Media Maoist Menace Inflict DEFACED Scribes!G20 'to call for economy balance'!Bid to jump-start climate talks!
Palash Biswas
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
 | India weathered crisis well. It's now time to move fast so that prices are tamed before rest of the world goes into a high-inflation spiral. |
Reaping benefits from divestment
The article examines benefits from disinvestment, ways in which governments can disinvest, and what leads to a successful disinvestment.
According to the TEG limiting the grant of pharmaceutical patents to NCEs or NMEs would result in the exclusion of a field of technology from patent protection.
Other News of the DayUS officials may soon ask banks to bail out the govt
22 Sep 2009, 1830 hrs IST, New York Times
Tired of the government bailing out banks? Get ready for this: officials may soon ask banks to bail out the government. Journey of Lehman Brothers | Global icons crash
Delhi's Khan Market world's 24th expensive high street
22 Sep 2009, 1830 hrs IST, PTI
Mumbai's Colaba Causeway has seen the world's biggest fall of 63.5% in rents during July 08-June 09, says the study by C&W. Delhi, Mumbai among least expensive cities
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- Tharoor meets Sonia, Pranab
Shashi Tharoor was asked by the party to desist from such comments. - PC warns of alarmist terror fears
P Chidambaram warns against "alarmist" fears of terror attacks. - Advani's political career almost over
Advani had only couple of more years in active politics, Parrikar said.
- Reaping benefits from divestment
Govt prefers an IPO to disinvest as it gives access to retain control. - Time to tighten fiscal belts
Tame prices before rest of the world goes into high-inflation spiral. - Insurance needs capital
The govt should allow companies to raise equity from the public.
|
 Dividends make more sense during tough timeDividends are the fruits of investment in equities. ETIG points out that the dividends make more sense than focussing on exceptional capital gains when times are unfavourable. |
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Durga of desperate times...
Abhisek Roychowdhury
KOLKATA, 21 SEPT: Nature’s fury could not dampen the spirit of the worshippers today, as was evident when this reporter visited Shyamnagar village at Deulbari in South 24-Parganas. with the fear of being washed away in their hearts, the village was nevertheless in a festive mood when the autumn set in.
Shyamnagar, a small hamlet, is inhabited by 650 families of Munda and Santhals tribes. The tribes have been settled in this remote place since the days of colonial domination.With large scale tracts of South 24-Pargans being hit by the Aila, the devastating storm, countless hutments were raised to the ground and livestock perished. Fertility of the soil has been severely eroded with the saline water gushed in. Although supplied with food and medicine, breached dwellings and embankments are yet to be repaired. The grim realities of life are witnessed when one gets a sight of the hapless village folk huddled together in makeshift shelters.
The blessings of the goddess Durga are highly cherished by these villagers. They do not buy idols from the skilled artisans. They are the idol makers themselves no less enthusiastic that the professional clay modellers in their efforts to give a true artistic impression of the goddess. An estimated cost of Rs 5,500 has been arranged for the idols, another Rs 5,000 would be spent for the erection of the pandals. Rama Krishna Mission at Nimpith bears the cost of the puja every year in this village and feeds the villagers with “bhog” on the day of Maha Astami. But this year, funds are not forthcoming from the mission authority.
One Mr Bishwanath Sardar, living at Shyamnagar, told The Statesman: “We are living in abject poverty. Devi Durga marches on earth once in a year. We cannot buy new clothes for our children this year. But we must not lag behind in our offering of devotion to the goddess. With her blessing we shall overcome our difficulties.” In the islands dotting the Sundarbans people eke out their existence by catching fish and crabs in the creeks and venture into the forest in search of honey. Here again the buoyancy of life wins in the festive season, which imbibes the villagers with strength and courage to withstand severe calamity and ushers in a new innings in life when they seek divine blessings to start afresh with whatever resources they can acquire.
http://www.thestatesman.org/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=269231
Flood washes away festivities
Pritesh Basu
KOLKATA, 21 SEPT: With only a few days to go before the pujas, people in Bengal are all set to enjoy the biggest festival. But, for the residents of flood-affected villages in Howrah and Hooghly, the picture is quite different.
Residents of Udaynarayanpur and Amta II block in Howrah and Khanakul II and Pursura block in Hooghly have given up hope to organise this year's puja. Instead, they are keen to know about the medical and financial aid to be provided by the state government and different non-government organisations.
Most of the puja organisers here have decided not to organise the puja because most of these areas are still under water and many are still passing days in relief camps. In Hooghly, more than 10,000 residents of Pursura, Khanakul I and II blocks have become homeless and are passing days at relief camps, set up beside the state and national highways.
Members of most of the puja committees have taken initiative to help people who are still homeless. Steps have also been taken to provide new clothes among women and children who are residing at the flood-affected villages.
Mr Kaushik Maity, a member of Harishpur Maitypara Durga Puja Committee at Udaynarayanpur in Howrah, said the situation is so bad that there is hardly anyone left in the village to provide financial aid to organise the puja. If anyone generously donates something for organising the puja, the amount will also be used for the benefit of the flood victims. He apprehends that the flood situation would worsen due to continuous rainfall from Sunday.
A senior official of Howrah said 11.5 lakh people in eight blocks of Howrah and Hooghly were marooned after the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) had released 3 lakh cusec water from Maithon Barrage on 7 September. Most of the people in Amta I, Uluberia blocks returned to their respective residences and resumed their normal life. But, people in some areas of Amta II and Udaynarayanpur blocks in Howrah are still homeless.
http://www.thestatesman.org/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=269229
Tea time treats elude them...
Soma Mookherjee
KOLKATA, 21 SEPT: A litre of kerosene per family per month is what they get but are yet to receive the gift of electricity. Supply of drinking water is as irregular as essential commodities in the rations shops. Welcome to one of the five state-run tea gardens in the Dooars, where these are, but, part of their daily travails.
Members of the Assembly Standing Committee on commerce and industry, who visited the tea garden, were shocked by the appalling conditions in which about 2,000 workers and their families are leading their lives.
Hilla, one of the state-run tea gardens is running at a loss like the four others and the members met the officials and the workers. “The workers’ quarters do not have electricity and and they get one litre of kerosene per family per month," said Mr Tarak Banerjee, Trinamul Congress MLA and one of the members of the committee.
He further added: "The workers complained that due to lack of electricity and inadequate supply of kerosene their children are falling back at school and their education is being greatly hampered."
He, however, said the problem lies elsewhere. These tea gardens are running at a loss and they do not have enough funds for a new plantation. The shrubs are more than 50 years old and both the Centre and the state government should immediately arrange for funds for new plantation.
Mr Sabyasachi Sen, principal secretary industry and commerce said during his meeting with the committee members that the state government should appoint persons from corporate world with managerial skills to turn them into profit-making organisations.
He is reported to have said that the five tea gardens Pandam, Rangallin and Rungmook Cedars in Darjeeling and Hilla and Mohua in Dooars are running at a loss. He said the state government has undertaken these five tea gardens in early eighties or late seventies as they were in bad shape, said Mr Bandopadhyay.
Mr Sen told the members that the state government took over these gardens as they were on the verge of shutting down. But now to run them effectively, persons with deft managerial skills and corporate background should be appointed in these gardens. He suggested that the state-run tea gardens should also participate in tea auction to sell their produce at market rate.
http://www.thestatesman.org/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=269195
Bengal is hardly prepared to handle a 26/11
Anindita Chowdhury
KOLKATA, 21 SEPT: In a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth even a year after 26/11 the state has been unable to come up with a specialised team to search and rescue people during terror attacks, all because of departments squabbling for a share in the pie.
Both the fire and emergency services and civil defence departments had decided to set up their own search and rescue teams with specially recruited personnel. The fire and emergency department was prompt enough to even place before the Cabinet a proposal to set up three units which after being trained and equipped with special gears, would be deployed to save lives in case of fire in high rise buildings or in the event of any other untoward incidents like the attack on Oberoi Trident or Taj hotel in Mumbai.
However, the civil defence minister who also had a similar proposal opposed the move of the fire department in the meeting of the state Cabinet prompting the chief minister to ask the ministers to settle the issue among themselves and move a joint proposal to the state Cabinet.
However, there have not been a single meeting between the ministers on the issue and an official of the fire department pointed out that despite sending the relevant file to the civil defence department the issue is yet to be resolved.
According to civil defence minister, Mr Srikumar Mukherjee there has been an overlapping in functioning of the departments like civil defence, fire and emergency services and disaster management.
“The task of setting up a search and rescue team is that of civil defence department. I am willing to sit with the minister of fire department only on the issue of equipment since there is no need to use up resources in purchasing the same equipment which are already in the possession of fire department,” said Mr Mukherjee.
He also said that a centrally set up team would not serve any purpose and proposed that a number of teams should be set up and deployed in the various parts of the state.
The fire minister, Mr Pratim Chatterjee is still recovering from illness however, an official of the department said: “ According to a circular of the home ministry, the fire department has been entrusted with the task of setting up search and rescue teams since it has equipment like hydraulic ladders.” It seems that proposal itself needs to be rescued from the squabbling ministers.
http://www.thestatesman.org/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=269190
SEBI prescribes changes in takeover norms
SEBI had set up a special committee to review its key provisions after realising the need to make it relevant to current needs of
C Achutan, who has handed out many a ruling on mergers and acquisitions as a former presiding officer at the Securities Appellate Tribunal, headed the panel.
SEBI had in February eased takeover norms for scam-hit Satyam, wherein it exempted the need for an open offer following a request from the company's board that was on a lookout for a suitor.
| Also Read |
| → Dual listing not possible without full convertibility:Experts |
| → Foreigners may get direct ride to Dalal Street |
| → Equities advance to 16-month high; 5100 on Nifty eyed |
India introduced a formal takeover code in 1997, which helped set basic rules for mergers and acquisitions in the then nascent market for such transactions. However, the rules left scope for interpretation leading to many disputes including cases such as Gujarat Ambuja Cements’ purchase of a near 15% in rival ACC.
SEBI last did a review of the code in 2002, when it made greater disclosures at every level of holding mandatory and exempted preferential issues from the purview of the code. At that time, SEBI wanted to introduce greater transparency to help investors.
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One-minute World News
World Service bulletin Midnapore, Sept. 21: Two CPM activists were seriously injured when armed Maoists and a resistance group mostly of the Left party’s cadres exchanged fire for about four hours in West Midnapore this evening.
Maoist leader Kishanji later claimed that 10 CPM activists had died in the encounter in Enayetpur, about 10km from Midnapore town, but police did not confirm any deaths.
“At least 10 CPM cadres have been killed in the encounter. I invite Dipak Sarkar (the district secretary of the CPM in West Midnapore) to come and see the condition of the armed cadres of his party. We have surrounded the CPM office in Manidaha in which about 150 armed CPM men are holed up. If the men do not surrender their weapons, we will blow up the party office,” he said. Manidaha is about 5km from Enayetpur.
Four hundred security personnel who were sent to Enayetpur from Midnapore town around 8.30pm were engaged in a gun battle with the rebels till late in the night.
