28 die as speeding tamil nadu express catches firesouthasiandaily.com/pdf/july 31, 2012/part_1.pdf28...

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CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE 28 die as speeding Tamil Nadu Express catches fire Team Anna apologises for scuffle between its supporters and mediapersons MANIC MONDAY Ajmer dargah to get Zardari's $1m donation: Pakistan INDIA'S GAGAN NARANG CELEBRATES AFTER WINNING THE BRONZE MEDAL IN THE MEN'S 10-METER AIR RIFLE AT THE 2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN LONDON, ON MONDAY. FOR BEST DEALS AND INFORMATION SEE PAGE 31 REPORT ON PAGE 5 NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWS Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has apologised for the scuffle that broke out between Team Anna supporters and mediapersons last night at Jantar Mantar, where anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare is on an indefinite fast. Hazare also said he would end the protest if such violence was repeated and told his supporters to desist from any confrontation with mediapersons. The incident took place at around 10 pm, when Hazare supporters entered into an argument with the mediapersons. A team Anna member's allegation that the media was not projecting the protest in right light led to the scuffle. Team Anna supporters allegedly hurled abuses and raised anti-media slogans.??The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) had condemned the incident and demanded an apology from Team Anna.??"The Broadcast Editors' Association strongly condemns attack on media by Anna supporters. The BEA believes that this is an interference in the functioning of media. The media is discharging its legitimate duty of covering the agitation in a fair manner. The BEA seeks an immediate apology from Team Anna for the misbehaviour by its supporters," a press release by the BEA said.??Earlier, key Team Anna member Kumar Vishwas condemned the incident and said the scuffle should not have taken place. NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWS Days after media reports quoted the authorities of the Moinuddin Chishti dargah in Ajmer saying that they were yet to receive the Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari's donation, the Pakistani high commission on Monday said that arrangements were in place to make the contribution as announced by him to the shrine in April. In a brief statement, Pakistani high commission termed media reports as "speculative" and said the "arrangements are in hand" to make the donation as announced. "The high commission thanks the Government of India, the state authorities, and the dargah committees for their cooperation in this regard," it said Zardari, during his day-long visit on April 8, had offered prayers at the historic 13th century dargah of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti after which a donation of $1 million for the shrine was also announced by him. Recent reports said that three months after the announcement, the amount was still to be transferred to the dargah. They said former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf had followed up on his donation within a month. PAKISTAN PRESIDENT ASIF ALI ZARDARI WAVES TO ONLOOKERS DURING A VISIT TO THE DARGAH OF KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI IN AJMER (FILE PHOTO) Major power failure in north India hit Delhi Metro services. INDIA GOES GAGA OVER GAGAN NARANG, FETCHES FIRST MEDAL FOR INDIA NORTHERN GRID COLLAPSE PARALYSES CITY CHENNAI/BUREAU NEWS At least 28 people were killed, many in their sleep, and 15 others badly burned and bruised when a blaze broke out on the Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh early Monday, engulfing a sleeper coach as the train sped at 80km/hr. The fire began around 4.20am and spread devastatingly fast through the overcrowded S11 coach of the train, giving the 72 reserved passengers and an unknown number of additional travellers in the bogie virtually no chance of escape. The train New Delhi at 10.30pm on Saturday and was failure to introduce fire prevention mechanisms as recommended by various committees in the past. Survivors said they heard a loud sound and people shouting in alarm before fire engulfed the coach. Railways minister Mukul Roy, speaking in Kolkata, said a gateman at the Vedayapalem level crossing near Nellore railway station heard a loud sound before the fire. Suggesting that the blaze could have been an act of sabotage, Roy said railways is probing the fire and not ruled out the possibility that it was caused by an explosion. speeding towards Chennai at the time of the mishap. The blaze highlighted the railways' poor safety record and its At least 28 people were killed, many in their sleep, and 15 others badly burned and bruised when a blaze broke out on the TN Express near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh early Monday. Supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare participate in a hunger strike in New Delhi. NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWS Monday's blackout in nine northern states following a grid collapse was a disaster waiting to happen. With most states in the region facing perennial shortages of power, they are prone to drawing more than their share from the grid, leaving it precariously poised. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are notorious among load despatchers for their wanton disregard of planned drawal. All are agricultural states and also house major industries. But successive state governments have done precious little to ramp up generation capacity. Contd. on Page 13

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Page 1: 28 die as speeding Tamil Nadu Express catches firesouthasiandaily.com/pdf/July 31, 2012/part_1.pdf28 die as speeding Tamil Nadu Express catches fire Team Anna apologises for scuffle

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE

28 die as speeding TamilNadu Express catches fire

Team Anna apologises forscuffle between its supporters

and mediapersons

MANIC MONDAY

Ajmer dargah to get Zardari's $1m donation: Pakistan

INDIA'S GAGAN NARANG CELEBRATES AFTER WINNING THE BRONZE MEDAL IN THE MEN'S 10-METER AIRRIFLE AT THE 2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN LONDON, ON MONDAY.

FOR BEST DEALS AND INFORMATION SEE PAGE 31

REPORT ON PAGE 5

NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWSTeam Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has apologised for thescuffle that broke out between Team Anna supporters andmediapersons last night at Jantar Mantar, where anti-graftcrusader Anna Hazare is on an indefinite fast. Hazare also saidhe would end the protest if such violence was repeated and toldhis supporters to desist from any confrontation withmediapersons. The incident took place at around 10 pm, whenHazare supporters entered into an argument with themediapersons.

A team Anna member's allegation that the media was notprojecting the protest in right light led to the scuffle. Team Annasupporters allegedly hurled abuses and raised anti-mediaslogans.??The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) hadcondemned the incident and demanded an apology from TeamAnna.??"The Broadcast Editors' Association strongly condemnsattack on media by Anna supporters. The BEA believes that thisis an interference in the functioning of media. The media isdischarging its legitimate duty of covering the agitation in a fairmanner. The BEA seeks an immediate apology from Team Annafor the misbehaviour by its supporters," a press release by theBEA said.??Earlier, key Team Anna member Kumar Vishwascondemned the incident and said the scuffle should not havetaken place.

NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWSDays after media reports quoted the authorities of the MoinuddinChishti dargah in Ajmer saying that they were yet to receive thePakistani president Asif Ali Zardari's donation, the Pakistanihigh commission on Monday said that arrangements were inplace to make the contribution as announced by him to theshrine in April. In a brief statement, Pakistani high commissiontermed media reports as "speculative" and said the"arrangements are in hand" to make the donation as announced."The high commission thanks the Government of India, thestate authorities, and the dargah committees for their cooperationin this regard," it said Zardari, during his day-long visit on April8, had offered prayers at the historic 13th century dargah of sufisaint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti after which a donation of $1million for the shrine was also announced by him. Recent reportssaid that three months after the announcement, the amountwas still to be transferred to the dargah. They said formerPakistani president Pervez Musharraf had followed upon his donation within a month.

PAKISTAN PRESIDENT ASIF ALI ZARDARI WAVES TO ONLOOKERS DURING A VISITTO THE DARGAH OF KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI IN AJMER (FILE PHOTO)

Major power failure in north India hit Delhi Metro services.

INDIA GOESGAGA OVERGAGANNARANG,FETCHESFIRSTMEDAL FORINDIA

NORTHERN GRID COLLAPSEPARALYSES CITY

CHENNAI/BUREAU NEWSAt least 28 people were killed,many in their sleep, and 15others badly burned andbruised when a blaze broke outon the Tamil Nadu Express nearNellore in Andhra Pradesh earlyMonday, engulfing a sleeper coachas the train sped at 80km/hr.

The fire began around4.20am and spreaddevastatingly fast through theovercrowded S11 coach of thetrain, giving the 72 reservedpassengers and an unknownnumber of additional travellersin the bogie virtually no chanceof escape.

The train New Delhi at10.30pm on Saturday and was

failure to introduce fireprevention mechanisms asrecommended by variouscommittees in the past.Survivors said they heard aloud sound and peopleshouting in alarm before fireengulfed the coach.

Railways minister MukulRoy, speaking in Kolkata, saida gateman at the Vedayapalemlevel crossing near Nellorerailway station heard a loudsound before the fire.Suggesting that the blaze couldhave been an act of sabotage,Roy said railways is probingthe fire and not ruled out thepossibility that it was causedby an explosion.

speeding towards Chennai atthe time of the mishap. The

blaze highlighted the railways'poor safety record and its

At least 28 people were killed, many in their sleep, and 15others badly burned and bruised when a blaze broke out on theTN Express near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh early Monday.

Supporters of ant i -corrupt ion act iv is t Anna Hazareparticipate in a hunger strike in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWSMonday's blackout in nine northernstates following a grid collapse wasa disaster waiting to happen. Withmost states in the region facingperennial shortages of power, theyare prone to drawing more than theirshare from the grid, leaving itprecariously poised. Uttar Pradesh,

Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan arenotorious among load despatchersfor their wanton disregard ofplanned drawal. All are agriculturalstates and also house majorindustries. But successive stategovernments have done preciouslittle to ramp up generationcapacity. Contd. on Page 13

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2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

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MidWeek 3MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

page 3 SUNNY LEONEPROMOTES'JISM 2' WITHHUBBY DANIELWEBER

Punjabi International Film Academy Awards

DHARMENDRA, OM PURI , NEERU BAJWA ARRIVE IN TORONTO FOR PUNJABIINTERNATIONAL FILM ACADEMY AWARDS (PIFAA) (PHOTO: CINEGOER.COM)

BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS SONAM KAPOOR, SHAZAHNPADAMSEE AND PRATEIK BABBAR AT AVE 29 ART GALLERYOPENING, MUMBAI.

Sonam, Shazahn, Prateikat Ave 29 gallery opening

Bollywood s ta r sMallika Sherawat andVivek Oberoi shared a

T-shir t a t an event held tounveil the first look of theirupcoming film Kismat, Love,Paisa, Dill i , at RCity mall ,Mumbai. Vivek Oberoi wrote on Twitterbefore the event : "Superexcited to catch up wid u guys

Mallika Sherawat, VivekOberoi share a T-shirt

Deepika Padukone looked stunning in awhite Alice+Olivia cocktail dress at thelaunch of Yamah Ray Scooter at Hotel ITC Central in

Mumbai. The 26-year-old actress was announced the face ofthe new scooter for women. She accessorized with nude JimmyChoo peeptoe pumps, H&M dangler earrings and anAquamarine ring.

Deepika Padukoneat Yamaha Presser

2nite at R City Mall Ghatkoparfor an exclus ive #KLPDunveiling...what cud it be? Lolc u guys there : )" EvenMallika Sherawat updated herfans of Twit ter and wrote :"Going to R c i ty mal lghatkopar a t 5 pmtoday,unveiling th poster ofKismet Luv Pa i sa Di l i ,mnervous:)"

The Indo-Canadian porna c t r e s s - t u r n e d -Bollywood actress

Sunny Leone was clicked at theMumbai airport with herhusband Daniel Weber, as shereached India to promote herupcoming film Jism 2! SunnyLeone said: "I am excited to behere! I know it's a little late but itdoes not matter! I hope you guyswatch Jism 2 and I hope you guyslove the movie!" Sunny Leonerevealed that she will startpromoting the film from Mondaymorning and said: "You guys aregoing to get lots and lots ofinterviews"! Sunny is happy withthe way Jism 2 has come together!

Sunny Leone promotes'Jism 2' with hubby

Daniel Weber

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4 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

page 4 ANU & ARUNJI’S ROOF TOPPARTY ATRADISSONPLAZA

MP PARM GILL JOINS THE OKD 1ST JUNIOR FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS TO CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE IN YOUTH SPORTS.

Bipasha, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Guptato come to Toronto in SeptemberTORONTO: Bollywood's actors BipashaBasu, Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta willbe in Toronto on September 2, the LabourDay long weekend in connection with thepromotion of their upcoming movie Raaz3. Producer of the film Mahesh Bhatt willalso accompany the team. Raaz 3 is anupcoming Bollywood romantic horrorthriller film directed by Vikram Bhatt,and produced by Mahesh Bhatt andMukesh Bhatt.[2] The film is a sequelto Raaz -- The Mystery Continues, andfeatures Emraan Hashmi reprising hisrole from the original, and with newadditions to the cast including BipashaBasu and Esha Gupta.

