Kenyan anti-doping body gets boost from China, Norway

Nairobi, Feb 1 (IANS) The newly constituted Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) is ready to roll out its operation to combat the vice after entering a one-year partnership with the Chinese and Norwegian anti-doping bodies.


 The ADAK will also work for a year with the Regional Anti-Doping Agency (RADA) as it launches its work following intense pressure on Kenya to take a pro-active stance against proscribed substance use, mostly distance runners, after a huge surge in positive tests in the last two years, reported Xinhua.

 Speaking late Saturday when signing the memorandum of understanding that also incorporated the National Olympics Committee of Kenya, the Cabinet Sectary for Sports, Culture and Arts Hassan Wario said the partnership will assist in curbing the doping menace in the country.

 "We shall cooperate in the field of anti-doping, share ideas and resources to build a strong and robust anti-doping movement in Kenya, and our efforts shall be geared towards the protection of clean athletes," said Wario.

 "We shall all work together to build a strong and effective agency which will spearhead testing, sensitization, training and investigation," he added.

 The ADAK was formed after WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) threatened to instigate a ban on Kenya from Olympics and IAAF World Championships after a rise in cases involving the country's runners, 32 in 2014, with the high profile cases including female marathon star, Rita Jeptoo, who tested positive for EPO (Erythropoietin controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production).

Sunny Sunday likely in Delhi (Lead)

New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) It will be a sunny Sunday in the national capital and the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 21 degrees Celsius, the Met Office said.


 The minimum temperature was 6.7 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average.

 "There was moderate fog early morning but the afternoon will be sunny and pleasant," said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

 As the visibility in the morning was 300 metres, it affected the arrival of 30 trains to the city, Northern Railway said.

 The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 94 percent.

 Saturday's maximum temperature was 21.5 degrees Celsius - average for the season, and the minimum temperature settled at 6.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average.

Real, Atletico Madrid both win in La Liga

Madrid, Feb 1 (IANS) Real Madrid remained on top of the Spanish Primera Liga after coming back from a goal down to defeat Real Sociedad 4-1 while rivals Atletico stayed in touch with the football league leaders with a 3-1 win over Eibar.


 Sociedad's Aritz Elustondo opened the scoring in the first minute Saturday with a powerful header following a corner, but James Rodriguez levelled just 90 seconds later and Sergio Ramos put Madrid ahead seven minutes before halftime, reports Xinhua.

 Real Madrid were without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, who was watching from a VIP box, but Karim Benzema produced a fine performance which he capped with two excellent second half goals to ensure the Portuguese star wasn't missed.

 Benzema's first goal came following a pass from the otherwise disappointing Gareth Bale, while his second of the day was an excellent curling finish from the edge of the visitors' penalty area.

 Atletico Madrid overcame dreadful conditions and an in-form rival to defeat Eibar 3-1 in a rain soaked Ipurua Stadium.

 The game was over as a contest by the 25th minute after a goal from Antoine Griezmann and two from Mario Mandzukic saw Atletico overcome their midweek Kings Cup exit to FC Barcelona and set them up for next weekend's home clash against Real Madrid.

 Granada also enjoyed a good day with a a 1-0 win at home to Elche thanks to a Jhon Cordoba strike.

Cilic pulls out of Zagreb indoors tennis tournament

Zagreb, Feb 1 (IANS) US Open champion Marin Cilic is still waiting to get on the court in 2015 after he pulled out of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors tennis tournament.


 Cilic was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open, the first major tournament of the season, with a nagging shoulder injury that bothered him throughout his successful 2014 campaign, reported Xinhua.

 He was hoping to start playing again at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors tournament that he won on four previous occasions, in 2009-10 and 2013-14.

 "Recovery is slow, too slow. I've been out of court for about seven weeks so far and that's the longest period in my career that I've been without touching a racket. Last MRI test showed that there has been progress but I have to wait two more weeks to repeat the MRI test that could show my shoulder is completely healed," said Cilic Saturday at the tournament's draw ceremony.

Ajax sign Sinkgraven from Heerenveen

The Hague, Feb 1 (IANS) Dutch football club Ajax have signed SC Heerenveen midfielder Daley Sinkgraven.


 The 19-year-old Sinkgraven signed a four-and-a-half-year contract until mid-2019 with Ajax Saturday, reports Xinhua.

 He had a contract until 2017 at Heerenveen who will, according to reports in Dutch media, receive around 6.5 million euros for the Dutch youth international.

 Last Friday, Sinkgraven played his last of 35 Dutch league matches (four goals) for Heerenveen against FC Dordrecht (0-0).

 The son of former Dutch professional player Harry Sinkgraven, who played for Groningen, Cambuur and Zwolle, broke through via the youth ranks of Heerenveen and debuted in the first team over a year ago.

 Ajax and Heerenveen also agreed on a loan deal for Lerin Duarte from Amsterdam to Heerenveen.

 The 24-year-old midfielder had failed to impress at Ajax since his move from Heracles Almelo in the summer of 2013. He will now play for Heerenveen for the remainder of this season.

Benfica beat Boavista 3-0 in Portuguese league

Lisbon, Feb 1 (IANS) Benfica beat Boavista 3-0 in the 19th round of the Portuguese football league at the Luz Stadium here.


 Brazilian forward Lima scored in the 23rd minute Saturday with a header following a pass from Uruguayan defender Maxi Pereira, reported Xinhua.

 Pereira then went on to score in the 33rd minute from outside the area with a left-footed effort.

 Brazilian forward Jonas added the third in the 55th with a penalty kick, which went flying past Swiss goalkeeper Mika.

 Benfica are top of the Portuguese league with 49 points while Boavista are in 13th place with 19 points.

Japan launches intelligence satellite

Tokyo, Feb 1 (IANS) Japan Sunday launched a backup information gathering satellite (IGS), the country's first launch of this year.


 The satellite is equipped with a radar spy instrument capable of peering through clouds, darkness and camouflage to obtain high-resolution imagery of the Earth's surface. But the satellite's exact capabilities were not disclosed, Xinhua reported.

 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. launched the spy satellite aboard a H-2A rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture.

 The launch was previously scheduled for Jan 29 but adverse weather conditions delayed it.

 Intelligence satellites are believed to be employed  to monitor ground surfaces to gain information related to national security and  disasters.

 This is the sixth radar satellite and the 13th IGS,  including two prototype optical satellites, since the country's first two IGS  satellites were launched in 2003.

Monchengladbach, Schalke win in Bundesliga

Berlin, Feb 1 (IANS) While Monchengladbach and Schalke started the second half of the campaign with victories, Borussia Dortmund dropped to the bottom despite a draw with Leverkusen in the 18th round of the German Bundesliga.


 Fourth placed Monchengladbach increased Stuttgart's relegation worries following a 1-0 away Saturday night, reported Xinhua.

 Ten-man Schalke started the second half of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory against Hannover.

 The "Royal Blues" opened the scoring at the half hour mark through Macro Hoeger, who capitalised on Christian Fuchs' pass into the box to make it 1-0 on the scoreboard with a long range shot.

 Schalke jumped to fourth place with 27 points and Hannover remain in eighth place.

 Dortmund shared the spoils with Leverkusen following a goalless draw, but despite earning a vital point, Dortmund slumped to the last place in the standings.

 Relegation threatened Freiburg came from behind to stun Frankfurt 4-1 thanks to the hat-trick by new arrival Nils Petersen.

 Elsewhere, Mainz humiliated newly promoted Paderborn 5-0 courtesy Yunus Malli's brace, and Cologne's Marcel Risse scored two goals to down struggling Hamburg 2-0.

Jamaica on the verge of blood testing athletes

Kingston (Jamaica), Feb 1 (IANS) Jamaica is on the verge of introducing blood testing for its athletes as the country continues its effort to recover from a doping scandal which rocked the sport of track and field here nearly two years ago.


 Executive Director of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), Carey Brown, Saturday said blood testing will be introduced by the end of the 2014/15 fiscal year, reported CMC.

 ìWe are putting the systems and protocols in placeÖ weíre a good way down the track in terms of where we need to go,î said Brown.

 ìWe are targeting before the end of the financial year."

 Several people, including blood collection and doping control officers, were trained last November under a UNESCO programme, as part of the preparation for the new sampling procedure.

 ìWe are in the process of (finalising) contracts with them, because weíre using phlebotomy companies, so that we will be able to start blood collection as part of our programme,î added Brown.

 ìWe have trained additional sample collection personnel, doping control officers and chaperonesÖ and we are in the process of having the fieldwork done, so that we can certify persons."

 A number of Jamaican athletes including former 100-metre world-record holder Asafa Powell, Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown  tested positive for banned substances in recent years.

 Currently, JADCO only uses urine samples to test athletes for prohibited substances.

Myanmar president seeks cooperation to amend education law

Yangon, Feb 1 (IANS) Myanmar President U Thein Sein Sunday appealed to protesting students for cooperation to fulfil their demand for amending an already approved national education law.


 Stating that dialogue was the only practical way to find a solution, U Thein Sein urged students to stop their protest march and pave the way for discussions, Xinhua reported.

 He expressed concern stating that if the students continued to stage demonstrations, it could affect the approaching school exams.

 Following initial talks between Myanmar government delegation and protesting students' representatives in the capital Nay Pyi Taw Jan 28, the two sides agreed to hold quartet talks on amending the parliament-approved National Education Law.