District CPM secretariat member Dahareswar Sen said the Maoists attacked the Enayetpur party office. “When the Maoists came to capture our party office, our workers resisted their attempt.”
West Midnapore superintendent of police Manoj Verma said: “We got news of an encounter between the Maoists and a resistance group. The security forces moved to the area around 8.30pm. They are now engaged in an encounter with the Maoists. We are yet to receive reports of any casualty.”
Local CPM sources said over 2,000 villagers owing allegiance to the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities, and led by armed Maoists, marched towards Enayetpur to take control of the CPM stronghold that till now the rebels had not attacked. The villagers also blocked various roads in the area with trees.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/bengal/story_11526454.jsp
Casualties are feared in a gun battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in the Indian state of West Bengal.A five-hour battle ended after police arrived to break up the clash. BBC Reports amidst Puja Bazar indulged Bengali Festival overwhelming Basic Issues and strenthening Manusmriti Apartheid Zionist TRI IBLIS Galaxy Order Invoking War Goddess Durga to Kill and ENSLAVE ETHNICALLY Indigenous Aboriginal Minority Communities!Anand Bazar Patrika has published the Death Toll as higher as eight! While only threee person is officially hurt!
World leaders are to meet to revitalise talks on climate change, with China due to make major concessions while this week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.
A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.
And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.
Leaders will meet in Pittsburgh with the economy high on the agenda.
This week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.
A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.
And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.
Bearing the brunt of Maoist attacks in Bengal, the CPI(M) said on Tuesday that the Centre was facing a "contradictory situation" in the matter with the Prime Minister describing Left extremist violence as the greatest threat and his cabinet colleagues "patronising and protecting" these elements.
Responding to questions on the Maoist attack on CPI(M) offices in West Midnapore district yesterday, senior Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said there was "a pattern (of violence) being unleashed now by targeting our offices, our comrades and supporters".
"Unfortunately, this violence is being patronised in Bengal by parties who are in the ruling UPA coalition and the (Central) government today," he said without directly referring to the Trinamool Congress.
While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Maoist violence as the greatest threat to internal security, "you have Cabinet Ministers who are patronising Maoists and providing them protection and sustenance," he said, adding this was a "contradictory situation" being faced by the UPA at the Centre.
Regarding Monday's attack on the CPI(M) office at Enaitpur, Yechury said the Maoists had "encircled our office and attempted to burn and kill our comrades there. That was resisted. The Maoists fled only after the central and state security forces arrived at the spot."
He said over 60 CPI(M) activists have been killed since the anti-naxal operations began in the state.
FM to discuss 'tax code' with biz chambers
The three industry bodies, CII, FICCI and Assocham are expected to take a common stand on the different contentious issues that will confront the businesses once the new direct tax code comes into effect.
It is proposed in the draft code that minimum alternate tax (MAT) of 2 per cent would apply on the gross asset value of a company instead of current levy of 15 per cent on book profits.
The industry is believed to be opposed to this draft provision on the ground that it would have to pay MAT from the day it acquires both movable and immovable assets.
Last month, the government released the direct tax code for public discourse and when approved by parliament it would replace the Income Tax Act of 1961 and other related laws.
The draft tax code also suggests abolishing the controversial securities transaction tax but seeks to reintroduce long-term capital gains tax.
ADB upgrades India's growth forecast to 6%
"Emerging signs of a recovery in private business confidence and a continued large fiscal stimulus announced in the July 2009 budget helped bolster India's projected economic expansion to 6 per cent this year, upgraded from 5 per cent in March," ADB said in its update on Asian Development Outlook 2009.
India, it added, would be able to clock 7 per cent growth rate during 2010-11. Country's growth rate slipped from 9 per cent to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 on account of the impact of the global financial crisis.
Projecting an inflation of 4-5 per cent by March 2010, the ADB said, "inflationary pressures are likely to persist, driven by high food prices and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies."
The inflation has turned positive for the week ended September 5, after remaining in the negative zone for about three months.
Rising food inflation, ADB said, would create a dilemma for the monetary authority which is currently engaged in combating the impact of the financial meltdown by following easy money policy.
India won't be a 'deal-breaker' in new climate pact: Ramesh
Ahead of the UN climate summit of world leaders to be opened by President Barack Obama, India also said the present crisis on climate change is the "inability" of the US to put on the table credible emissions reduction targets for 2020.
"We are not part of the problem but we want to be part of the solution," Environment minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters. The New York meet came ahead of the crucial UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December.
Ramesh said it was wrong to blame India for the deadlock on the global climate change talks and that it was prepared to be an "active player in working towards an agreement."
Asked about India being dubbed uncooperative and stubborn, Jairam said: "Not at all. I think the world is completely wrong on this. We have got an image that is contrary to what we have been doing.
The message that I am trying to convey is that we have not caused the problem of global warming but we want to be part of the solution at Copenhagen. We want to be a deal maker not the deal breaker."
The previous George W. Bush administration in the US long cited inaction by China and India as the reason for rejecting mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases.
Ramesh said India's national climate plan envisages voluntary mitigation measures by 2020. Ramesh and climate change expert Rajendra Pachauri also underlined the need for the US to bring about a "lifestyle change" to combat climate change.
Suspected ISI agent held with important military docs
Describing the arrest as a "big catch," Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Neelmani said in Patna on Tuesday that the former sepoy, Sudhanshu Sudhakar, was arrested during a raid at a place under Kankarbagh police station on Monday evening on a tip off by the Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence agencies.
Sudhakar, a resident of Sitamarhi district, was booked under the Official Secrets Act at the Kankerbagh police station and the Home ministry was informed, Neelmani said.
The ISI operative was also here to collect information about the Ordnance factory at Rajgir in Nalanda district.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Patna) Vinit Vinayak told reporters that the sepoy was cashiered from the army in 2007 after a five year stint because of dubious activities.
The alleged ISI agent was on his way to Kathmandu to share secrets with an ISI module on information relating to deployment of Indian army in Jammu Kashmir and Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh, besides inputs on missiles, he said.
Sudhakar revealed vital information on his contacts during interrogation and important documents were seized from his Sitamarhi residence, the SSP said.
Raids were made in Sitamarhi and Madhubani districts and some places in Jharkhand on information provided by the agent.
Behave like residents of an international city: PC to Delhiites
Delhiites, change the way you behave.
This was the message Home Minister P Chidambaram gave to Delhiites today ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.
He pointed out that Germany and China had made enormous efforts to change their citizens' habits before hosting
mega sporting events.
"We cannot expect mega city policing function properly if people do not change their behaviour. We still find vehicles jumping red lights and police vehicles are not excluded, they too jump red lights," he said at a function in New Delhi to inaugurate 22 newly-created police stations.
"Then there are vehicles running without registration plates, some are crossing roads where they should not. People are not using overground or underground passes. We want to encourage people to change their mindset," Chidambaram said.
His comments came after Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said at the function that her government was starting a campaign to change the way the people behave so that they become more caring and sharing.
Chidambaram said people should seize the opportunity presented by the Commonwealth Games to change their behaviour.
"People come to Delhi. This is the capital and we cannot stop people. But if they come to Delhi, they themselves will have to adhere to the behavioural requirement, the discipline of the city," he said.
"We must behave as citizens of a big, good international city," Chidamabaram said.
Observing that people in the city often do not obey traffic rules, he said the national capital needs to change its mindset.
He noted that Germany had initiated a three-year programme to change the behavioural pattern of its citizens before it organised Football world cup while China ran maximum number of teaching programmes before Olympics.
During a recent meeting of Heads of Missions on security arrangements for Commonwealth Games, High Commissioner of Mauritius M Choonee said the government should tell Delhi drivers to drive in lanes.
"Delhi drivers are very bad. They do not drive in lanes. Please ask them to drive in lanes," Choonee said.
Sensex inches close to 17,000 level
he benchmark Sensex rose by over 145 points and the wider index Nifty regained the crucial 5,000 level after 16 months on cues like expectation of better corporate earnings and reports of growth in advance tax to extend the gaining trend for the fifth day in a row.
After rising pretty close to the 17,000-level, the Bombay Stock Exchange
benchmark index Sensex settled at 16,886.43 points, higher by 145.13 from its last close.
During intra-day it jumped to the day's high level of 16,943.49. The bellwether index had notched up 672 points in past five trading sessions,
Wider National Stock Exchange
index Nifty shot up by 44.15 points to 5,020.20, retaining over 5,000 level for the first time since May 22, last year.
Marketmen said trading sentiment got a boost after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on last Friday that said policy makers need to keep borrowing costs at a record help economy recover.
Advance tax paid by companies in the July-September quarter rose 14.7 per cent from a year earlier, after dropping 3.7 per cent in the preceding three months.
The market also rose as the Asian Development Bank raised its economic growth forecast for Asia on strengthening expansions in India, China and Indonesia.
Sensex stock HDFC shot up by Rs 134.35 to Rs 2667.40.
Sonia asks Tharoor to 'tweet' carefully
After triggering a controversy by his "cattle class" remark, Union Minister Shashi Tharoor met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and was asked by the party to desist from any comments or actions, even jokingly, that would hurt the sentiments of common people.
Soon after his return from Liberia and Ghana where he was on an official visit, Tharoor met Gandhi amid demands for his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs.
Later he also met senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
A glum-faced Tharoor did not speak to waiting mediapersons after his meetings with Gandhi and Mukherjee.
While it was not known what transpired during these meetings, party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said "any well-wisher of the party, Government and Tharoor will advise him to desist from any comments or action even jokingly that would hurt the sentiments of the common man."
His comment on his Twitter last week dubbing travel in economy class as "cattle class" had evoked strong rebuke from the AICC.
"We totally condemn it (Tharoor's comments). The statement is not in sync with our political culture. His remarks are not acceptable given the sensitivity of all Indians," AICC spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan had said.
"Certainly the party does not endorse it. It is absolutely insensitive. We find it unacceptable and totally insensitive," the Congress spokesperson had said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had even demanded his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, however, downplayed the controversy saying Tharoor's comment was a joke.
Savings deposits gain in popularityVIVEK NAIR
Mumbai, Sept. 21: Savings deposits with commercial banks, which offer a puny 3.5 per cent rate of interest, are set to cross the Rs 10-trillion-mark this fiscal, if they maintain the cracking growth pace of the last few years.
For the year ended March 31, 2009, savings deposits with banks stood at Rs 900,967 crore a jump of nearly 17 per cent over Rs 772,282 crore in 2007-08. If this growth rate stays, the deposits can be in the region of Rs 1054,131 crore, or a little more than Rs 10 trillion, by the end of this fiscal.
Savings deposits in the last fiscal as a percentage of GDP at current prices are around 17 per cent.
The deposits have some features that give them an edge over other financial instruments. According to Gaurav Mashruwala, a certified financial planner, they are not investment products.
An analyst added that this feature insulated them to an extent from changes in interest rates or the performance of other asset classes such as the stock markets.