Toronto Filmmaker'sPakistani film makesIt to NY film festival

TORONTO: The Pakistanifeature film Lamha(publicized as Seedlingsinternationally) will bepremiering at the New YorkCity International FilmFestival this year.Produced by Pakistani-Canadian, Meher Jaffri,written by Summer Nicks anddirected by debutant MansoorMujahid, the film has beeninvited to be screened at thetwo-day open air festival to beheld on August 9-10 at TimesSquare. It is intended to releasetheatrically in Pakistan laterthis year.Festival Director of NYCIFFRoberto Rizzo states, "AsFrench poet Lamartine wrote'There is one missing andthe whole world is empty:the movie is about how toovercome this emptiness.

Mansoor Mujahid treats thissensitive subject in themost subtle way, and theperformance of AaminaSheikh as a devastatedmother makes it extraordinarilymoving".Lamha revolves around thelives of three individuals whoare bound together by adevastating accident, in a storyof loss, forgiveness andredemption. The film followsthe lives of these charactersa year after the tragedy.The film's renowned castincludes Mohib Mirza,Gohar Rasheed and AaminaSheikh. Its musical scorehas been composed by 21-year-old Pakistani musicsensation Usman Riaz andfeatures the soothing vocalsof Coke Studio famed ZoeViccaji.

Indo-Canadian teen wins MissTeen Canada-World 2012 title

MONTREAL: Montreal based Indo-Canadianteenage model, Megha Sandhu, 18, was crownedMiss Teen Canada-World 2012 to become Canada'snext teen beauty and goodwill ambassador. 65contestants from various cities participated in thecompetition. Megha, a home science student, issaid to be always on the lookout for new learningopportunities to better understand the scientificworld.

Megha is very keen towards arts andmodelling. She has performed various acts and hasalso learnt Indian classical dancing, Bharat Natyam.Her parents immigrated to Canada in 1989. Meghahas also dedicated her time to various volunteeringopportunities and it is her heartfelt desire to promoteawareness for special needs children in schoolenvironment.

Scotiabank TorontoCaribbean Carnivalkicks off at City HallTORONTO: Get ready to jump up all summer long, the 2012Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is officially underway.The three-week long festival kicked off today as soca artists,pan orchestrators and mas dancers filled Nathan Phillips Squareto mark the beginning of the festival that starts today and runsthrough to August 12, 2012. "I can't believe it's Carnival timeagain in Toronto," said Denise Herrera-Jackson, CEO of theFestival Management Committee. "We've added new events tothis year's festival line-up with non-stop activities andentertainment. On Friday, August 3, Exhibition Place comes alivewith a late night Fish Fry, which transitions into early morningbreakfast, followed by a J'Ouvert extravaganza with 'Ole mas'revellers, steelpans and drums all night long. We encourage

everyone to come out and enjoy this year's exciting line up ofevents." Sport stars, politicians, business leaders, dozens anddozens of dancers in colourful mas costumes and steel panplayers all came out to celebrate the festival's official launchtoday to kick of the festivities for 2012. There's new andimproved festival programming this year, with new sponsors,including General Motors, that has come on board to help withthe Junior Carnival Parade and King and Queen Competitionand El Dorado Rum is sponsoring a July 27, 2012 Gala at the LibertyGrand Ballroom on the CNE grounds. The festival is expected toattract thousands of people over the course of the three-weekperiod, as more people from across North America migrate towardthe city during the summer. Long-time festival fans are expected toreturn in large numbers, as the festival is an affordable vacationdestination in the middle of the summer heat. The FestivalManagement Committee is also bringing in new green initiatives,aimed at reducing the Festival's carbon footprint to meet thegrowing interests and needs of the festival attendees.

ANU & ARUN JI’S ROOF TOPPARTY AT RADISSON PLAZA

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MidWeek 5MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012 breaking news

NELLORE/BUREAU NEWSAt least 32 passengers werecharred to death and 27 injuredwhen a sleeper bogie of NewDelhi-Chennai superfast TamilNadu Express (No 12622) caughtfire mysteriously in the earlyhours of Monday. The reservedS-11 bogie caught fire at 4.22 amand the entire bogie was guttedin 20 minutes leaving no chancefor the sleeping passengers toescape. While some of thepassengers were burnt beyondrecognition, some were reducedto ashes. This is second majortrain accident in Andhra Pradeshin a span of two months as 25passengers were killed on May22 when Bellary-BengaluruHampi Express collided with astationary goods train atPenukonda station in Anantapurdistrict. More than 15 bodies werefound near the exit gate giving anindication that all of them wereburnt alive while trying the escape.The victims were choked to deathas the fire and smoke engulfedthem even before they woke upfrom the deep sleep. The incidenttook place soon after the expresstrain passed through Nellorestation at 4.15 am. The gatemannear Vedayapalem railway levelcrossing spotted the smoke and

flames in the bogie and alerted theauthorities. The driver broughtthe train to a sudden halt aftersome panicked passengers pulledthe chain. The train was runningat a speed of about 70 kmph at thetime.

The fire engulfed the train inno time due to the winds sweepingin the area in the early hours.Smoke and fire spread from oneend of the bogie to the frontportion where more number ofpassengers were sleeping near theexit point. The passengersoccupying the berth numbers 25-70 were the worst hit. While about25 from the rear end ran outtowards the northern side andescaped with injuries, those whotried to reach the southern exitwere charred to death. A few otherswere reduced to ashes on theirberths even before they couldwake up. "The bogie resembled amass crematorium where severalcharred bodies were found in aheap," a rescuer said.

While 72 passengers weretravelling in the reserved bogie,eye-witnesses said that at leasthalf a dozen unreservedpassengers had also boarded thebogie. Nearly 27 passengers wererescued and admitted to varioushospitals in Nellore and 10 others

believed to have escaped the fireby jumping from the train. Therailway emergency team soon afterreaching the spot de linked theother bogies from the ill-fated S-11 bogie and saved thepassengers from getting trappedin the fire.

The railway ministryordered a high-level probe intothe incident. Additional DG,

Government Railway Police, VSKKaumudi said that specialinvestigation teams were beingrushed to the spot to ascertainthe cause of the accident.

The injured passengerswere rushed to various hospitalsincluding Jaibharathi superspeciality hospital, People'sPolyclinic, Bollineni Hospital andthe government general hospital.

According to initial informationprovided by the railwayauthorities, 28 passengers tookthe train at Vijayawada station.At least 17 passengers weretravelling from Delhi, 11 fromBhopal, 7 from Warangal, 6 fromJhansi, 3 from Agra and one fromNagpur.

Railway minister Mukul Royannounced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to

the kin of the deceased in theaccident, while chief ministerKiran Kumar Reddy asked thedistrict administration to provideall possible help to the injuredpassengers. Followinginstructions from the stategovernment, the authoritiesmade arrangements forcompletion of postmortem at therailway station.

FIRE ON TAMIL NADU EXPRESS32 DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED

Asif Ali Zardari formallyinvites Manmohan

Singh to visit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari today formally invitedPrime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan, saying the tripwould provide an oppor tunity to take stock of bilateral relations.Zardari suggested that if Singh's visit coincided with celebra-tions to mark the bir th anniversary of Guru Nanak in November,it would be well received by the Pakistani people and reinforcethe desire of both countries to promote inter-religious harmony.Zardari also promised to organise a trip for Singh to his ancestralhometown Gah in the Punjab province.

India goes gaga over Gagan Narang,fetches first medal for IndiaLONDON: Gagan Narang on Monday opened India's account inthe London Olympic Games by winning the bronze medal in themen's 10m air rifle event at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

Narang shot 103.1 in a ten-shot finals for an aggregate of 701.1after scoring 598 in the qualifying round. Romania's Alin GeorgeMoldoveanu clinced the gold with 702.1, while Italy's NiccoloCampriani took the silver with 701.5. However, Abhinav Bindra, India'sshooting gold medalist in 2008, failed to make it past the qualifyingevent for the title he won in Beijing four years ago. He shot a roundof 594 in the qualifiers, getting three nines in the sixth and finalround which ruined his chances of qualifying. Meanwhile, Narangshot a round of 598 to reach the finals. Narang was bang on targetfrom the beginning of competition, scoring two successive 100s,but a 98 in the third series of qualifiers somewhat let down thequadruple gold medal winner at the 2010 Commonwealth Games inDelhi. The 29-year-old Punjabi based out of Hyderabad, however,kept his cool and fought his way back into the reckoning for themedal round with a perfect 100 in the fourth series and then clinchedthe final spot as the third best performer by notching two more 100sin his last two rounds. Narang, will also compete in the 50m rifle 3-position and prone events. The 29-year-old's medal-winning effort,the first for India on the third day of competitions here, has lifted thespirits of the Indian camp who were left dazed by the unexpectedelimination of Bindra in the qualifying rounds.

RAKSHA BANDHAN CELEBRATIONSHUMBLE THREADS OUST FANCY RAKHISMUMBAI: Clusters of red silken threads brighten the grey urbanlandscape as Raksha Bandhan comes up on August 2. Interestingly,'rakhi' designs have become more delicate to attract women who

buy them ratherthan men who willwear them. Thefestival falls on thefull moon day ofthe holy month ofShravan. Al e g e n d a r yanecdote from theMahabharat relateshow Draupadi toreoff the edge of her

sari and tied it on Krishna's wrist to stem a bleeding wound. Recallingthis generosity, he protected her honour with reams of cloth duringthe infamous episode of 'cheerharan'. The festival bears significance

in the subcontinent's culture, where Hindu princesses have beenknown to tie the sacred thread on the wrists of Muslim royals as anaffirmation of trust. Over time, rituals have gained scale. Besidesjewellers, neighbourhood stores too are displaying 'rakhis'made of gold and silver this season. "The centre of the silkenthread has a tiny gold Ganpati, measuring a quarter of an inchand weighing 400mg. It costs Rs 1,800," says a storeowner inAndheri. Silver bracelets with ornate carving are priced at Rs450 onwards. Kids form a significant consumer base. Eventhose without siblings so love the cartoon rakhis, that theybuy the threads for themselves. However, multi-colouredthreads encrus ted wi th c rys ta l embel l i shments remainbestsellers. Starting at Rs 10 each , they go up to Rs 30 to 40.Courier companies too have their hands full ."We usuallycharge Rs 310 for a half-kg despatch to cities and Rs 350 tointerior areas. However, Raksha Bandhan deliveries are chargedat a flat rate of Rs 200," says Shraddha Shetty, customer executive atBlue Dart.

Polls give Obama slightedge over Romney

WASHINGTON: With 100 days to go before the US presidentialelection, President Barack Obama appears to have a slightedge over Republican rival Mitt Romney, though he is still atthe mercy of a stumbling USeconomy.

Polls show theDemocratic incumbent's lead isshrinking as voters lose faithin his ability to tackle crucialdomestic issues, in particularthe economy, as growth slowsand the job market stubbornlyrefuses to pick up. Accordingto a Wall Street Journal andNBC poll published this week,only 36% of voters areconfident Obama can improve the economy, while 43% preferRomney, a multi-millionaire former venture capitalist.

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Without reforms the power sector is doomed. The massive grid failure that left almost 300 million people in six states in darknesson Sunday night - qualifying as the worst since 2001 - is nothing short of a debacle. But it hasn't come out of the blue. Itindicates the fragility of the power sector which is saddled with large shortages and starved of investments. Not only were

houses and factories deprived of power in most parts of north India, rail communications too were disrupted. The power ministry, whichhas allowed matters to deteriorate to this extent, bears full responsibility for the debacle. It was clear that power lines were set to trip withhydel power reservoirs dipping sharply with the drought, while the demand for electricity soared - both for pumping out groundwater forirrigation and for meeting the needs of coolers and air conditioners that combat the humid heat.

