Six prisoners escape from mental hospital in Erragadda

Six life convicts from Cherlapally Central Prison escaped from the prisoners' ward in the Institute of Mental Health in Erragadda, where they were shifted recently for treatment for mental sickness, on Friday.

Five of the escaped convicts were serving jail term in murder cases while the sixth in rape case.

Afroz, 32, Giridhar Singh, 33, Ramulu, 32, Yadagiri, 35, Laxmaiah, 30, all held guilty in murder case and Narsimha, 32, rape case convict, were shifted to the Institute on different dates.

They managed to break the small iron bars of the ward's ventilator and crawled out. There were 30 prisoners in the ward and guards of City Armed Reserve were guarding it from a distance.
Insider role?

The guards noticed around 5.30 a.m. that the six prisoners had escaped and alerted the institute authorities.

It was dark before 5.30 a.m. and if the prisoners jumped from the ventilator, they should have landed on the drainage beneath. Somehow, they managed to land safely on a side.

“Moreover, they left their prisoner uniforms at the open place adjacent to Erragadda Rythu Bazar and apparently fled after wearing civilian clothes. This raises suspicions of someone helping them by supplying clothes,” the police said.

The CAR guards' post is located at a distance from the prisoners' ward and they apparently failed to notice what the ward's inmates were doing, S.R. Nagar Inspector, P. Krishna Murthy, said.

He felt some persons helped the convicts escape from the ward but they were yet to be identified.

The prison authorities said the convicts were sent to the institute for check-up.

“If treatment was not required, the doctors would treat them as out-patients and send back to the prison. The hospital committee admitted them to the prisoners' ward,” they maintained.

Indian batting stars under fire after MCG debacle

The Indian media on today lashed out at the country's famed batting line-up for letting the team down in the opening Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Chasing a 292-run target on Thursday, India failed to cope with Australia's pace attack as they were shot out for 169 despite the batting experience of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag.

"Melbourne Meltdown" said a Times of India headline after the tourists' 122-run defeat. "Those expecting India's much-vaunted batting line-up to give Australia a run for their money were disappointed when Dhoni and Co surrendered without even putting up a semblance of a fight," the paper wrote.

Australian fast bowlers James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle all struck it rich on a seamer-friendly track, grabbing 19 of the 20 Indian wickets to lead their side to a crushing victory.

"'Foreign fever' returned to grip the Indian team as Pattinson, Hilfenhaus and Siddle tormented them - much like the English bowlers had done in England - with a heady cocktail of pace, bounce and movement served with relentless consistency," said the paper.

It was India's fifth successive Test defeat away from home after a 4-0 loss in England.

"Mauled in Melbourne" the Hindustan Times said on its front page and "Bat-erred India fall apart" on its sports page.

"The chase was always going to be an uphill task, considering the recent barren run which has seen the famed batting line-up not cross the 300-run mark in the last 10 away innings," said the paper.

The Hindu newspaper also blamed the batsmen for defeat, saying the "famed batting line-up fails to deliver".

Ravi Shastri, former India all-rounder and now a noted TV commentator, said the Indian batsmen needed to show grit to bounce back in the four-Test series.

"India need runs from all their main batsmen. Now that bowlers look the part, batters have no business to let them down," he wrote in the Times of India.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this completely turns out to be a bowlers' series. If so, then every run saved or made would count. India have the skills. All they need is resolve," he wrote.

Former India paceman Javagal Srinath said the tourists could fight back.

"Saddled with the reputation of being poor starters overseas, India did precious little to rectify the anomaly in the Melbourne Test," he wrote in the Hindustan Times.

"Barring England, where nothing went right for them, India have bounced back after first-Test losses. There is no reason, given the experience and quality of the India batting, why they can't do so again in Sydney."

The second Test starts in Sydney on January 3.

Dubai is B-town's latest party destination

SRK and Sallu take their rivalry and revelry to the Emirates. Mirror gives you a lowdown

Goa is passe. The new festive destination for Bollywood celebrities is definitely Dubai. With the two big Khans - Salman and Shah Rukh bringing in their New Years in the Arab emirate, friends of the stars, their loyalists and even the fence sitters have headed westwards. And for those who got stuck with good old Goa or aamchi Mumbai, Mumbai Mirror finds out the plans for the sought after big bashes in Dubai.

Shah Rukh, who has taken a break of just four days from work, will be partying at his island bungalow, K-93, Palm Jumeirah, at the far end of Khasab cove, revealed a source close to the actor. Wife Gauri, daughter Suhana and son Aryan will be by his side. After all, it was meant to be a family holiday.

Apart from family, his fast friends Chunkey and Bhavna Pandey will grace Shah Rukh's party. Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor are also on the guest list. SRK loyalists Hrithik Roshan and Arjun Rampal will also bring in the New Year with the Khan. Mushtaq Sheikh, also in Dubai might join in SRK's revelry as well.

Salman on the other hand, has taken his family to party at Baba Dewan's mansion in Dubai. Salman will have his parents, brother Arbaaz and his wife Malaika, Sohail and Seema, sister Alvira and Atul Agnihotri and Arpita Khan for company. Amrita Arora and her husband Shakeel Ladak will join Salman at his party.

Sophie Chowdhury, who is in the city to perform at a New Year's eve event, will join Sallu's party as well. Nikhil Dwivedi, a common friend of both Shah Rukh and Salman will head to Baba Dewan's mansion instead of Palm Jumeirah on December 31.

TCS surpassed Reliance Industries to become India's most valuable firm

Top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services surpassed Reliance Industries on the last trading day of the year to become the country's most-valuable firm, capping a gloomy year for shareholders of the energy major controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Reliance, for long the darling of Indian investors, was briefly knocked off its four-year long perch as the country's most-valuable company in August -- first by state-run Coal India and then by Oil & Natural Gas Corp -- before regaining it.

TCS, part of the salt-to-software Tata conglomerate, is the first private-sector company to overtake Reliance in market value.

Shares in Reliance, which owns the world's largest refinery complex, fell 2.7 percent on Friday to their lowest level since March 2009. The stock lost 34.5 percent in 2011, underperforming a 24.6 percent fall in the benchmark index.

At Friday's close, Reliance was valued at about $42.7 billion, while TCS commanded a market value of $42.8 billion, despite its shares closing 0.4 percent lower.

"This leadership game is becoming like a musical chair," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Global securities in New Delhi.

"If the underperformance in Reliance shares continues, it will become difficult for them to regain the top position again."

Reliance's growth outlook has been marred by falling gas output from its huge KG D6 gas fields, off India's east coast, which has drawn criticism from the country's upstream regulator, investors and analysts.

A $7.2 billion deal to sell a 30 percent stake in 23 oil and gas blocks to BP Plc struck earlier this year failed to impress shareholders, who are also looking for more clarity on the company's move to enter new areas such as retail and telecoms.

"KG D6 has sort of become a drag," Thunuguntla said. "And also, they have somehow got into a long-gestation trap in all their businesses -- be it oil and gas, retail or telecom."

"They are sitting on a huge cash pile and need to deploy it at the right place. Holding cash is again not good," he said.

TCS, which competes with companies such as Infosys Ltd and Wipro in providing software services to western clients, saw its share price jump nearly 12 percent in the December quarter, compared with a 6 percent drop in the benchmark index. TCS has shed 0.4 percent on the year.

Global technology spending outlook remains uncertain with no easy fix seen to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and concerns about the U.S. economy, but a sharp fall in the Indian rupee helps these exporters who get most of their revenues in foreign currencies while bulk of their spends are in rupee.

Nobel laureate Ramakrishnan to get knighthood

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, India-born U.S. citizen whose work in molecular biology won him the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry, will be knighted in UK, media reports said.

Ramakrishnan, or Venky as he is popularly known, is a biologist based at the Medical Research Council's Molecular Biology Laboratories in Cambridge,

He has been honoured "for services to molecular biology" in the New Year Honours List 2012, according to an official announcement.

In a statement to the Press Trust of India, he said: "In the current debate about immigration, it is worth noting that this award is yet another example of the numerous contributions that immigrants make to British society."

