to 10 will be trained to this effect,' the minister said. Cash prizes will be given to schools and students at the district and state levels for saving most power, he added.

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Indian diplomat treated housekeeper like a slave: Lawsuit

Washington: Prabhu Dayal, the Indian consul general in New York has been slapped with a forced-labour suit by a former housekeeper who says she was treated like a slave while working for him and his family, a US media report said. Dayal allegedly promised the woman $10 an hour, plus overtime, to cook and clean for him and his wife after he was appointed to his post in 2008, according to New York Post. But after arriving in the United States, Santosh Bhardwaj, 45, alleged Dayal confiscated her passport and paid her only $300 a month to sleep in a storage closet and toil 15-plus hours a day, seven days a week, the Post said. The daily citing her Manhattan federal court filing - which seeks unspecified damages and the return of her passport - said she escaped last year by slipping out of the Indian consulate building on East 64th Street while Dayal was out at a meeting and his wife was in her room with the door closed. The Post cited a spokeswoman for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Bhardwaj, said Dayal isn't protected by diplomatic immunity because consular officers are only covered for their 'official acts.' The diplomat or the consulate did not immediately react to the report. Calls to the Dayals by IANS went answered.

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Indian diplomat denies slavery charges

Washington: The Indian consul general in New York, Prabhu Dayal, has dismissed as 'mischievous' and 'complete nonsense' charges by a former housekeeper that she was treated like a slave while working for him and his family. 'These are mischievous and malicious lies. Complete nonsense,' Dayal told IANS on phone from New York, reacting to a forced-labour suit filed against him by Santosh Bhardwaj, 45, in a Manhattan federal court Monday. The housekeeper has alleged that Dayal promised her $10 an hour, plus overtime, to cook and clean for him and his wife after he was appointed to his post in 2008, according to New York Post. But after arriving in the US, Dayal confiscated her passport and paid her only $300 a month to sleep in a storage closet and toil 15-plus hours a day, seven days a week, she alleged. The Post citing her suit to say she is seeks unspecified damages and the return of her passport. She said she escaped last year by slipping out of the Indian consulate building on East 64th Street while Dayal was out at a meeting and his wife was in her room with the door closed. Rejecting Bhardwaj's charges, Dayal said: 'The allegations made by Santosh Bhardwaj against me are totally baseless. 'She was in my employment in Delhi for one year, in Morocco for four years and in New York for eleven months from February 2009 to Jan 28, 2010. 'She wanted to work part time outside to earn more money but I refused permission as she was on an official passport and her visa did not allow her to work anywhere expect in my home,' Dayal said. 'Thereafter, she absconded on 28th Jan, 2010, and it is surprising that she has filed this case one and a half years after leaving my employment.' Referring to her charges that she had to live in a storage closet, Dayal said: 'This is completely false as she had a well-furnished room with an attached bathroom. 'The room was equipped with air-conditioner, TV, a telephone and had central heating. Besides she was paid her full emoluments as per my obligation, and she had saved a lot of money. 'Without these savings she would not have been able to meet her living costs in New York from January 2010 when she left me till June 2011,' he said. 'She left my employment as she wanted to do moon-lighting by earning more money by working outside. She was refused this permission and decided to leave my employment. 'The matter was reported straightaway to the local authorities as well as to the ministry of....

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Karunanidhi in Delhi to meet Kanimozhi in jail

New Delhi: DMK president and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday landed here to meet his daughter Kanimozhi lodged in the Tihar Jail in the 2G spectrum allocation case, a day after the Supreme Court denied her bail. 'He (Karunanidhi) has landed in Delhi a few minutes back and would be staying at Hotel Leela,' a source close to the leader told IANS. 'He would be meeting his daughter around 4 p.m. today (Tuesday),' he added. Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, managing director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, were named by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as co-conspirators in the supplementary charge sheet for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs.214 crore. They were arrested May 20 after the trial court dismissed their bail pleas.