 The quartet talks, to be held later Sunday, will focus on 11 points raised by student  representatives.

 Students agreed to suspend their protest when the quartet talks starts.

 On Jan 21, hundreds of students started a protest march from Mandalay city to Yangon (about 640 km). But the police stopped them in Taungtha town (about 130 km from Mandalay) Jan 27.

 Mymnmar students have been staging demonstrations since September 2014 against the national education bill passed by the parliament in July that year. The protest later spread from Dagon University in Yangon region to other universities in Mandalay and Sagaing regions.

 Meanwhile, the education ministry has said it would submit a bill to the ongoing parliament session, seeking amendments to the National Education Law.

Paes-Hingis win Australian Open mixed doubles title

Melbourne, Feb 1 (IANS) Indian tennis star Leander Paes and his Swiss partner Martina Hingis beat third seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title here Sunday.


 Paes and Hingis, seeded seventh, beat the French-Canadian pair 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and two minutes to win the first Grand Slam of the year.

IS militants seize 15 oil workers in Iraq

Baghdad, Jan 31 (IANS) Islamic State (IS) militants seized 15 employees after they temporarily seized an oil facility near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, while Kurdish troops freed seven villages in the area, a security source said Saturday.


 The workers were taken Friday when the IS militants attacked the oil facility of Khubbaz, some 25 km southwest of Kirkuk, which itself is located about 250 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, the source told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.

 During the attack, the IS militants stormed the facility, forcing the Kurdish security force, known as Peshmerga, to withdraw about three km away from the facility and then left the workers behind.

 About two hours later, the Peshmerga made a counter-attack and retook control of the facility, but the 15 workers, who are affiliated to the Iraqi North Oil Company, were not found, the source said.

 The IS militants carried out attacks at dawn Friday from three directions on the Peshmerga positions around Kirkuk, sparking heavy clashes with the Peshmerga forces.

 On Saturday, sporadic clashes with heavy machine guns and mortar rounds continued in the area near the oil facility, while the Peshmerga, backed by the US-led coalition, managed to free seven villages in the area from the IS militants, the source added.

 The security situation in Iraq began to drastically deteriorate June 10, 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between the Iraqi security forces and the IS group which took control of the country's northern province of Nineveh and later seized swathes of territories after Iraqi security forces abandoned their posts in other predominantly Sunni provinces.
 

Give BJP full majority, Modi to Delhiites (Lead)

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday dubbed the AAP "back-stabbers" and asked voters in Delhi to give the BJP full majority in the Feb 7 assembly polls.


 Without naming the Aam Aadmi Party, Modi said: "People can make a mistake once, but not again and again. One year back, Delhi people had voted with dreams.

 "Last year, those whom you people voted, back-stabbed you and shattered your dreams," the prime minister said at a rally in east Delhi's Karkardooma area.

 "Delhi won't vote for betrayers," he added.

 AAP's Arvind Kejriwal had formed the government in Delhi after the December 2013 assembly polls. He resigned as chief minister over the Lokpal bill after 49 days in power.

 Modi, who shared the stage with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and the party's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, asked the people of Delhi to vote for a BJP government as it can work in tandem with the centre.

 "Elect a government with whom I can work shoulder to shoulder towards making a positive difference in your lives."

 The prime minister said the BJP had emerged as the largest party in the Delhi assembly last time. "Give us full majority this time," he said.

 Modi said the entire world was watching the Delhi polls.

 "If India needs to be introduced to the world, then Delhi is the best place to showcase. All events in the capital have an imprint on not only the country but the entire world. It represents India," he said.

 The prime minister said that with US President Barack Obama's visit to India, the country's image has been enhanced the world over.

 He said he has worked against corruption, but added: "I don't publicise that".

 "I have come to Delhi as you have called me. If you had not given me seven MPs, then I would not have been able to come to Delhi. Thus I have come at your bidding," he said.

 The prime minister said Delhi has been in a mess for the last 15 years.

 "I have come to take Delhi out of all the mess. I am not satisfied that you give me space to sit in the South Block. I want to serve each and every nook and corner of Delhi."

 Modi said Bedi was the right person for the capital's top job.

 "Delhi needs a stable government. Kiran ji knows Delhi well. She has administrative experience. She will take Delhi to new heights."

 He said the BJP will make India slum-free by 2022 and promised concrete houses for slum dwellers within the city precincts.

Coast Guard calls for monitoring system for fishing boats

Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS) The Indian Coast Guard Saturday called for further strengthening of India's coastal defence, and for developing a monitoring system to keep a tab on the over 2.5 lakh fishing vessels that operate near the coastline.


 Addressing the media on the eve of the Coast Guard's 38th Raising Day, Inspector General V.S.R. Murthy, commander of the Coast Guard's northeast region spanning West Bengal and Odisha, said the force was also banking to improve its operability on the completion of a deep sea port at Sagar Islands in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.

 "There are 2.5 lakh fishing vessels in India. You don't know whether a boat is a friend or a foe until and unless we physically check those onboard and it is impossible to check each and every boat.

 "Therefore, it is imperative that a system is developed to keep tabs on the movement of these vessels by fitting a simple transponder on each and every boat. While bigger ships having navigational system cannot escape our hawk eye, these small boats without any such system can be a threat," said Murthy.

 He stressed the developing of a monitoring system for fishing boats, especially in the wake of a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat loaded with explosives blowing up in the sea off Gujarat after being intercepted by the Coast Guard.

 Murthy said the Coast Guard's operability in the northeast region will be enhanced once the deep sea port comes up.

 Union Shipping, Highways and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier in the month sanctioned the Rs.12,000 crore project.

 "Currently, we operate our ships and hovercraft from our stations in Haldia and Frazerganj. But once the Sagar port comes up, our operability will be enhanced manifold. We are in talks with the government for providing the adequate platform to develop our infrastructure there," Murthy said.

 With the Coast Guard set to increase its number of ships to 150 and aircraft to 100 by 2018, Murthy said the force's assets in the North East region will also increase.

 "Currently, we operate two ships and four Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) in Bengal and six ships in Odisha. We are in the process of acquiring more assets," he said.
 

Ranji Trophy: Karnataka in command against UP

Bengaluru, Jan 31 (IANS) Champions Karnataka secured a massive 499-run first innings lead over Uttar Pradesh, who managed a meagre 220 as the hosts decided against enforcing a follow-on and were eight without loss at stumps on the third day of the Group A Ranji Trophy league match here Saturday.


 Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (4/51), who had contributed 90 runs to Karnataka's first innings tally of 719/9 declared, and seamer Arvind Sreenath (3/48) did the bulk of damage as the Uttar Pradesh batsmen, save Himanshu Asnora (70, 172b, 8x4) did not offer much of a resistance.

 UP were never really in the hunt after losing three wickets for 61 before Asnora and Parvinder Singh (34) added 83 runs for the fourth wicket to retrieve the situation.

 However, once the partnership was broken, the end of the innings followed swiftly, leaving Karnataka with a lead of 499.

 The 21-year-old Gopal took four wickets, including those of Parvinder and Asnora, in a little over 10 overs to break the UP resistance.

 The hosts opted to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on with very little time left before the stumps and also to provide some breather to their bowlers.

 Brief scores: Karnataka 719/9 declared and 8/0 in 3 overs vs Uttar Pradesh (first innings) 220 all out in 87.4 overs (Mukul Dagar 30, Himanshu Asnora 70, Parvinder Singh 34; Shreyas Gopal 4/51, Arvind Sreenath 3/48, Vinay Kumar 2/58).

Syrian troops kill 50 rebels

Damascus, Jan 31 (IANS) At least 50 rebels were killed and 150 wounded Saturday in fresh clashes with government troops in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, media reported.


 The Suqur al-Sham rebel group lost 50 of its fighters during clashes in the countryside of Idlib, Xinhua reported citing the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV, adding that a rebel commander was among those killed.

 State news agency SANA also reported the intense battles in different parts of Idlib, saying that units of the Syrian army intensified their shelling Saturday on the rebels' positions after the rebel groups attempted to infiltrate military positions in Idlib.

 Dozens of "terrorists" were killed in the Syrian troops' shelling, said SANA, adding that the battles have flared since dawn Saturday.

 The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and like-minded groups have recently intensified their attacks in Idlib in an attempt to consolidate their positions in that part of Syria, close to the Turkish borders.

 The Nusra Front, furthermore, has also been engaged in battles against the rebels' Hazm Movement, a group comprising less radical rebels, in Idlib.

 Following the attacks by Nusra Front on the Hazm Movement, the latter threatened that it would abandon its positions for the Syrian army if the attacks persisted.

 The ongoing battles nationwide come even as representatives of the Syrian government and political opposition concluded their meetings in Moscow Thursday.

 They failed to achieve a breakthrough in the talks that were supposedly aimed at paving the way for a broader conference to hammer out details of a possible political settlement to the country's long-running conflict. 

Sergio Mattarella elected Italian president

Rome, Jan 31 (IANS) Constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella was elected Italy's new president Saturday, in the fourth round of balloting held by the Italian parliament in a joint session.


 Mattarella, 73, is a member of Italy's Constitutional Court since 2011. He had entered politics as a Christian Democrat in the 1980s after his brother was killed by the Sicilian mafia, and served as minister in several cabinets.

 Mattarella received over 505 votes out of an assembly of 1, 009 lawmakers and regional representatives, Xinhua news agency reported.