Born in 1952 in the temple town of Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in Physics from MS University in Baroda, Gujarat and later migrated to the US to continue his studies. He earned his Ph.D in Physics from Ohio University, his profile on the Times of India website says.

In 2009, he and two others shared the Nobel for their work on the structure and function of the ribosome.

In 2010, Ramakrishnan was awarded the Padma Vibhusan, nation's second highest civilian honour.

Indian cities dominate 'sex' search online in Google

Given the size of our population, one would have thought Indians get enough sex.

But that still doesn't stop us searching for more. Data collected by Google through its search engine shows that in 2011, seven Indian cities featured in the list of top 10 cities worldwide where the "sex" query was particularly popular.

The rankings might come as a bit of a surprise. Lucknow and Kolkata - cities which pride themselves on their high cultural values -- came in at No. 2 and 3, respectively. Pune was at No. 5, New Delhi at 6, Bangalore at 7, Chennai at 8 and Mumbai at 9. The only non-Indian cities in the list were Colombo, which topped the chart, Lahore at No. 4 and Hanoi at 10. In short, every single city in the top 10 was from Asia. Expect the demographic dividend to last for a while. The famed Indo-Pak rivalry spilled over to this sphere as well, with Pakistan emerging as the country from where Google received the maximum number of search queries for "sex" in 2011. Pakistan had topped the list in 2010 as well.

The data, which is part of Google's Trends application, also reveals that Pakistan tops the all-time list - which maps the period ever since the search engine started collecting the data - while India comes in third behind Vietnam.

Though Google says "Trends provides insights into broad search patterns" and "several approximations are used when computing these results," the data mirrors the volume of actual search queries. To rank regions and cities, the web firm "calculates the ratio of searches for the term coming from each city, divided by total Google searches coming from the same city."

The Trends data is not the only indication that people in India and Pakistan have sex on their mind. A few weeks ago Google had released its Zeitgeist report, which takes a look at the top search queries of the year.

In India, "How to kiss" topped the list of the most popular "how to..." searches. The same query topped the list in 2010 as well. "How to flirt" and "how to love" were the 10th and 11th most popular queries. The "how to kiss" query was equally popular in Pakistan in 2011. India and Pakistan share some basic intincts - which could add a whole new dimension to the phrase, "Make love, not war".

Salman, Shah Rukh Khan vie best male actor award

Bollywood friends-turned-foes, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are in the race to for the best male actor trophy at the Zee Cine Awards to be held in Macau next month.
   
Salman has been nominated for his performance in blockbuster ‘Bodyguard’, while Shah Rukh has got two nominations in the same category, thanks to ‘RA.One’ and ‘Don 2: The King Is Back’. Other actors vying for the title include Hrithik Roshan for ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, Ajay Devgn for ‘Singham’ and Ranbir Kapoor for ‘Rockstar’.

Amongst the leading ladies, the battle for the best actor award is on between Vidya Balan (‘The Dirty Picture’), Priyanka Chopra (‘7 Khoon Maaf’), Kareena Kapoor (‘Bodyguard’), Kangna Ranaut (‘Tanu Weds Manu’) and Katrina Kaif (‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’).

The contenders in the best film category are ‘Don 2’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Rockstar’, ‘Singham’, ‘The Dirty Picture’ and ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’.

The trophy for the best director of 2011 will be chosen from among Farhan Akhtar (‘Don 2’), Imtiaz Ali (‘Rockstar’), Milan Luthria (‘The Dirty Picture’), Rohit Shetty (‘Singham’), Siddique (‘Bodyguard’) and Zoya Akhtar (‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’).

The awards will be chosen by film enthusiasts from across the globe. The viewers can send in their votes for their favourite nominees, and 12 lucky winners chosen from amongst those who send in their votes will also be flown in to Macau to witness the live ceremony, Jan 21 next year.

The star-studded extravaganza, to be hosted by Shah Rukh and Priyanka, will be telecast on TV Feb 5, 2012.

PM to visit Golden Temple today

With his government having faced a tough year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants to usher in the new year with prayers at the Harmandar Sahib, the holiest of Sikh shrines, popularly known as the Golden Temple.

He is expected to arrive here today evening with his wife Gursharan Kaur and will go to the Harmandar Sahib very early Sunday morning to offer prayers on New Year Day, a police officer said here Saturday. The visit is being termed by officials as a "private one".

"He will stay at the Circuit House overnight. Additional security personnel have been requisitioned from neighbouring districts to have foolproof security in place. SPG (special protection group that protects the prime minister) officials are camping here already to ensure all security measures are in place," the officer said, speaking only on condition of anonymity.

Amritsar deputy commissioner Rajat Aggarwal confirmed that the prime minister would arrive here Saturday evening and visit the Golden Temple complex early Sunday. He will fly back to Delhi Sunday afternoon.

Amritsar city has been shivering a sub-zero temperatures in the last one week with the minimum temperature recorded Friday morning being at minus 2.1 degrees - the lowest temperature of the winter season.

The prime minister, who lived and studied in this city after his family migrated here from Rawalpindi after partition, also has some relatives who are settled here.

A devout Sikh, the prime minister had last visited the shrine in March 2009, just a few weeks after his coronary bypass surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

Stratfor hackers publish email, password data

Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous group published hundreds of thousands of email addresses belonging to subscribers of private intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc along with thousands of customer credit card numbers.

The lists, which were published on the Internet late on Thursday, included information on people including former US Vice President Dan Quayle, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former CIA Director Jim Woolsey. They could not be reached for comment.

The lists included information on large numbers of people working for big corporations, the US military and major defense contractors - which attackers could potentially use to target them with virus-tainted emails in an approach known as "spear phishing."

The Antisec faction of Anonymous disclosed last weekend that it had hacked into the firm, which is widely known as Stratfor and is dubbed a "shadow CIA" because it gathers non-classified intelligence on international crises.

The hackers had promised that the release of the stolen data would cause "mayhem." A spokesperson for the group said via Twitter that yet-to-be-published emails from the firm would show "Stratfor is not the 'harmless company' it tries to paint itself as."

Antisec has not disclosed when it will release those emails, but security analysts said they could contain information that could be embarrassing for the US government.

"Those emails are going to be dynamite and may provide a lot of useful information to adversaries of the US government," said Jeffrey Carr, chief executive of Taia Global Inc and author of the book "Inside Cyber Warfare: Mapping the Cyber Underworld."

Stratfor issued a statement on Friday confirming that the published email addresses had been stolen from the company's database, saying it was helping law enforcement probe the matter and conducting its own investigation.

"At Stratfor, we try to foster a culture of scrutiny and analysis, and we want to assure our customers and friends that we will apply the same rigorous standards in carrying out our internal review," the statement said.

"There are thousands of email addresses here that could be used for very targeted spear phishing attacks that could compromise national security," said John Bumgarner, chief technology officer of the US Cyber Consequences Unit, a non-profit group that studies cyber threats.

Four people were shot dead by Maoists in a village in Bihar

Bullet-riddled bodies of four villagers abducted by Maoists have been recovered from a pond in Banka district of Bihar, police said on today.

Mansoor Ansari, Kallu Ansari, Kashim Ansari and Sahadat Ansari - whose bodies were found in a pond at Behrar village - were kidnapped from Kanaudi village in Bihar's Jamui district on Thursday.

The ultras shot them dead and dumped the bodies into the pond, sources said.

Maoists had killed three villagers and abducted these four people from Kanaudi village.

Maoists raided the village on Thursday night and killed Mumtaz Ansari, Fakhruddin and Samimul Ansari.

Police in Jamui and Banka districts have launched a joint combing operation against Maoists, officials said.

Cyclone Thane leaves 40 dead in Tamil Nadu,Puducherry

Packing a wind speed of 140km per hour, Cyclone Thane pummelled the Tamil Nadu coast and the Union territory of Puducherry on Friday morning, leaving in its wake 35 dead besides untold devastation. The cyclone made its landfall between Puducherry and Cuddalore district in the state, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rains all along the coast.