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Muhammed panel PG med fee in Rs 2-5 lakh range

Muhammed has temporarily fixed the fee for the PG courses in Self-Financing medical colleges in the state. The fee fixed by the committee ranges from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for different courses. The Committee has fixed the fee separately for categeries of Degree, Diploma, Clinical and Non-Clinical. The fee is applicable for the year 2011-12. The Committee in release on Monday said that it has found gross discrepancies between the fee structure in the prospectus submitted by the four Christian Medical Colleges and the fee structure in the proposal submitted by these Christian Medical Colleges. Moreover the Committee found that the documents submitted by these colleges are incomplete. The colleges are the Amala, Jubilee Mission Medical Colleges at Thrissur, MOSC Medical College at Kolencherry and Pushpagiri Medical College at Thiruvalla. They had been given two weeks' time to submit more statistics. The Committee decided to fix the fee for all SF colleges since it had to be fixed before the deadline of June 30, it said. The Committee also informed that those colleges that hadn't submitted the applicaton and details for fixing PG fees should submit these within two weeks to the Committee. The final decision on fee will be taken after considering all these.

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Doctor, injured in accident, succumbs to injuries

Pantheerankavu: A doctor, who was under treatment after being hit by a bike during his morning walk, succumbed to his injuries. Dr Chandrasekharan, 54, from Pantheerankavu, Kozhikode, died in an accident at Aluva. He was the head of cardiology department at Sunrise Hospital, Kakkanad. He was residing at Chembakassery in Aluva and the bike hit him when he was crossing the road during his morning walk on Friday. Though he was rushed to the Sunrise hospital, he died on Monday morning. He has worked at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Madras Medical Mission, Kovai Medical Center, Quark County Hospital and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. Eye specialist Dr Jyothi is his wife and children are Nikhil and Naina.

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Kerala LDF opposes sanction to new CBSE schools

Thiruvananthapuram : The opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala has given an open call to protest the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government's decision to give sanction to more than 450 new CBSE schools in the state. Vaikom Viswan, LDF convenor, told reporters here after the state committee meeting that the decision to sanction so many new schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) would severely affect the state-run schools. 'This decision will destroy the generally acclaimed education scenario in Kerala. At this rate, state-run schools will have to be closed down,' said Viswan. The sanction to these many CBSE schools was one of the first decisions taken by the Chandy government soon after it assumed office on May 18. 'We request all likeminded people to join us to stand against this move,' Viswan added. Veteran Congress leader and Minister for Power Aryadan Mohammed said the LDF fears are unfounded. 'We have the Right to Education Act. When it is implemented in full, it will be the sole responsibility of the government to see that all schools function without any problem,' he said.

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Dikshit to investigate ICDS scheme

New Delhi: A day after IANS reported that 775 children and eight pregnant women enrolled in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme here died last year, Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday said the matter will be probed. 'I got to know the figures. We will be doing a proper investigation into this,' Dikshit told reporters. In a reply to an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by child rights activist Manish Bhatnagar, an ICDS official said: 'According to records, the number of children enrolled in the ICDS scheme who died in Delhi last year was 775.' 'Eight pregnant women enrolled also died last year,' he added. The ICDS is a pilot project of the Delhi government's women and child development department aimed at improving nutritional and health status of children below six years and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition. 'In 2009, seven pregnant women and 882 children enrolled with the ICDS died,' the official said. ICDS services were started in India with 33 projects all over the country Oct 2, 1975. It was launched in response to the challenge of meeting the holistic need of the child.

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Rat fever : Two die in Kozhikdoe

Kozhikode: Two persons died in Kozhikode due to rat fever. Hasan Koya, 35, from Mathara Kalathil and KP Sathyan, 53, Kannadickal died.Both were admitted to the Medical college hospital. Hasan Koya was a hotel employee and Marjunnisa is his wife, Murshida, Ashiq are his children. Lena is Sathyan's wife. Leeshma, Lijesh and Lijina are his children .