 His candidacy was promoted by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his centre-left Democratic Party (PD). It received support from all minor centrist and leftist forces in parliament and most lawmakers belonging to junior coalition partner New Centre-Right party.

 Mattarella was not backed by two major opposition forces, Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

 Three inconclusive rounds of voting requiring a two-thirds majority had already been held Thursday and Friday.

 Mattarella will replace 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned Jan 14. 

Indian Open golf to have strongest field ever

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) A strong contingent from Europe, which has more than 60 titles in their collective kitty, besides another heavy field of Asian Tour golfers who have won more than 100 titles, have entered for the 2015 Indian Open, which becomes a co-sanctioned event between the European and Asian Tours for the first time.


 With entries from 16 players from the top-100 on the European Tour's 2014 Race to Dubai (Order of Merit) rankings, and 27 from the top-30 of the Asian Tour's 2014 Order of Merit, the field is set to become one of the strongest ever assembled in India. The field also includes five players in the world's top-100, including India's Anirban Lahiri.

 The tournament will be held Feb 19-22 at the par-71 Delhi Golf Club (DGC).

 Every top Indian has entered the event and it includes the famed 'Big 3' of Indian golf -- Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa -- who between them have won more than 30 titles on Asian, European, US and Japan Tours.

 Besides them, the current crop led by Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur, S.S.P. Chowrasia and the 23-year-old Rashid Khan will also be seen in action.

 Indian golf had a great 2014 as players won no less than six titles on Asian Tour -- the most by any country during the season.

 The 27-year-old Lahiri, now the highest ranked Indian in the world, and Rashid won two titles each while Chowrasia and Atwal won one each. Another title came on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) from the promising S. Chikkarangappa.

 From the European contingent, as many as five players accounted for seven titles on the 2014 European Tour with Alexander Levy and the seasoned Miguel Angel Jimenez winning twice each.

 Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, Australian Scott Hend and Swede Mikael Lundberg are the other winners to send their entries for what will be the 51st edition of the event.

 The star cast includes Asia's most successful winner of all time Thaworn Wiratchant, who has 18 titles on Asian Tour, and Spaniard Jimenez, who has 21 European Tour titles, and figures 10th on the all-time list of most successful players on European Tour.

 The field also has all the Indian Open champions from 2004 onwards and five players who have won the Asian Tour Order of Merit seven times since 2002 including Jeev and Wiratchant, who have won it twice each.
 

10 die as effluent treatment tank bursts in Tamil Nadu (Lead)

Chennai, Jan 31 (IANS) Ten labourers drowned to death in sludge Saturday when an effluent treatment tank burst in Tamil Nadu's Ranipet town, officials said.


 Nine of the dead hailed from West Bengal and one person was from Ranipet, about 120 km from here. All were sleeping in a room adjacent to the unit that operated the CETP (common effluent treatment plant) tank.

 The tank burst around 3.30 a.m. Saturday and the workers drowned to death in the thick slimy effluent, an official told IANS.

 The unit was operating the CETP for 86 tanneries. The huge tank was at a height of around 10 feet.

 According to police, two people were undergoing treatment at a government hospital.

 In a statement issued here, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam expressed grief over the tragedy announced a solatium of Rs.3 lakh to the families of the dead and Rs.25,000 to those injured.

 He said the bodies would be taken back to their native places at the Tamil Nadu government's cost.

Odisha cabinet approves land grant policy for Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Jan 31 (IANS) The Odisha cabinet Saturday approved 12 proposals, including the land grant policy 2015, for allotment of government land in Bhubaneswar in order to ensure comprehensive development of the city.


 The policy will facilitate creation of essential infrastructure and amenities, promote the ambience of the city and balance the interests of different organisations and individuals in need of land in the city, chief secretary G.C. Pati told reporters here.

 The policy will look into the land required for housing by statutory authorities like Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) and other bodies. Land carved out into suitable sizes in the capital city for residential, commercial and institutional purposes will be given through auction, said Pati.

 The cabinet also agreed to have a Rs 100-crore corpus fund for pre-positioning of fertilisers in the state to provide it to farmers during the Kharif and Rabi seasons.

 "The major stumbling block in improving fertiliser consumption is the availability of fertilisers at the right time and right place. Odisha State Co-operative Marketing Federation (OSCMF) and Odisha Agro Industries Corporation (OAIC) will be involved in procurement and supply of fertilisers to the farmers through the corpus fund," said   Pati.

 The corpus fund will be shared on a 75:25 basis by OSCMF and OAIC respectively for pre-positioning of fertilisers within the state.

 The chief secretary also said the cabinet gave its nod for creating a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore for pre-positioning quality seed and planting materials by the institutional agencies and supplying them to farmers on time.

 State agencies Odisha State Seeds Corporation Ltd (OSSC), OAIC and Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd (OSCDC) will be involved in this to ensure adequate quantity of seeds and planting material for the farmers.

 The cabinet also approved the tender for two mega lift projects cluster to be executed on Indravati reservoir in the state, said Pati.

 The tenders have been awarded to L&T ltd through a competitive bidding process. The first lift irrigation project costing Rs 757.80 crore will be executed in Poksara, Jayapatna and Dharmagada blocks of Kalahandi district. The second project will cost Rs 515 crore.
 

Serena wins Australian Open women's singles title

Melbourne, Jan 31 (IANS) Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the women's singles final to win her sixth Australian Open title here Saturday.


 The No.1-seeded Williams recorded a 6-3, 7-6(5) over the No.2-seeded Russian for the 19th Grand Slam title of her illustrious career, separating herself from Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for second-most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era.

Elect government in Delhi that works with centre: Modi

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday asked the people of Delhi to vote for a BJP government as it can work in tandem with the centre.


 "Elect a government with whom I can work shoulder to shoulder towards making a positive difference in your lives," Modi said at a rally in east Delhi's Karkardooma.

 Making an indirect attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, he said: "People can make a mistake once, but not again and again. One year back, Delhi people had voted with dreams.

 "Last year, those whom you people voted, back-stabbed you and shattered your dreams," the prime minister said.

 "Delhi won't vote for betrayers," he added.

 Modi said the entire world was watching the Delhi polls.

 "If India needs to be introduced to the world, then Delhi is the best place to showcase.

 "All events in the capital have an imprint on not only the country but the entire world. It represents India," he said.

NABARD to fund rural projects in Maharashtra

umbai, Jan 31 (IANS) The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Saturday said it is willing to fund rural infrastructure projects in Maharashtra as the quantum of priority sector lending in the state will stand at Rs. 1,80,032 crore for the coming fiscal year.


 "Maharashtra may prepare State Infrastructure Development Plan to which NABARD can fund. The state should focus on the infrastructure development in rural areas by prioritising the districts and state specific infrastructure needs", NABARD said in a statement.

 According to the apex development bank, the credit flow potential in the state is almost double the previous year that stood at Rs 91,234 crore for the year 2014-15.

 "The lending potential for agriculture sector will be Rs 65,512.18 crore whereas the credit potential for non-farm sector and other priority sector will be Rs 62,141.96 crore and Rs 52,378.15 crore respectively", a study paper on the state by NABARD said.

 The study also estimated the potential credit for the agriculture sector at Rs 46,634.10 crore. Among other non-farm sectors, there is a good lending potential for sectors like water resources at Rs. 4059.44 crore, farm mechanisation at Rs. 2,640.06 crore, plantation and horticulture at Rs. 2,794.96 crore and storage godowns at Rs. 1,706.52 crore.

 NABARD said since 18 percent of the net sown area is irrigated in Maharashtra, it needs to be addressed on an urgent basis. Also, development of watersheds is another priority in the state.

Key Maharashtra Police post to combat terrorism downgraded

Mumbai, Jan 31 (IANS) A key post created in the Maharashtra Police to combat terrorism and the Maoist menace in the state after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was downgraded within four months, an RTI query has revealed.


 The post of Director-General of Police - Special Operations (DGP-OS), was downgraded a notch to Additional DGP-OS, according to the reply from the DGP office to the RTI query by activist Anil V. Galgali.

 "This inexplicable degradation of such a sensitive post raises suspicions over the government's commitment to tackling the terror and Maoist menace in the state," Galgali told IANS.

 The post - sixth in the rank of DGPs in the state - was created after the Mumbai terror attacks and to counter the Maoist menace in the eastern parts of the state, especially Gadchiroli district.

 "... the 26/11 terrorist attack and the ever increasing activity of Naxalites on its borders warranted a need for strengthening the police system," the DGP office said in its reply, conceding the requirement.

 It also said that coordination was required to be established with the central forces and the bordering states of Maharashtra to counter the increasing Maoist terror through this new post.

 After it was created, senior IPS officer Jayant Umranikar was appointed the first DGP-OS and he continued till Dec 31, 2009.

 Later, the post remained vacant for nearly two months and subsequently five officers in that rank were appointed, mostly for brief tenures, Galgali said.

 The incumbents were Sanjeev Dayal (Feb 26, 2010 - May 31, 2010; after a gap of almost one year S.P. Gupta was appointed (May 27, 2011 - June 25, 2012), P.K. Jain (June 26, 2012 - Feb 28, 2014), and the current incumbent Bipin Bihar (Nov 3, 2014 - till date).

 The government did not appoint a single officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) as staff officer in the office till date and the responsibilities are being shared by a senior clerk, a junior office superintendent and two junior clerks.