The scenario is further complicated by the state electricity boards. Burdened with huge losses and starved of funds they are unableto meet their requirements through short-, medium- or long-term contracts, or from power trading. They generally prefer to overdraw fromthe common grid undeterred by the penalties imposed on such practices. So grid instability will continue to worsen, unless the governmentsteps up efforts to strengthen the power sector by recapitalising the state electricity boards and undertake concomitant measures toimprove coal supply by dismantling Coal India's monopoly on coal, clamp down on politically endorsed theft of power which push uptechnical and commercial losses by more than a quarter, and build a smart grid that can improve the overall efficiency and reliability of thepower sector. Perhaps the size of the problem can be brought home to the government, by ensuring that power trips in Lutyens' Delhimuch before lack of power takes out essential services such as rail.

Lights out

Anna Hazare's battleagainst corruption isn'tjust his battle. It's every

Indian's battle. If Anna fails, wefail. Politicians across party linesstand to lose most if themovement succeeds in getting astrong Lokpal Bill legislated inparliament. Anna is a catalyst inthe fight to mitigate corruptionin public life. He has no personalmotive, no personal gain, nofinancial interest. Instead ofcriticising his methods, help himimprove them. No one is perfect- certainly not Anna and his teammembers. But most of them are alot better than the 162 MPs inthe Lok Sabha and 39 MPs in theRajya Sabha (www.adrindia.org)who have criminal chargesagainst them. Some of thesecharges are politicallymotivated. But many are not.

For example, 75 Lok SabhaMPs, again cutting across partylines, face court-framed chargesof murder, rape, extortion,kidnapping and dacoity. Nowonder many parliamentariansare dead set against Anna andhis anti-corruption crusade.They will do anything todiscredit his movement.

And in this task they havefound witting and unwittingabettors in sections of themedia and the intelligentsia. Allhave one trait: they mock Annabut have no alternative to offerin India's battle againstcorruption. Some are so witlessthey don't even realise howwrong they've got it. Anna isnot the problem. The system is.Anna's prescription may not beperfect. But it's every citizen'sjob to help improve it. Thegovernment, as a beneficiary ofinstitutionalised corruption,isn't going to go out of its wayto do so.

Take just one example toillustrate the serious nature ofthe court-framed charges manyLok Sabha MPs face.Kameshwar Baitha of the JMMhas 11 charges related to murderand 17 charges related toattempt to murder filed againsthim.

As many at 28 ministers inAkhilesh Yadav's UP cabinethave criminal cases pendingagainst them. The mostnotorious is Raja Bhaiya whohas 45 criminal cases againsthim. He spent three years in jailon POTA charges and is todayUP's Food and Civil SuppliesMinister.

It is such politicians whothreaten our democracy and ourinstitutions - not Team Annamembers with their inflatedtravel vouchers and income-taxarrears due to a technicalinterpretation of paid studyleave for a then-IRS officer.

It has been obvious sinceIndira Gandhi's government firstintroduced - but did not legislate- the Lokpal Bill in 1968 thatpoliticians fear a strong,

Anna's battle isevery Indian's battle

independent Lokpal. Theirargument, parroted by theirmedia handmaidens, is that theLokpal will be a monstrousbureaucracy accountable to noone. This of course is nonsense.The Lokpal would beaccountable in five ways as Iwrote in The Times of India thisFebruary (New grid ofgovernance). First, through aninternal complaints redressalauthority; second, via an annualperformance and financial auditby CAG; third, through a Lokpalappellate bench; fourth, fromoverall jurisdiction of theLokpal bench by the HighCourts and the Supreme Court;and fifth, through a specialparliamentary committee. TheLokpal is obviously not apanacea as some Congressspokesmen say sotto voce todeliberately obfuscate theissue. It would be just one offive powerful instruments in theintegrated, interlocked grid ofgovernance that would includethe EC, CAG, the new proposedNational Judicial Commission(NJC) and an independent CBIas analysed in detail in TheTimes piece cited above. Anindependent CBI is central tothis interlocked governancegrid. With the Lokpalexcercising jurisdictionaloversight, the CBI would thusbe accountable to anindependent statutory authoritywhich itself would be subjectnot only to the five internalchecks and balances outlinedabove but to the discipline ofbeing part of an integrated,interlocked governance grid.Some critics warn that 40,000extra staff will be needed to manthe Lokpal body. This is adeliberate falsehood. In theinterlocked grid model, no morethan 1,000 new staff will beneeded to investigate and allowprosecution of complaintsagainst 60 lakh centralgovernment employees(including 78 Union Ministersand Ministers of State).

The reason? Anindependent CBI will, under the

Lokpal body's supervision,investigate cases forwarded bythe Lokpal bench. Special fast-track courts will prosecute them.State Lokayuktas, with similarmechanisms, will supervise theinvestigation and prosecutionof state-level public servantsthrough local CIDs and courts.These institutions already haveadequate personnel which theLokpal will deploy.

Remember too that policeautonomy has been mandatedby the Supreme Court inSeptember 2006 under a seven-directive order. When it isimplemented by the government- a contempt of court petitionagainst non-compliance ispending in the Supreme Court -not only will the CBI be freed ofpolitical control, so will stateCIDs. The Mumbai and Delhipolice forces alone have over40,000 personnel each so acentral Lokpal body with 1,000staff and a 7-member bench (notone individual "Lokpal" assome motivated reportsmisleadingly claim) hardlyconstitutes a bureaucraticmonstrosity. The so-called elite- intellectual, media, business -disparage Anna because he isnot "people like us". Thiswannabe-elite is comfortablewith the status quo with its cosynepotism, clubbiness and richpickings. A red herring ismeanwhile used by thegovernment: "Team Annamembers are themselves corrupt- people in glass housesshouldn't throw stones". Thatunthinking logic woulddisqualify 90% of the policeforce from arresting criminalsbecause the police themselvestake bribes. Only the corrupt usethis spurious argument todeflect the accusations theyhave no real answers for. Thosewho castigate Team Anna fordenigrating our institutions arefalling into the trap set bypoliticians: discredit the largelyhonest whistleblower andtherefore by default exoneratethe largely dishonest politician.

MPs are lawmakers. They

DR PUSHPROOP BRAR

Who doesn't know ofKapiI Dev the hero of1983? He was the first

captain to break the hold of WestIndies on the cricket world cup. Inhis career spanning several decadeshe served the game and broughtfame to India. He is a legend and hisname is on the lips of every youth inthe country and every cricket loverin the world. There are numeroushighlighting against his name. Heheld the record of top score in theone day international and was thehighest wicket taker in test cricket.Why has he become important somany years after retirement? It is thestruggle for supremacy between theIndian Cricket League (ICL) backedby the Zee Tele films part of Esselgroup and the Indain Premier League(IPL) is backed by the powerfulBoard of Control of Cricket in India(BCCI). ICL was conceived andlaunched by Subash Chandra and

Kapil Dev vs BCCI

had it was founded in 2007. This wasdone after he was denied telecastrights to the 2003 world cup. Thiswas in spite of they being the highestbidder. ICL never got approval fromBCCI and thus ICC (InternationalCricket League) also washed theirhands. To attract the top talent theplayers were promised huge prizemoney. Like Kerry packer's WorldSeries cup of 70's the various boardshad cold feet on the issue. Due itsunofficial nature most cricket boardin the world advised their players tostay away from this so called rebelleague. Most international playerswho signed were retired players likeBrain Lara, Chris CaIns, a Pakistaniplayer Imran Farahat was threatenedwith a lifetime ban by Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB). The league was a newform of the game and more exposureto young players. BCCI refused torecognize the event and to stopyoung players from being associatedwith ICL they raised the prize money.

are elected to uphold standardsof public life not lower them. Aspublic servants, they exist toserve citizens. "In ademocracy," as US SupremeCourt Justice Felix Frankfurterdeclared, "the highest office isthe office of the citizen." Indianpublic servants - including thePrime Minister and his cabinet -are subordinate to every Indiancitizen. The poorest, mostdestitute Indian is moreimportant than the President ofIndia. That is the way realdemocracy operates. It is aprinciple leaders in democracieswith long histories like USPresident Barack Obama andBritish Prime Minister DavidCameron uphold every workingday. In contrast, some of thecomments made by governmentministers against Anna's anti-corruption movement border onthe infantile. The MoS in thePMO, V. Narayanasamy, said ofAnna's fast: "It is an attemptfool the people." He added: "Itis good they told very openlytoday they are forming a politicalparty. Their intentions areexposed." Fasting as a protestagainst corruption and forminga political party are both entirelylegitimate. That a governmentminister can categorise either inthe way he did says more aboutNarayanasamy than Anna. Andyet there are those in thechattering classes who supportthis unhinged governmentreaction rather thanencouraging a movementagainst corruption which, if puton the right track, could improveall our lives.

Then there are those, in thegovernment and the media, whoinsouciantly challenge Anna'steam members to stand forelection. But if fighting anelection were a criterion forfighting corruption, everyactivist and - yes - everyjournalist who exposedcorruption would need to firstget elected. Such is thethoughtlessness - deliberateand inadvertent - that haslowered the standard ofargument over the anti-corruption movement.

Whose side are we on? Animperfect Anna fighting ourbattle? Or a corruption-riddledpolitical system? If Anna is notdoing the job of fightingcorruption well enough, helphim do it better. Don't help thecorrupt by denigrating amovement's methods when theend is just.

Since April 2011, the UPAgovernment has dealt withAnna's movement withdeception and bad faith.Corruption is the leitmotif of thepolitical ecosystem. That is whypoliticians have triedcontinuously to splinter thiscitizen's movement. United,citizens would win. Divided, acorrupt government will win.

editorial/opinion

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MidWeek 7MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

community INDIAN DOCTORSIN US AIM TOADVANCE SCIENCEOF HEALING IP8

ANUPAM KHER TO BE HONOUREDAT MISS INDIA-CANADA 2012

TORONTO/BUREAU NEWSInternationally renowned Bollywood actor, Anupam Kher, whois best remembered in movies like: Karma, Lamhe, Dilwale DulhaniyaLe Jayenge,Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara, Khosla Ka Ghosla and AWednesday to name a few, will be the Celebrity Guest of Honourand will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

22nd annual Miss India-Canada Event.Mr. Kher went international when he worked with acclaimed

directors such as Gurinder Chaddha, David O Russell, Ang Lee andWoody Allen. He is the only Indian actor to have shared screenspace with the legendary actor Robert De Niro. Moreover, he hasbeen showered with innumerable accolades and awards—he holdsthe distinction of winning no less than 8 Filmfare awards in a row.His critical and commercial success in over 100 plays and almost450 films stand testament to this eternal optimism that gaverise to the drive and passion that catapulted Padma Shri award-winn ing ac to r Anupam Kher to the he igh t s o f be ingconsidered one of the greatest actors of contemporary cinema.

Recently, Mr. Kher detailed his philosophy and authoredhis first book on life coaching titled The Best Thing AboutYou is You! The book was endorsed by many celebrities,including Amitabh Bachchan and Oprah Winfrey, and is a best-seller.

Moreover, this year ’s show is presented by Big MagicInternational, a division of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited.Big Magic International is India’s first variety entertainment channelfor Hindi speaking markets, featuring locally relevant entertainmentacross humor, reality shows, action, fiction, movies, events andsports.

The event is co-presented by Brita, and is supported by: Wind,Suhaag.com, Om Financial, and Cuisine of India to name a few.

The 16 finalists will compete for the title on-stage on Saturday,August 18, 2012, culminating in the CROWNING of MISS INDIA-CANADA 2012.

To view this year’s finalists, visit: www.MissIndiaCanada.com.Tickets are now available! For further information, please contact:905-851-0990 or email: [email protected].

Oakville man swims acrossLake Ontario in 24 hours

MADHU NAGARAJA ARRIVED AT CORONATION PARK IN OAKVILLE AT 9:37 P.M. ON SUNDAY AFTER MORE THAN 24 HOURS IN THE WATER.