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Shah Rukh Khan not skipping IIFA Awards

Toronto: Wizcraft, the organizers of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, have denied reports that Shah Rukh Khan may skip the awards ceremony here this week due to his knee injury. 'That's not true. These are just rumours spread by the media. He is definitely coming. Don't believe in these rumours,' a Wizcraft media representative told IANS here. Apart from performing at the IIFA Awards, Shah Rukh Khan will also join Vivek Oberoi at a red-carpet welcome by local South Asian cultural organizations at Sheraton Hotel Friday. King Khan is one among the biggest Bollywood star gathering ever in North America. As Canada's biggest city braces for its biggest South Asian show, Bollywood stars have started streaming into Toronto. 'Some of these stars are already here. Bobby Deol is definitely in town,' the Wizcraft representative said. Zayed Khan, Dia Mirza, Sonu Sood, Vijay Singh Deol, Anil Kapoor and Shekhar Kapur are among those arriving Tuesday before the IIFA kick-off Thursday. A major highlight of the IFFA Awards is that Jermaine Jackson, elder brother of Michael Jackson, will team up with Sonu Nigam to pay tributes to his brother and the late 'King of Pop'. This performance will be part of IIFA Rocks to be presented by The Bay (short for the Hudson Bay Company - the world's longest surviving registered company) which is a famous fashion name in Canada. To be hosted by Karan Johar and Anushka Sharma, IIFA Rocks will also feature performances by Neha Dhupia, Dia Mirza, Mallika Sherawat, the cast of Double Dhamaal, and Shankar-Eshaan-Loy. This event will also feature collections from Indian designers Sabyasachi, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Vikram Phadnis. The IIFA events will culminate in Floriana IIFA Green Carpet and Floriana Awards ceremonies at Toronto's famous Rogers Centre June 25.

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Self-financing: HC flays state government

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday flayed the state government in the case relating to admissions to self-financing medical colleges. The court said for solving the issues related to the sector, practical intervention is needed and asked the government to clear its stand to solve the fee structure. The Court also asked if it is the Muhammad committee that has to move the court or the government or students. The Court also said the government must clear its stand and the people too are willing to know about the same. Earlier, the single bench rejected the appeal by the Mohammed committee alleging the management violated conditions on fee. The Committee approached the division bench against the verdict and court made the statements while considering the same. Division bench comprising HC chief justice J Chelameshwar and justice Antony Dominic considered the case.

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American Airlines makes emergency landing, all 246 on board safe

New Delhi: An American Airlines flight carrying 231 passengers and a crew of 15 made an emergency landing soon after the aircraft took off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here around Monday midnight, officials said Tuesday. 'Emergency landing procedures were carried out by airport fire and medical service. As an American Airlines flight requested to land back here, due to technical difficulties,' a senior Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) official told IANS. According to the official, the aircraft landed back safely and that all required safety procedures were carried out. 'All 231 passengers are safe. The aircraft took-off at 12.25 a.m. and landed back at 12.47 a.m.,' the official said. American Airlines, which operates daily-direct flights between New Delhi and Chicago, said that the flight commander requested to make an emergency landing due to a technical snag in one of the engines. 'Captain contacted Delhi authorities and informed them that he would be making an emergency landing because of a problem with the electrical generator system on the right engine,' said the company in a statement, adding that the aircraft landed after dumping fuel. The company further said that technical repairs were being carried out on its Boeing 777-200 ER (extended range) aircraft and that the flight will take off again for Chicago by 4.00 p.m.. The statement further added that the passengers were accommodated in city hotels. Passengers on board said they suffered from an information blackout as they kept sitting for several hours, first in the parked aircraft on the runway and then in the airport terminal. 'We had no information for several hours as to what was happening, though the airline tried to make us comfortable and then shifted us after three hours to The Grand,' Gautam Dey, a research student at Stanford University, told IANS.