 Armed with the RTI reply, Galgali has shot off a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding upgradation of the sensitive post and appointment of capable officers of the relevant ranks along with proper staff.

 "Many a times, it is seen that after any major crisis, the government shows promptness, but eventually loses interest in its own decisions which eventually erodes credibility among the people," Galgali observed.
 

Indian Open golf to have strongest field ever

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) A strong contingent from Europe, which has more than 60 titles in their collective kitty, besides another heavy field of Asian Tour golfers who have won more than 100 titles, have entered for the 2015 Indian Open, which becomes a co-sanctioned event between the European and Asian Tours for the first time.


 With entries from 16 players from the top-100 on the European Tour's 2014 Race to Dubai (Order of Merit) rankings, and 27 from the top-30 of the Asian Tour's 2014 Order of Merit, the field is set to become one of the strongest ever assembled in India. The field also includes five players in the world's top-100, including India's Anirban Lahiri.

 The tournament will be held Feb 19-22 at the par-71 Delhi Golf Club (DGC).

 Every top Indian has entered the event and it includes the famed 'Big 3' of Indian golf -- Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa -- who between them have won more than 30 titles on Asian, European, US and Japan Tours.

 Besides them, the current crop led by Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur, S.S.P. Chowrasia and the 23-year-old Rashid Khan will also be seen in action.

 Indian golf had a great 2014 as players won no less than six titles on Asian Tour -- the most by any country during the season.

 The 27-year-old Lahiri, now the highest ranked Indian in the world, and Rashid won two titles each while Chowrasia and Atwal won one each. Another title came on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) from the promising S. Chikkarangappa.

 From the European contingent, as many as five players accounted for seven titles on the 2014 European Tour with Alexander Levy and the seasoned Miguel Angel Jimenez winning twice each.

 Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, Australian Scott Hend and Swede Mikael Lundberg are the other winners to send their entries for what will be the 51st edition of the event.

 The star cast includes Asia's most successful winner of all time Thaworn Wiratchant, who has 18 titles on Asian Tour, and Spaniard Jimenez, who has 21 European Tour titles, and figures 10th on the all-time list of most successful players on European Tour.

 The field also has all the Indian Open champions from 2004 onwards and five players who have won the Asian Tour Order of Merit seven times since 2002 including Jeev and Wiratchant, who have won it twice each.
 

Serena wins Australian Open women's singles title

Melbourne, Jan 31 (IANS) Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the women's singles final to win her sixth Australian Open title here Saturday.


 The No.1-seeded Williams recorded a 6-3, 7-6(5) over the No.2-seeded Russian for the 19th Grand Slam title of her illustrious career, separating herself from Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for second-most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era.

Barca aim to keep good times rolling against Villarreal

Madrid, Jan 31 (IANS) FC Barcelona and Villarreal face each other Sunday evening in what is a dress rehearsal for the Kings Cup semi-final between the two sides.


 Both Barca and Villarreal booked their places in the last four of the knockout competition during the week as Barca knocked out Atletico Madrid, while Villarreal beat Getafe, reports Xinhua.

 It promises to be an entertaining tie between two sides which like to play a passing game, but before the business of the Cup, both sides have to focus on the BBVA Primera Liga, where Barca are battling for the title and Villarreal a place in the top four.

 Barca are second in the table and Luis Enrique's side have enjoyed a turnaround in form in recent weeks following the mini-crisis which surrounded the club after their defeat away to Real Sociedad in the first match of the year.

 That turnaround may be due to the calmness which has come following the decision by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to call for elections at the end of the season, but it is more likely a result of the fact that Luis Enrique has largely ditched his policy of squad rotation and tried to play a more settled starting 11.

 That has benefited everyone with the defence looking more stable and cohesive, the midfield more creative and complete, whilst the attacking trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi is now the threat on the pitch that they looked to be on paper.

 Whilst it's true Suarez has not scored the goals that were expected of him, the Uruguayan has contributed with his movement and has provided more than his share of assists.

 Meanwhile, Messi has outscored Cristiano Ronaldo by two goals to one in 2015, whilst Neymar has been a revelation.

 "He's still progressing and he's making the difference in this Barca side, which isn't easy when you are just 22 years old," said Barca captain Xavi Hernandez, who nevertheless, believes the turnaround in recent weeks has not been so important.

 "The results have changed, but if we had won in San Sebastian people would be talking about a great run of form. We were not so bad in the past and we are not so great now," he said.  

Suvarna Raju is new HAL chairman

Bengaluru, Jan 31 (IANS) T. Suvarna Raju Saturday took over as the 17th chairman of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), following his predecessor R.K. Tyagi's retirement.


 "My priorities will be on operational excellence, building the company as a technology powerhouse and creating a knowledge organisation," Raju said in a statement after assuming charge here.

 Raju, director for design and development in the Rs.15,000-crore ($2.5 billion) defence behemoth, was selected from among five contenders to succeed Tyagi by the Public Enterprises Selection Board Sep 16 in New Delhi.

 Raju, who has the distinction of being granted the first patent in the company in 2002, has applied for a whopping 1,000 patents during the last two years.

 "My goal will be to align the company with the government's 'Make in India' endeavour though it's a challenging task in aerospace. I believe the best of technologies can never be bought, but can only be developed," Raju said.

 Hailing from a village in West Godavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Raju joined HAL in June 1980 as management trainee after graduating from IIT in Chennai.

 He has master's degrees in business administration and in defence and strategic studies.

 Raju, who drafted the company's first research and development (R&D) policy, spearheaded the country's self-reliance in producing 25 kN (kilo Newton) turbofan engines.

 "Under Raju's leadership, the company initiated several R&D programmes covering Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), HTT-40 trainer, Jaguar Darin-III and Mirage upgrade," the statement said.

 Raju was also instrumental in setting up a production line for rolling out advanced jet trainer (AJT) Hawk under licence from Britain's BAE Systems for Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots.

 Raju is also the first member-secretary of the design development management board in the defence ministry and member-secretary of the national aeronautics coordination group.

India's leather sector expected to reach $27 billion turnover

Chennai, Jan 31 (IANS) India's leather sector is expected to touch $27 billion in five years, officials said here Saturday.


 Speaking to reporters, J.S. Deepak additional secretary, Department of Commerce, said the leather sector has been notified as a focus sector in the 'Make in India' programme.

 He said the sector is expected to touch $27 billion in the next five years from the current turnover of $12 billion.

 According to M. Rafeeque Ahmed, chairman, Council for Leather Exports (CLE), in five years time exports are expected to touch $15 billion from the current level of $5.91 billion.

 During the first eight months of the current fiscal the industry shipped out goods worth $4.45 billion up from $3.8 billion logged during the corresponding period of the previous year.

 Deepak said the government is looking at ways and means to support the industry to set up effluent plants. It will soon come out with concrete measures.

 Speaking about the India International Leather Fair to be held here Feb 1-3, Deepak said 440 companies are participating in the event, up from 385 companies that participated last year.

Serena wins Australian Open title (Lead)

Melbourne, Jan 31 (IANS) American star Serena Williams held off a determined Maria Sharapova of Russia to win her sixth Australian Open title and the 19th Grand Slam title of her career, separating herself from Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for the second-most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era.


 The No.1-seeded Williams recorded a straight sets 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over the No.2-seeded Sharapova.

 Going into the final, Williams was the favourite - not just because she was World No.1 and Sharapova No.2, but because she had won the pair's last 15 clashes, 12 of those coming in straight sets.

 Early on in the match that pattern continued, with Williams breaking in the very first game and, after a short rain delay, grabbing a second break for 5-2.

 Sharapova got one of the breaks back in the next game but Williams broke one last time to take the first set 6-3.

 All of that went out of the window in the second set, as the top 2 players in the world held tightly to all of their service games, with absolutely no breaks of serve - Williams did have her chance to finish the match with Sharapova serving at 4-5, 30-40, the first match point of the night, but the Russian bludgeoned a forehand down the line for a winner and subsequently held that service game.

 The tie-break was tight but Williams forged ahead, building a 6-4 lead, and after Sharapova fought off a second match point with another huge forehand down the line.

 Williams had the match on her racquet, stepping up to the baseline to serve on match point No.3. There was a bit of a hiccup - she fired what looked like a massive ace out wide, and she even began celebrating, but the serve was called a let. But she regrouped and fired the exact same ace to finally close it out.

 Williams came into the Australian Open tied with Evert and Navratilova for the second-most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, but she now has the stand-alone second-most with 19. Steffi Graf has 22.

Christina Aguilera glad daughter is easy, calm

Los Angeles, Jan 31 (IANS) Singer Christina Aguilera says her five-month-old "beautiful" baby girl Summer Rain "is just a breeze" because it's "easy" to handle her.


 "I have a chill baby, she's just so calm and so easy to make laugh and smile, she's just a breeze, thank god," the pop star said while talking about her daughter with fiancÈ Matthew Rutler during an interview with Extra, reports eonline.com.

 "She's just so beautiful, these big blue eyes, she's just so gorgeous... very happy and feel very blessed having Summer Rain in my life," Aguilera said.

 Meanwhile, her son Max, from her previous marriage to Jordan Bratman, is excited about being an older brother.

 "He's just so endearing and sweet to her. The only thing, I'm like, 'Wash your hands before you touch the baby'Ö you don't want the germs," she said.