OAKVILLE/BUREAU NEWS A man from Oakville has successfully swam across Lake Ontario in24 hours, completing his goal on Sunday night. Madhu Nagaraja suc-cessfully swam the 41.2 kilometres from Por t Dalhousie to Oakville'sCoronation Park in just over 24 hours. His swim was chronicled bythe official L.O.S.T. Swimming (Lake Ontario Swim Team) blog, whichrepor ted the swimmer to be in "ridiculously good shape after finish-ing." Nagaraja's safe arrival at Coronation Park at 9:37 pm on Sundaymade Nagaraja the 50th person to complete the challenging swimacross Lake Ontario since Marilyn Bell's historical swim in 1954, andthe second swimmer to use that exact route. Melanie Price pioneeredthe L.O.S.T. route last year, crossing in just over 18 hours.

CIC launches nationalconsultations on

immigration levels and mixTORONTO/BUREAU NEWSCitizenship and ImmigrationCanada (CIC)’s ParliamentarySecretaries Chungsen Leung andRick Dykstra have launched aseries of cross-countryconsultations on immigrationissues, beginning today inToronto. The two ParliamentarySecretaries will be meeting withstakeholders and the public todiscuss the appropriate level andmix of immigration for Canada inthe coming years. Since 2006, theGovernment of Canada haswelcomed the highest sustainedlevels of immigration in Canadianhistory.

Following the Toronto sessiontoday hosted by ParliamentarySecretary Leung, meetings withstakeholders will take place inWindsor, Vancouver, Halifax andOttawa. As of today, onlineconsultations are also open to thepublic and stakeholders forinput.The purpose of theconsultations is to seek feedback onimmigration issues, including theappropriate level of immigration forCanada, and the most suitable mixamong economic, family, andrefugee and humanitarian classes.Discussions with the ParliamentarySecretaries will also touch on CIC’stransition towards a faster and moreflexible immigration system, as wellas the growing importance ofimmigration to Canada’s economicgrowth and long-term prosperity.

In planning for the total numberof people to admit as permanentresidents, CIC must not only balance

the Government of Canada’simmigration objectives, but alsoconsider broader governmentcommitments, input from provincesand territories, and current andfuture economic conditions. TheDepartment must also take intoaccount its operational ability toprocess applications in a timelymanner, as well as the capacity ofcommunities to welcomenewcomers. These consultationspresent an important opportunity togenerate greater publicunderstanding of the difficultdecisions involved in managing aglobal immigration system. There arecompeting visions and diverginggoals for the future of theimmigration program, and there areno easy answers. Engagingstakeholders and the broader publicis key to CIC’s development of anoverall strategy for Canada movingforward.

Invited stakeholders representa variety of perspectives, includingthose of employers, labour,academia, learning institutions,professional organizations, businessorganizations, regulatory bodies,municipalities, Aboriginal groups,settlement provider organizationsand ethnocultural organizations.

The online consultations areopen for input until August 31, 2012.Interested participants can find moreinformation at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/index.asp. A summary report of thestakeholder and publicconsultations will be available on theCIC website once completed.

CLAMPING DOWN ON INSURANCEFRAUD, REPORT ISSUED TODAY

MPP Amrit Mangat's battle against auto insurance fraudreceived a boost today with a provincial task forcerecommending such things as better regulation of the

towing industry and oversight of private health clinics.Drivers in Peel Region will benefit from the ongoing work of the

Anti-Fraud Task Force. By addressing the issue of auto insurancefraud and recommending ways to improve the system, we are takingpositive action for responsible drivers," said Mangat, MPP forMississauga-Brampton South.

Her private member's bill 41, Reducing Automobile InsurancePremiums by Eliminating Fraud Act, 2011, continues to make its waythrough the legislative process, with Second Reading passage earlierthis year. And, an all-party auto insurance committee visited Bramptonon July 10 to hear from local stakeholders.

In a Status Update delivered today, Ontario's Auto InsuranceAnti-Fraud Task Force identifies a number of potentialrecommendations:

" Oversight of health clinics' auto insurance businesspractices.

" Regulating the towing industry." Expanding investigative authority for the Financial Services

Commission of Ontario (FSCO)." Mandatory disclosure by insurance companies about how

they select and supervise their preferred service providers - including

independent medical examinations; and" Developing a consumer engagement and education

strategy.

The task force's work builds on a series of recent changes thegovernment has made to help address auto insurance fraud, including:

" Implementing a package of auto insurance reforms inSeptember 2010.

" Starting a pilot project using the Health Claims for AutoInsurance database to detect potential fraudulent activity.

" Introducing new rules to ensure that health care treatmentsare provided as invoiced.

" Issuing a guideline to prevent insurers from being invoicedfor medical devices at a significantly higher than market rate; and

" Requiring CEOs of auto insurers in Ontario to annuallyattest that their accident benefit cost controls are effective and thatclaimants are being treated fairly.

Under the McGuinty government, auto insurance rates haverisen at a slower pace than inflation, and Ontario's accident benefitsremain the most generous in Canada when compared to otherprovinces with similar auto insurance marketplaces.

"Auto insurance fraud is a serious issue that affects all ofOntario's nine million drivers, so I thank the task force for itscontinued hard work and I look forward to receiving finalrecommendations in the fall. Our government continues to monitorand make changes to the system so that auto insurance remainsaffordable while providing people with optimal protection," saidFinance Minister Dwight Duncan.

" The Task Force will seek stakeholder feedback on itsproposed recommendations before submitting a final report this fall.

" Since 2003, the McGuinty government has continued tokeep auto insurance affordable and available for all Ontarians. From2004 to 2011, auto insurance rates increased 11.6 per cent in Ontario,while the Consumer Price Index rose 17.1 per cent.

" From 2006 to 2010, accident benefits claims costs increasedby 118 per cent, despite a reduction in the number of auto accidents,number of people injured in auto accidents and the severity of injuriessuffered over the same time period.

" Read the Ontario Automobile Insurance Anti-Fraud TaskForce Status Report at: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/autoinsurance/status-report.html.

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8 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012c o m m u n i t y

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C L A S S I F I E D S

Indian doctors in US aim toadvance science of healing

WASHINGTON/TNNThe American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin

(AAPI), a powerful professional community of doctors withover 65,000 members, has not only become a "force to reckonwith" but aims to "advance the science of healing" worldwide,particularly in India.

According to the new AAPI president Narendra Kumar, whoassumed leadership of AAPI at its 30th annual Convention in LongBeach, California last month, "the slate of officers for AAPI 2012-13comprise of individuals who are dedicated, industrious, experiencedand very aware of the challenges that lie ahead."

"AAPI has become a force to reckon with; we will all worktogether, stay focused and make you proud of our organization,"added Kumar, who has been practicing otolaryngology - head &neck surgery - in Saginaw, Michigan since 1988.

The members of the new executive committee are: Jayesh Shah,president-elect; Ravi Jahagirdar, vice president; Seema Jain,secretary; Ajay Lodha, treasurer; Durgesh Mankikar, chairman, board

of trustees; Kusum Punjabi, Young Physician Section (YPS)president; and Amit Bhakoo, medical student, Resident and FellowsSection (MSRF) president.

Shah, an internationally recognised clinician in wound

management and hyperbaric medicine and a two-time recipient ofJefferson C Davis Memorial Award at the Gulf Coast Chapter, haspioneered the formation of Hyperbaric Medical Society in India.

"With its extensive knowledge network, AAPI could advancethe science of healing all over the world," said Shah, the youngestpresident-elect of AAPI.

He wants AAPI to reach locations where AAPI has never gonebefore. "I am looking forward to AAPI having an administrativeoffice in Chicago, a legislative office in Washington and an Indialiaison office in New Delhi."

Jahagirdar, one of the pioneers of robotic surgery in his fieldhas a special interest in obtaining industry liaison and corporatesponsorship for conditions unique to the Indian diaspora.

Jain, a practicing psychiatrist in New Jersey, sees her role as awoman leader in AAPI to take up women's health issues in society.

Treasurer Lodha wants AAPI "to be a platform in helping ouryoung physicians coming from India to seek residencies and to helpthem in settlement and to get jobs".

US seizes stolen statues from Indian art dealerNEW YORK/TNNUS authorities have seizedseveral stolen sandstone andbronze statues and other culturalartefacts with an estimated valueof more than $20 million from astorage facility allegedlybelonging to an Indian art dealer.

The Manhattan District

Attorney's Office has also issuedan arrest warrant for SubhashKapoor, the owner of Art of thePast Gallery for allegedpossession of stolen property,the US Immigration and CustomsEnforcement's (ICE) said in astatement.

Among the artefacts seized

by Homeland SecurityInvestigations (HSI) specialagents were three Chola periodbronzes, depicting Uma Parvati,Sivagami Amman; and Murugan,which are suspected of havingbeen stolen directly from templesin India's Tamil Nadu state.

Other seized items include a

sandstone statue depictingKubera, chief of the Yakshas,from the Indian Gupta period; agrey schist statue depictingHerkules-Vajrapani from theKandahran Kushan period; anda sculpture depictingShakyamuni Buddham from theIndian Chola period.

Some of the seized stolenartefacts have been displayed inmajor international museumsworldwide. Other pieces thatmatch those listed as stolen arestill openly on display in somemuseums, HSI said.

"The statues and sculpturesrecovered today are worthmillions in the antiquitiesbusiness, but they are pricelessto the nations that they wererobbed from," said James T.Hayes Jr., special agent in chargeof HSI New York.

HSI said in February 2007,the Indian consulate contactedit requesting assistance in theinvestigation of the potentialsmuggling of Indian antiquitiesinto New York.

The Indian consulateadvised HSI that an import andexport company was expectingthe arrival of a shipmentcontaining seven cratesmanifested as "Marble GardenTable Sets".

The consulate believedthese crates contained stolenIndian antiquities. Thismerchandize was allegedlyimported by Kapoor.

By the end of January 2012,HSI special agents had seizeddozens of antiquities with anestimated value of nearly $10

million.These included one five

foot tall head of a Buddhaweighing about 1,600 pounds;and one life sized stone figureweighing about 500 pounds,seized from a storage unitallegedly leased by Kapoor inNew York.

Kapoor, who was thesubject of an Interpol RedNotice, was arrested in late 2011at Frankfurt InternationalAirport. On July 14, 2012, Kapoorwas extradited to India, where hefaced criminal charges.

PUNJAB TO LAUNCH IDENTITYCARD FOR STATE'S NRIS

of development by assuring themtotal support of the stategovernment and offering themlegal support in their cases.

He said that all NRIs will beable to apply for this card on thewebsite of the NRI department.

He said the card, besidesgiving an identity to the NRIs forofficial purposes, would assurequality medicare to them besidesoffering them attractivediscounts on shopping inPunjab.

Badal also asked the PunjabUrban Development Authority(PUDA) to explore thepossibilities of offeringpreference to NRIs in houseallotment.

Majithia said that acomprehensive website and

CHANDIGARH/TNNThe Punjab government on

Monday announced that it willsoon launch an NRI card forPunjabis living abroad toidentify them for officialpurposes and facilitate variousservices for them.

Punjab deputy chiefminister Sukhbir Singh Badal,accompanied by NRI affairsminister Bikram Singh Majithiaand former Union ministerBalwant Singh Ramoowalia,Monday asked the NRI affairsdepartment to immediately workout the details for the NRI cardand implement it at the earliest.

Badal said that Punjab hasto involve NRIs in the process

portal of the NRI affairsdepartment has been finalisedand would become operationalnext month. He said that thewebsite would be multi-dimensional and NRIs would beable to register themselves on it.He said that even the NRI cardwould be issued on the websiteitself.

Badal said that a 24-hourNRI helpline should also befunctional next month whereNRIs would be able to registertheir complaints and get a time-bound response on action taken.

He said that these stepswould inculcate confidenceamongst NRIs who feel insecuresitting in a foreign land abouttheir land, property andinvestments in Punjab.