Cuddalore, Tiruvallur and Villupuram districts along Tamil Nadu's northern coast and Puducherry were the worst hit - several huts and small houses collapsed like a pack of cards, main arterial roads were damaged and uprooted trees and electric posts were strewn across streets and pavements.

The picturesque 180km coastal stretch from Marakkanam (Villupuram district), about 120km from Chennai, up to Nagapattinam, including Puducherry and Cuddalore districts, bore the brunt of the cyclone. The East Coast Road (ECR) from Marakkanam to Nagapattinam in central Tamil Nadu resembled a war zone with uprooted trees, electric posts and signboards disrupting traffic flow.

Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa, who took stock of the situation in the morning in a meeting with senior officials in Chennai, sanctioned Rs 150 crore for immediate relief measures in the affected areas and directed four ministers to visit the districts devastated by the cyclone. Jayalalithaa also directed district collectors, deputy collectors and department secretaries to assess the extent of the damage caused by the cyclone and submit a report. In a statement, she said four teams of the National Disaster Management have been sent to affected districts.

Most of the deaths were due to wall collapses, electrocution, drowning and severe cold. Cuddalore district collector V Amuthavalli said the damages were extensive. "As per preliminary assessment, more than 5,000 houses of fishermen were damaged in the cyclone. Telephone lines were affected. We don't have exact figures of the death toll as of now," she said.

In Chennai, which escaped the fury of the cyclone, two people were killed in rain-related incidents. While a woman was killed in a building collapse, a man was electrocuted.

Police said 19 persons, including two children and seven women, were killed in Cuddalore district. However, an official statement put the death toll at 26 in Tamil Nadu, including 21 in Cuddalore, two each in Villupuram and Tiruvallur and one in Chennai.

The government announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each of the bereaved families. The Chennai Met office forecast few spells of rain and thundershowers in the city on Saturday morning but predicted clear skies by evening. The weather conditions in Puducherry, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam are also expected to improve by Saturday.

The three Indian-American comedy group to visit India

The United States is sending a comedy group comprising of three Indian-Americans ona seven city tour of India to spread the message of religous tolerence among other things as part of its regular global cultural exchange programme, an official said on Friday.

"We are indeed sending an Indian-American comedy group.We are supporting a seven-city tour that they are making around India. They're called Make Chai, Not War, and this ispart of our regular global cultural exchange programme that we do around the world," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, told reporters.

Beginning January 4, the three Indian Americans, Rajiv Satyal, Azhar Usman and Hari Kondabolu, would travel to Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna and Ranchi.

"The reason we decided to support this tour is because,among the things that they are known for is their talk about religious tolerance, about the importance of breaking down prejudices and about the positive experiences they had growing up as Indian-Americans in the United States," Nuland said inresponse to a question.

"In addition to doing shows, they'll also be holding audience discussions on these issues of religious tolerance,and doing workshops and having some interviews with the press," Nuland said adding that the seven city tour costs about USD 100,000; of which the US Embassy in New Delhi is supporting them with a grant of USD 88,000.

Satyal and Usman, who created "Make Chai Not War", say that their comedy is not based on making fun of any one's religious beliefs.

Instead, their jokes and stories are mostly self-deprecating and introspective.

"I am a believing, practicing Muslim," Usman says in a press release.

"This, to me, means that I won't do sacrilegious,blasphemous, or heretical material.

I will however, make fun of human stupidity,narrow-mindedness, and religious fundamentalism."

Usman believes there is an important and qualitative difference between jokes that disrespect deities, teachings,ideas, beliefs, creeds, the ologies, sacred symbols, or other profound aspects of religion itself, versus jokes about humanfrailties, idiosyncrasies, and moral failures, which are allfair game.

"There would be a lot less trouble in the world if people could learn to not take themselves so seriously, if we could learn to assume the best about each other," Satyal says. "Our show is meant to help people loosen up a bit. Wehave fun with all religions, including our own. We try to begood-natured, not mean-spirited," he added.

Petrol prices could go up by Rs 1.82 per litre!

The state-run oil marketing companies may hike petrol prices by up to Rs 1.5 per litre, in their meeting on Friday as the Indian currency has weakened against the US dollar making imports costlier.

Oil firms had, at the last review on December 15, decided not to burden the consumers with Rs 0.65-0.70 per litre hike in petrol price needed at that time, as they felt Reserve Bank's intervention may help arrest fall in rupee's value.

"While international price of gasoline (against which domestic petrol prices are benchmarked) are more or less at the same level (as at the time of last revision), the rupee has depreciated to over Rs 53 to a US dollar," a top official said.

The average exchange rate in first fortnight of December was Rs 51.98 to a US dollar, which has further deteriorated.

State-owned oil companies like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) use fortnightly average of benchmark oil price and exchange rate to revise retail rates.

"There is an under-recovery of about 85 paise (Rs 0.85) per litre currently. After adding local sales tax, the desired increase in retail prices would be Rs 1.02 per litre," the official said.

Petrol at IOC pumps in Delhi is currently priced at Rs 65.64 per litre and the rates vary by a couple of paise at the pumps of Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

The oil firms had in November cut petrol prices twice on drop in international oil rates. The companies reduced petrol prices by Rs 2.22 per litre, or 3.2 per cent, from November 16, followed by a Rs 0.78 per litre cut from December 1.

However, it remains to be seen if the oil firms will get a political nod to increase the prices in view of assembly elections.

Petrol price was freed from government control in June last year but public sector companies continue to informally consult their parent Oil Ministry before taking a decision.

The government continues to control rates of diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene which were sold way below cost to keep inflation under check. The oil firms lose Rs 12.95 per litre on diesel, Rs 29.99 a litre on kerosene and Rs 287 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.

Govt: Lokpal Bill to be passed in Budget Session

The UPA government squarely blamed the BJP for the failure to get the Lokpal Bill passed in the Parliament.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan kumar Bansal said that the government had wanted to table the debate in the Rajya Sabha on December 28 but the BJP didn’t agree to it.

“The minister was replying to the debate, suddenly a ruckus was created at 11.30 pm, leading to the adjournment till 11.45 pm. The house had to be adjourned at 12 midnight,” he said clarifying the government’s stand.

Bansal said that the bill is pending in the register of the Rajya Sabha and would be taken up when the house reconvenes for the Budget Session.

“They (BJP) are guilty of stalling proceeding for the simple reasons that they didn’t want it to be passed. As many as 180 amendments were passed and some of them are self contradictory,” he said.

Bansal said that even if the bill were to be passed with amendments, the bill had to be sent back to the Lok Sabha – and the lower house was already adjourned sine dine.

“The law dept fine tunes these amendments as they are to be part of the law. There had to be time with the government to consider the amendments…Suppose an amendment was to be carried, the minister will have to rise and say that the bill as amended is passed. Can any govt do it?” he added.

“187 amendments have been moved. If all amendments had to be passed then it will take time. It is the government’s responsibility to pass the bill,” Bansal said.

Shah Rukh Khan desire to visit Pakistan for work?

For those who don’t know, our very own Badhsah of Bollywood has his ancestral base in Peshawar, Pakistan. And for all obvious reasons, the Pathan has a soft corner for the country and its people.

The actor gave an interview to a leading Pakistani English daily and expressed his desire to visit Pakistan as and when work takes him there.

On being asked if he would ever oblige his Pakistani fans by meeting them in person, SRK had said, “One of these days, I will come to Pakistan. I will come to Pakistan when work takes me there.”

King Khan, as he is lovingly addressed, does not find a mention in the good books of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and his nephew Raj, for they believe he favours Pakistan (a country that has had a volatile relationship with India for ages).

SRK’s fondness for celebrities from across the border was apparent when he spoke about the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League even as India was trying to overcome the 26/11 terror attacks.

The actor’s fan following increased manifold post ‘My Name Is Khan,’ talking about the film, Khan said, “I’m glad people liked Khan (‘My Name is Khan’) all over the world for a very simple reason. I’m not claiming to know everything but I do know that as a Muslim it’s important for me to tell the world who we really are. It’s important for us to explain Islam to the world and it’s important for the world to know Islam and what it truly stands for. But that’s not the only reason I did the film. It was a good experience.”