“While we all need a savings bank account, they are not opened by looking at the interest rates or returns,” Mashruwala said.
The government’s initiatives in financial inclusion are also behind the steady growth in the past four years of savings accounts. In 2005, the banks were asked to make available a basic no-frills account with low or minimum balances. As on March 31, 2009, the PSU banks had opened 2,98,59,178 such accounts, while their private rivals had opened 31,24,101 accounts.
“As there is more inclusion, the first thing that is done is opening of an savings bank account. Therefore, their numbers should only go up in the future as more and more banks tap the rural markets,” a banker said. He said the recent surge in stock market values was unlikely to make a major dent in savings accounts. Besides, money in savings accounts is very liquid as it can be withdrawn anytime, unlike a fixed or a term deposit.
Banks encourage such accounts as they provide a cheap source of funds, thereby improving their margins. Almost all banks are trying to raise the ratio of current and savings accounts to their total deposits.
More return
As of now, the interest computation on a savings deposit has been to the disadvantage of the depositor. The interest is paid on the minimum balance kept in the account between the tenth and the last date of every month.
In other words, if depositors had deposited and withdrawn large sums from their accounts before the tenth of a month, the money would not earn any interest though the bank would have used the money during the period of deposit.
The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to change this interest computation method from April next year.
The RBI wants banks to pay interest either on a daily balance basis or on the basis of a minimum monthly balance in the account from the first till the last day of the month. This will help savings account holders to earn more on their deposits.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11526381.jsp
Age rule to keep bosses on edge
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai, Sept. 21: Companies may be forced to show their graying managing directors the door after they turn 70.
Tucked away in the fine print of the Companies Bill of 2009 — which is now before Parliament — is a clause that seeks to place an age limit on chief executives who run day-to-day affairs at the companies they manage.
For the first time, the Companies Bill has proposed to set the minimum age for managing directors and key management personnel at 21 and the maximum at 70. The Companies Act of 1956 — which this bill seeks to replace — did not spell out an age criterion for chief executives.
There is a loophole of course: managing directors who cross 70 will be able to hang on to their positions if the shareholders pass a special resolution to that effect.
A special resolution has to be passed by at least 75 per cent of the shareholders present and voting.
The old Companies Act had only three conditions that made anyone ineligible to become an MD: the person cannot be an undischarged insolvent, should not have been convicted by a court for an offence involving moral turpitude, and ought not to have suspended payment to his creditors at any point of time.
The term of a managing director is being fixed for a period of five years. He can be reappointed to the position but only for a period of five years at a time. The re-appointment cannot be made “earlier than one year before the expiry of his term”.
The Tatas were the first to lay down an age limit for key positions: CEOs must step down when they turn 65; non-executive directors retire when they turn 75. The rule came into force in the mid-nineties when the group eased out several ageing satraps, including Russi Mody of Tata Steel. The bill doesn’t set an age limit for non-executive directors. Three top Tata managing directors have stepped down or are scheduled to step down later this year. They include Ravi Kant of Tata Motors, S. Ramadorai of TCS and Tata Steel’s B. Muthuraman.
Some professionally-managed organisations have tried to ensure that their chief executives remain young and effective managers. In April, ICICI chief executive K.V. Kamath shed his executive responsibilities when he turned 62.
Severance package
The bill also has an explicit clause relating to severance packages which are restricted to managing directors and whole-time directors. The payment by way of compensation for loss of office should not exceed the “remuneration he would have earned if he had been in office for the remainder of his term or for three years, whichever is shorter.”
WITH INPUTS FROM SRIKUMAR BONDYOPADHYAY 
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11526383.jsp
Deal within deadlineOUR CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Sept. 21: The cash-and-share-swap deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN is likely to be completed before the exclusivity period ends on September 30.
However, the merger terms may be formalised later when Indian and South African regulators clear the deal. A delinking, analysts say, is possible as the integration of strategies will take place over a longer period.
Sources said the agreement was “as good as done” as Bharti had already increased the cash component of the deal. Besides, it has agreed to remain just a financial investor in MTN.
The two companies are waiting for approval from the South African government. Seventy-five per cent of the shareholders of Bharti and MTN must also give their permission.
A merger of the two entities, immediately, will have complex legal implications. So, the companies are initially looking at a collaborative management structure, involving representations in each other’s boards.
According to the new $24-billion cash-cum-stock transaction that has been approved by both the companies, Bharti will pay $10 billion in cash to MTN shareholders against the earlier proposed $7.6 billion. Bharti will also issue 442 million new shares to MTN shareholders worth an additional $4 billion for acquiring a 49 per cent stake in the South African company. In exchange, MTN and its shareholders will get 36 per cent of Bharti for about $10 billion in cash and shares.
“MTN minority shareholders will also have the option of a stock-and-cash or an all-cash payment,” said sources.
Bharti and MTN have been in exclusive talks since May 25 on an alliance that will create the world’s third-biggest mobile phone company with about 200 million subscribers. “It is very clear for both MTN and Bharti where their next markets are. Africa and India hold 33 per cent of the world’s population and these markets have around 40 per cent penetration allowing for a lot of opportunity,” telecom analyst Romal Shetty said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11525983.jsp
Casualties feared in India clash
Troops are moving in to wrest control of the area from rebels
Casualties are feared in a gun battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in the Indian state of West Bengal.
A five-hour battle ended after police arrived to break up the clash.
Villagers in the West Midnapore region said that up to 15 people may have been killed or injured in the clash which began on Monday night.
Separately, a top Maoist leader has been arrested in the capital, Delhi, a rebel spokesman said.
Kobad Ghandy was in charge of spreading the rebels' influence in urban areas and running the publications wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), reports say.
Maoist-linked violence across central and eastern India has killed 6,000 people in India over the past 20 years.
The Maoists say they represent the rights of landless farmhands and tribal communities.
Last week at least seven Maoists and one soldier were killed in a battle in the central state of Chhattisgarh and more than 20 police were killed in the eastern state of Jharkand.
In the latest incident, the rebels surrounded an office belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Enayetpur in West Midnapore district on Monday evening.
Rebel leader Kishenji told the BBC that the Communist supporters had hoarded a large number of weapons at the party office in order to carry out attacks against villagers who supported the Maoists at a later stage.
"The party supporters were harassing local women, so thousands of villagers led by our fighters encircled the party office," he said.
The rebel leader said four local tribal women had died in the gun battle.
More than 30 Communist party supporters have been killed by rebels in the Midnapore region since the West Bengal government launched a security offensive against Maoists in June.
The offensive was initiated after the Maoists had taken complete control of the Lalgarh area in Midnapore in November last year.
The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says the insurgents and the CPI(M), which has been the state's dominant political force, have been fighting a turf war.
In the past few years, he says, the Maoists have extended their influence with guerrilla commanders camping in the area and providing basic military training to local youths.
Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was losing the battle against Maoist rebels.
Silver-spoon Maoist held
OUR BUREAU
New Delhi, Sept. 21: A Maoist politburo member, who studied in Doon School and Elphinstone College before he went underground with his wife, has been arrested in Delhi, sources said.
Khobad Ghandy, the 58-year-old member of the CPI (Maoist) politburo, was apparently arrested last night but police did not make any official announcement through the day. The politburo has 13 members, which puts Ghandy among the top 13 Maoist leaders in the country.
“I have no official information on this (the arrest),” said Delhi police public relations officer Rajan Bhagat.
But the sources said Ghandy, said to be in charge of the publication wing and of spreading the organisation’s influence in urban areas, had been produced before a magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.
Ghandy’s reported arrest swings the spotlight back to the early seventies when a generation of the brightest used to be drawn to extremist ideologies.
He was born into an affluent Parsi family that had a house famed for its antique furniture in Worli Sea Face in Mumbai, an ice-cream factory and a resort in Mahabaleswar. The young Ghandy went to public school and later to Elphinstone College in Mumbai.
He married Anuradha who hailed from a Konkan family that owned a coffee plantation. Anuradha died this year of cerebral malaria.
The couple disappeared from the mainstream years ago, friends recalled today. “They took care to destroy most of their photographs, even those from their younger days, as they did not want them to fall into the hands of the police. When Anuradha died, we could not find any photograph,” a friend said tonight.
The couple chose not to have any children because of the risks associated with their lives, the friend added. “He is the only one in our circle to have joined the Naxalites. Most others are now in the corporate sector or, of late, with NGOs,” the friend said.
The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a rights group, asked the government to confirm whether Ghandy had been arrested. “Given that many a Maoist leader in (the) recent past has been killed in custody, we urge the ministry of home affairs to confirm whether they have arrested the Maoist leader. And if they have, to produce him before a magistrate in order to ensure that he is not tortured or killed in fake encounter,” a statement said.
Security sources said the arrest could be the result of heightened activity by the government ahead of an expected crackdown on Naxalites in central and eastern India. Last month, a Maoist central military commission member was arrested.
The Centre is planning the joint operation in November after elections conclude in Maharashtra and Haryana where 200 companies of paramilitary forces are engaged in poll duty.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/frontpage/story_11526445.jsp
15 years on, tribals can’t find their landRAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Sept. 21: As many as 21 families belonging to endangered tribes of Jharkhand haven’t been able to locate land given to them by the government 15 years ago, exposing the sham perpetuated by successive state governments professing their concern for the primitive tribes.
This reality stared at the face of Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan and accompanying officials yesterday when they were visiting Basu Kocha and Jorebore villages of Jargo panchayat of Naxalite-hit Tamar block, about 80km from the state capital.
There, they came across 21 families of Birhor and Paharia tribes, two of the nine primitive tribes of the state, who showed them valid documents to prove ownership of land, they claimed, they had never been able to locate.
Together, they owned 12 acres handed over to them under a welfare scheme for primitive tribes under undivided Bihar.
Soan and his team, that had to trek several kilometres to reach the village, were taken aback when confronted with chiefs of primitive tribes who flashed the laminated land documents but claimed they had no idea where their plots were located.
The Ranchi deputy commissioner then directed the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Bundu, Awdhesh Kumar Pandey, to ensure the families got possession of their land immediately.
He also warned a revenue official, Haldhar Mahto, of administrative action if there was any delay in carrying out his instructions.
The district public relations officer, Mukul Lakra, who accompanied Soan, told The Telegraph that this was the first time that such an irregularity was detected during field visit of a deputy commissioner.
Birhors are vanishing rapidly. As against 8,038 in 1991, their population has slipped to 7,514 in 2001.
Paharia is another primitive tribe with population about 2.5 lakh according to 2001 census.
However, they are better off than the Birhors. According to Shiv Charan Malto, a Paharia leader, the number of Paharias in 1991 was around 1 lakh.
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Page last updated at 08:48 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:48 UK
Casualties are feared in a battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in West Bengal.
Rescuers scour eastern Bhutan after at least 11 people were killed by an earthquake which struck the Himalayan region.
Pakistan's army says it has arrested a militant commander reputed to be behind suicide bombings across the Swat valley.
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G20 'to call for economy balance'
Nations such as China need to spend more, the G20 is set to say
This week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.