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Raina, Harbhajan rescue India; West Indies dominate

Kingston (Jamaica): Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh rescued India with their 146-run stand in the first innings against the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test here Monday. The day, however, belonged to the hosts as they dominated by restricting the World No.1 Test side to 246 in the first innings. West Indies ended the day at 34 for one at the Sabina Park. India, who are without batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, failed to get past 250 despite winning the toss and opting to bat. The top-order batting collapsed to 85 for six before Raina and Harbhajan did the repair act with their 146-run seventh wicket stand. Raina top scored with 82 while Harbhajan made a quickfire 70 before West Indies medium pacer Fidel Edwards polished off the tail and finished with four for 56. Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and the promising leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo claimed three wickets each. India were in trouble right from the start and at lunch were struggling at 69 for four, after two of their three debutants, Abhinav Mukund (11) and Virat Kohli (8) departed quickly. Rahul Dravid waged a lone war with his fighting 40 while other senior batsmen V.V.S. Laxman (12) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made little contribution. While Harbhajan played a breezy innings, Raina's knock was more controlled but he launched himself later sensing that he would run out of partners. Harbhajan hit 10 fours and a six in his 74-ball knock before he was snared with a well-worked short-ball tactic by Edwards and Bishoo took a sensational diving catch running at speed to his left, shortly before tea. Raina also launched an all-out attack and holed out to Bishoo at deep square leg off Rampaul. The left-handed batsman's 115-ball knock which featured 15 attractive boundaries. West Indies also suffered an early set-back when Lendl Simmons (3) fell to Ishant Sharma caught by Murali Vijay at short-leg. Adrian Barath (26 batting) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (2 batting) then guided the team home to stumps safely.

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Pettah attack: Motive was money

Thiruvananthapuram: Police said the motive behind the attack of a couple, their son and servants in Pettah by a three-member group was for stealing money. Priyadas Managalath, an industrialist, owning a software business, his wife Jessy, son Gowtham, servants Aji and Joyi, were injured in the attack. A year back a group of robbers from Maharashtra had looted jewelleries and a Benz car from the same house after tying up Jessy. The police held them later. Subramaniyam, one among the attackers, who is from Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu, was held by the natives. Police questioned him and registered a case of murder. He told police that he ventured into the crime to pay off his Rs 3 lakh debts. He said he does not know Priyadas earlier and they chose the house seeing the Benz and BMW on the courtyard. Subramaniyam said he commited the crime alone and no one was part of the gang. He approached the house in the pretext of enquiring about a route. When Jessy opened the door and replied that she is unaware of the route, he stabbed her in the stomach. Jessy is in ICU now and Priyadas has been shifted to the ward. The incident occurred on Sunday at 4 pm.

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State seeks modifications in centrally sponsored schemes

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Minister for Rural Development K.C. Joseph Tuesday said that the state's demand for modifying centrally sponsored schemes has received a favourable response from the Planning Commission. Addressing reporters here for the first time after taking over as a minister in the United Democratic Front government, Joseph said Planning Commission Vice Chairman Montek Singh Aluwalia was briefed about the need for state-specific modifications of schemes like the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). 'State specific modifications for these schemes will only help to improve the effective implementation of these novel schemes. Looking back on the implementation of these projects, Kerala's performance has been appallingly poor and response from Ahluwalia clearly indicates that modifications, if made in the right earnestness, would be met,' he said. 'Our Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, when he reaches Delhi shortly for Plan discussions, would take this up again, and we are confident this can be a reality,' said Joseph. While other southern states are far ahead in the implementation of PMGSY (Andhra Pradesh - 20,740 km, Karnataka 16,110 km and Tamil Nadu 10,091 km), Kerala has been able to achieve a mere 2,704 km of roads and has not even used up the sanctioned Rs.976 crore. 'Land is a scarcity in our state and under the PMGSY a minimum of eight metres width for roads is required, and moreover no compensation is given for the land taken over under this scheme,' he said. 'The rates for the work are also very low and we have requested that at least the rates prevailing in the Central Public Works Department be applicable,' said Joseph. Among other demands that the state will place before the central government when Chandy meets up officials in New Delhi are that the MGNREGS should be extended to work undertaken on private land and also for implementing watershed management schemes.

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