ISI: 'Major surprises' expected in talks in Islamabad's peace talks with Taliban

The leadership of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency has told a Pakistani parliamentary panel that some "major surprises" are expected in Islamabad's peace talks with the Taliban, according to a media report on Friday.

The revelation was made by ISI officials during a three-hour briefing behind closed doors for the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production yesterday. ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and his deputies briefed the lawmakers.

Pasha and his deputies confirmed that talks with the"Taliban, mainly homegrown militants, were at an advanced stage and some major break through was expected over the next few months", The Express Tribune quoted its sources as saying. The ISI officials were confident that there would be some"big surprises" on this front; an unnamed lawmaker was quote saying.

According to the ISI officials, the overall dimension of the situation in Afghanistan is rapidly changing.

In recent weeks, senior leaders like Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik have denied that talks are being held with the Pakistani Taliban. The briefing focussed on the ISI's role in the war against terror.

The policy for the campaign is going through a "holistic review" to correspond with changes in the US plans in Afghanistan, the ISI officials said.

Around five members of the Senate committee, which is headed by former ISI chief Lt Gen (retired) Javed Ashraf Qazi,were briefed on the spy agency's role.

Two key members of the panel, Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People's Party and Khurshid Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami, boycotted the briefing, saying the spy agency's officials should have come to parliament.

Two members were out of the country while another was unable to attend because of ill health. Lawmakers who attended the briefing shared very little information of the in-camera session that lasted from 10 am to 1 pm, the daily reported.

"After the ISI officials briefed the participants about the functions of their agency, members posed various questions before the agency officials to clarify the myths and reality associated with the ISI," a participant said.

Some participants were curious about the ISI's mod us operand in terms of the country’s political affairs. However,ISI chief Pasha opted to skip such questions, the report said. One ISI official denied that the spy agency plays any role in political affairs; an unnamed lawmaker was quoted assaying.

Another lawmaker claimed that Pasha admitted to the agency's involvement but said the ISI simply does what is asked of it by the government, be it civilian or military.

"They (ISI officials) said, 'We have been doing what the government of the time asks us to do...these days there are no such directions from this civilian government,” a lawmaker was quoted as saying.

Asked about Osama bin Laden's presence in the country,one senator said ISI feels the episode was not solely the agency's failure but was also a failure on the CIA's part and that of spy agencies of other allied countries.

There was no discussion on the alleged memo that sought US help to prevent a military takeover in Pakistan after the killing of bin Laden in May, the senators claimed.

One lawmaker from a military background said he was not only satisfied with the briefing but also paid accolades to the ISI.

"The ISI is the best spy agency in the world. It has been succeeding in its mission. Bashing of the ISI and the army by the people of Pakistan is unfortunate... they do not know the real functions of this agency," he said

New North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un lashes out at S Korea

North Korea's first official communication with the outside world following the death of leader Kim Jong-il and the transition of power to his son was a sombre warning to South Korea and its allies that it would not change policies.

The main target of the message, delivered by state news agency KCNA and attributed to the North's National Defence Commission, was South Korea's conservative government headed by President Lee Myung-bak who has pursued a hardline stance against the isolated and impoverished North.

"On this occasion, we solemnly declare with confidence that foolish politicians around the world including the puppet forces in South Korea should not expect any changes from us," said the commission which was the top governing body under Kim Jong-il.

Under Kim Jong-il, who died earlier this month aged 69, North Korea conducted two nuclear tests. In 2010 it shelled a South Korean island and - most independent observers believe - sank a South Korean naval vessel.
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The North denies the sinking and says it was provoked into the artillery barrage that killed civilians.

Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, the third member of his family to rule North Korea, has made no public statements since the death of his father whose vast funeral procession was held two days ago.

Five-day election tour of Rahul Gandhi will end today

After attacking the ruling BSP government in Uttar Pradesh and targeting the opposition BJP in the past few days, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will on Friday hold a rally in Saharanpur.

Saharanpur rally will mark the end of Rahul Gandhi’s five-day election tour of Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly Elections will be held between February 4 to 28.

Addressing a rally in Pilibhit on Thursday, the Congress leader made a scathing attack on BJP as the district is the political turf of his cousin Varun Gandhi, who is the Lok Sabha member from that constituency.

While accusing the BJP of making only "false and hollow promises", with the sole intent of serving its short-term political gains, Rahul Gandhi appealed to the people to vote for the Congress which alone could insure a bright future for them.

"While the BJP's unreliable character was known to all, it was once again amply demonstrated in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, when in sharp contrast to its earlier categorical assurance, the party declined to support the Lokpal bill," he said.

In Bareilly, Gandhi also chose to take on the Samajwadi Party. "Ever since the UPA government has announced 4.5 percent reservation for Muslims, Mulayam Singh Yadav has become jittery, which is reflected in his new found demand for raising the Muslim reservation to 18 percent," he said.

Terming it as Mulayam Singh's "lip service", he said, "I would like to see if Mulayam Singh Yadav is going to endorse this in his party's election manifesto."

He earlier flayed Uttar Pradesh Chief MInister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati for perpetuating large-scale corruption, which he termed as the cause of Uttar Pradesh's backwardness and poverty.

Today very severe Cyclone Thane' hits Tamil Nadu coast

Very severe Cyclone Thane on Friday morning hit the coast of Tamil Nadu, making landfall between Puducherry and Cuddalore and causing heavy rainfall.

Under the influence of the cyclone, isolated rain is predicted over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry till Saturday afternoon. Heavy rainfall is also predicted over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, “The landfall happened very close to Cuddalore, southeast of Puducherry. The system is likely to move westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast, close to south of Puducherry, within a few hours and weaken gradually. As a result very heavy rainfall will continue over Northern Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Rayalseema.”

Wind speed is likely to reach 145 kmph along and off north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts during next three hours and then decrease gradually. Waves measuring 1.5 metres height are hitting the shoreline.

Even after the landfall, the system is likely to maintain its intensity for 12 hours even after landfall weakens gradually. Under its influence rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy fall is likely to continue over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in next 24 hours.

The Tamil Nadu government has set up 20 teams to monitor the water levels in lakes and other water bodies in Chennai, Thiruvallur and other places.

Eight teams of National Disaster Management Force have been sent to the coastal districts. Two of these teams will be in Andhra Pradesh, rest six in Tamil Nadu in view of the cyclone warning. Another 15,000 men of the NDRF are on alert. Authorities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are on high alert to manage the emerging situation.

Schools buildings in Chennai have been turned into shelter homes and the entire city is on high alert. There is power outage in many parts of Puducherry and adjoining districts.

The weather officer has advised local administrations to evacuate people from low-lying areas as property is likely to be damaged extensively and escape routes are also likely to be flooded.

Fishermen along north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & south Andhra Pradesh coasts are advised not to venture into sea during next 24 hrs.

Sensex under pressure; oil & gas, private banks, infra fall

The market remained under selling pressure ahead of expiry in the last month of 2011. It seems that the Nifty may close below the 4700-mark today, weighed down by infrastructure, oil & gas and private banks stocks. The Sensex was down 65 points at 15,662.72 and the Nifty fell 25 points to 4,681.05.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and L&T fell 1.65% and 1.34%, respectively.

Among others, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ONGC, TCS, HUL, ITC and NTPC were down 0.3-0.8%. In the realty space, DLF dropped over 1.5%.

Shares of Tata Power and Maruti Suzuki were biggest losers, falling 2-2.5%. Reliance Communications and BPCL plunged 3% each.

However, shares of SBI and Tata Motors gained 0.6% each. Sterlite Industries topped the buying list, rising 1%.

The market breadth is still in favour of declines; about 1133 shares advanced while 1426 shares declined on the BSE.