 "He's in school, he's 7, there's a little age gap, but it's perfect though, because then they don't fight over toys. But he's the big helper and the big teacher, so he's awesome. He's just so loving and sweet. I'm like, 'How old are you?' He's like a grandma to her. He's just like, 'I'll teach you everything'," she added.

 Aguilera gave fans a little peek of her daughter through an Instagram photo earlier this month. The picture was snapped from behind, showing little Summer Rain wearing a pink dress and a diaper that read, "Lil Diva".

Disney introduces first Latina princess - Elena

Los Angeles, Jan 31 (IANS) Disney has unveiled its first ever Latina princess, Princess Elena of Avalor.


 The fictional character is described as ìbold, caring, funny and clever...a confident and compassionate teenager in an enchanted fairy-tale kingdom inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore,î reports aceshowbiz.com.

 According to a statement released by Disney Channel, the new character will make its debut appearance in an episode of ìSofia the Firstî, set to air in 2016 before getting her own animated series.

 Actress Aimee Carrero, who stars on the sitcom ìYoung & Hungryî, will voice Elena. Following her appearance on ìSofia the Firstî, Elena will headline her own animated series titled "Elena of Avalor", which will premiere in late 2016. 

Coal mine flooding kills five in China

Beijing, Jan 31 (IANS) Five miners were killed and two others remain trapped in a flooded coal mine in China's Anhui province, local authorities said Saturday.


 The accident happened in a shaft of a coal mine in Yongqiao district at 6.55 p.m. Friday when 34 miners were working underground, Xinhua reported.

 While twenty-seven miners managed to escape, seven others were trapped, according to Huaibei Mining (Group) Co. Ltd., the owner of the coal mine.

 Rescuers have retrieved five bodies and are still searching for the other two trapped miners.

 The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Kerry to travel to Ukraine amid escalating violence

Washington, Jan 31 (IANS) US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ukraine Feb 5 as violence flared up in the country this month, according to a statement from the state department.


 The top US diplomat will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and members of Ukraine's parliament, Xinhua quoted state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying in a statement issued Friday.

 "The secretary's visit will highlight the United States' steadfast support for Ukraine and its people," Psaki said.

 Ukrainian authorities said Friday that at least 35 civilians were killed in the east of the country over the past day, as fighting between government forces and rebels continued to escalate.

 Kerry will then travel to Munich, Germany, from Feb 6-8 to attend the Munich Security Conference.

 During his stay in Munich, Kerry will also hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings, including one with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Psaki added.

India for greater female participation in UN peace efforts

United Nations, Jan 31 (IANS) To protect women caught in conflicts, India has called for greater female participation in UN peace efforts and a broader approach that focuses on "peacebuilding" rather than concentrating on traditional peacekeeping operations.



 India's Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji told the Security Council Friday: "The participation of women in all aspects of the prevention and resolution of conflicts is an important policy measure which the Council should encourage while mandating peace operations."

 Speaking in a debate on protecting civilians in armed conflict, he drew on Indian women's participation in peacekeeping operations and said, "Our experience in Liberia showed that the actual requirements for addressing issues confronting women in armed conflict were related to the concept of peacebuilding, rather than peacekeeping."

 A representative of non-governmental organizations (NGO), who was invited by the Council to speak about the issues facing women, said the UN should increase the number of women staff in peacekeeping operations, in both military and police components. Ilwad Elman of the NGO Working Group On Women, Peace and Security said that when there are female peacekeepers and police, women in areas of conflict are better able to communicate their concerns about safety and request protection.

 Mukerji said India was the first UN member to bring about the active participation of women in peacekeeping operations when it sent an all female police unit to the UN peacekeeping operations in Liberia in 2007. He recalled what the then-US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said of India at the Council in 2009: "They have set an example that must be repeated in UN peacekeeping missions all over the world."

 India now has a total of 137 women participating in UN Peacekeeping Operations, 112 of whom are from the police and 13 are from the military. Of them 102 serve in a police contigent in the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

 Setting out a strategy to deal with the problem, Mukerji said the Council should now split up "the complex multidimensional nature of its peacekeeping mandates, and focus on addressing issues confronting women in armed conflict situations through focused peacebuilding activities, so that the transition to a post-conflict society can be sustainable."

 This approach would give greater scope to humanitarian and development programs and fight the exploitation of women caught in armed conflicts, he said.

 The nature of armed conflicts has changed since India first contributed troops to UN operations under the traditional mandate when "keeping the peace, was the best guarantee for protection of civilians caught up in armed conflicts," he said.

 "Whereas earlier, our peacekeepers were deployed to keep the peace between states," he said, "we are now witnessing a steady increase in the deployment of UN peacekeepers in situations of internal conflicts within member states."

 The impact of the instability and violence in the areas of conflict due to the breakdown of government "has been felt by the most vulnerable of the civilian populations, especially women and girls," he said.

 Mukerji pointedly drew attention to how the working of the Council itself has contributed to the situation. "The evident inability of the Council to address and nurture sustainable political solutions to such conflict situations" was a major reason for the "open-ended" situations of conflict and instability that took a toll on women.

 India speaks authoritatively on UN peacekeeping operations as it is the single largest contributor to these missions, having sent over 180,000 troops to 43 of the 68 operations which have claimed the lives of 156 Indians.

 Nearly 70 nations spoke at Friday's session because of the growing concern over the victimisation of civilians - - and women in particular - - in conflicts around the world.

 "Sexual violence during armed conflict is a violation of international humanitarian law," Helen Durham, a director at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said. "It is not inevitable. It must and can be stopped. What is required is a concerted effort by everyone concerned to prevent and put an end to it."

Under-pressure Natarajan claims she stopped mining in Goa

Panaji, Jan 31 (IANS) Former union minister for environment and forests in the erstwhile UPA government Jayanthi Natarajan Friday became the second senior politician to claim credit for the closure of Goa's tainted, multi-billon dollar iron ore mining industry, after former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.


 Natarajan, who made a stormy exit from the party Friday, said in an interview to a leading news channel, late yesterday (Friday), that in 2012 she suspended environment clearances (ECs) to all mining operations. The decision, she believed, was proof of her diligent work, even as several Congress leaders Friday criticised her for sloppy handling of the ministry.

 "...I was the one who stopped all the mines in Goa. And they are still closed. All the mines in Goa are closed. They said the entire economy of Goa is destroyed because of me," said Natarajan, who has blamed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of interfering with the functioning of her ministry and accused the Congress party of a witch-hunt against her.

 However, Natarajan's claims of being the one, who stopped mining in Goa are only half-true.

 On September 12, Natarajan during a visit to Goa did suspend ECs granted to 93 mining leases, but that was only days after then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had already temporarily suspended mining operations following the revelation of a Rs.35,000 crore illegal mining scam by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission.

 Goa's mining sector has been non-operational for more than two years because of three successive actions, the temporary suspension of mining permission by the then Parrikar-state government, a revocation of green clearances by the Natarajan-led ministry of environment and forests, and then a subsequent ban by the Supreme Court.

 Incidentally Sept 13, a day after Natarajan's announcement of the suspension of ECs, Parrikar had called her an "irresponsible minister" in a press conference and said that he would be "writing to the prime minister urging him to set things right in the environment ministry".

 Parrikar, while receiving an award from a national news channel in December, had also claimed that he had banned mining in Goa.

German Bundesliga standings

Berlin, Jan 31 (IANS) Following are the German Bundesliga standings after Friday's game (tabulated under games played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against and points), reported Xinhua.


 1 Bayern Munich        18 14 3  1 42  8  45

 2 Wolfsburg            18 11 4  3 37 18  37

 3 Bayer Leverkusen     17  7 7  3 28 20  28

 4 Moenchengladbach     17  7 6  4 25 16  27

 5 Schalke              17  8 3  6 28 21  27

 6 Augsburg             17  9 0  8 22 21  27

 7 Hoffenheim           17  7 5  5 29 25  26

 8 Hanover              17  7 3  7 21 26  24

 9 Eintracht Frankfurt  17  6 5  6 34 34  23

 10 Paderborn           17  4 7  6 21 26  19

 11 Cologne             17  5 4  8 17 23  19

 12 Mainz               17  3 9  5 19 23  18

 13 Hertha Berlin       17  5 3  9 24 35  18

 14 SV Hamburg          17  4 5  8  9 19  17

 15 Stuttgart           17  4 5  8 20 32  17

 16 Werder Bremen       17  4 5  8 26 39  17

 17 Borussia Dortmund   17  4 3 10 18 26  15

 18 Freiburg            17  2 9  6 17 25  15

Bravo quits Tests after four years in wilderness

Port of Spain (Trinidad), Jan 31 (IANS) West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has announced his retirement from Test cricket, after four years in the wilderness and just weeks after being sacked from the One-Day International (ODI) squad.


 The 31-year-old has played 40 Tests but had not suited up for the West Indies since December 2010, when the West Indies toured Sri Lanka, reported CMC.

 He was recently axed as one-day captain and dropped from the team for the tour of South Africa as well as the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.

 In a statement late Friday, Bravo said he had already informed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of his decision to retire from Tests but said he had made clear his desire to continue playing ODIs and Twenty20s.

 "Over the years, with the greatest enthusiasm, I have done my best, with the deep awareness that I am ultimately representing the people of the game,î Bravo said.