A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.
And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.
Leaders will meet in Pittsburgh with the economy high on the agenda.
No enforcement
The document says huge imbalances in the global economy must be ironed out.
If this does not happen, the world will "face anaemic growth" at levels that are "unacceptably low", it says.
However the paper does not suggest any mechanism for enforcing its plans - other than countries coming under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
And while no countries are mentioned by name, BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam says the document is suggesting that rich indebted countries, such as Britain and the US, should save more while cautious and savings-oriented nations such as Germany and China increase spending.
The document is ambitious, our business correspondent adds, and is aimed at removing some of the wild economic swings that have marked the opening decade of the 21st Century.
There have long been calls for China to allow its currency, the yuan, to rise, encouraging Chinese consumers to spend more on foreign goods.
But others argue that in the longer term, China should work on improving pensions, healthcare and other policies, to reduce the incentive people have to save so much.
Stimulus withdrawal
The document appears to back comments made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that there will be no early end to the international stimulus package aimed at taking the world out of recession.
But it calls on the IMF and the G20's Financial Stability Board to draw up, by November, "transparent and credible" ways of withdrawing that financial support.
The document also acknowledges that each country will have to find its own way of winding back its support in terms of the scale and timing of the pullback of support.
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China takes $850m commodity stake
Lou Jiwei is the head of the Chinese sovereign fund
China's sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in a Hong Kong-based commodities trading firm.
China Investment Corp, the country's $200bn (£123bn) fund, took a 15% stake in Noble Group in return for $850m.
The deal comes after China recently signed a pact with another commodity trader, Glencore, in an attempt to increase its influence in the sector.
China's rapid economic growth has made it one of the world's largest consumer of raw materials such as oil and steel.
Rising interest
Noble, whose shares are listed in Singapore, is one of the few publicly-listed commodity trading houses.
China's fund bought its shares at an 8% discount to Noble's last traded share price of 2.30 Singapore dollars.
Noble has investments in Australian coal, soybean crushing plants and sugar and ethanol mills in Brazil, among others.
In July, China Investment Corp paid $1.5bn for a 17% stake in Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd.
"A lot of sovereign wealth funds or state-linked firms are increasingly showing interest in resources, so this is in line with the trend," said OCBC Securities analyst Lee Wen Ching. "Noble provides access to a diversified portfolio."
Sovereign wealth funds are the investment funds established by governments in Asia and the Middle East mainly, who have large surpluses of money which they wish to invest abroad.
Abu Dhabi has the largest fund, at $800bn, while Norway's is $400bn and Singapore has a $330bn sovereign fund.
China's fund was established in September 2007.
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Bid to jump-start climate talks
China is expected to announce tough new carbon emission targets
About 100 world leaders are due to gather at the UN in New York to try to revitalise talks on climate change.
Attention is likely to focus on Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is expected to unveil stringent new plans to tackle global warming.
The meeting comes two months ahead of a summit in Copenhagan aimed at approving a global climate change treaty.
Negotiators are trying to agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions.
Chinese targets
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday's meeting an attempt to inject momentum into the deadlocked climate talks.
We saw China being absolutely in the lead in terms of putting together an economic recovery package which had green economic growth at absolutely the heart of it 
Yvo de Boer, UN climate chief
According to the BBC's UN correspondent, Barbara Plett, discussions have stalled because rich nations are not pledging to cut enough carbon to take the world out of danger, while poorer countries are refusing to commit to binding caps, saying this would prevent them from developing their economies.
China's role is crucial, because it is both an emerging economy and a big polluter, our correspondent says.
The UN's chief climate change negotiator, Yvo de Boer, says he expects an important announcement from Beijing during the meeting.
"China domestic policy is already very ambitious but yes I do expect something dramatic," he said.
President Hu Jintao is expected to announce "carbon intensity targets" aimed at making Chinese industry more efficient, so that less carbon is produced per unit of energy generated.
China and other many developing economies are still very reliant on coal
China has already leapfrogged the United States to become the world's biggest wind power market, and is a growing force in solar power - and analysts say President Hu may advance the country's renewable energy targets even further.
But the BBC correspondent in Beijing, Quentin Sommerville, says it is unlikely that the Chinese will agree to a cap on their carbon emissions.
Despite all its advances in green technology, China still gets 70% of its energy from coal - and as its economy increases, this means yet more growth in greenhouse gases, our correspondent says.
Pressure on US
There is also concern about the world's other big polluter, the United States.
President Barack Obama has recognised climate change as a pressing issue, unlike the previous administration, our UN correspondent says.
He has already announced a target of returning to 1990 levels of greenhouse emissions by 2020, but critics say Washington is moving too slowly on legislation which does not go far enough.
President Obama is currently dogged by domestic issues such as the economy and healthcare reforms, but his speech to the UN meeting will still be watched for signs he is willing to fulfil his pledge to take the lead in reaching a global carbon deal.
A demonstration of political will by both China and the US will be important in breaking the deadlock in negotiations, correspondents say.
China and the US each account for about 20% of the world's greenhouse gas pollution from coal, natural gas and oil.
The European Union is responsible for 14%, followed by Russia and India with 5% each.
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Obama to host Middle East summit
Israel has rejected demands for a total freeze on settlement building
US President Barack Obama is to host a summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but Washington admits it has no "grand expectations" from the talks.
In New York, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be discussing the possibility of re-starting peace talks.
But they have been blaming each other for blocking a US initiative.
Israel has rejected US and Palestinian demands for a total freeze before a new round of talks can take place.
'Photo opportunity'
President Obama is bringing Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas together for the first time since Mr Netanyahu came to office in March.
In New York, Mr Obama - who has defined peace between Israel and the Palestinians as a "national interest" of the US - will first meet each leader separately, before hosting trilateral talks.
Conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations
Zvi Herzog
Israeli government secretary
"We're looking to continue to build on progress," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
But he added that "we have no grand expectations out of just one meeting except to continue... the hard work, day-to-day diplomacy that has to be done to seek a lasting peace".
Israeli and Palestinian participants have also said they do not expect many concrete developments to emerge from the meeting.
Israeli government secretary Zvi Herzog said the meeting was "a step in the right direction", but that "conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations".
Last week, a senior Palestinian official told the AFP news agency the meeting was taking place "because we don't want to disappoint the American administration which wants it held".
Palestinian views on summit
"That does not mean a resumption of peace talks," said the official.
The negotiating process was suspended in December.
President Obama wanted to launch new talks at the UN General Assembly in New York, but the failure so far to do this is a serious and potentially humiliating setback for him, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen says.
He says that Mr Obama needs to find a way to turn the New York meetings into more than just photo opportunities, as he can not afford to let his ambitious plans for the Middle East fall apart so soon.
'Natural growth'
Disagreements over the settlements issue have blocked all attempts to restart the peace talks so far.
US and Palestinian negotiators have said Israel must fully halt work on the construction of settlements in the West Bank before a new round of peace talks can take place, something Israel has refused to do.
Israeli views on Middle East summit
Mr Netanyahu had previously offered a temporary freeze for several months, but not in East Jerusalem or in cases where homes have already been approved.
He argues that the "natural growth" of settler families must be accommodated.
Before leaving for New York, the Israeli premier said he would not change his position.
His media adviser, Nir Hefetz, told Israel's Army Radio that some may view freezing settlement activity as a positive move but Mr Netanyahu was "not one of those people".
Hamas, Mr Abbas's rivals who control Gaza, condemned the talks as "cover for Israeli aggression", while Israeli settlers opposed to a settlement freeze set up a protest tent in Jerusalem.
Also on Tuesday, an Israeli-Arab man was shot dead in the West Bank after he tried to run over Israeli soldiers, the military said.
The man drove his car at soldiers at a checkpoint near Bethlehem, where he did not stop as requested. He escaped, but was tracked down to a nearby garage where, the Israeli military said, he again tried to run over the soldiers.
It said soldiers fired towards the man and killed him after he failed to respond to warning shots.
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Three quarters of rivers in England and Wales fall below a new European environmental standard, according to a report.
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Most of the world's major river deltas are sinking due to dams and the extraction of gas and groundwater, a study shows.
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Americas
Page last updated at 08:53 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:53 UK
Honduras imposes a 15-hour curfew and shuts airports after the dramatic return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
US proposals to ensure the net remains an open and neutral platform draw criticism from the wireless industry.
Prosecutors call alleged Mafia boss John "Junior" Gotti a killer as the defence stresses his innocence as his trial begins.
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Page last updated at 08:53 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:53 UK
Honduras imposes a 15-hour curfew and shuts airports after the dramatic return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
US proposals to ensure the net remains an open and neutral platform draw criticism from the wireless industry.
Prosecutors call alleged Mafia boss John "Junior" Gotti a killer as the defence stresses his innocence as his trial begins.
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Africa
Page last updated at 12:06 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 13:06 UK
The son of Nigeria's ex-military ruler Sani Abacha tells the BBC he is strongly considering contesting the governorship of Kano.
All US embassies and consulates in South Africa are closed after an unspecified warning from security officials.
A Spanish doctor is sentenced to a year in jail for his role in the death of the former Nigerian first-lady Stella Obasanjo.
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MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks resumed their rally Tuesday after an extended week, building onto gains for the fifth straight session. Expectations of strong quarterly earnings and increased short covering ahead of the F&O expiry for September propelled key ...
Sensex scores a ton after cautious start India Infoline.com
RCOM revives IPO of Reliance Infratel
India Infoline.com - 1 hour ago
Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) has revived the plan to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its telecom tower subsidiary Reliance Infratel as it looks to capitalise on the improved market sentiment.
RCom's capex to decline sharply this year: Anil Ambani Press Trust of India
Bharti-MTN phone deal talks start
BBC News - 1 hour ago
South African and Indian officials are holding talks in Mumbai to discuss the planned merger between mobile phone firms MTN and India's Bharti Airtel.
Bharti stock down 3 per cent as MTN deal gets costlier Economic Times
Bharti shines brightest in Temasek portfolio Reuters India
Sibal takes on IIT faculty; rules out pay hike, autonomy
IBNLive.com - 35 minutes ago
New Delhi: A combative Union Human Resource Minister Kabil Sibal on Tuesday rubbished the demands by faculty members of Indian Institutes of Technology for more pay hike and autonomy.
IIT directors appeal to faculties not to go on hunger strike Business Standard
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Julia Roberts' film-shoot launched with hawan
Rediff - 3 hours ago
Hindus have applauded the makers of Hollywood movie Eat, Pray, Love and its star Julia Roberts [ Images ] for reportedly launching the India leg of the shooting with a hawan.
Julia Roberts Finds India Amazing Oneindia
Julia Roberts turns cook at Ashram Press Trust of India
Who'll be Mrs Rahul Mahajan?
NDTV.com - 1 hour ago
The hunt for Mrs Rahul Mahajan has begun in all earnest. The son of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan will replace Rakhi Sawant on NDTV Imagine's Swayamvar Season - 2. Announcing the new show Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayega (RDLJ) at a glittering function in ...