Most active shares on exchanges were SBI, Reliance, Fortis Healthcare, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

At 12:48 hours IST : Nifty in narrow range; RIL, Infosys, L&T down

The Nifty showed smart recovery from day's low amid choppy trade, though it could not able to touch the 4700 mark. Overall, it was moving in a tight range of 4680-4699. It was weighed down by index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and L&T while SBI, ICICI Bank and BHEL were providing good support. The Sensex was down 31 points at 15,696.66 and the Nifty dropped 14.5 points to 4,691.35.

Shares of Reliance Industries dropped for the third consecutive session today, falling over 1%. L&T, Infosys and TCS were down 0.4-0.85%.

Tata Power remained biggest loser among Sensex 30 stocks, declining 2% on profit booking. Maruti, Bajaj Auto and DLF slipped 0.5-1%.

However, major largecaps like SBI, ITC, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, Tata Motors and Wipro gained 0.2-0.7%, which limited the downside.

In the second line shares, Jaypee Infra shot up 13%. Mcleod Russel, Fortis Healthcare, Deccan Chronicle and Kwality Dairy jumped 5-6% while Gujarat Flourochemical, Glodyne Tech, Shree Global, Jain Irrigation and TV18 Broadcast fell 5%.

In the smallcap space, Global Offshore, Sandesh, Indo Rama Synthetic, DQ Entertainment and KGN Industries rallied 5-10%. However, PG Electroplast crashed 17%. Fulford, Unichem Labs, GSS Infotech and Alchemist were down 5-6%.

Together Ekta Kapoor, Karan Johar to co-produce a film

He is known for his candyfloss movies and designer dramas, and she excels at making experimental and real life-inspired stories. Together, Ekta Kapoor and Karan Johar, once rumoured to be a couple, are now ready to co-produce a movie.

"Ekta and I are super excited about the script we are producing together... will announce details as we cast the film and title it!!!" Johar posted on his Twitter page Wednesday.

According to reports, the film will be a "love story with a twist", and it will be directed by Akshay Roy.

It will be interesting to see what Johar's Dharma Productions and Ekta's Balaji Motion Pictures will have to offer considering their different styles of filmmaking.

The rumour about Johar and Ekta's romance had reached its peak when news of their wedding started doing the rounds three years ago.

But they have been good friends since childhood, and have been looking forward to working together for a long time.

'The Dirty Picture' most viewed on mobile in 2011

Thanks to Vidya Balan's oomph, content related to 'The Dirty Picture' got grabbed maximum eyeballs on the mobile platform, while controversial Poonam Pandey took away the lion's share of views among models, says a survey.

The findings have been announced by Vuclip, an independent mobile video company.

Among the most watched Indian videos on mobile, cinema-related content reigned supreme and out of them 'The Dirty Picture' was the most watched, with over 13,24,000 mobile views, said a press statement.

Content related to Shah Rukh Khan's mega production 'RA.One' garnered over 8,00,000 video views, which is almost more than double the mobile video views received by content of the much-hyped 'Kolaveri di' song from the upcoming Tamil movie '3'.

Although Dhanush's 'Kolaveri Di' was a super hit on youtube, but mobile users showed more interest in singer Sonu Niigaam's four-year-old son Nevaan's version of the same song.

Nevaan's version received over 2,86,000 video views compared to Dhanush's Tamil-English number, which just got over 56,000 views.

Among the models, Poonam who came into limelight after announcing that she would strip if India won the World Cup earlier this year, received over 100,000 mobile video views.

She pipped Pakistani model Veena Malik and Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone. Veena received 18,697 mobile video views, propelled by the news for her controversial nude picture on a magazine's cover, while Sunny, who caused a flutter with her entry into the reality show 'Bigg Boss 5', got less than 2,500 mobile vi

What ails captive elephants in Kerala

Elephants in India may be considered an embodiment of Lord Ganesh, but the status of captive jumbos in Kerala is anything but divine. Experts say the lack of proper medical care as well as money-minded owners pose a serious threat to the magnificent beasts.

According to 70-year-old veterinarian Jacob Cheeran, of the 14,000 elephants in captivity in the world, around 26 percent are in India.

Cheeran, who on two occasions was a member of the steering committee of the central government's Project Elephant initiative, said that captive elephants in Kerala number some 900 and have become mulch cows for their owners, who lend them to temples and churches for religious functions.

"The average daily income from renting elephants ranges from Rs.3,000 to Rs.10,000. The sad part is that the peak festival season happens in the colder months, when the elephants are in musth. But elephants hardly get rest and recuperation during the mush period because it means loss of income for both the owner and mahouts," Cheeran said.

Elephant owners earlier used to get a fairly good income from renting out tuskers for pulling trees and logs.

But after the introduction of machines, religious processions are now their chief source of income.

Another major problem is the lack of veterinarians qualified in handling elephants.

"The hard fact is that it is not remunerative for vets any more, because the time a vet spends on an elephant is enough to treat a dozen pet dogs, and hence the loss of income. So, only a real passionate elephant lover will go for treating an elephant," said Cheeran, who has authored several books on elephants.

A glimmer of hope is that now an elephant owner -- film star-turned politician K.B. Ganesh Kumar -- is the forest minister and has jurisdiction over the tuskers.

He has already committed that he will set up an exclusive hospital for elephants in the state, probably in Thrissur.

Speaking to IANS, 46-year-old Jayagopal, a businessman based in Thrissur and also vice-president of the Elephant Owners Federation, said things may be a lot better in the near future.

"Now all elephants have a registration certificate, which has the name of the owner and other details. We will now ask the government to see that more elephant clinics are set up in Kerala," said Jayagopal, who has a 50-year-old elephant which has been with him for the past 30 years.

Alcoholism among mahouts is another grave problem, said Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Babu M. Palissery, who is also president of the Kerala State Elephant Workers Union, a body of around 300 mahouts.

"We have now begun a very serious awareness campaign by conducting camps for mahouts to make them realise their duties and responsibilities. Mahouts have realised that a good portion of their wages is spent on liquor and they have shown the ability that they can cut down substantially on drinks," said Palissery.

Mahouts earn a monthly salary starting from Rs.4,000, besides a daily allowance of Rs.1,250 that they get when the animals are taken for temple processions.

‘UK Parl to seek report on Indian student Anuj Bidve murder’

Amid an outrage over the killing of Indian student Anuj Bidve, a top British parliamentary panel will seek a full report on the circumstances of the "unprovoked" attack in Manchester earlier this week. Keith Vaz, the Labour Party MP and chairman of House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, expressed shock over the murder of 23-year-old Bidve on Monday.

"I will be asking for a full report on the circumstances of his death. Overseas students need to be reassured that the UK has taken every possible step to ensure such a tragic event will not happen again," said Vaz, the lawmaker from Leicester East.

"Most importantly, his family deserve to know the truth about the final moments of their much loved son," he said. Bidve, from Pune, was with nine Indian students when they were approached by two men in Salford. He was shot at close range after a "very short" conversation. Bidve was a student of Microelectronics at Lancaster University.

In a statement, Vaz welcomed the action taken by the Greater Manchester Police "on the shocking and deeply sad murder" in Manchester on Boxing Day. The British police has arrested a fourth person in connection with the killing of Bidve, who died following an "unprovoked" attack on Monday.

The unnamed man is the fourth arrest after another man and two teenagers were arrested in the last 24 hours. No further details were released about the three arrests. The cold blooded murder has sparked an outrage here, particularly among Indians. Many members of the minority community have demanded an exemplary punishment for those involved in the heinous crime.

The police have not ruled out racism as a motive for the killing. The two men who approached the group of students at Salford were described as white men.

Food inflation fell lowest nearly in six years

India's annual food inflation fell sharply to 0.42 percent, its lowest in nearly six years at least,  for the week ended December 17 as vegetables, onion, potato, wheat and other essential commodities became cheaper, official data showed on Today.

In the previous week, annual food and fuel inflation stood at 1.81 percent and 15.24 percent, respectively.

The primary articles price index was up 2.70 percent, compared with an annual rise of 3.78 percent a week earlier.

India's headline inflation has stayed above 9 percent for a year, despite 13 rate increases by the central bank since March 2010.The headline inflation based on the wholesale price index was recorded at 9.11 percent in November, according to the latest official data.