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MidWeek 9MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

canadaHARPERCONGRATULATESÉMILIE HEYMANS ANDJENNIFER ABEL ONOLYMPIC MEDAL I P10

Canada invests to help youthin the Waterloo area get jobs

CAMBRIDGE/BUREAU NEWSThe Government of Canadaannounced support for youth inthe Waterloo area to help themgain the skills, knowledge andexperience they need to enter andsucceed in the job market. Theannouncement was made by theHonourable Gary Goodyear,Minister of State (Science andTechnology) (Federal EconomicDevelopment Agency forSouthern Ontario) and Member ofParliament for Cambridge, onbehalf of the Honourable DianeFinley, Minister of HumanResources and SkillsDevelopment. "Our government'stop priority is creating jobs,economic growth and long-termprosperity," said MinisterGoodyear. "The Government ofCanada's Youth EmploymentStrategy is helping youth developthe skills and gain the experiencethey need to get jobs now andprepare for the workforce oftomorrow." The Argus Residencefor Young People is receivingover $446,000 from the Skills Link

program to help youth overcomebarriers to employment. Skills Linkis part of the Government ofCanada's Youth EmploymentStrategy (YES).With an annualbudget of more than $300 million,YES helps youth, particularlythose facing barriers toemployment, obtain careerinformation, develop employmentskills, find jobs and stay employed.YES includes the Skills Link andCareer Focus programs and theCanada Summer Jobs initiative,which creates thousands of jobopportunities for students everysummer.Economic Action Plan 2012is providing an additional $50 millionover two years to enhance YES sothat more young people can gaintangible skills and experience. Thisfunding will focus on connectingyoung Canadians with jobs in fieldsthat are in high demand.Theparticipants in the ArgusResidence for Young Peopleproject will attend skillsworkshops on computer skills,effective communication andtime management. Participants

will also gain work experience inareas such as online sales,product manufacturing andcommercial food preparationthrough job placements withlocal employers. "ArgusResidence for Young People is

thrilled to receive funding fromthe Government of Canada," saidEva Vlasov, Executive Director ofArgus Residence for YoungPeople. "This importantinitiative will give us theopportunity to provide work

experience and skills training toyouth in the WaterlooRegion."Youth employmentprograms are part of theGovernment of Canada's broaderstrategy to create an educated,skilled and flexible workforce. The

Government underscored itscommitment to this strategy inCanada's Economic Action Plan. Akey component of the Plan is tocreate more and better opportunitiesfor Canadian workers throughskills development.

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INITIATIVES HELPCANADIANS WITH DISABILITIES FIND JOBSOTTAWA/BUREAU NEWSThe Honourable Diane Finley,Minister of Human Resourcesand Skills Development,announced the creation of thePanel on Labour MarketOpportunities for Persons withDisabilities. As outlined inEconomic Action Plan 2012, thePanel's mandate is to identifyprivate sector successes andbest practices with regard to thelabour market participation ofpersons with disabilities. Aswell, the Panel will identifybarriers and disincentives totheir employment. "Our

Government is committed toworking with our partners toremove barriers and improvingthe quality of life for all

Canadians," said MinisterFinley. "We believe everyonewins when we create inclusiveand accommodating workplacesfor all employees, includingpeople with disabilities." "Anyvision of future growth andprosperity for Canada dependson getting more people into thelabour force, includingCanadians with disabilities,"said Minister Flaherty. "Manybusinesses have alreadyadopted innovative approachesto the employment of people withdisabilities that are both effectiveand affordable, and it's important

to build on this expertise andexperience." Minister Finleyannounced that Mr. Kenneth J.Fredeen, General Counsel withDeloitte & Touche LLP, will serveas Chair of the Panel. The Panelwill include the followingmembers: Dr. Gary Birch,Executive Director of the NeilSquire Society; Ms. KathyMartin, Senior Vice President,Human Resources, with LoblawCompanies; and Mr. Mark Wafer,owner of Megleen Inc., whichoperates several Tim Hortonsfranchises. Panel members havealready begun to meet.

Government ofCanada introduces

the Faster Removal ofForeign Criminals Act

OTTAWA/BUREAU NEWSThe Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship,

Immigration and Multiculturalism, introduced legislation today toexpedite the removal of foreign criminals from Canada and to enhancethe safety and security of Canadians.

The Harper Government is putting a stop to foreign criminalsrelying on endless appeals in order to delay their removal from Canadaduring which time they continue to terrorize innocent Canadians,"said Kenney "Canadians are generous and welcoming people, butthey have no tolerance for criminals and fraudsters abusing ourgenerosity."

Through the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, theGovernment is delivering on its commitment to streamline the processto deport convicted criminals by limiting their access to theImmigration and Refugee Board's Immigration Appeal Division. Thiswill reduce the amount of time certain criminals may remain in Canadaby up to 14 months, reducing their chances of committing morecrime on Canadian soil.

Another change in the proposed legislation would ensure thatforeign nationals who are inadmissible on the most serious grounds- security, human or international rights violations, or organizedcriminality - will no longer be able to delay their removal by applyingfor a program that is meant for cases deserving of humanitarian andcompassionate consideration. This change is consistent with thegovernment's no safe haven policy.

Other amendments to the Immigration and Refugee ProtectionAct to protect the safety and security of Canadians include a newMinisterial authority to refuse temporary entry in exceptional cases,and increased penalties for those who try to cheat the system.

In contrast, the legislation will facilitate the temporary entry oflow-risk individuals who would have previously been refused entrybecause one of their family members was deemed inadmissible fornon-security reasons, such as health.

"These measures are tough but fair," said Minister Kenney."We want an immigration system that is open to genuine visitors,while at the same time prevents the entry of foreign criminals anddenies them the ability to endlessly abuse our generosity."

Harper Government highlights economicimpact of international students in Canada

TORONTO/BUREAU NEWSThe Honourable Ed Fast,Minister of International Tradeand Minister for the Asia-PacificGateway, today released a reportshowing that internationalstudents contributed more than$8 billion to the Canadianeconomy in 2010, up from $6.5billion in 2008.

"The Harper government iscommitted to continuing toattract the best and brightest

students to Canada," saidMinister Fast. "This studyreaffirms our government'scommitment to internationaleducation. That is one of thereasons we are committed torefreshing our government'sGlobal Commerce Strategy andto developing a comprehensiveplan to entrench educationallinks between Canada andinternational institutions forCanada's long-term prosperity."

The report found there were218,000 full-time internationalstudents in Canada in 2010, upfrom 178,000 in 2008 and morethan double the number ofstudents in 1999. It estimated thatinternational students supported86,000 jobs and contributed $445million in tax revenue.

"I am delighted that Canadais a destination that is growingin attraction for internationalstudents," said Minister Fast

while visiting the University ofBritish Columbia. "The presenceof international students andresearchers taking advantage ofCanada's world-class facilitiescreates jobs and economicgrowth and contributes to ourpeople-to-people ties with othercountries and, in particular,emerging markets."

"Outstanding internationalstudents and researchers notonly enrich our campuses butmake Canada more competitiveby sharing knowledge andexpertise both during their timeat university and afterwards,"said Prof. Stephen Toope,President and Vice-Chancellor ofthe University of BritishColumbia. A commitment to refreshCanada's Global Commerce Strategywas announced in Economic ActionPlan 2012. A more powerfulinternational education strategy willhelp strengthen Canada'sengagement with emergingeconomies and ensure greatercollaboration between Canadaand institutions while boostingthis country's economicprosperity.

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London 2012: Canoeing Programmekicks off with Canoe Slalom Competition

LONDON/BUREAU NEWSThe Canoeing programme at the Olympic Games kicked off earlierthis week at 13h30 (GMT) at the Lee Valley White Water Centerwhere 83 paddlers from 30 countries will be vying for a total of 12medals.

There have been a few significant changes since the BeijingGames in 2008, single poles have been introduced to aid speed downthe course and there has been an introduction of the doubling up ofcrews, meaning that countries can now enter two C2's instead ofone. What this means is that if an athlete qualified a spot to representtheir country in a single boat (C1 or K1), then the two athletes arealso allowed to double up in the C2 event at the Games, therebyincreasing the number of paddlers competing in the C2 class atLondon 2012.

The Canoe Slalom competition will call for speed, control andprecision on the daunting white water rapids at the new Lee ValleyWhite Water Centre, and here is how slalom's finest stack up in therace for Olympic gold:

WOMEN'S K1The competition in the Women's Kayak category will be fierce butthere is no doubt that the gold medal will could come down to ahandful of paddlers. There is Št?pánka Hilgertová who is the onlyWomen's K1 paddler to have medalled at a previous Olympic Games;she won gold at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games and at theage of 44, she will also be the oldest athlete at the Canoe Slalomcompetition.

Two paddlers competing in the Women's K1 event have wonthe World Championships since Beijing. There is Germany's JasminSchornberg who won the title in 2009 there is the current WorldChampion Austria's Corinna Kuhnle who won the title in 2010 and2011, making her the favourite to win K1W gold. Other names in themix are Great Britain's Lizzie Neave who has medalled at both theWorld Championships and European Championships, Spain'sMaialen Chourraut who has had a red hot season, winning two ofthe three World Cups this season. Of course there is Slovakia's JanaDukatova who finally came out of the shadow of the great ElenaKaliska (SVK) to win Olympic nomination.

Curious eyes will be on Australia's Jessica Fox to see how shematches up against K1's leading ladies. The 18yr old is coming off atriple gold medal spree at the 2012 ICF Junior & U23 Canoe SlalomWorld Championships in Wausau, Wisconsin (USA). The inauguralSingapore Youth Olympic Games Champion won the U18 Women'sC1 gold medal, retained her Women's K1 Junior World Championshiptitle, and won gold in the U23 Women's C1 team event.

MEN'S C1The Canadian singles class will have 3 previous Olympic medallistson the start list, two of whom are Olympic gold medallists. MichalMartikán of Slovakia is the reigning Olympic champion and hasalready won silver medals at Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 with

gold medals at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. His performancethis year shows he's not quite in top form but history tells us that ifthere is anyone who can exponentially raise their level at acompetition it is Michal Martikán on the Olympic platform.

Tony Estanguet will be hoping to make amends for his Beijingmisadventure where he failed to make the final. Estanguet is a doubleOlympic champion from Sydney and Athens and will be hoping tomake it 3 in London. He will be buoyed on by a win at the Pau WorldCup and bronze at the La Seu d'Urgell World Cup. London 2012 mayvery well be Estanguet's final Olympic Games and the French will belooking to leaving a lasting impression.

Britain's David Florence won Silver at Beijing 2008 and will belooking to go one up in front of a home crowd. Results this yearshow that Florence is in good form, medalling at 2 of 3 World Cupsearlier this season.

Other names to watch out for are current European ChampionSideris Tasiadis (GER) and Ander Elosegi (ESP) who have both showngood form this season.

MEN'S K1Similar to the ladies event there will only be one Olympic medalistracing in London at these Olympic Games, that being Togo'sBenjamin Boukpeti. Boukpeti won bronze in Beijing and having hada quiet four years since, will be looking to deliver a bigger surprise.

There will also be two World Champions on the start list in theMen's K1 event. Daniele Molmenti (ITA) who won the crown in

2010, and also the 2012 European Championships. The 2009 and2011 World Champion Peter Kauzer of Slovenia will also be hopingto add Olympic gold to his vast collection of medals after missingout in Beijing four years ago.

Etienne Daille goes into the race as one of the favourites tomedal having medaled at all three World Cup competitions thisseason.

MEN'S C2Can anyone look any further than the Hochschorner brothers? Thetwin brothers have won Olympic gold an amazing 3 consecutivetimes! Winning in Sydney, Athens and Beijing they also are thecurrent World Champions, and have won gold at every WorldChampionships since Beijing. If there's anything such as a 'safe bet'then the Hochschorner brothers are as close as one can get to predicta win.

Other names in the mix will be the current European championsJaroslav Volf and Ond?ej Št?pánek. They go into London havingmedaled at both Athens 2004 (Bronze) and Beijing 2008 (Silver) aswell as the young and exciting Slovenian duo of Luka Bo•i? andSašo Taljat.

Britain's very own David Florence and Richard Hounslow alongwith fellow compatriots Scott Baillie and Etienne Stott have a realshot to medal in the C2 event. Both having relocated to be close tothe course last year and will have an undeniable home advantageover the competition.