Rakhi and Elesh to call it quits? Oneindia
Rakhi deines breakup reports Hindustan Times
Kamal Hassan, not to perform dual roles
Oneindia - 2 hours ago
Actor Kamal Hassan makes a strong confirmation that he would no more perform dual or multiple roles in near future. The actor, who's much elated with the grand opening of his Friday release Unnaipol Oruvan interacted with media channels.
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Three more swine flu deaths in Karnataka
Times of India - 15 hours ago
NEW DELHI: Three more swine flu deaths were reported from Karnataka on Monday. With this, the toll due to H1N1 contagion climbed to 80 in the state.
Five swine flu deaths take India's toll to 238 Hindustan Times
MCI aims to bring back 5000 NRI docs in 5 yrs
Times of India - - 15 hours ago
AHMEDABAD: Amendments in the Medical Council of India (MCI) regulations will open the floodgates for hundreds of non-resident Indian (NRI) doctors to come back to their roots.
States told to offer 15% medical seats to Centre Economic Times
ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital lands in Jaipur
TheMedGuru - 1 hour ago
by Neharika Sabharwal - September 22, 2009 Jaipur, September 22 -- The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, the world's only airborne teaching facility that circles the globe to save the eye sight of children in developing countries, brings its sight-saving ...
'Flying eye hospital' arrives in Jaipur Press Trust of India
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Obama visits Letterman and brings home a potato
The Associated Press - - 1 hour ago
NEW YORK - Add this one to the presidential collection: the heart-shaped potato. By the time Barack Obama came on stage to the taping of the "Late Show" on Monday, host David Letterman had offered up 10 reasons why in the world the president had agreed ...
World Agenda: Is Afghan surge Obama's Cuba moment?
Times Online - 2 hours ago
There's a great scene in Thirteen Days, the film about the Cuban missile crisis, in which Kevin Conway as General Curtis LeMay tells President Kennedy: “The big red dog is diggin' in our backyard, and we are justified in shooting him!
UK's Brown seeks fewer UK troops in Afghanistan The Associated Press
Terror arrest sparks gov't warning on mass transit
The Associated Press - - 4 hours ago
DENVER - An airport shuttle driver under arrest in Colorado may have been planning with others to detonate backpack bombs on New York City trains in a terrorism plot similar to past attacks on London's and Madrid's mass-transit systems, officials said.
Terror Probe Puts US Mass Transit Systems on Alert Washington Post
Terrorism Suspect Held in Colorado New York Times
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India lacks deterrence: Santhanam
Economic Times - 15 hours ago
NEW DELHI: Countering National Security Advisor MK Narayanan's remarks on the Pokhran-II tests, former DRDO scientist K Santhanam on Monday said that he hoped for at least two more nuclear tests as the country was yet to acquire minimum deterrence.
Have A Re-Evaluation Chennai Online
Ford's global chief to unveil new small car in India
domain-B - 6 hours ago
Ford Motor Co is expected to announce its new small car for the Indian market on Wednesday, with Alan Roger Mulally, Ford's president and chief executive, making a lightening visit to the country for the unveiling.
Ford to showcase small car this week Economic Times
Ford focuses on voice-to-text system The Detroit News
The world's fastest car in India soon!
Rediff - 6 hours ago
With an astronomical price tag of Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million), the car will be the most expensive to be sold in India, according to an Economic Times report.
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Champions Trophy 1st ODI: South Africa elect to bowl against Sri Lanka
Times of India - 57 minutes ago
Hashim Amla replaces Gibbs in the playing XI because Gibbs is suffering from a rib injury. Toss: Graeme Smith has won the toss and South Africa will bowl first.
South Africa win toss, elect to field Press Trust of India
One-day cricket's survival at stake as CT gets underway
Press Trust of India - - 1 hour ago
Johannesburg, Sep 22 (PTI) The next couple of weeks could well be the beginning of end of one-day cricket if India are knocked out early in the Champions Trophy, an event that has been called irrelevant by many current and former cricketers.
Ferguson relishing Champions Trophy The Press Association
Sushil misses medal at world meet
Rediff - 1 hour ago
Sushil Kumar [ Images ], a bronze medal winner at the Beijing [ Images ] Olympics [ Images ] last year, missed out on another medal when he lost in the semi-finals of the Wrestling World Championships in Denmark.
Sushil fails to do a Vijender in Wrestling WC Press Trust of India
Sushil Kumar misses medal at World Championships Times of India
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Police believe Maoists may be hiding in national capital
Hindustan Times - 41 minutes ago
PTI After arresting a top naxal leader, investigators are on the trail of some Maoist leaders believed to be hiding in the national capital, police sources said on Tuesday.
Kobad Gandhi sent to 14 days judicial custody Press Trust of India
Top Maoist leader arrested in Delhi Times of India
Quake rescue teams scour Bhutan
BBC News - 5 hours ago
Rescue teams are scouring eastern Bhutan after at least 11 people were killed by an earthquake which struck the Himalayan region. Thousands of people spent the night in the open after the quake damaged monasteries and destroyed homes.
Another tremor jolts northeast, Monday's quake toll 11 Times of India
Another moderate quake jolts Assam, parts of Northeast Press Trust of India
Iran leader warns against attack
BBC News - 1 hour ago
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned that it would retaliate against any possible military strike. Speaking at a military parade in Tehran commemorating the start of the Iraq-Iran war, he said Iran would "cut the hand of anyone" who dared to ...
US and Iran Heading Into Talks Worlds Apart Washington Post
Bill Clinton says US must approach Iran carefully The Associated Press
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India increases security after Israel, Australia warnings
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government said on Tuesday it was increasing security to thwart possible militant strikes in the country days after Israel and Australia issued warnings to its citizens to avoid travelling to Indian cities. Full Article
Iran says makes new model of nuclear centrifuges
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has built a new generation of centrifuges for enriching uranium and is testing them, the official news agency IRNA quoted its nuclear energy agency chief as saying on Tuesday. Full Article
BSE Sensex rises for 5th day; Bharti down
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex hit 16-month high on Tuesday, driven by growing optimism about a global pick-up, hopes of strong quarterly earnings and abundant funds, although some were worried that the rising market was due for a correction. Full Article
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Get the latest news, videos and photos as India battles both floods and drought -- by-products of unpredictable monsoon rains. Full Coverage
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INTERVIEW - India sees joint foreign/local exploration bids
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian energy firms are likely to team up with foreign players to bid in the country's largest auction of exploration blocks, and majors including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are among global players showing interest during an ongoing roadshow, a top offical said. Full Article
India increases security after Israel, Australia warnings
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government said on Tuesday it was increasing security to thwart possible militant strikes in the country days after Israel and Australia issued warnings to its citizens to avoid travelling to Indian cities. Full Article
Iran says makes new model of nuclear centrifuges
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has built a new generation of centrifuges for enriching uranium and is testing them, the official news agency IRNA quoted its nuclear energy agency chief as saying on Tuesday. Full Article
BSE Sensex rises for 5th day; Bharti down
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex hit 16-month high on Tuesday, driven by growing optimism about a global pick-up, hopes of strong quarterly earnings and abundant funds, although some were worried that the rising market was due for a correction. Full Article
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Mumbai, Sept. 21: Savings deposits with commercial banks, which offer a puny 3.5 per cent rate of interest, are set to cross the Rs 10-trillion-mark this fiscal, if they maintain the cracking growth pace of the last few years.
For the year ended March 31, 2009, savings deposits with banks stood at Rs 900,967 crore a jump of nearly 17 per cent over Rs 772,282 crore in 2007-08. If this growth rate stays, the deposits can be in the region of Rs 1054,131 crore, or a little more than Rs 10 trillion, by the end of this fiscal.
Savings deposits in the last fiscal as a percentage of GDP at current prices are around 17 per cent.
The deposits have some features that give them an edge over other financial instruments. According to Gaurav Mashruwala, a certified financial planner, they are not investment products.
An analyst added that this feature insulated them to an extent from changes in interest rates or the performance of other asset classes such as the stock markets.
“While we all need a savings bank account, they are not opened by looking at the interest rates or returns,” Mashruwala said.
The government’s initiatives in financial inclusion are also behind the steady growth in the past four years of savings accounts. In 2005, the banks were asked to make available a basic no-frills account with low or minimum balances. As on March 31, 2009, the PSU banks had opened 2,98,59,178 such accounts, while their private rivals had opened 31,24,101 accounts.
“As there is more inclusion, the first thing that is done is opening of an savings bank account. Therefore, their numbers should only go up in the future as more and more banks tap the rural markets,” a banker said. He said the recent surge in stock market values was unlikely to make a major dent in savings accounts. Besides, money in savings accounts is very liquid as it can be withdrawn anytime, unlike a fixed or a term deposit.
Banks encourage such accounts as they provide a cheap source of funds, thereby improving their margins. Almost all banks are trying to raise the ratio of current and savings accounts to their total deposits.
More return
As of now, the interest computation on a savings deposit has been to the disadvantage of the depositor. The interest is paid on the minimum balance kept in the account between the tenth and the last date of every month.
In other words, if depositors had deposited and withdrawn large sums from their accounts before the tenth of a month, the money would not earn any interest though the bank would have used the money during the period of deposit.
The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to change this interest computation method from April next year.
The RBI wants banks to pay interest either on a daily balance basis or on the basis of a minimum monthly balance in the account from the first till the last day of the month. This will help savings account holders to earn more on their deposits.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11526381.jsp
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Mumbai, Sept. 21: Companies may be forced to show their graying managing directors the door after they turn 70.
Tucked away in the fine print of the Companies Bill of 2009 — which is now before Parliament — is a clause that seeks to place an age limit on chief executives who run day-to-day affairs at the companies they manage.
For the first time, the Companies Bill has proposed to set the minimum age for managing directors and key management personnel at 21 and the maximum at 70. The Companies Act of 1956 — which this bill seeks to replace — did not spell out an age criterion for chief executives.
There is a loophole of course: managing directors who cross 70 will be able to hang on to their positions if the shareholders pass a special resolution to that effect.
A special resolution has to be passed by at least 75 per cent of the shareholders present and voting.
The old Companies Act had only three conditions that made anyone ineligible to become an MD: the person cannot be an undischarged insolvent, should not have been convicted by a court for an offence involving moral turpitude, and ought not to have suspended payment to his creditors at any point of time.
The term of a managing director is being fixed for a period of five years. He can be reappointed to the position but only for a period of five years at a time. The re-appointment cannot be made “earlier than one year before the expiry of his term”.
The Tatas were the first to lay down an age limit for key positions: CEOs must step down when they turn 65; non-executive directors retire when they turn 75. The rule came into force in the mid-nineties when the group eased out several ageing satraps, including Russi Mody of Tata Steel. The bill doesn’t set an age limit for non-executive directors. Three top Tata managing directors have stepped down or are scheduled to step down later this year. They include Ravi Kant of Tata Motors, S. Ramadorai of TCS and Tata Steel’s B. Muthuraman.