The Reserve Bank of India kept policy rates on hold at its policy review early this month, sending a strong signal that its next move is likely to be an easing of monetary policy as risks to growth increase.

Food inflation came in single digit in the second week of November and has dropped consistently since then. It was recorded at 10.63 percent for the week ended Nov 5.

In the last one and half months food inflation has dropped sharply, giving the much needed respite to the economic policy makers who had been struggling for the last two years to control the price rise.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said that despite the recent moderation, overall inflation still remained at an unacceptable level.

Russian court rejected ban on Bhagwat Gita

A Russian court on Wednesday rejected a petition seeking a ban on translation of Bhagavad Gita, bringing cheers to crores of Hindus across the world.

The petition in the Siberian city of Tomsk called Bhagvad Gita, one of Hinduism's holiest scriptures as "extremist literature" and said it promotes "social discord" and “hatred towards non-believers”.

Russian lawyers Mikahil Fralov and Alexander Sakhav argued vociferously against the petition.

The case filed by state prosecutors in Tomsk claimed that the renowned translation of the text, titled "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" is "extremist literature" and should join Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf in the list of banned books.

"Bhagavad Gita As It Is" -- first published in 1968 -- is a translation of and commentary on the original text by Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the international Hare Krishna movement, ISKCON.

The judge, after reviewing the petition from the state prosecutors and the responses against it, dismissed the plea.

"We have won the case. The judge has rejected the petition," Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON, who is also the Chairman of newly formed Hindu Council of Russia said.

Reacting to the judgement, ISKCON spokesman Brajendra Nandan Das said in New Delhi that, "We are very happy".

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna welcomed the judgement and thanked the Russian government for its support.

ISKCON members have linked the court case to the Russian Orthodox church, which they claim wants to limit their activities in Russia.

The case had created a storm back in India. Speaking in Parliament, Krishna called the lawsuit "patently absurd". He had summoned the Russian Ambassador in New Delhi, Alexander Kadakin, on the eve of the court hearing and told him that Moscow should provide all possible help to resolve the issue.

He also conveyed to the Russian diplomat the sensitivities involved with the issue. Kadakin had assured Krishna that the Russian Government will do all it can within its power.

The trial began in June and was scheduled to conclude on December 19, just after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two-day visit to Russia.

However, officials in Tomsk agreed to hear further testimony from experts and the Russian ombudsman for human rights and postponed the court decision till today.

Panchayat polls in Gujarat today

Election to 8,250 village panchayats of Gujarat will be held on Today amid tight security.

The panchayat election, on such a large scale, is being seen in the state as the semi-final of the next year's assembly election. Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP and the Congress are the two main contenders in tomorrow's election.

Though the village panchayat elections are not fought with party symbols, in most places, BJP-backed panels are named Sadbhavna panels, while the Congress has named its panels as 'shanti' panel or 'vikas' panel.

"We have made elaborate security arrangements...more than 1.16 lakh policemen will be deputed," secretary of state election commission, PS Shah, said.

"A total of 1.70 lakh voters will exercise franchise, while 97,000 candidates are in the fray."

Polling will be through the ballot papers.

The state election commission published the notification on November 19, 2011 regarding elections for 10,405 village panchayats. Of which, 2,147 panchayats have been declared as Samras, where panchayat members have been declared elected unopposed, following consensus in the village.

The re-polling, if required, will be held on December 30. The counting of votes will be take place on December 31.

Anna Hazare ends fast, cancels jail bharo campaign

Smarting under poor response and bad health, Anna Hazare called off his fast a day ahead of schedule and repeated his threat to campaign against Congress in the five poll-bound states for not brining a strong Lokpal.

The 74-year-old activist made the surprise announcement midway through his three-day fast at MMRDA grounds which reported poor attendance of people for the second continous day, in stark contrast the mass swelling in Delhi earlier this year during his three fasts.

Hazare did not make any reference to the earlier plans of coming to Delhi for a dharna of the residence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and about the jail bharo agitation (filling up of jails) after that.

"...Whatever we are seeing today in Parliament is tragic. So I have decided to call off the fast today. There is only one way now. We will make a programme in the five states and go and awaken people there. I will tell them don't vote for traitors," he told a sparsely attended protest meeting in the afternoon.

"Now two years are left for the general elections. In between, I will go to various parts of the country and keep awakening the people till next general elections," he said.

The ending of the fast by Hazare, who was having fever of 100 degree F, came doctors advised him to call off his protest saying continuing it will lead to kidney failure.

Hazare said he was already fasting four days before the start of the protest strike yesterday here.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal replying to questions from media also said that they have withdrawn the proposed jail bharo campaign for the time being, but will campaign against the Congress in the forthcoming assembly elections in 5 states.

Now, Tokyo swoons to 'kolaveri di' song

On Wednesday evening, visiting Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda had a special guest at his dinner with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Dhanush, the current rage after his sensational hit, 'kolaveri di'. The Tinglish number that has gone viral on the Internet and spawned dozens of copycat versions.

Also, Dhanush is Rajnikanth's son-in-law. Rajnikanth has a large fan base in Japan and his film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed in Japanese.

'Kolaveri di' is now hot property in nightclubs and discos throughout Japan. If the humorous lyrics and Dhanush's evident enjoyment of his song made the video go viral in the cyberspace, the equal enjoyment of disco-goers in Tokyo has added to the song's international appeal. Not only does the song have Gujarati and Punjabi versions, Pakistani artistes have done their own version of this song, with "democracy" as their keyword. Dhanush may come up with a Hindi version too.

Ind vs Aus: Australia crush India by 122 runs at MCG

Fine bowling performances by James Pattinson (4/53) and Peter Siddle (3/42) guided Australia to register a crushing 122-run victory over India on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Today.

Spinner Nathan Lyon finally got the wicket as he scalped Umesh Yadav to bowl out India for 169 in 47.5 overs in their second innings.

Aussie seamers were on a roll right from the start as they claimed half of the Indian side inside 70 runs to put Australia on top against the visitors.

Paceman James Pattinson, who was certainly the hero of the day, dismissed Zaheer Khan (13) and skipper MS Dhoni (23) in quick succession as he claimed four wickets giving away just 53 runs in 15 overs.

Pattinson was truly rewarded with the man of the match award for his match-winning performance.

Seamer Peter Siddle claimed R Ashwin, who played a breezy knock of 35-ball 30 that included five fours, soon after the tea interval as India lost their seventh wicket at the score of 117. India were 117 for six at tea.

Chasing 292 for victory, India lost the momentum in the post-lunch session after losing five of their crucial wickets in the second session against Australia on Day 4 of the first Test at MCG.

Peter Siddle joined the party who got the prized wicket of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as India lost their sixth wicket at the score of 81 on Day 4 of the first Test.

Tendulkar, who was in good touch, went for the drive on a widish delivery but it was well caught by Michael Hussey at gully to give India another jolt. Tendulkar scored a quickfire 32 of 46 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Earlier, paceman James Pattinson double-strike gave India denting blow as he dismissed Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in quick succession followed by Ben Hilfenhaus who claimed his second by trapping Virat Kohli for duck.

India lost Dravid, Laxman and Kohli in a span of 11 runs. Laxman's trademark flick off Pattinson went straight to Ed Cowan at square leg, who made no mistake in grabbing it, as India were tottering at 69/5 from 58/3 at one stage.

Pattinson cleaned up Dravid who managed to score only 10 runs in the second innings. Dravid got out in a similar fashion the way he lost his wicket in the first innings.

The angular full-length delivery from Pattinson went through between bat and pad of Dravid to hit the timber.

Peter Siddle had Gautam Gambhir, soon after lunch, caught by Ricky Ponting at second slip to put India under pressure on the fourth day of the first Test.

India were 24 for one at lunch in their Indian second innings in pursuit of a 292-run victory target.

The Indian run chase got off to a bad start as Michael Hussey took a sharp catch at gully to dismiss Virender Sehwag off Ben Hilfenhaus.

Sehwag (7) went for a wild swing at a wide delivery, middled it but Hussey grasped it out of thin air over his head to dismiss the dangerman for Australia.