ONE IN TEN CANADIANS MANAGING THE FINANCESOF A FAMILY MEMBER OR CLOSE FRIENDTORONTO/BUREAU NEWSCanadians are increasinglytaking on the responsibility formanaging the finances of a familymember or close friend, with onein ten now looking after thefinances of another, in additionto their own, finds a new CIBC

poll. Making the situation evenmore difficult is the fact that one-third (31 per cent) of thosemanaging the financial affairs ofanother are doing so without aformal agreement or document,such as a Power of Attorney.

"Since many financialactivities involve personaldecisions, it is logical that peopleoften reach out to friends orfamily for assistance," saysJamie Golombek, ManagingDirector of Tax and EstatePlanning at CIBC. "However, thereality is that most people don'thave the time, knowledge orexpertise required to manageanother person's finances.

"This situation is mademuch worse when arrangementsare informal. Decisions youwould normally make may not bewhat the other person wants orexpects. That is why it is veryimportant that a formal estateplan, including a Power of

Attorney that appoints someoneto conduct financial transactionson your behalf, be created beforeanyone takes on theresponsibility for managing thefinancial affairs of an elderly,disabled or otherwise incapablefamily member or close friend."

Mr. Golombek says there are

two important considerations totake into account whenappointing someone to manageyour financial affairs should youbecome unable.

Make sure you choose theright person for the role

"It is important to carefullyconsider who you choose tomanage your financial affairs,"says Mr. Golombek. "They maybe required to not only completesimple tasks such as paying billsand managing budgets, but alsomore complex transactions suchas selecting investments, sellingproperty, filing tax returns andaccounting for financialtransactions to name a few."

Although most peoplechoose family and friends tomanage their affairs becausethey bring a level of comfort interms of trust and familiarity, theCIBC poll found that 74 per centof respondents saw a benefit inhaving a professional provide

advice.MAKE IT FORMAL"Managing the financial

affairs of an elderly, disabled orotherwise incapable familymember or close friend can beemotional as well as timeconsuming," notes Mr.Golombek. "However, given thatone third of those managing theaffairs of another are doing sowithout a formalized agreement,conflict can arise. Whenarrangements are informal,misunderstandings can occurand are not uncommon."

He cites an example of anelderly client who was havingdifficulty managing her financesso she asked for her eldest sonto be added as a joint accountholder on her bank account.However, without any formaldocumentation, her son, as ajoint account holder, couldpotentially withdraw funds forhis own personal use. Becauseshe lives in a province wherejoint with right of survivorshipapplies (it doesn't in Quebec),upon her death, all the funds inthe account would belong solelyto him, possibly to the exclusionof her other children.

Mr. Golombek says that if,instead of making the accountjoint, mom had formallyappointed her son anddocumented her intentions in aPower of Attorney, it wouldclearly outline that he could onlyuse the funds for her expenses.Further, upon her death, theremaining account balancewould be passed to the estatebeneficiaries of mom's choosing,which might include all of herchildren.

Mr. Golombek recommendsthat Canadians have an estateplan that includes a Power ofAttorney that clearly outlines theattorney's scope of responsibility.

"When making a Power ofAttorney, you need to considerwho is best equipped to carryou t your wishes andspecifically define the scopeof respons ib i l i ty and howfunds are to be used. For yourintentions to be known andexecuted , i t ' s impor tant toplan ahead. This will reduceuncer ta in ty and conf l i c t slater."

I f you do t ake on aformal ized ro le to managesomeone e l se ' s f inanc ia laffairs but are concerned youdon ' t have the t ime orexpertise to effectively carryout your role, you can hire atrust company, such as CIBCTrust, to act as an "Agent forAttorney".?With an Agent forAttorney you can have thepeace of mind of knowing thef inancia l adminis t ra t ion i sbe ing p rofess iona l lymanaged, while you retain fulldecision-making authority.

HARPER CONGRATULATESÉMILIE HEYMANS AND JENNIFER

ABEL ON OLYMPIC MEDALOTTAWA: Prime Minister Stephen Harper today congratulatedÉmilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel on their bronze medal at the2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. "I would like to con-gratulate divers Émilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel on their bronzemedal in the Women's Synchronized 3-metre Springboard eventat the 2012 Summer Olympic Games," said the Prime Minister."Across the country we watched as you competed, and our hear tsfilled with pride as you won a place on the Olympic podium, thefirst one for Canada in these Games." Émilie Heymans was bornin Belgium and resides in St-Lamber t, Quebec. This is her four thOlympic medal and the first in these Games, having won medalsat the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympic Games as a duo and herfirst individual medal in 2008 in Beijing. Ms. Heyman is the firstfemale diver to win medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.Jennifer Abel was born in Montréal and resides in Laval, Quebec.At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she became one of theyoungest divers in Canadian history to represent her country atthe Olympic Games. This is Ms. Abel's first Olympic medal. In2010, Émilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel reached the podiumtogether on the FINA Grand Prix, World Series, and World Cupcircuits. Today marks their first Olympic Medal as a duo. The2012 Summer Olympic Games are being held from July 27 toAugust 12 in London, United Kingdom. Canada is being repre-sented by more than 275 athletes who are competing in a 26spor t program scheduled around London. More than 10,500 ath-letes, coaches and team officials from at least 200 countries arepar ticipating in these Summer Olympic Games.

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worldworldworldworldRELIGIOUS FREEDOMIN EGYPT 'QUITETENUOUS': HILLARYCLINTONI P12

Bidve's killer 'psycho'Stapleton gets life term

WASHINGTON/BUREAU NEWS: US President Barack Obama is au-thorizing an additional $70 million in military assistance to Israel, asenior administration official said. The official says the funds will goto help Israel expand production of a shor t-range rocket defense sys-tem. The system, called Iron Dome, helps Israel defend itself againstrocket attacks. Obama is to announce the additional funds when hesigns a bill at the White House expanding US military and civiliancooperation with Israel.

Obama to giveIsrael $70 millionin military funding

Philippines captures topal-Qaida linked militant

MANILA: /BUREAU NEWS :Phil ippine authori t ies havearrested a founding memberof the al-Qaida l inked AbuSayyaf g roup , b lamed fo r

some of the wors t t e r ro rattacks in the region, securityofficials said on Sunday.

Ustadz Ahmadsali AsmadBadron , a l so known as

Ammad or Hamad Us tadzIdr i s , was a r res ted onSaturday in the remote Tawi-Tawi islands in the southernPhilippines.

Po l ice c r imina linvestigation regional chiefEdgar Danao sa id Badronwas one o f the o r ig ina lmembers o f Abu Sayyaf ,which was founded in the1990s using seed money fromal-Qaida leader Osama binLaden.

Along wi th one o f h i scous ins Badron workedalongside Gal ib Andang, anotorious Abu Sayyaf leaderwell known as "CommanderRobot". The group carriedout a daring cross-border raidon a Malaysian resort in April

Assad shoud be tried for'massacres': Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON /BUREAU NEWS :Tulsi Gabbard, who trailedbehind her nearest rival by over40 points a few months ago inthe race for the Congressionalseat from Honolulu, has nowtaken a narrow but crucial leadof five points in the latest polls,brightening prospects for thefirst Hindu to be elected to theUS House of Representatives.

In a dramatic turnaround, 31-year-old Tulsi has eclipsed MufiHannemann and is now thefrontrunner in the race tosucceed Representatives MazieHirono in House, said theprestigious Mellman Group,releasing its latest round ofopinion polls. The seat becamevacant as Hirono has opted torun for the US senate this year.

First Hindu in racefor US House

LONDON/BUREAU NEWS:Kiaran Stapleton, convicted forkilling 23-yearold Indian studentAnuj Bidve on December 26 lastyear, was handed the lifesentence by a Manchester courtand will serve a minimum of 30years in prison.

Bidve, pursuingpostgraduate studies inmicroelectronics at LancasterUniversity , was shot at pointblank range on his left temple ina completely unprovokedmanner while he was walkingalong a street in the early hourwith fellow Indian students.They intended to take advantageof the traditional Boxing Day

sales in the city's shops.In his judgement, justice

King told Stapleton, "Only thenwill you be released if you aredeemed not to be a risk to thepublic." He asserted that theconvict, who had initially toldthe court that his name was'Psycho Stapleton' , hadcommitted a "truly wicked act"and was a "highly dangerousman" , who posed a high risk ofserious harm to other people.

"In my judgment, this wasno impulsive act on your part. Itwas a piece of coldbloodedcontrolled aggression ," Kingsaid, adding that Stapleton hadshown a "most callous

disregard" by laughing andsmirking after he gunned down

Bidve and also during the trial."You have behaved in a way

demonstrating that you arepositively boastful about havingkilled Bidve," the judgecommented. The killer showedno emotion as the sentence waspassed. He nodded before he wasled from the dock and thenmotioned with his hand towardshis family to say "chin up" .Stapleton regularly grinned andlaughed throughout his five-week murder trial. He was smilingas he came into court for theverdict and beamed towards afamily member as he was led fromthe dock. He had admittedmanslaughter on the grounds ofdiminished responsibility but thejury rejected this argument and

ANUJ BIDVE WAS SHOT AS HE WALKED TO THE BOXING DAYSALES IN MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE WITH A GROUPOF FRIENDS.

convicted him of murder.Following the verdict , Bidve'sfather Subhash, who with hiswife Yogini attended the trial frombeginning to end, notedStapleton had "laughed at thememory of our son" . He said hebelieved Stapleton should neverbe released from prison.Stapleton told one psychologistin prison that he picked out hisvictim because "he had thebiggest head" , the court heard.After the incident , he went to atattoo parlour to get a teardropdesign placed below his righteye, a symbol used by someviolent gangs to signal thewearer has killed someone.

2000 and kidnapped dozens offoreign tourists . The grouphas also been blamed for thewors t ex t remis t a t t acks inPhilippine history including aferry bombing in Manila in2004 that killed more than 100people.

Subsequent US-backedopera t ions aga ins t AbuSayyaf led to the killing of keyleaders, while many othersinc lud ing Andang werear res ted , bu t he was l a te rkilled in a botched attempt toescape in 2005.

While on the run, Badrona l leged ly he lped fo re ignmi l i t an t s f rom anotherreg iona l t e r ro r g roup , theJemaah Islamiyah (JI), to hidein the southern Philippines.

ABU DHABI/BUREAU NEWS:The head of the exiled Syrianoppos i t i on ha s s a id t ha tPres iden t Bashar a l -Assadshou ld be t r i ed fo r"massacres" insisting that heshould not be offered asylumin any future solution.

Syrian National Councilch i e f Abde l Bas se t Saydasa id t he counc i l wou ldd i s cus s a p roposedtransitional government withrebel groups on the ground,adding that its leader shouldbe someone who had been

commi t ted to the upr i s ingfrom the start.

The leader should be an"hones t and pa t r i o t i cperson. . . commit ted to theob j ec t i ve s o f t he Sy r i anrevo lu t i on s i nce i t sbeginning," he said. He saidthat coordination would be inthe f i r s t i n s t ance w i thg roups on t he g round ,inc lud ing the F ree Sy r i anArmy when he was a skedabou t coo rd ina t i on w i thdefector Brigadier GeneralManaf Tlas.

KABUL/BUREAU NEWS:An Afghan governor and atleast 17 Taliban militants werekilled in violence, authoritiessaid on Sunday.

Mohammad Ismael Wafa,the governor of Chak district,some 30 from Kabul, was onhis way to office when Talibanmilitants fired at his vehicleSunday, Xinhua repor ted .Seven teen mi l i t an t s werekilled by Afghan police, armyand NATO-led fo rces indifferent Afghan provincesin the pas t 24 hours t i l lSunday noon.

A la rge quan t i ty o fweapons , inc lud ing rocke tpropelled grenades, machineguns and pistols, were seized.Accord ing to the in te r io rministry, eighteen militantswere arrested.

LONDON: Saudi Arabia has threatened to withdraw from the Olympicsunless a female judo athlete was allowed to wear her headscarf incompetition, The Telegraph reported on Friday. The Saudis said thewomen could compete only if they were allowed to wear appropriateMuslim clothing. On Thursday night the International Judo Federationpresident Marius Vizer said Wujdan Shahrkhani could not fight with aheadscarf.