Some professionally-managed organisations have tried to ensure that their chief executives remain young and effective managers. In April, ICICI chief executive K.V. Kamath shed his executive responsibilities when he turned 62.
Severance package
The bill also has an explicit clause relating to severance packages which are restricted to managing directors and whole-time directors. The payment by way of compensation for loss of office should not exceed the “remuneration he would have earned if he had been in office for the remainder of his term or for three years, whichever is shorter.”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11526383.jsp
Deal within deadlineOUR CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Sept. 21: The cash-and-share-swap deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN is likely to be completed before the exclusivity period ends on September 30.
However, the merger terms may be formalised later when Indian and South African regulators clear the deal. A delinking, analysts say, is possible as the integration of strategies will take place over a longer period.
Sources said the agreement was “as good as done” as Bharti had already increased the cash component of the deal. Besides, it has agreed to remain just a financial investor in MTN.
The two companies are waiting for approval from the South African government. Seventy-five per cent of the shareholders of Bharti and MTN must also give their permission.
A merger of the two entities, immediately, will have complex legal implications. So, the companies are initially looking at a collaborative management structure, involving representations in each other’s boards.
According to the new $24-billion cash-cum-stock transaction that has been approved by both the companies, Bharti will pay $10 billion in cash to MTN shareholders against the earlier proposed $7.6 billion. Bharti will also issue 442 million new shares to MTN shareholders worth an additional $4 billion for acquiring a 49 per cent stake in the South African company. In exchange, MTN and its shareholders will get 36 per cent of Bharti for about $10 billion in cash and shares.
“MTN minority shareholders will also have the option of a stock-and-cash or an all-cash payment,” said sources.
Bharti and MTN have been in exclusive talks since May 25 on an alliance that will create the world’s third-biggest mobile phone company with about 200 million subscribers. “It is very clear for both MTN and Bharti where their next markets are. Africa and India hold 33 per cent of the world’s population and these markets have around 40 per cent penetration allowing for a lot of opportunity,” telecom analyst Romal Shetty said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11525983.jsp
Casualties feared in India clash
Troops are moving in to wrest control of the area from rebels
Casualties are feared in a gun battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in the Indian state of West Bengal.
A five-hour battle ended after police arrived to break up the clash.
Villagers in the West Midnapore region said that up to 15 people may have been killed or injured in the clash which began on Monday night.
Separately, a top Maoist leader has been arrested in the capital, Delhi, a rebel spokesman said.
Kobad Ghandy was in charge of spreading the rebels' influence in urban areas and running the publications wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), reports say.
Maoist-linked violence across central and eastern India has killed 6,000 people in India over the past 20 years.
The Maoists say they represent the rights of landless farmhands and tribal communities.
Last week at least seven Maoists and one soldier were killed in a battle in the central state of Chhattisgarh and more than 20 police were killed in the eastern state of Jharkand.
In the latest incident, the rebels surrounded an office belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Enayetpur in West Midnapore district on Monday evening.
Rebel leader Kishenji told the BBC that the Communist supporters had hoarded a large number of weapons at the party office in order to carry out attacks against villagers who supported the Maoists at a later stage.
"The party supporters were harassing local women, so thousands of villagers led by our fighters encircled the party office," he said.
The rebel leader said four local tribal women had died in the gun battle.
More than 30 Communist party supporters have been killed by rebels in the Midnapore region since the West Bengal government launched a security offensive against Maoists in June.
The offensive was initiated after the Maoists had taken complete control of the Lalgarh area in Midnapore in November last year.
The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says the insurgents and the CPI(M), which has been the state's dominant political force, have been fighting a turf war.
In the past few years, he says, the Maoists have extended their influence with guerrilla commanders camping in the area and providing basic military training to local youths.
Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was losing the battle against Maoist rebels.
Silver-spoon Maoist held
OUR BUREAU
New Delhi, Sept. 21: A Maoist politburo member, who studied in Doon School and Elphinstone College before he went underground with his wife, has been arrested in Delhi, sources said.
Khobad Ghandy, the 58-year-old member of the CPI (Maoist) politburo, was apparently arrested last night but police did not make any official announcement through the day. The politburo has 13 members, which puts Ghandy among the top 13 Maoist leaders in the country.
“I have no official information on this (the arrest),” said Delhi police public relations officer Rajan Bhagat.
But the sources said Ghandy, said to be in charge of the publication wing and of spreading the organisation’s influence in urban areas, had been produced before a magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.
Ghandy’s reported arrest swings the spotlight back to the early seventies when a generation of the brightest used to be drawn to extremist ideologies.
He was born into an affluent Parsi family that had a house famed for its antique furniture in Worli Sea Face in Mumbai, an ice-cream factory and a resort in Mahabaleswar. The young Ghandy went to public school and later to Elphinstone College in Mumbai.
He married Anuradha who hailed from a Konkan family that owned a coffee plantation. Anuradha died this year of cerebral malaria.
The couple disappeared from the mainstream years ago, friends recalled today. “They took care to destroy most of their photographs, even those from their younger days, as they did not want them to fall into the hands of the police. When Anuradha died, we could not find any photograph,” a friend said tonight.
The couple chose not to have any children because of the risks associated with their lives, the friend added. “He is the only one in our circle to have joined the Naxalites. Most others are now in the corporate sector or, of late, with NGOs,” the friend said.
The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a rights group, asked the government to confirm whether Ghandy had been arrested. “Given that many a Maoist leader in (the) recent past has been killed in custody, we urge the ministry of home affairs to confirm whether they have arrested the Maoist leader. And if they have, to produce him before a magistrate in order to ensure that he is not tortured or killed in fake encounter,” a statement said.
Security sources said the arrest could be the result of heightened activity by the government ahead of an expected crackdown on Naxalites in central and eastern India. Last month, a Maoist central military commission member was arrested.
The Centre is planning the joint operation in November after elections conclude in Maharashtra and Haryana where 200 companies of paramilitary forces are engaged in poll duty.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/frontpage/story_11526445.jsp
15 years on, tribals can’t find their landRAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Sept. 21: As many as 21 families belonging to endangered tribes of Jharkhand haven’t been able to locate land given to them by the government 15 years ago, exposing the sham perpetuated by successive state governments professing their concern for the primitive tribes.
This reality stared at the face of Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan and accompanying officials yesterday when they were visiting Basu Kocha and Jorebore villages of Jargo panchayat of Naxalite-hit Tamar block, about 80km from the state capital.
There, they came across 21 families of Birhor and Paharia tribes, two of the nine primitive tribes of the state, who showed them valid documents to prove ownership of land, they claimed, they had never been able to locate.
Together, they owned 12 acres handed over to them under a welfare scheme for primitive tribes under undivided Bihar.
Soan and his team, that had to trek several kilometres to reach the village, were taken aback when confronted with chiefs of primitive tribes who flashed the laminated land documents but claimed they had no idea where their plots were located.
The Ranchi deputy commissioner then directed the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Bundu, Awdhesh Kumar Pandey, to ensure the families got possession of their land immediately.
He also warned a revenue official, Haldhar Mahto, of administrative action if there was any delay in carrying out his instructions.
The district public relations officer, Mukul Lakra, who accompanied Soan, told The Telegraph that this was the first time that such an irregularity was detected during field visit of a deputy commissioner.
Birhors are vanishing rapidly. As against 8,038 in 1991, their population has slipped to 7,514 in 2001.
Paharia is another primitive tribe with population about 2.5 lakh according to 2001 census.
However, they are better off than the Birhors. According to Shiv Charan Malto, a Paharia leader, the number of Paharias in 1991 was around 1 lakh.
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Page last updated at 08:48 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:48 UK
Casualties are feared in a battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in West Bengal.
Rescuers scour eastern Bhutan after at least 11 people were killed by an earthquake which struck the Himalayan region.
Pakistan's army says it has arrested a militant commander reputed to be behind suicide bombings across the Swat valley.
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G20 'to call for economy balance'
Nations such as China need to spend more, the G20 is set to say
This week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.
A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.
And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.
Leaders will meet in Pittsburgh with the economy high on the agenda.
No enforcement
The document says huge imbalances in the global economy must be ironed out.
If this does not happen, the world will "face anaemic growth" at levels that are "unacceptably low", it says.
However the paper does not suggest any mechanism for enforcing its plans - other than countries coming under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
And while no countries are mentioned by name, BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam says the document is suggesting that rich indebted countries, such as Britain and the US, should save more while cautious and savings-oriented nations such as Germany and China increase spending.
The document is ambitious, our business correspondent adds, and is aimed at removing some of the wild economic swings that have marked the opening decade of the 21st Century.
There have long been calls for China to allow its currency, the yuan, to rise, encouraging Chinese consumers to spend more on foreign goods.
But others argue that in the longer term, China should work on improving pensions, healthcare and other policies, to reduce the incentive people have to save so much.
Stimulus withdrawal
The document appears to back comments made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that there will be no early end to the international stimulus package aimed at taking the world out of recession.
But it calls on the IMF and the G20's Financial Stability Board to draw up, by November, "transparent and credible" ways of withdrawing that financial support.
The document also acknowledges that each country will have to find its own way of winding back its support in terms of the scale and timing of the pullback of support.
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China takes $850m commodity stake
Lou Jiwei is the head of the Chinese sovereign fund
China's sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in a Hong Kong-based commodities trading firm.
China Investment Corp, the country's $200bn (£123bn) fund, took a 15% stake in Noble Group in return for $850m.
The deal comes after China recently signed a pact with another commodity trader, Glencore, in an attempt to increase its influence in the sector.
China's rapid economic growth has made it one of the world's largest consumer of raw materials such as oil and steel.
Rising interest
Noble, whose shares are listed in Singapore, is one of the few publicly-listed commodity trading houses.
China's fund bought its shares at an 8% discount to Noble's last traded share price of 2.30 Singapore dollars.
Noble has investments in Australian coal, soybean crushing plants and sugar and ethanol mills in Brazil, among others.
In July, China Investment Corp paid $1.5bn for a 17% stake in Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd.
"A lot of sovereign wealth funds or state-linked firms are increasingly showing interest in resources, so this is in line with the trend," said OCBC Securities analyst Lee Wen Ching. "Noble provides access to a diversified portfolio."
Sovereign wealth funds are the investment funds established by governments in Asia and the Middle East mainly, who have large surpluses of money which they wish to invest abroad.
Abu Dhabi has the largest fund, at $800bn, while Norway's is $400bn and Singapore has a $330bn sovereign fund.
China's fund was established in September 2007.
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Bid to jump-start climate talks
China is expected to announce tough new carbon emission targets
About 100 world leaders are due to gather at the UN in New York to try to revitalise talks on climate change.
Attention is likely to focus on Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is expected to unveil stringent new plans to tackle global warming.
The meeting comes two months ahead of a summit in Copenhagan aimed at approving a global climate change treaty.
Negotiators are trying to agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions.
Chinese targets
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday's meeting an attempt to inject momentum into the deadlocked climate talks.