Earlier in the day, India bowled out Australia for 240 runs in their second innings which left them with a 292-run victory target after Hussey and James Pattinson resumed the Australian second innings on Day 4.

Ishant Sharma took the last Australian wicket when he had Ben Hilfenhaus caught by VVS Laxman at second slip. Zaheer Khan squared up Michael Hussey with an absolute beauty and had him caught behind by MS Dhoni.

Hussey hit 9 fours in his 89-run knock before edging a good length delivery outside the off-stump that kicked up a hint and seamed away from him.

South Andhra Pardesh on alert as cyclone 'Thane' threatens coast

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) categorised cyclonic storm ‘Thane’ over southwest Bay of Bengal as very severe and issued a warning for north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast.

Cyclonic storm Thane is moving west-southwestward and lay centered at 0530 hrs IST Thursday morning about 300 km east-southeast of Chennai. The system is likely to move westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Chennai, close to Puducherry by tomorrow morning.

However, the storm is expected to weaken as it moves closer to the coast.

Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph likely to commence along and off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts from today. The wind speed is expected to increase to 100-110 kmph at the time of landfall

The storm is also expected to cause rain all along the coast.

Adding to the concerns of the citizens, the IMD has warned of a storm surge of about 1 meter height which may inundate the low lying areas of Chennai and Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram & Villupuram districts.

Fishermen along north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & south Andhra Pradesh coasts have been advised not to venture into sea and people in the affected area have been advised to stay indoors.

Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha today

Two days after getting the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in Lok Sabha, the UPA government will introduce the same for a debate and approval in Rajya Sabha on Today.

The decision to introduce the Lokpal Bill in the Upper House was taken shortly after President Pratibha Patil gave her approval for the same yesterday.

The President's approval was required for the measure since the Lok Sabha made some amendments to The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 before its passage.

After the Lokpal Bill is tabled in the Upper House, a debate on the same would be held which will conclude with a vote.

The controversial Bill is being tabled in the Upper House amid concerns that the UPA government lacks adequate majority required to get the same passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Uncertainty prevails over the smooth passage of anti-graft legislation in the Upper House since Trinamool Congress – a major UPA ally- has decided to make a key amendment to the legislation adopted by Lok Sabha further complicating the numbers game in the House.

Trinamool Congress, which has 6 members in the 243-member Upper House where the Congress and its allies do not have majority, wants removal of the provisions relating to the setting up of Lokayuktas in the state which is contained in the Bill passed by Lok Sabha yesterday. If the Government accepts the amendments, the Bill will have to be referred to the Lok Sabha again or a joint session of Parliament has to be convened for its clearance.

UPA troubleshooter and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday held talks with leaders of Trinamool Congress, which has strong reservations over provisions in the bill that it considers encroachment on the states’ rights on appointment of the Lokayukta.

Trinamool Congress leaders Mukul Roy and Sudeep Bandopadhayay met Mukherjee after which Roy said the question of creating trouble for the government does not arise. With Mukherjee reportedly ruling out any further amendments, Trinamool Congress has tabled amendments for removal of provisions relating to Lokayuktas that it feels are encroaching on the powers of states.

In a House with an effective strength of 243, the Congress and other allies in the UPA account for 94 and can count on the support of eight nominated members and independents and members of small parties accounting for around 10 MPs.

The Constitution Amendment Bill, an idea of Rahul Gandhi to give Constitutional status to Lokpal and Lokayukta, was also favoured by the Standing Committee which considered the bill.

A Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed should have more than 50 per cent of the members of the House present and of them, two-third support is mandatory.

Concerned about this, MoS in PMO, V Narayanasamy said this morning, “The Congress party had issued a whip asking its MPs to be present and vote in favour of the bill in Rajya Sabha. The party is concerned about the fate of the Lokpal Bill and is determined to get the same passed in the Upper House.”

The minister expressed concerns about the possible absence of its own MPs and those from major allies including NCP, DMK, BSP, SP and RJD during the voting in Rajya Sabha - the absence of some MPs resulted in the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha.

The Congress party has decided to take action against its own members, who staged a walkout or remained absent during the voting on the Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha earlier.

The government has reasons to worry in case the members of its alliance partners including the DMK. SP, RJD and BSP walk out of the House during voting as they did in Lok Sabha.

In the 245-member House, the Congress and its allies NCP, DMK, Trinamool Congress, LJP and RLD together have 93 members. Parties supporting the UPA from outside - BSP (18), SP (5) and RJD (4) -- account for 27 crucial votes.

These three parties had walked out of Lok Sabha before voting on the Lokpal Bill last night but their absence did not matter much because the bill required only a simple majority and it was passed by a voice vote.

However, the absence of 42 MPs from these three parties in the Lok Sabha spelt disaster for the government in the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which required a special majority for passage.

Probably, this has triggered concerns in the Congress government, which is making every attempt to ensure that the Lokpal Bill sails through choppy seas in Rajya Sabha.

On Tuesday, Lok Sabha voted on the two bills after a 10-hour long debate that had 38 speakers and saw heated exchanges, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention at 4.40 pm indicated the government's resolve to press ahead despite stiff opposition, primarily on the question of constitution of Lokayuktas in the states.

The opposition proposed nearly 90 amendments in all and the voting process for the three bills went on for nearly two hours, ending close to midnight.

Most opposition members wanted the CBI to be freed of government control, but opinion was divided on whether the agency should be brought under the Lokpal.

Members wanted deletion of Section 24, which requires the Lokpal to send reports on charge-sheeted MPs to the presiding officers of the two houses of Parliament, asking them to take action against the member.

‘Sexual assaults rise at US military academies’

The number of sexual assaults reported at the country's prestigious military academies rose sharply for the second year in a row, according to a Pentagon report issued on Wednesday.

A total of 65 sexual assault cases were reported at the three academies in 2010-11 compared to 41 reports in the previous academic year, the report said.

The rise comes amid extensive efforts by the academies for the Army, Navy and Air Force to prevent sexual assaults and to raise awareness of the problem.

The Pentagon said it was unclear why the number of reported sexual assaults rose and that it was possible that due to recent initiatives, more victims were coming forward to notify authorities.

"The Department does not have the ability to conclusively identify the reasons for this increase in reporting behavior," said the report.

"However, in prior years' assessments, the Department identified steps the academies could take to encourage more victims to report. Some of the increased reporting of sexual assault may be attributed to these efforts as well as many other factors," it said.

The 41 reported sexual assaults reported at the academies in 2009-2010 marked a 64 percent increase from the previous academic period, according to Pentagon documents.

Today's report said all the academies were complying with strict Defense Department rules on preventing sexual assaults and in some cases surpassed requirements with innovative programs to try to address the problem.

"When service members report sexual assaults, the Department is better positioned to provide resources to victims and hold those who commit sexual assault accountable, as appropriate," the report said.

The report also announced a new policy that will allow a cadet who files a report of sexual assault to be transferred promptly.

China to build world’s highest airport handle 2.2 million passengers in next year

 China will construct the world's highest-altitude airport next year in Tibet, which will the sixth in the strategic Himalayan region.

The airport, planned at an altitude of 4,436 meters in Nagqu prefecture, will be 102 meters higher than Bamda Airport in Tibet's Qamdo prefecture , currently the world's highest, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a government work report as saying.

The airport will cover an area of up to 660 acres.

The Tibetan Branch of the China civil aviation administration has said the airport is expected to cost $285million with a three-year construction period.

Regional aviation authorities will add more flights next year to connect major cities in Tibet and also link the plateau region with other major cities nationwide, according to the document.

The increase in flight services is expected to help Tibet's airports handle 2.2 million passengers and 15,000 tonnes of cargo in 2012, it added. The Xinhua report did not mention when the airport would open.

Tibet already has five civilian airports, at least two of which are only open for a few months of the year because of extreme weather which makes flying impossible the rest of the time.

China has embarked upon a multi-billion-dollar program in recent years to revamp old airports and build new ones, especially in the remote west, as a way of boosting the economy.