Saudi Arabiathreatens toquit Olympics

Governoramong 18killed in

Afghanistan

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Governor among 18 killed inAfghanistanKABUL: An Afghan governor and at least 17 Taliban militantswere killed in violence, authorities said on Sunday. MohammadIsmael Wafa, the governor of Chak district, some 30 from Kabul,was on his way to office when Taliban militants fired at hisvehicle Sunday, Xinhua reported. Seventeen militantswere killed by Afghan police, army and NATO-led forcesin different Afghan provinces in the past 24 hours tillSunday noon.A huge quantity of weapons, including rocket propelledgrenades, machine guns and pistols, were seized. Eighteenmilitants were arrested, the interior ministry said.

Pakistan cops hit 2 for drinking in RamzanISLAMABAD: Two men were detained and assaulted by policemenin the Pakistani capital for having a soft drink at a popular touristspot during the period of fasting in the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.The two men — Anwar Abbas and Malik Saeed — were detainedwhile they were having a soft drink inside a car at Daman-e-Koh , aviewpoint overlooking Islamabad , on Friday afternoon.The incident was reported to Islamabad police chief Bani Yamin,who assured action will be taken against the officials, the Dawn

newspaper reported on Sunday. Abbas said: "I was not fasting andknowing that it would be ethically incorrect to have a drink in frontof people , I chose a place where no one was present." In themeantime, a police constable came and said taking drinks duringfasting is a violation of the Ramazan Act."I told him that it was not their job to stop anyone from eatingduring the time of fasting but the constable insisted that he has toimplement the teachings of Islam ," Abbas said.

Religious freedom in Egypt'quite tenuous': Hillary ClintonWASHINGTON: Religiousfreedom in Egypt appears to be"quite tenuous" and itsgovernment has failed toaggressively prosecuteperpetrators of sectarianviolence, US secretary of stateHillary Clinton said on Monday.Clinton made the comment as theState Department released areport that found a markeddeterioration in religiousfreedom in China, where officialinterference with TibetanBuddhist monasteries may havecontributed to a dozen self-immolations. In its annualInternational Religious FreedomReport for 2011, the StateDepartment also said it discerneda rise in global anti-Semitism aswell as the increased use of anti-blasphemy laws to restrict therights of religious minorities.The report gave particularattention to countries where lastyear's " Arab Spring" of popularprotests unseated authoritarianrulers such as former Egyptianpresident and long-time U.S. ally

Hosni Mubarak."I am concerned that respect forreligious freedom is ... quitetenuous" in Egypt, Clinton saidin response to a question aftershe gave a speech at aWashington think tank, sayingsectarian violence had increasedsince Mubarak's downfall but theauthorities had beeninconsistent in prosecuting it."That then sends a message tothe minority community inparticular, but to the largercommunity, that there's notgoing to be any consequences,"she said.Clinton got a first-hand taste ofthe bitterness of many EgyptianChristians at this year's electionof Islamist Mohammed Mursi aspresident of the country, withprotests by angry Copts, amongothers, outside her Cairo hotel.Unknown protesters also peltedher motorcade with tomatoes,shoes and water bottles in theMediterranean city ofAlexandria.The report covers 2011 and

therefore does not assess theauthorities' performance sinceMursi's election brought anIslamist to power in the Arabworld's most-populous nation.The report said it haddocumented the Egyptiangovernment's "failure to curbrising violence against CopticChristians and its involvement inviolent attacks," citing an Oct.9, 2011 incident in which securityforces attacked Cairodemonstrators. The report said25 people were killed and 350

injured, most of them CopticChristians. "To date, governmentofficials have not been heldaccountable for their actions andthere were indications in early2012 of mounting Copticemigration," it said. The reportsaid conditions worsened in Iran,where it cited state"imprisonment, harassment,intimidation and discriminationbased on religious beliefs," aswell as in Pakistan, where"abuses continued under theblasphemy law."

Obama warns of 'headwinds'from Europe, sees euro survivingNEW YORK: President Barack Obamawarned on Monday the US economy willface continuing "headwinds" from Europe'sdebt crisis over the next several months butpredicted that European leaders would notlet the Eurozone or its currency "unravel.""I don't think ultimately that the Europeanswill let the euro unravel but they are goingto have to take some decisive steps," Obamasaid at a campaign fundraiser in New York."I am spending an enormous amount of timetrying to work with them, and (treasurysecretary) Tim Geithner is trying to workwith them." "The sooner they take somedecisive action, the better off we're goingto be," he added. Obama's 2012 re-electionbid is threatened by high US unemploymentand a stumbling economy, which has feltshockwaves from Europe's debt troubles.

US drone strike kills 6militants in Pakistan's NorthWaziristanISLAMABAD: US drones targeted a compound and a vehiclein the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan onSunday killing six militants, officials said. The drones fired sixmissiles at the compound and the car in Khushali Turikhelvillage of North Waziristan Agency, security officials told themedia. Reports said the men killed in the attack were Uzbekmilitants. The village is located 35 km from Miranshah, themain town in North Waziristan, which is considered a safehaven for Taliban and al-Qaida elements. This was the first USdrone strike since the beginning of the Islamic holy month ofRamzan. The strike occurred shortly after authorities clampeda curfew in the region for the routine movement of securityforces. The strike also came days before a visit to the US byInter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam, who isexpected to raise Pakistan's demand for ending drone attacksduring talks with American officials.

224-YR-OLD US STORESHUTS SHOPWASHINGTON: America's oldest general store, opened oneyear before George Washington was sworn in as the firstpresident of the US, has shut down after serving thecommunity for 224 years. Gray's Store in the small village ofAdamsville in Rhode Island opened in 1788, selling pennycandy, cigars and a small selection of groceries , as well asantiques and collectible knickknacks . Since 1879, thebusiness has been owned by the Waite family. A large crowdgathered outside the store on Sunday morning to saygoodbye to the business on its final day of operation,heraldnews-. com reported. The 21-yearold journalismstudent Jonah Waite inherited the shop after his father,Grayton Waite died of cancer last month at the age of 59.Jonah is not interested in running the family business anddecided to close up shop."My dad knew it wasn't something I intended to take overand operate. His intention was to sell it in the next couple ofyears and fully retire . He didn't have time to do that,"heraldnews.com quoted Jonah as saying.

Phone hacking scandal:Journalist arrested forpossible data theft, UK saysLondon: British police said on Monday a 51-year-oldjournalist has been arrested as part of an investigationinto the use of information taken from stolen mobilephones .The arrest is linked to a wider inquiry into the phonehacking scandal that has engulfed the British pressand tarnished the reputation of police and politicians.Scotland Yard said the man is the eighth personarrested as part of Operation Tuleta, an inquiry intocomputer hacking and privacy offenses that is linkedto Operation Weeting, the main phone hacking inquiry.The journalist was arrested Monday morning afterreporting to a London police station and later releasedon bail. Police said in a statement that the arrestrelates to a suspected conspiracy.

Book on Gandhi's leadershipqualities to hit stands in ChinaBEIJING: A book written by veteran Indian diplomat Pascal AlanNazareth on Mahatma Gandhi's outstanding leadership qualities, whichhave great relevance in today's world plagued by violence andterrorism, has been translated into Mandarin and will soon hit thestands in China. The Mandarin edition of Nazareth's book entitled"Gandhi's Outstanding Leadership" will be published in China at a timewhen the new generation of Chinese intellectuals is showing interest inthe Gandhian principles despite being influenced by Chairman MaoZedong's revolutionary ideals.An MoU in this regard was signed today by Indian Ambassador S

Jaishankar and Yu Dianli, CEO of theCommercial Press China, at a function at theIndian embassy here.Nazareth has written extensively on MahatmaGandhi. His book on Gandhi's leadershippublished in 2006 was translated intoSpanish and Portuguese, besides severalIndian languages.Incidentally, this is the second book onGandhi in Mandarin to be released in China.It will come out in markets next year. 'TheGandhi Memories', written by Americanjournalist William L Shirer, recently hit thestands in China.Speaking on Nazareth's book, Jaishankar saidthe publication of the Chinese edition istimely as it would highlight the importance ofsoft power and the limitations of hard power.The book also highlights the distinctionbetween progress, modernisation andwesternisation, dwells on the role of ethics inleadership and how national leaders acquireuniversal relevance, he said.Shang Quanyu, the history professor of theSouth China Normal University whotranslated the book, said it was a trail blazerbecause it was a rare book that highlightedGandhi's leadership qualities and Mahatma'sideas on leadership, which have greatrelevance today.

STATE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITIES IN THE US HAVEDETAINED A MAN WHO HAD DECLARED HIMSELF“A JOKER” AND HAD THREATENED TO KILL PEOPLE.

JOKER SCARE: MAN THREATENS MASSKILLINGS IN US, HELD

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indiaindiaindia GOVERNOR DEFIESMODI, ALLOWSMINISTER'SPROSECUTIONI P14

NEW DELHI/ BUREAU NEWS:In t he f i r s t such ca seinvo lv ing a we l l -known

politician in India, 86-year-o ld Congre s s l e ade r N DTiwari has been established

b y a D N A t e s t t o b e t h ebiological fa ther of Delhi-ba sed l aw g radua t e Roh i t

Shekhar.Announcing the result of

t he t e s t conduc t ed a t a

H y d e r a b a d - b a s e dl abo ra to ry, Ju s t i c e RevaKhetrapal of Delhi HC saidon Friday: "N D Tiwari is theb io log ica l f a the r o f Rohi tShekhar and Ujjwala Sharmai s h i s b io log ica l mo the r. "Both Ujjwala and Shekhar,who were present in court ,wore a sombre look as soonas Ju s t i c e Khe t r apa lannounced the result.

"Tiwari 's legal troubleswill start now, this is just thebeginning. He will pay for allthe hur t he has caused mymother for so many years,"Shekhar said as he left thecourtroom, while Ujjwala saidit is up to her son to decidei f he wan ted t he T iwar isurname.

Exu l t i ng i n h i s newstatus, Shekhar said, "I am

ND TIWARI BECOMES FATHER AT 86YEARS, ESTABLISHES DNA TEST REPORT

Ethnic clash a shame on nation: PMKOKRAJHAR: /BUREAU NEWS:Prime Minis ter ManmohanSingh visited two relief campsin riot-hit Kokrajhar district onSaturday and termed thecommunal c lashes betweenBodos and Bengali-speakingMuslims as "desh ke mathepar kalangk" (shame onnation).

Singh, whose arrival inKokrajhar was delayed byabout three hours due to atechnical snag in his chopper,went to Commerce College andBhotgaon camps relief campsstraight from the helipad. "Iam sad. It will take few daysfor things to become normal,"the PM consoled the inmatesof these two camps.Thousands of inmates at thetwo relief camps spoke theirheart out about the loss oftheir home and hearth in theethnic c lash. Women, wi thchildren in arms, wept as thePrime Minister walked in to thecamps.

Singh, la ter, in teractedwith a large number of Bodosand Bengal i -speakingMuslims at Kokrajhar circuithouse. "After hearing themout, he stressed restoration ofpeace and calm in the area," asource said.

The Bodoland territorialCouncil leadership submitteda memorandum to Singh,urging him to ins t i tu te aninquiry to identify and nab theculprits involved in the clash.Home minister P Chidambaramis scheduled to visit Kokrajharand Dhubr i on Monday to

review security arrangements,an official said.

The situation in the fouraffected districts of Kokrajhar,Chirang, Bongaigaon andDhubri remained calm on

Saturday with norepor ts of f reshkill ings or arson.But there wastens ion as e ightmore bodies wererecovered s inceFr iday night ,taking the toll inthe Bodo-Muslimclashes to 53. Mostof the bodies werefound f loat ing inrivers. Accordingto the homedepartment, six of

the deceased were killed bypol ice and secur i ty forceswhi le 67 others have beeninjured. Another seven arereported missing. The numberof inmates in 270 relief camps

also increased to four lakh onSaturday.