 "I recognise that this is a difficult time for all of us. Our people of the region have seen and enjoyed great cricketing days but we will not return to glory until we agree to go forward with our love for the game and the respect of the administrators, players and the public.î

 Bravo made his international debut back in 2004 in an ODI against England and developed into the regionís leading all-rounder at one stage.

 He came to be known for his effervescent medium pace and brilliant outfielding, with a safe pair of hands, and effective batting down the order.

 Overall in Tests, he compiled 2,200 runs at an average of 31 with three centuries - with a best of 113 against Australia in 2005.

 He bagged 86 wickets at an average of nearly 40.

 The Trinidadian was appointed captain of the ODI team in 2013, replacing Darren Sammy.

 He then played a key role as playersí spokesman on the controversial abandoned tour of India, where he clashed with the West Indies Cricket Board and the players' union, WIPA, last October.

 He was subsequently dropped for the one-day tour of South Africa and the World Cup, prompting claims of victimisation from several quarters.

 Bravo said he had tasted both success and ìthe devastating pain of defeatî during his career but had also accumulated ìjoyous memoriesî.

 ìI have experienced the exhilarating joy of victory and the devastating pain of defeat. The joyous memories will remind me of what we are capable of achieving. I want to be part of that mission,î Bravo said in the statement.

 ìI thank the cricketing fraternity for their support and look forward to serving you with determination and the pride of being a West Indian.î

 Bravo recently signed a year-long retainer contract with the WICB.

Canister launch of nuke-capable Agni-V missile successful

Bhubaneswar, Jan 31 (IANS) India Saturday successfully conducted the first canister-based trial of its most powerful and nuclear capable missile, the Agni-V, from a military base in Odisha, official said.


 The 5000 km-plus range missile, which has the ability to hit targets deep inside China and Pakistan was test fired from Inner Wheeler Island, a launch site at Bhadrak, about 200 km from Bhubaneswar.

 This was the third launch of the missile, but the first from a canister.

 "It is a canisterised version of the Agni-V missile. It was tested for the first time. The test was successful," test range director MVKV Prasad told IANS.

Wolfsburg striker Ivica Olic rejoins Hamburg

Berlin, Jan 31 (IANS) Wolfsburg striker Ivica Olic has rejoined Hamburg with immediate effect, the two German football clubs announced.


 The Croatian veteran returned to his former club Hamburg where he had earlier played from 2007 until 2009. The 35-year-old striker agreed on a contract until 2016 with Hamburg, reports Xinhua.

 "I am really looking forward to this new challenge and I hope that I can help," Olic said at the official presentation Friday.

 The Croatian international was Wolfsburg for the last three years where he was a key player, scoring 28 goals in 78 appearances.

 However, in his two years at Hamburg he scored overall 48 goals in 115 games to become a crowd-favourite.

 "He is a great person and, as a player, an excellent addition to our strikers that we already have. His attitude and charisma are great," Hamburg's director of football Peter Knaebel said.

Berger Paints net profits marginally down in Q3

Kolkata, Jan 30 (IANS) Kolkata-based paints major Berger Paints Friday said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ending Dec 31 decreased marginally by Rs.15 lakh at Rs. 82.13 crore against Rs.82.28 crore in the same time period last fiscal.


 The company's net sales and other operating income for the quarter under review stood at Rs. 1117.10 crore - an increase of 8.5 percent compared to the Q3 of the last fiscal where net sales was registered at Rs.1029.75 crore.

 For calendar year 2014, the company's consolidated revenues grew by 13 percent with the net profit increasing by 6.5 percent. The earnings before depreciation, interest and tax grew at a rate of 18.5 percent.

 Its standalone profit, however, increased by 11.8 percent clocking at Rs.73.37 crore in Q3 of the current fiscal against Rs.65.65 crore in the same timeframe last fiscal.

 The company's standalone net sales and other operating income was Rs.978.30 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal against Rs.882.78 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

 The company said its tax rate in Jammu and Kashmir increased from 28 percent to 34 percent as a result of the lapse of the income tax holiday at two of its units in the state.

BJP poses second set of five questions for AAP

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) Continuing its attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP Friday released its second set of five questions for the party leader.


 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nirmala Sitharaman asked Kejriwal to explain why were volunteers from foreign countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Dubai asking Delhiites to vote for the party?

 The second question was why the AAP had not given the details of its accounts for the Lok Sabha polls to the Election Commission.

 The party further asked the AAP to explain why all its women leaders were deserting the party and in addition they insulted the BJP's woman chief minister candidate by calling her an opportunist.

 Criticising the AAP for violating the EC's orders and instead of falling in line, threatening to appeal against the commission in the High Court, the BJP asked the party why was it insulting the Constitutional bodies?

 Lastly, the BJP said AAP had no intention of strengthening the Lokayukta and questioned why it did not raise the issue after its 49 days in power. Why was AAP silent on this issue?

 The BJP plans to put five questions before Kejriwal everyday till Feb 5 in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections Feb 7. The results will be declared Feb 10.

Sensex closes 499 points down; bank stocks plummet (Roundup)

Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Friday's trade down 499 points or 1.68 percent, as banking, automobile and consumer durables stocks declined.


 The markets plunged after scaling a new high of 29,844.16 points in the morning trade session. It surpassed the previous high of 29,786.32 points touched Jan 28.

 The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 29,801.60 points, closed at 29,182.95 points, down 498.82 points or 1.68 percent from the previous day's close at 29,681.77 points.

 The Sensex touched a high of 29,844.16 points and a low of 29,070.48 points in the intra-day trade.

 "Market was impacted with poor data coming from third quarter bank results and fund requirement for divestment. This will continue to impact the market in the near term," said Vinod Nair, head-fundamental research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

 "But Mid and beta stocks where outperforming the main benchmarks. If this outperformance continues, it will be due to improvement in business confidence."

 Heavy selling pressure was observed in banking, automobile, consumer durables, capital goods and metal stocks, while healthy buying took place in realty, information technology (IT) and power sectors.

 The S&P BSE bankex was down 737.58 points, followed by automobile index which was lower by 245.19 points, consumer durables index declined by 200.93 point, capital goods index decreased by 122.41 points and metal index lost 85.85 points.

 However, realty index was up 38.55 points, IT index was higher by 22.27 points and power index gained 19.33 points.

 The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 143.45 points or 1.60 percent down at 8,808.90 points. The Nifty had touched a new record high in the morning trade at 8,996.60 points.

 The major Sensex gainers were Tata Power, up 2.90 percent at Rs.90.55; BHEL, up 1.62 percent at Rs.291.80; NTPC, up 1.37 percent at Rs.143.80; Wipro, up 0.79 percent at Rs.606.30; and Sesa Sterlite, up 0.67 percent at Rs.201.75.

 The losers were State Bank of India (SBI), down 5.13 percent at Rs.310; ICICI Bank, down 4.95 percent at Rs.361.15; DrReddy's Lab, down 3.91 percent at Rs.3,228; Coal India, down 3.81 percent at Rs.360.85; and HDFC, down 3.35 percent at Rs.1,265.65.

Artist's ode to the Mahatma via abstract paintings (With Image)

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) An intimate yet abstract portrait of Mahatma Gandhi with his wife Kasturba, a frail-looking Gandhi during Satyagraha march and many other pivotal facets of the father of the nation are captured in an artist's work whose exhibition will open here Saturday.


 Ahmadabad-based artist Haku Shah's exhibition "Nitya Gandhi: Living Reliving Gandhi" are mounted at Art Konsult gallery at Lado Sarai in south Delhi.

 Using the medium of abstract and figurative paintings, the 81-year-old had been working on this exhibition for the past four years.

 "I am a great believer of Gandhiji's ideologies and thought remembering him on his death anniversary would evoke same sense of patriotism among today's youth," Shah told IANS on phone from Ahmedabad.

 "There is a lot of unease in the country now and his beliefs and what he did for the country are a firm reminder for all of us to take a moment from our busy life and look back at his life," he added.

 These paintings trace Gandhi's journey to jail, his love for the spinning wheel, his belief in peace and some random depictions from his personal and private life.

Khatron Ke Khiladi' sequel is better: Rohit Shetty

Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS) Having hosted the fifth season of reality TV show "Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi", filmmaker Rohit Shetty is convinced that its "sequel" - the sixth season - is packed with more action and that it's "better".


 Shetty is also hosting the sixth season, shot with 14 celebrity contestants in the beautiful environs of Cape Town.

 At the launch of the new edition here, the "Chennai Express" and "Golmaal" director cited an example, saying how in the film world, people say they that if one's doing a sequel to an action or comedy film, then it should be bigger than the previous movie.

 "As far as this show is concerned, I have to say that this sequel - 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 6' - is better," he said.

 Pushing the boundaries of action, adventure and entertainment, the new season of the show is slated to go on air on Colors Feb 7. The line-up of celebrity contestants this year includes actors Ashish Chowdhry, Hussain Kuwajerwala, Harshad Arora, Iqbal Khan, Sana Khan, Sagarika Ghatge, Rasami Desai, Asha Negi and Ridhi Dogra, the multi-faceted Meiyang Chang, Kabaddi star Rakesh Kumar, reality show star Siddharth Bharadwaj and item girl Nathalia Kaur.

 Shetty says he wasn't sure of the casting of the "sequel" as he hadn't met many of them before the show. However, after shooting with them in Cape Town and seeing them facing their fears head on, he says: "The new season is better because of the 14 contestants".