Pill that burns 380 calories per day hits UK market

A new pill claims to help shed those extra calories, which one unwittingly acquires during festivals, without any pain.

Makers claim that one dose of Nuratrim can burn 380 calories-a-day, which is 15 times more than normal.

Advanced orders topped 50,000 as the product reached the UK on Tuesday and it sold out within hours when it was launched across the U.S. in October.

Mariah Carey, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Aniston have reportedly used the tablet, which contains extracts of liquorice and green coffee to speed up digestion.

German creator Dr Alfred Hasslebacher said that the pill has been “been clinically proven to increase energy levels, suppress appetite, and burn fat”.

“It has been devised to assist all men and women looking to lose excess weight and control their appetite,” the Daily Mail quoted Dr. Hasslebacher as saying.

“This optimum formula has been clinically proven to increase energy levels, suppress appetite, and burn fat,” he stated.

Nuratrim costs 34.95 pounds for 30 pills and is designed to be taken daily with breakfast.

Makers report that Nuratrim can burn as many calories as a 40 minute run, and the natural ingredient Glucomannan, absorbs water which swells the stomach to keep hunger at bay.

“Our extensive research showed how hard it is to achieve your ideal weight and size when the daily demands and pressures of your lifestyle impede on your good intentions,” Dr. Hasslebacher explained.

“Nuratrim is an unique blend of pure ingredients that have thermogenic properties which naturally stimulate the body``s metabolism by mimicking the effects of physical activity,” he added.

Research involving 65 patients of average weight, found Nuratrim increased metabolic rate by 35 percent, reduced appetite by 78 percent and burned an additional 20 percent of fat.

Over an eight week period 90 per cent of those involved lost a minimum of 14 lbs without changing their diet or lifestyle.

Sonia Blames BJP For Defeat Of Constitution Bill

Hitting hard at the BJP for having backtracked after supporting constitutional status for Lokpal in the Standing Committee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Wednesday, said that the real face of the BJP has come to the fore.

Reiterating Congress remains committed to a strong Lokpal, Sonia said, “I am very happy that an effective Lokpal Bill has been passed.”

However, she pointed fingers at the BJP saying that it was only because of the BJP that the government could not ensure constitutional status for the Ombudsman.

“The strength we wanted to give to the Lokpal…they did not want it. The BJP had committed to constitutional status for Lokpal in the standing committee but later they withdrew the support,” Sonia said.

Sonia Gandhi’s comments came after high-drama in the Parliament yesterday night which saw the government’s proposal to grant constitutional status to Lokapl being voted out by the Lok Sabha.

The Constitution (116th Amendment) Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha by a determined Opposition, helped by the absence of parties supporting the government from outside like SP, BSP and RJD.

Samajwadi Party (22), BSP (16) and RJD (4), which support the UPA government from outside staged a walkout, bringing the numbers down for the government.

A Constitution Amendment Bill to be passed should have more than 50 per cent of the members of the House present and of them, two-third support is mandatory.

Adding to government’s troubles, around 15 Congress MPs were also absent at the time of voting, leading to a situation where the government could not muster even simple majority of 273 votes in favour as it managed only 250 votes on the crucial legislation.

The Congress has reasons to feel embarrassed, especially because it was Rahul Gandhi's idea of conferring Constitutional status to Lokpal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday night expressed disappointment over the failure. "This is a bit of disappointment that it could not be passed," he said after the embarrassment faced by the government in the House.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee told the BJP-led Opposition, “It is a sad day for democracy, it is a sad for the institution. People will teach you a lesson."

On the other hand, the BJP had demanded resignation of the UPA government on moral grounds after it failed to get the Constitution Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha.

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has no moral right to continue in office," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters after the embarassing development for the government.

"Rahul Gandhi's dream has been shattered. This shows the monumental inefficiency of this government,” he added.

Russia test launches RS-18 ballistic missile

Russia successfully test-launched intercontinental ballistic missile -- RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto) -- Tuesday from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, said the defence ministry.

The missile is capable of carrying up to six warheads.

"The goal of the test launch is to prove the stability and basic technical characteristics of missiles of this kind," said defence ministry spokesman Vadim Koval.

Developed by the Chelomei Design Bureau, the RS-18 is a silo-based, liquid-propellant missile, which together with the RS-16 (SS-17) and RS-20 (SS-18) comprises the fourth generation of Russian strategic missiles.

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces are considering the possibility of extending the RS-18 missiles' service term by one year to 33 years, he added.

A source in Russia's defence industry said RS-18 missiles are currently used to test advanced warheads designed to penetrate missile defences.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez diagnosed with thyroid cancer

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery next month, her government said on Tuesday, adding that the cancerous cells had not spread.

Fernandez, 58, was easily elected to a second four-year term in October, vowing to deepen her unorthodox policies despite complaints from business leaders who say her heavy-handed management of the economy is stifling investment.

Fernandez was diagnosed with a papillary carcinoma that has not metastasized, said her spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro. The operation is scheduled to take place on January 4 and she is expected to take a leave of absence until January 24.

"The thyroid gland will have to be removed," said Buenos Aires-based cancer specialist Julio Moreno. "The prognosis is very good. The chances of being cured are 90 to 98 percent."

The cancer was detected last week during a routine check. Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer and normally affects people under the age of 40, especially women.

A skilled orator fond of glamorous clothes, high heels and make-up, Fernandez still wears black as she mourns her husband and closest advisor, former President Nestor Kirchner, who died late last year.

When Kirchner died, many thought it spelled the end of the couple's idiosyncratic blend of state intervention, nationalist rhetoric and the championing of human rights in grains exporting powerhouse Argentina, the world's No. 3 soybean supplier.

But Fernandez pulled off a remarkable comeback on the back of a brisk economic expansion and an outpouring of public sympathy. She was re-elected with 54 percent of the vote, promising to stay true to her policies despite objections from Wall Street and international investors.

Latin America's No. 3 economy is growing at nearly 9 percent a year. But a worsening global economic outlook combined with entrenched high inflation at home are seen reining in Argentina's growth to about 4 percent next year.

Fernandez is one of several Latin American leaders to have cancer. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez underwent chemotherapy earlier this year while Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo's lymphatic cancer is in remission.

And former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is being successfully treated for a cancerous tumour on his Larynx, according to his doctors.

REVEALED: `Bigg Boss` game plan

Well, the fifth season of `Bigg Boss` has stumped one and all by going overboard with its shrewd tactics and sleazy antics.

In a startling revelation, what comes forth is that Mahek Chahal’s eviction and consequent re-entry into the house was a planned one.

Talking to a popular website, a source revealed that Shonali Nagrani, Laxmi Tripathi and Mahek Chahal stood a strong chance in making it back into the infamous house as a wild card entrant. But Salman Khan’s alleged girl Mahek was the only one who had to make it.

“This was done as the makers were keen on having more contestants inside the show for the finale, to make it look good and crowded. So, when they realised that the wild card contest may not materialise with Shonali backing out, the show closed the voting lines after the nominations on Monday evening to save an extra contestant inside. But the makers did not give up and kept convincing Shonali. Finally, the makers and Shonali zeroed down to a barter deal,” a website quoted its source as saying.

“The deal was that Shonali will get in the wild card entry contest and the makers will give her a chance to co-host the ‘Aapka Farmaan’ eviction episode on New Year`s eve, along with Sanjay Dutt. Apparently, Shonali discussed this barter deal with Laxmi, who knew about this entire exercise to make Mahek’s re-entry look credible on Bigg Boss,” the source added.

Even Shonali confirmed her plan to co-host the show along with Sanjay Dutt on the New Year’s eve episode to the website. She said, “Yes, I am co-hosting the show with Sanjay Dutt on the New Year’s Eve. It is a fantastic feeling to share screen space with Sanjay, he is a superb host and a nice man. For now, I just don’t know one thing that if I will get a chance to interact with the inmates. I am craving to do that as well. I think I am taking Salman Khan’s place for one episode (laughs).”

Well we are sure this revelation will certainly provoke followers of the show to wonder if Mahek will emerge as the winner!