"Army deployment is onand the troops are carryingout f lag march in f ivedistricts," a home departmentspokesman sa id . He addedthat 55 additional companiesof central armed police force(CAPF) have also reached thetroubled areas.

An MHA source sa id ,"Earlier, the state had beenauthor ized to use 116companies of CAPFs. Out ofthese , e ight companies arecurrently deployed for law andorder duty in Kokrajhardistrict. Thus, a total of 73companies are deployed inaffected areas for maintenanceof law and order."

not the illegitimate son, he ismy illegitimate father."

F r iday ' s deve lopmen tmarks a major milestone inthe pa te rn i ty su i t f i l ed byShekhar in 2008 as Tiwari hadfo r a l ong t ime r e s i s t edgiving his blood for the DNAtest and later tried to blockthe report being made public.

The high court disclosedthe r e su l t a f t e r i t h adrejected Tiwari 's last di tchattempt to keep it a secret.

A former chief ministero f U t t a r P r adesh andUt t a r ancha l and fo rmergovernor of Andhra Pradesh,Tiwari had stated on affidavitt ha t Shekha r ' s c l a im wasbase l e s s and had movedseven appea l s in SupremeCourt and in the Delhi highcourt .

MUMBAI/BUREAU NEWS :The Mumbai crime branch islikely to confront the deported26/11 conspirator SayedZabiuddin alias Abu Jundal withthe alone arrested Pakistaniterrorist Ajmal Kasab in the nextweek. Sources said that they arepreparing to seek permission fromthe special court so that they bringeither Kasab to the policeheadquarters where Jundal is keptor take Jundal to special highsecurity cell at Arthur jail whereKasab is lodged. Police say that

Crime branch to confront AbuJundal with Ajmal Kasab

the confronts is important thereis some contradiction in the twoversions regarding the sixunknown handlers and thePakistan's ISI officialsinvolvement in the 26/11 Mumbaiterror attack. Police said Ansariwho got the nick name `AbuJundal' after he completed thephysical and spiritual training inPakistan is a key accused in the26/11 terror attack in which 166persons were killed and more than260 were injured in Mumbai.

(Contd. on page 14)

Manic Monday: Nor therngrid collapse paralyses cityContd. from Page 1This has created a wide demand-supply mismatch. The current dryspell has worsened the situation, sparking a rush for power from thefarming sector. Overdrawal, or sucking more than the scheduledquantity, is quite common in the northern grid. Drawing more or lesspower changes the frequency, which can change the voltage andtrip the network. In spite of a penalty imposed on each unit ofoverdrawn power, it still works out cheaper for states than buyingelectricity from the open market. And even if a state buys from thespot market in a contingency, wheeling the power could pose aproblem since there's no guarantee the grid would have sparecapacity at that point. But what explains the insufficient generationcapacity in the first place? One major reason, though not the onlyone, is that state electricity boards are almost without exceptioncash-starved. Governments that insist on free power to the farmsector and other such populist measures clearly have contributedto that situation. Given the demand-supply mismatch and theconsequent temptation to draw more than their share, a 2002 officialreport had warned that stripping the national transmission utility ofpowers to regulate electricity flow in the network would increasethe threat of major blackouts. The prophecy appears to have cometrue on Monday. The report, prepared by a team of officials after studyingpower reforms in China, stressed the need to keep control over electricityflow with PowerGrid Corporation, which operates the grid. But the Centrecarved out a separate entity, Power System Operation Corporation, tomanage power despatch. "The grid collapse is an administrative failure.It shows the fallacy of separating grid and load despatch operations.PowerGrid's powers to enforce grid discipline has been diluted by creationof a separate entity for managing despatch," R P Singh, who served asPowerGrid chairman for almost a decade, told Times of India. "I cannotcomment on the reason for today's grid collapse. But discipline in respectof drawal of power and maintenance of frequency is necessary foroperation of a grid. Overdrawal has become easier with interconnect. Sothere is need to give the load despatch centres more statutory andenforcement powers," former power secretary Anil Razdan told TOI."None of our states have a contingency plan. They do not havecapacity booked with generation companies or grid for a situationwhere, say, one of their own plants go on the blink or demandsuddenly rises. They neither plan for 24X7 supply nor are ready topay. If you book capacity you have to pay," Razdan said. PowerGridchairman A M Nayak, however, is confident of enforcing griddiscipline. "We have a robust and modern system. I am sure wetackle situations in future also."

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Crime branch to confront Abu Jundal with........(Contd. from page 13)While Kasab had told police that Jundal had given him arms and ammuition training, Jundal said thathe did not part the training but only gave Hindi and Marathi lessons to Kasab and nine others.

Kasab had named Jundal was among the 13 Pakistani handlers who had come to see them off toAl Hussain the Pakistani ship in which they sail from Karachi and later captured Indian fishingTrawler M V Kuber. Jundal during interrogations said he did not come to see off. Kasab during theinterrogations had named the 13 Pakistanis who came to send them off in Karachi to sail for Mumbaion November 23, 2008. Abu Jundal, Abu Kahafa, Abu Humza and Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi were topamong them. "Jundal is an important conspirators as he was present in the control room along withfive other Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives who were dictating terms to the ten terrorist includingAjmal Kasab send to Mumbai in 2008. Many of them we only know by their nick names, Jundal being

in a very core group he may be knowing the others well.'' Said an official on condition ofanonymity. One of the accused arrested in German bakery blast was asked to recognize the voiceof the handlers of 26/11. He identified one of the voices was of Zabiuddin Ansari who posed asAbu Jundal. Crime branch will take expert's help to match the voices.

"The pure Hindi words like prashasan and yuvak have been used by handlers suggestingthe involvement of some Indian.'' added officer. Once the crime branch finishes his custody theMaharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) will seek Jundal's custody in two offences ofAurangabad arms haul case and German bakery blast of Pune.

Jindal who hails from Gevrai Taluka in Beed district was a student of Indian TechnicalInstitute in Beed, had a sudden rise in the ranks of Lashker-e-Taiba after he was indoctrinate bybanned SIMI post Gujarat riots in 2002.

NEW DELHI/BUREAU NEWS:A massive grid failure in Delhiand much of northern India leftmore than 300 million peoplewithout electricity on Monday inone of the worst blackouts to hitthe country in more than adecade. Power supply in thenorthern states, that facedblackout since around 2am onSunday night, has been partiallyrestored. At least six states,including Delhi, Punjab,Haryana, UP, Himachal Pradeshand Rajasthan and Jammu andKashmir, were affected after afailure in the northern grid. Thegovernment has set up a 3-member panel to look into thefailure of northern Power Grid,according to power ministerSushilkumar Shinde, who tookstock of the situation.

Meanwhile, power supplyfor public services like hospitalsand transport is being restoredon a priority basis. "Yes there areproblems with northern grid, weare trying to restore it", said SKSoonee, CEO of Power SystemOperating Co (PSOC).

Worst blackout in decadeleaves 300m without power

PSOC manages theNorthern Power Grid. Officialssources said while the exactreasons for the grid failure arebeing ascertained , over drawl ofpower by states could have ledto the problem. The Delhi Metroservices, which was badly hitsince Monday morning, hasbeen partially restored. However,train services across north Indiacontinues to remain affected.Hundreds of passengers havebeen stranded across stations innorth India with the movementof trains disrupted. The whole of

Rajasthan, which was one of thestates affected due to powersupply failure from the NorthernGrid, witnessed a complete blackout for almost 4 hours between 1am to 5 am. In Punjab andHaryana, all major trains likeShatabadi Express, Chandigarh-Chennai train, SadbhawnaExpress, Sachkhand Express,Rajdhani Express are amongthose hit by the grid failure. Afterclosing down the thermal powerplants following the grid failure,Haryana started lighting theplants in Panipat and Hisar.

AHMEDABAD/BUREAU NEWS : Gujarat governor Dr Kamla Beniwalhas informed the Gujarat high cour t that she has sanctioned the pros-ecution of minister of state for fisheries Parshottam Solanki in a Rs400 crore fishing scam of 2008.

This is the first case in Gujarat's political history that the governorhas overruled the cabinet to allow criminal proceedings against aminister. Legal experts say that within a month a criminal case offraud will be filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, forcingthe minister to resign and thus preventing his re-election to theassembly a few months from now.

Governor defies Modi, allows minister's prosecutionAn official communication to this effect was sent to the HC

registrar late on Friday. On March 30, the court had directed theNarendra Modi government to take a decision on the issue withinthree months, failing which the governor would have final authority.

On June 30, hours before the deadline was to expire, thegovernment informed complainant Ishaq Maradia that the cabinethad found that there was no case against Solanki. When Maradia,through his counsel Mukul Sinha, moved the court for contemptagainst the government, the court gave three weeks to the governorto take a decision. On examination of the files, Raj Bhavan found

that the then chief secretary D Rajagopalan had strongly opposedthe fishing contracts. Rajagopalan's noting states: "This is againstgovernment policy of leasing our reservoir and dams for fishing andthe minister has no authority to change it.

Such power is lying only with the cabinet and unless cabinetchanges policy, it cannot be given for any consideration. This matterhas never been put up before the cabinet." It is well known that theModi government was soft on Solanki because of his substantialinfluence over Koli voters, which would be crucial to the BJP'sfortunes in the assembly elections due in December 2012.

LUCKNOW/BUREAU NEWS:Two days after Mayawati's statuewas vandalized in Lucknow,statues of dalit icon BabasahebBhimbaro Ambedkar weredamaged by unidentified peoplesat three places in Azamgarh districtof Uttar Pradesh (UP). Theincident triggered protests fromBahujan Samaj Party BSP) workerswho blocked roads and stageddemonstrations. The agitatedworkers lifted the block seniorofficials assured of speedy againstguilty and replacing damagedstatues with new one.

According to police officials,Ambedkar's statue wasdecapitated and the head wasthrown in a field in Katat village inMehnagar area on Fridaynight.??The dalit icon's statueswere also damaged in two othervillages -- Nai Palia and Jiyasath.Tension prevailed after localsspotted the damaged statues onSaturday morning. The residentsalong with BSP workers blockedmain road for around four hours.Senior police officials rushed to theprevent situation from turningugly. The road blockade was lifted

After Mayawati, now Ambedkarstatues vandalized in UP

after senior officials assured thatnew statues would be installed andthe culprits would be booked. OnThursday, six miscreants hadbroken the head and damaged thearms of the marble statue of theBSP chief and former UP chiefminister installed at the BhimraoAmbedkar Samajik ParivartanSthal. A little known political outfitUttar Pradesh Navnirman Senaclaimed responsibility for theincident, saying it was their wayof expressing anger over scams,which took place under theMayawati regime.

The state administrationacted swiftly and replaced thestatue on Friday. The police alsoarrested six persons in connectionwith the incident. Meanwhile, onSaturday, Amit Jani, president ofUP Navnirman Sena, and his twoaides, prime accused ofvandalizing Mayawati's statuesent to 14 days judicial custody.The three accused were arrestedon Friday night from UP-Delhiborder. Jani had held a pressconference to announce hisintentions before damagingMayawati's statue.

AMRITSAR/BUREAU NEWS :While investigations into thekillings of Sikhs at villageHondh-Chillar is yet to beginand within days of JusticeGarg's visit to Hondh-Chillar,All India Sikh StudentsFederation (AISSF) and Sikhsfor Justice (SFJ) claim to haveunearthed another Sikhgenocide site at Haily Mandi,Pataudi, in Haryana.According to bothorganizations, more than 28Sikhs were killed in systematic,organized and well-plannedattack during November 1984anti-Sikh riots at Haily Mandi.While releasing a copy of FIRnumber 282-83 that wasregistered at Pataudi policestation on November 12, 1984,here on Monday, Karnail SinghPeermohammad, the President ofAISSF, said that at Haily Mandirailway station, the allegeddeath squads poured keroseneoil on the Sikhs and burnt themalive. The FIR had more thanfifteen names of the accusedwho were involved in the killingof Sikhs at Haily Mandi, Pataudiduring November 1984, he said.

Two Sikh bodies claim to havediscovered another site ofSikh genocide in Haryana

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