 Of all the contestants, he felt "Uttaran" girl Rashami was the weakest, but she proved him otherwise by performing the stunts one after the other fearlessly.

HC seeks centre's response on usage of social media by ministries

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday sought an affidavit from the central government on a plea by former BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya objecting to the government officially allowing opening of Twitter and Facebook accounts by PMO and other central government ministries in violation of the law.


 A division bench of justices B.D. Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva granted three-week's time to the central government and asked it to file a response "positively" on the issue and posted the matter for March 13.

 Advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for Govindacharya, raised the objection on the use of Facebook and Twitter for the official purpose by several ministries through private e-mail accounts, saying it violates the Public Records Act as per which "no person shall take or cause to be taken out of India any public records without the prior approval of the central government".

 The petitioner argued that servers of these social networking sites are outside India so the nation's official data is transferred to other countries.

 During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the centre, said the government had called a meeting of social media companies Jan 23 and issue being examined and sought more time to file response.

 The court Sep 11 asked the central government to file response on the issue which it failed.

 Gupta told the court that "19 ministries are officially on Twitter, five ministries opened their Facebook accounts from private e-mail ids. The prime minister is on Twitter and Facebook. Most of the ministers have their Twitter accounts."

Youth Congress, BJYM clash: Himachal governor summons DGP

Shimla, Jan 30 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Governor Kalyan Singh Friday summoned Director General of Police  Sanjay Kumar and sought a report on the clash Thursday between activists of the Youth Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha here.


 At least 12 activists of both the groups were injured during the Youth Congress' protest here Thursday against the central government's land acquisition ordinance.

 Official sources told IANS that besides the DGP, the governor summoned Additional Director General S.R. Mardi and Superintendent of Police D.W. Negi, seeking the report on the incident.

 Earlier in the day,  leaders of the opposition BJP met Kalyan Singh here and submitted a memorandum, demanding dismissal of the government over the reported attack on its activists by the Youth Congress workers led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son.

 Everyone has the right to protest in a democracy but what was the justification for the Youth Congress activists to hold a protest against the central government's decision at the state BJP's office, said the memorandum.

 It seemed that it was a conspiracy as the protest was led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, who is also the state Youth Congress president, it said.

 The memorandum was submitted by the BJP legislators led by two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

 Activists of both the Youth Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha were injured Thursday during the protest against the central government's land acquisition ordinance, the police said.

 During the demonstration, the Youth Congress activists smashed the windowpanes of the BJP's party office.

 "This incident happened at the direction of the chief minister as the protesters were carrying sticks, stones and empty bottles. Though, it was in the knowledge of the police chief, no step was taken to prevent the incident. In fact, the BJP activists were lathi-charged," it said.

 Twelve activists of the BJP were injured in the clash, it added.

 The BJP, through the two-page memorandum, also demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

 Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee condemned the clash.

 State Congress chief spokesperson Naresh Chauhan said the Youth Congress workers under its president Vikramaditya Singh were staging a peaceful protest at the BJP office to protest against the ordinance.

 "The BJP leaders seems to be looking for some issue which was the reason that the party workers resorted to stone-pelting in a pre-planned manner on Youth Congress workers who were holding peaceful protest," Chauhan said in a statement.

 Chauhan said Youth Congress president Vikramditya Singh had even informed former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Dhumal about the protest and had assured him of a peaceful demonstration.

 "But the BJP workers tried to defeat the purpose of this protest by pelting stones on the Youth Congress workers which led to the clash between BJP and Youth Congress workers," he added.

Loss in Delhi bad for Parivar, not the BJP (Comment: Special to IANS)

Delhi battle is abnormal for those who have not yet recovered from the awesomeness of Narendra Modiís victory in May 2014.



 That was a tsunami. Tsunamis subside. Modi has risen phenomenally, riding that and another wave. A third is due, maybe after the Delhi elections.

 The first wave he crested when he became chief minister of Gujarat without ever having contested an election. This was 26 days after the two planes brought down the twin towers in New York on Sep 11, 2001 - 9/11, in brief.

 The US air strikes against Afghanistan began on Oct 7, exactly the day Modi became chief minister. Of course there is no connection between the two. And yet, there is. The saturation TV coverage pummelling Muslim societies created for the BJP a favourable atmosphere. The BJP hoped to win the crucial election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly due in February 2002. Rajnath Singh was the chief minister in Lucknow. To his and his partyís dismay, BJP lost the election which had been fought on a hard platform, Ram Mandir included.

 The 'kar sewaks' assembled at Ayodhya for victory and Ram Mandir celebrations were stunned by the election reversal announced on Feb 24/25, 2002. Imagine the black mood in which the kar sewaks boarded Sabarmati Express which reached Godhra on the morning of Feb 27. Gujarat BJP was waking upto two defeats in bye elections. Modi won Rajkot narrowly. Then the Godhra train carnage took place and the Gujarat pogrom.

 The lesson from the electorateís rejection of the hardline in UP should have been a sober and softer line in the future. But, no, the 96-year-old head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Keshvaram Kashiram Shastri thought otherwise. The global war on terror was a boon. In an atmosphere so conducive for Hindu consolidation a harder, not softer, line was required.

 I met Jayanti Ravi, collector of Godhra when Gujarat was still smouldering. The investigations, she said bitterly, had instantly been handed over to Vijay Vipul, DIG anti-terror squad. Terror was the flavor of the season. So, terror it was for Godhra and Gujarat too.

 Then Modi rode the second crest with even greater aplomb. This one was to deliver unto him the prime ministership of India.

 A timid Manmohan Singh carrying on his forehead labels of scams he may not have committed, made for a soft target.

 Worse was the Nehru-Gandhi family. Yes he will; no he wonít, but he might - this exasperating indecision of Rahul Gandhi made for a silly side show in the middle of what should have been a do or die campaign. He made a fool of himself with FICCI, CII, in the Arnab Goswami interview, the high point of his life being a night of great simplicity he spent with David Miliband in a Dalit hut.

 The mother would disappear to far off hospitals and reappear without the nation being any the wiser as to what the ailment was and whether a transition was round the corner.

 Election after election was being lost but the mother and son duet would neither disappear nor connect. A private social group remained more important than the more public, but supine political group. It was appalling for the countryís oldest party to be neither in nor out of reckoning. Meanwhile corruption charges, beginning with Bofors, would just not go away.

 It was this universal anger with Congress leadership that Modiís campaign managers brilliantly harvested. Add to this the greatest media campaign ever mounted.

 The helpful Sonia-Rahul negative image is, alas for Modi, now out of the way. A Muzaffarnagar-like polarization cannot be repeated in quick succession. This is too gentle a country. Even Kali and Durga have their seasons.

 The open season given to Yogi Adityanath, Sakshi Maharaj and a Sadhvi adept at abusive diction will never be tolerated by the worldís oldest civilization.

 The writing has been clear on the wall since the bye-elections in UP. A reversal in Delhi will not be such a bad thing for the BJP. It will enable the party to off load those interests who by their vulgarity neutralize gains like the Obama visit and who have all too frequently made the BJP look embarrassingly inelegant.

 (30.1.2015 - A senior commentator on diplomatic and political affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.)

Doing show at National Games for free: Mohanlal

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 30 (IANS) Superstar Mohanlal, who has been condemned for charging a hefty fee for his new musical band at the opening ceremony of the 35th National Games of India, Friday said that he is doing it for free.


 "The report that I've charged a Rs.2 crore fee for the show is baseless. I have not taken anything as my fees. Instead I have taken only the cost of bringing in numerous singers for the event and if calculated, it's much less than what is being said," Mohanlal told reporters here.

 Prominent singers who will be taking part at the event Saturday include Hariharan, Sujatha and Udit Narayan apart from others.

 "You can please calculate, to find out, if each of the singers that are going to perform tomorrow, if brought individually, would cost a huge amount. I am doing this show as a tribute to the masters of yesteryear, which include actors, singers and music directors (from Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and other states film industries) and it begins from 1931 to 1980," said the superstar.

 The opening ceremony of the 35th National Games would be held at a brand new stadium. Mohanlal will helm a nearly four-hour long show.

 "We are also staging another programme that depicts the struggles of our erstwhile kingdoms, which includes portrayals of legends like Kunhali Mariakkar," added the superstar.

 State Sports Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan pointed out that in Kerala anything and everything is first blown up and a controversy is created for no reason. This incident also needs to be seen in that light, he said.

 "The Kerala Government is thankful to Mohanlal for showcasing his inaugural programme of his new musical band named Lalisom - The Lal Effect at the opening ceremony. It's a never before seen event," said Radhakrishnan.

 He also added that two of India's legends -- Sachin Tendulkar and Mohanlal -- would be there for the country's biggest sporting event, which is being held at 30 venues in seven districts of the state and will end Feb 14.

 --Indo-Asian News Service

Jayanthi Natarajan quits Congress, attacks Rahul Gandhi (Roundup)

Chennai/New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan, a onetime party spokesperson who was considered quite close to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Friday quit the party, sending shock waves through its political establishment. She accused the party leadership, particularly party vice president Rahul Gandhi, of letting her down, especially during her term as environment minister in the previous UPA government.


 "I announce my resignation (from the party)," Natarajan said at a packed media conference in Chennai.

 Congress leaders were quick to defend Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi and said they did not interfere in the working of ministers.

 Natarajan has joined people like G.K.Vasan and B.S. Gnanadesikan of the Tamil Nadu Congress to quit the party after saying they felt slighted by the party's national leadership.