We saw China being absolutely in the lead in terms of putting together an economic recovery package which had green economic growth at absolutely the heart of it
Yvo de Boer, UN climate chief
According to the BBC's UN correspondent, Barbara Plett, discussions have stalled because rich nations are not pledging to cut enough carbon to take the world out of danger, while poorer countries are refusing to commit to binding caps, saying this would prevent them from developing their economies.
China's role is crucial, because it is both an emerging economy and a big polluter, our correspondent says.
The UN's chief climate change negotiator, Yvo de Boer, says he expects an important announcement from Beijing during the meeting.
"China domestic policy is already very ambitious but yes I do expect something dramatic," he said.
President Hu Jintao is expected to announce "carbon intensity targets" aimed at making Chinese industry more efficient, so that less carbon is produced per unit of energy generated.
China and other many developing economies are still very reliant on coal
China has already leapfrogged the United States to become the world's biggest wind power market, and is a growing force in solar power - and analysts say President Hu may advance the country's renewable energy targets even further.
But the BBC correspondent in Beijing, Quentin Sommerville, says it is unlikely that the Chinese will agree to a cap on their carbon emissions.
Despite all its advances in green technology, China still gets 70% of its energy from coal - and as its economy increases, this means yet more growth in greenhouse gases, our correspondent says.
Pressure on US
There is also concern about the world's other big polluter, the United States.
President Barack Obama has recognised climate change as a pressing issue, unlike the previous administration, our UN correspondent says.
He has already announced a target of returning to 1990 levels of greenhouse emissions by 2020, but critics say Washington is moving too slowly on legislation which does not go far enough.
President Obama is currently dogged by domestic issues such as the economy and healthcare reforms, but his speech to the UN meeting will still be watched for signs he is willing to fulfil his pledge to take the lead in reaching a global carbon deal.
A demonstration of political will by both China and the US will be important in breaking the deadlock in negotiations, correspondents say.
China and the US each account for about 20% of the world's greenhouse gas pollution from coal, natural gas and oil.
The European Union is responsible for 14%, followed by Russia and India with 5% each.
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Obama to host Middle East summit
Israel has rejected demands for a total freeze on settlement building
US President Barack Obama is to host a summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but Washington admits it has no "grand expectations" from the talks.
In New York, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be discussing the possibility of re-starting peace talks.
But they have been blaming each other for blocking a US initiative.
Israel has rejected US and Palestinian demands for a total freeze before a new round of talks can take place.
'Photo opportunity'
President Obama is bringing Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas together for the first time since Mr Netanyahu came to office in March.
In New York, Mr Obama - who has defined peace between Israel and the Palestinians as a "national interest" of the US - will first meet each leader separately, before hosting trilateral talks.
Conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations
Zvi Herzog
Israeli government secretary
"We're looking to continue to build on progress," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
But he added that "we have no grand expectations out of just one meeting except to continue... the hard work, day-to-day diplomacy that has to be done to seek a lasting peace".
Israeli and Palestinian participants have also said they do not expect many concrete developments to emerge from the meeting.
Israeli government secretary Zvi Herzog said the meeting was "a step in the right direction", but that "conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations".
Last week, a senior Palestinian official told the AFP news agency the meeting was taking place "because we don't want to disappoint the American administration which wants it held".
Palestinian views on summit
"That does not mean a resumption of peace talks," said the official.
The negotiating process was suspended in December.
President Obama wanted to launch new talks at the UN General Assembly in New York, but the failure so far to do this is a serious and potentially humiliating setback for him, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen says.
He says that Mr Obama needs to find a way to turn the New York meetings into more than just photo opportunities, as he can not afford to let his ambitious plans for the Middle East fall apart so soon.
'Natural growth'
Disagreements over the settlements issue have blocked all attempts to restart the peace talks so far.
US and Palestinian negotiators have said Israel must fully halt work on the construction of settlements in the West Bank before a new round of peace talks can take place, something Israel has refused to do.
Israeli views on Middle East summit
Mr Netanyahu had previously offered a temporary freeze for several months, but not in East Jerusalem or in cases where homes have already been approved.
He argues that the "natural growth" of settler families must be accommodated.
Before leaving for New York, the Israeli premier said he would not change his position.
His media adviser, Nir Hefetz, told Israel's Army Radio that some may view freezing settlement activity as a positive move but Mr Netanyahu was "not one of those people".
Hamas, Mr Abbas's rivals who control Gaza, condemned the talks as "cover for Israeli aggression", while Israeli settlers opposed to a settlement freeze set up a protest tent in Jerusalem.
Also on Tuesday, an Israeli-Arab man was shot dead in the West Bank after he tried to run over Israeli soldiers, the military said.
The man drove his car at soldiers at a checkpoint near Bethlehem, where he did not stop as requested. He escaped, but was tracked down to a nearby garage where, the Israeli military said, he again tried to run over the soldiers.
It said soldiers fired towards the man and killed him after he failed to respond to warning shots.
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Three quarters of rivers in England and Wales fall below a new European environmental standard, according to a report.
World leaders are to meet to revitalise talks on climate change, with China expected to make major concessions.
Most of the world's major river deltas are sinking due to dams and the extraction of gas and groundwater, a study shows.
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Page last updated at 08:53 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:53 UK
Honduras imposes a 15-hour curfew and shuts airports after the dramatic return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
US proposals to ensure the net remains an open and neutral platform draw criticism from the wireless industry.
Prosecutors call alleged Mafia boss John "Junior" Gotti a killer as the defence stresses his innocence as his trial begins.
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Americas
Page last updated at 08:53 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:53 UK
Honduras imposes a 15-hour curfew and shuts airports after the dramatic return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
US proposals to ensure the net remains an open and neutral platform draw criticism from the wireless industry.
Prosecutors call alleged Mafia boss John "Junior" Gotti a killer as the defence stresses his innocence as his trial begins.
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Africa
Page last updated at 12:06 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 13:06 UK
The son of Nigeria's ex-military ruler Sani Abacha tells the BBC he is strongly considering contesting the governorship of Kano.
All US embassies and consulates in South Africa are closed after an unspecified warning from security officials.
A Spanish doctor is sentenced to a year in jail for his role in the death of the former Nigerian first-lady Stella Obasanjo.
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New Delhi, Sept. 21: The cash-and-share-swap deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN is likely to be completed before the exclusivity period ends on September 30.
However, the merger terms may be formalised later when Indian and South African regulators clear the deal. A delinking, analysts say, is possible as the integration of strategies will take place over a longer period.
Sources said the agreement was “as good as done” as Bharti had already increased the cash component of the deal. Besides, it has agreed to remain just a financial investor in MTN.
The two companies are waiting for approval from the South African government. Seventy-five per cent of the shareholders of Bharti and MTN must also give their permission.
A merger of the two entities, immediately, will have complex legal implications. So, the companies are initially looking at a collaborative management structure, involving representations in each other’s boards.
According to the new $24-billion cash-cum-stock transaction that has been approved by both the companies, Bharti will pay $10 billion in cash to MTN shareholders against the earlier proposed $7.6 billion. Bharti will also issue 442 million new shares to MTN shareholders worth an additional $4 billion for acquiring a 49 per cent stake in the South African company. In exchange, MTN and its shareholders will get 36 per cent of Bharti for about $10 billion in cash and shares.
“MTN minority shareholders will also have the option of a stock-and-cash or an all-cash payment,” said sources.
Bharti and MTN have been in exclusive talks since May 25 on an alliance that will create the world’s third-biggest mobile phone company with about 200 million subscribers. “It is very clear for both MTN and Bharti where their next markets are. Africa and India hold 33 per cent of the world’s population and these markets have around 40 per cent penetration allowing for a lot of opportunity,” telecom analyst Romal Shetty said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/business/story_11525983.jsp
Casualties feared in India clash
| Troops are moving in to wrest control of the area from rebels |
Casualties are feared in a gun battle between Maoist rebels and supporters of the ruling Communist party in the Indian state of West Bengal.
A five-hour battle ended after police arrived to break up the clash.
Villagers in the West Midnapore region said that up to 15 people may have been killed or injured in the clash which began on Monday night.
Separately, a top Maoist leader has been arrested in the capital, Delhi, a rebel spokesman said.
Kobad Ghandy was in charge of spreading the rebels' influence in urban areas and running the publications wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), reports say.
Maoist-linked violence across central and eastern India has killed 6,000 people in India over the past 20 years.
The Maoists say they represent the rights of landless farmhands and tribal communities.
Last week at least seven Maoists and one soldier were killed in a battle in the central state of Chhattisgarh and more than 20 police were killed in the eastern state of Jharkand.
In the latest incident, the rebels surrounded an office belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Enayetpur in West Midnapore district on Monday evening.
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Rebel leader Kishenji told the BBC that the Communist supporters had hoarded a large number of weapons at the party office in order to carry out attacks against villagers who supported the Maoists at a later stage.
"The party supporters were harassing local women, so thousands of villagers led by our fighters encircled the party office," he said.
The rebel leader said four local tribal women had died in the gun battle.
More than 30 Communist party supporters have been killed by rebels in the Midnapore region since the West Bengal government launched a security offensive against Maoists in June.
The offensive was initiated after the Maoists had taken complete control of the Lalgarh area in Midnapore in November last year.
The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says the insurgents and the CPI(M), which has been the state's dominant political force, have been fighting a turf war.
In the past few years, he says, the Maoists have extended their influence with guerrilla commanders camping in the area and providing basic military training to local youths.
Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India was losing the battle against Maoist rebels.
Silver-spoon Maoist held |
| OUR BUREAU |
New Delhi, Sept. 21: A Maoist politburo member, who studied in Doon School and Elphinstone College before he went underground with his wife, has been arrested in Delhi, sources said. Khobad Ghandy, the 58-year-old member of the CPI (Maoist) politburo, was apparently arrested last night but police did not make any official announcement through the day. The politburo has 13 members, which puts Ghandy among the top 13 Maoist leaders in the country. “I have no official information on this (the arrest),” said Delhi police public relations officer Rajan Bhagat. But the sources said Ghandy, said to be in charge of the publication wing and of spreading the organisation’s influence in urban areas, had been produced before a magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. Ghandy’s reported arrest swings the spotlight back to the early seventies when a generation of the brightest used to be drawn to extremist ideologies. He was born into an affluent Parsi family that had a house famed for its antique furniture in Worli Sea Face in Mumbai, an ice-cream factory and a resort in Mahabaleswar. The young Ghandy went to public school and later to Elphinstone College in Mumbai. He married Anuradha who hailed from a Konkan family that owned a coffee plantation. Anuradha died this year of cerebral malaria. The couple disappeared from the mainstream years ago, friends recalled today. “They took care to destroy most of their photographs, even those from their younger days, as they did not want them to fall into the hands of the police. When Anuradha died, we could not find any photograph,” a friend said tonight. The couple chose not to have any children because of the risks associated with their lives, the friend added. “He is the only one in our circle to have joined the Naxalites. Most others are now in the corporate sector or, of late, with NGOs,” the friend said. The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a rights group, asked the government to confirm whether Ghandy had been arrested. “Given that many a Maoist leader in (the) recent past has been killed in custody, we urge the ministry of home affairs to confirm whether they have arrested the Maoist leader. And if they have, to produce him before a magistrate in order to ensure that he is not tortured or killed in fake encounter,” a statement said. Security sources said the arrest could be the result of heightened activity by the government ahead of an expected crackdown on Naxalites in central and eastern India. Last month, a Maoist central military commission member was arrested. The Centre is planning the joint operation in November after elections conclude in Maharashtra and Haryana where 200 companies of paramilitary forces are engaged in poll duty. |
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090922/jsp/frontpage/story_11526445.jsp
Ranchi, Sept. 21: As many as 21 families belonging to endangered tribes of Jharkhand haven’t been able to locate land given to them by the government 15 years ago, exposing the sham perpetuated by successive state governments professing their concern for the primitive tribes.