 She said: "I feel that the time has come now for me to rethink my association because what happened in the recent past. The Congress is no longer the Congress that I joined." She has been in the party for the last three decades and has been a four-time member of the Rajya Sabha.

 Natarajan quit after writing a letter to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. Her letter took the party including the Tamil Nadu unit by surprise but it sought to put a brave face. "The party will not be weakened by her absence," said Tamil Nadu Congress's chief E.V.K.S. Elangovan.

 Natarajan, who was asked to put in her papers Dec 20, 2013, by then prime minister Manmohan Singh, said: "(I) received several requests and representations from Rahul Gandhi's office to ensure that the environment is protected."

 "And according to these instructions...I did my duty. I had these projects investigated and some of them I stopped," she said and added that she got "specific inputs" from Rahul Gandhi's office. Natarajan said she has sufficient proof of Rahul Gandhi's specific requests on environmental clearance related to projects. "Let Rahul Gandhi refute it."

 It was however not clear why she waited so long to air her frustration and grievances, since she had stepped down from the government in December 2013 and it has been a good eight months since the general elections led to the fall of the Congress-led UPA government.

 Congress leader and former union minister Veerappa Moily, however, said Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi never interfered.

 "...I have not come across any instance where the Congress president or vice-president interfered with administration," Moily told reporters in Bangalore.

 Congress leader Digvijaya Singh too said in Delhi: "...it is totally wrong that either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi ever interfered in the functioning of UPA government. Ministers were free to take decisions."

 Grand-daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Bhaktavatsalam, Natarajan hails from a family of Congress veterans who were associated with the Indian National Congress since its inception in 1885.

 Her great-grandfather was a member of India's Constituent Assembly.

 A Chennai-based lawyer, Natarajan entered politics as a Youth Congress worker in the 1980s. She was later noticed by the then Congress president Rajiv Gandhi. She went to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1986.

 In a career that spans over 30 years, she has thrice been re-elected to the upper house of the parliament in 1992, 1997 and 2008.

 Natarajan, who was frequently seen on television, was dropped as a Congress spokesperson in January 2014.

 Natarajan said on becoming the environment minister, party president Sonia Gandhi had told her to maintain the Congress tradition of protecting the environment as was done by former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. She was considered close to Rajiv Gandhi and was one of those who was present at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated May 21, 1991.

 Despite withstanding the "anger and wrath of all the colleagues who protested that economic progress was being blocked", Natarajan said she was told to resign from the cabinet.

 A visibly miffed Natarajan said: "After the Congress, I intend to think about my life and future."

 "I have absolutely no plan to join any party," she said and added that no BJP leader has met her in this connection.

 She welcomed a government probe into environmental clearances given by her and demanded that the probe should be transparent.

 "I have to set the record straight to uphold the legacy of my family and my reputation. It has been a bitter experience for me for the past one-and-half years. My own party treated me badly," she said.

 "Why for a year everyone ruined my reputation and tarnished the legacy of my family," she asked. "I only followed the rules. Did not break the rules."

 Charging the Congress of letting her down by allowing her name and her family's name to be tarnished, Natarajan refuted that she had let down the party by not contesting in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

 "I was not in a condition to contest the Lok Sabha polls when my name, reputation and my family's legacy was being tarred," Natarajan said.

 Many senior Congress leaders from Tamil Nadu, including former finance minister P. Chidambaram, did not contest in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress party drew a blank in all the 39 seats in the state.

Shhh! Your baby learning in sleep too

London, Jan 30 (IANS) While infants sleep, they are reprocessing what they have learnt during the day, a study has found.


 Working with researchers from the University of Tubingen, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany discovered that babies of the age from nine to 16 months remember the names of objects better if they had a short nap.

 And only after sleeping can they transfer the learnt names to similar new objects.

 The infant brain thus forms general categories during sleep, converting experience into knowledge.

 The results show that sleep significantly affects memory organisation even in the infant brain - and at a time when memory is growing on a massive scale.

 "The waking infant brain quickly forgets newly-learnt names, but during sleep, words are more durably linked to objects and imprinted," said Angela Friederici, director at Max Planck Institute.

 The researchers also showed that the formation of categories is closely related to a typical rhythmic activity of the sleeping brain called "sleep spindles".

 Infants with high "sleep spindle" activity are particularly good at generalising their experiences and developing new knowledge while sleeping.

 In order to study the impact of sleep on infant memory, the team invited parents to attend a study with their nine to 16-month-old children.

 During the training session, the infants were repeatedly shown images of certain objects while hearing the fictitious names assigned to the objects.

 One group of infants spent the next one to two hours sleeping in their prams while the others remained awake.

 While the group who had stayed awake had forgotten the names of the individual objects, the children in the sleep group remembered the object-word mappings.

 "The infants who slept after the training session assigned new objects to the names of similar-looking objects," said Manuela Friedrich of the Max Planck Institute.

 They were not able to do that before their nap, and nor were the ones who stayed awake able to do it.

 "This means that the categories must have been formed during sleep," Friedrich noted.

UP government sop for Tata Motors

Lucknow, Jan 30 (IANS) Faced with threats by Tata Motors to shift its operations from the state to neighbouring Uttarakhand, the Uttar Pradesh government has approved a capital subsidy of Rs 187 crore to retain it in the state, officials said Friday.


 Tata Motors had sought the subsidy from the state government under the 'Industrial Investment Scheme-2006' failing which the company had threatened to shift its truck assembling unit from Lucknow to Uttarakhand.

 The company had claimed that levy of 12 per cent 'production tax', added Rs.1.50 lakh per unit to the cost of trucks assembled in the state.

 Following the levy of the tax, Tata Motors had slashed orders of spare parts to vendors in Kanpur and Lucknow for its  truck '3118' considerably over the past few months, suggesting its plans to end assembly of these trucks in the Lucknow unit, an official said.

 An official informed that the state cabinet that met earlier this year had approved the capital subsidy after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav pitched for it.

 "The chief minister is very clear on his views about creating an industry positive environment and the decision of the cabinet is in this direction only," the official further said.

Harshvardhan is taking his acting career seriously: Sonam Kapoor

Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS) Sonam Kapoor is proud that her brother Harshvardhan, who is working on his acting debut "Mirziya", is putting his heart and soul into his career.


 "Harsh takes it to another level...he is crazy. I know he is very hardworking, and he does all his stunts himself. He has studied acting and he is actually taking his acting career very seriously," Sonam said here.

 Harshvardhan's film is being directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Whales can hear through their bones

New York, Jan 30 (IANS) Using computer simulation of a fin whale head, scientists have discovered that the skulls of at least some baleen whales have acoustic properties that capture the energy of low frequencies and direct it to their ear bones.


 Baleen whales, also known as mysticetes, are the largest animals on earth, and include blue whales, minke whales, right whales, gray whales and fin whales.

 These whales can emit extremely low frequency vocalisations that travel extraordinary distances underwater.

 The wavelengths of these calls can be longer than the bodies of the whales themselves.

 "Bone conduction is likely the predominant mechanism for hearing in fin whales and other baleen whales. This is, in my opinion, a grand discovery," said lead researcher and biologist Ted W Cranford from San Diego State University (SDSU).

 According to San Diego engineer Petr Krysl, humans experience a version of this phenomenon too.

 "We have that experience when we submerge entirely in a pool. Our ears are useless, but we still hear something because our head shakes under the pushing and pulling of the sound waves carried by the water," Krysl noted.

 The fin whale skull used for their experiment now resides in SDSU's museum of biodiversity.

 It is possible that these new findings will help the governments decide on limits to oceanic man-made noise, but Cranford stressed that what's most important about their project is that they managed to solve a long-standing mystery about a highly inaccessible animal.

 "This research has driven home one beautiful principle: Anatomic structure is no accident. It is functional, and often beautifully designed in unanticipated ways," the authors concluded.

 All of these whales are considered endangered, with the exception of the gray whale which recently was removed from the endangered species list.

Ego doesn't exist for me: Big B

Dubai, Jan 30 (IANS) Celebrities and their starry tantrums are common talk in filmdom, but for megastar Amitabh Bachchan, the acting profession comes without any ego hassles.


 The 72-year-old took to his official blog to post his views following the ìShamitabhî promotions here. The film revolves around two individuals, who come together for a purpose, but drift apart due to their ego.

 ìNO...we do not have conditions of ego in our profession, at least I do not, I do not know of the others. I cannot understand ego - self importance, self conceit - I do not have importance, or any indication of my conceit, whatever that word means.

 ìI am but an ordinary individual much like all, just doing another job to earn a living, ego does not exist for me,î he wrote on srbachchan.tumblr.com.

 The actor who has garnered appreciation and love from all the quarters with his exceptional performances in movies like ìDonî, ìBlackî, ìDeewaarî, ìAgneepathî and ìPaaî in his over four decade career span, also noted that he is still learning the art to emote on screen.

 ìNOOOOOOÖI have none, I am still learning, I am given a character to emote and perform...the director guides me to deliver my lines after hearing me rehearse a million times in private and in personÖWhere the heck in all this, does it give us time for EGO,î he further added.

 Currently, the screen icon is gearing up for R. Balki's movie ìShamitabhî which also features southern superstar Dhanush in a key role and marks debut of Kamal Haasan's daughter Akshara Haasan. The film is set to release Feb 6.