This reality stared at the face of Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan and accompanying officials yesterday when they were visiting Basu Kocha and Jorebore villages of Jargo panchayat of Naxalite-hit Tamar block, about 80km from the state capital.
There, they came across 21 families of Birhor and Paharia tribes, two of the nine primitive tribes of the state, who showed them valid documents to prove ownership of land, they claimed, they had never been able to locate.
Together, they owned 12 acres handed over to them under a welfare scheme for primitive tribes under undivided Bihar.
Soan and his team, that had to trek several kilometres to reach the village, were taken aback when confronted with chiefs of primitive tribes who flashed the laminated land documents but claimed they had no idea where their plots were located.
The Ranchi deputy commissioner then directed the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Bundu, Awdhesh Kumar Pandey, to ensure the families got possession of their land immediately.
He also warned a revenue official, Haldhar Mahto, of administrative action if there was any delay in carrying out his instructions.
The district public relations officer, Mukul Lakra, who accompanied Soan, told The Telegraph that this was the first time that such an irregularity was detected during field visit of a deputy commissioner.
Birhors are vanishing rapidly. As against 8,038 in 1991, their population has slipped to 7,514 in 2001.
Paharia is another primitive tribe with population about 2.5 lakh according to 2001 census.
However, they are better off than the Birhors. According to Shiv Charan Malto, a Paharia leader, the number of Paharias in 1991 was around 1 lakh.
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G20 'to call for economy balance'
| Nations such as China need to spend more, the G20 is set to say |
This week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.
A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.
And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.
Leaders will meet in Pittsburgh with the economy high on the agenda.
No enforcement
The document says huge imbalances in the global economy must be ironed out.
If this does not happen, the world will "face anaemic growth" at levels that are "unacceptably low", it says.
However the paper does not suggest any mechanism for enforcing its plans - other than countries coming under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
And while no countries are mentioned by name, BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam says the document is suggesting that rich indebted countries, such as Britain and the US, should save more while cautious and savings-oriented nations such as Germany and China increase spending.
The document is ambitious, our business correspondent adds, and is aimed at removing some of the wild economic swings that have marked the opening decade of the 21st Century.
There have long been calls for China to allow its currency, the yuan, to rise, encouraging Chinese consumers to spend more on foreign goods.
But others argue that in the longer term, China should work on improving pensions, healthcare and other policies, to reduce the incentive people have to save so much.
Stimulus withdrawal
The document appears to back comments made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that there will be no early end to the international stimulus package aimed at taking the world out of recession.
But it calls on the IMF and the G20's Financial Stability Board to draw up, by November, "transparent and credible" ways of withdrawing that financial support.
The document also acknowledges that each country will have to find its own way of winding back its support in terms of the scale and timing of the pullback of support.
Lehmans' last day Sights and sounds of the pivotal events of Sept 2008
Federal Reserve chairman: 'Critical challenges remain' Hey, big spender? Credit crunch and attitudes to cash World Bank MD: Africa is 'not out of the woods yet' 'We must question whether or not the recovery will last' Listen to World Service radio reports China takes $850m commodity stake
| Lou Jiwei is the head of the Chinese sovereign fund |
China's sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in a Hong Kong-based commodities trading firm.
China Investment Corp, the country's $200bn (£123bn) fund, took a 15% stake in Noble Group in return for $850m.
The deal comes after China recently signed a pact with another commodity trader, Glencore, in an attempt to increase its influence in the sector.
China's rapid economic growth has made it one of the world's largest consumer of raw materials such as oil and steel.
Rising interest
Noble, whose shares are listed in Singapore, is one of the few publicly-listed commodity trading houses.
China's fund bought its shares at an 8% discount to Noble's last traded share price of 2.30 Singapore dollars.
Noble has investments in Australian coal, soybean crushing plants and sugar and ethanol mills in Brazil, among others.
In July, China Investment Corp paid $1.5bn for a 17% stake in Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd.
"A lot of sovereign wealth funds or state-linked firms are increasingly showing interest in resources, so this is in line with the trend," said OCBC Securities analyst Lee Wen Ching. "Noble provides access to a diversified portfolio."
Sovereign wealth funds are the investment funds established by governments in Asia and the Middle East mainly, who have large surpluses of money which they wish to invest abroad.
Abu Dhabi has the largest fund, at $800bn, while Norway's is $400bn and Singapore has a $330bn sovereign fund.
China's fund was established in September 2007.
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Bid to jump-start climate talks
| China is expected to announce tough new carbon emission targets |
About 100 world leaders are due to gather at the UN in New York to try to revitalise talks on climate change.
Attention is likely to focus on Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is expected to unveil stringent new plans to tackle global warming.
The meeting comes two months ahead of a summit in Copenhagan aimed at approving a global climate change treaty.
Negotiators are trying to agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions.
Chinese targets
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday's meeting an attempt to inject momentum into the deadlocked climate talks.
| We saw China being absolutely in the lead in terms of putting together an economic recovery package which had green economic growth at absolutely the heart of it Yvo de Boer, UN climate chief |
According to the BBC's UN correspondent, Barbara Plett, discussions have stalled because rich nations are not pledging to cut enough carbon to take the world out of danger, while poorer countries are refusing to commit to binding caps, saying this would prevent them from developing their economies.
China's role is crucial, because it is both an emerging economy and a big polluter, our correspondent says.
The UN's chief climate change negotiator, Yvo de Boer, says he expects an important announcement from Beijing during the meeting.
"China domestic policy is already very ambitious but yes I do expect something dramatic," he said.
President Hu Jintao is expected to announce "carbon intensity targets" aimed at making Chinese industry more efficient, so that less carbon is produced per unit of energy generated.
| China and other many developing economies are still very reliant on coal |
China has already leapfrogged the United States to become the world's biggest wind power market, and is a growing force in solar power - and analysts say President Hu may advance the country's renewable energy targets even further.
But the BBC correspondent in Beijing, Quentin Sommerville, says it is unlikely that the Chinese will agree to a cap on their carbon emissions.
Despite all its advances in green technology, China still gets 70% of its energy from coal - and as its economy increases, this means yet more growth in greenhouse gases, our correspondent says.
Pressure on US
There is also concern about the world's other big polluter, the United States.
President Barack Obama has recognised climate change as a pressing issue, unlike the previous administration, our UN correspondent says.
He has already announced a target of returning to 1990 levels of greenhouse emissions by 2020, but critics say Washington is moving too slowly on legislation which does not go far enough.
President Obama is currently dogged by domestic issues such as the economy and healthcare reforms, but his speech to the UN meeting will still be watched for signs he is willing to fulfil his pledge to take the lead in reaching a global carbon deal.
A demonstration of political will by both China and the US will be important in breaking the deadlock in negotiations, correspondents say.
China and the US each account for about 20% of the world's greenhouse gas pollution from coal, natural gas and oil.
The European Union is responsible for 14%, followed by Russia and India with 5% each.
S Korean President Lee Myung-Bak offers a 'grand bargain' to N Korea, as officials try to re-start stalled nuclear talks. | | The Far Eastern Economic Review, one of Asia's leading print publications, is to be axed in December. |
| | Tight security ahead of China's 60th birthday Locals disappointed as Chinese firm begins drilling | | |
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Obama to host Middle East summit
| Israel has rejected demands for a total freeze on settlement building |
US President Barack Obama is to host a summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but Washington admits it has no "grand expectations" from the talks.
In New York, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be discussing the possibility of re-starting peace talks.
But they have been blaming each other for blocking a US initiative.
Israel has rejected US and Palestinian demands for a total freeze before a new round of talks can take place.
'Photo opportunity'
President Obama is bringing Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas together for the first time since Mr Netanyahu came to office in March.
In New York, Mr Obama - who has defined peace between Israel and the Palestinians as a "national interest" of the US - will first meet each leader separately, before hosting trilateral talks.
| Conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations Zvi Herzog Israeli government secretary |
"We're looking to continue to build on progress," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
But he added that "we have no grand expectations out of just one meeting except to continue... the hard work, day-to-day diplomacy that has to be done to seek a lasting peace".
Israeli and Palestinian participants have also said they do not expect many concrete developments to emerge from the meeting.
Israeli government secretary Zvi Herzog said the meeting was "a step in the right direction", but that "conditions are not ripe for a formal re-launch of negotiations".
Last week, a senior Palestinian official told the AFP news agency the meeting was taking place "because we don't want to disappoint the American administration which wants it held".
Palestinian views on summit
"That does not mean a resumption of peace talks," said the official.
The negotiating process was suspended in December.
President Obama wanted to launch new talks at the UN General Assembly in New York, but the failure so far to do this is a serious and potentially humiliating setback for him, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen says.
He says that Mr Obama needs to find a way to turn the New York meetings into more than just photo opportunities, as he can not afford to let his ambitious plans for the Middle East fall apart so soon.
'Natural growth'
Disagreements over the settlements issue have blocked all attempts to restart the peace talks so far.
US and Palestinian negotiators have said Israel must fully halt work on the construction of settlements in the West Bank before a new round of peace talks can take place, something Israel has refused to do.
Israeli views on Middle East summit
Mr Netanyahu had previously offered a temporary freeze for several months, but not in East Jerusalem or in cases where homes have already been approved.
He argues that the "natural growth" of settler families must be accommodated.
Before leaving for New York, the Israeli premier said he would not change his position.
His media adviser, Nir Hefetz, told Israel's Army Radio that some may view freezing settlement activity as a positive move but Mr Netanyahu was "not one of those people".
Hamas, Mr Abbas's rivals who control Gaza, condemned the talks as "cover for Israeli aggression", while Israeli settlers opposed to a settlement freeze set up a protest tent in Jerusalem.
Also on Tuesday, an Israeli-Arab man was shot dead in the West Bank after he tried to run over Israeli soldiers, the military said.
The man drove his car at soldiers at a checkpoint near Bethlehem, where he did not stop as requested. He escaped, but was tracked down to a nearby garage where, the Israeli military said, he again tried to run over the soldiers.
It said soldiers fired towards the man and killed him after he failed to respond to warning shots.
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