Real Madrid have already spent big this summer, splashing out 60 million euros
Agencies
Madrid, 1 August
Real Madrid will not give up on their chase to sign Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale this summer, Madrid’s director of football Zinedine Zidane, who is also the assistant to coach Carlo Andelotti, has confirmed.
 Madrid’s attempts to sign the Welsh international have already made the saga the transfer soap opera of the summer, with Tottenham turning down a reported world record offer of around 85 million pounds from the Spanish side, reports Xinhua.
 Although he has yet to make a formal transfer request, Bale is thought to be frustrated by Spurs’ refusal to sell him, while the English club are said to be holding out for in incredible 100 million pounds (145 million euros) for the player.
 Given that Bale is still in contract with Tottenham, Madrid should not be negotiating with the player, but speaking from Los Angeles where the club are carrying out pre-season training, Zidane believes it is time they were doing so.
 "If he has expressed a desire to join Madrid, then Tottenham should give him permission to speak with us. The chance to play for Real Madrid might only come around once in a player’s lifetime and it is understandable Gareth does not want to miss out on it." Zidane hinted that the club, which last season failed to win a single trophy, might be prepared to up their offer for Bale.
 "This is modern football. You have to pay to get the best players in Europe. Last season Gareth was on the same level as (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi. The best players can have not so great games but change a game with a moment of brilliance and those are the sort of players that win you Champions League and league titles," said the Frenchman.
 Real Madrid have already spent big this summer, splashing out 60 million euros on young Spanish midfield players, Isco and Asier Illaramendi, as well as spending a further 12 million to buy Dani Carvajal and Brazilian midfielder Casimiro and with doubts still lingering over whether or not Ronaldo will sign a new contract, Bale is seen as vital to the club’s long term future.

World Cup: In Monchengladbach, Germany, India on Thursday beat Spain 4-2 to enter the semi-finals of the Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup for the. Monika, Navneet Kaur, Vandana Katariya & Rani scored.
Local football: The inaugural match of the Rising Stars school football tournament was played between Bantra Madhusudhan P.C.H.S and Kola Union High School. The former won by a score of 1-0.
Gold pot: Nearly $1 million will be up for grabs in prizes in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League. The prize money for the preliminary matches adds up to $525,000. The final match will be worth $250,000.
Open bounty: The US Tennis Association has announced that the men’s and women’s singles champions of the US Open would get a record $2.6 million as prize money. The total prize money is $34.3 million.
Dhoni&’s pup: MS Dhoni has adopted a pup in Ranchi. He posted its picture on his Twitter page, saying that it had been named "Leah English and Liya in Hindi.” Earlier, he "adopted" a tiger.
Barca&’s choice: Barcelona coach Tata Martino has expressed interest in recruiting Danish national team captain and Liverpool defender Daniel Agger. Agger and Chelsea’s David Luiz are the top choices on his wish list.
McGrath image: Glenn McGrath’s life-size wax image became the newest addition to the Madame Tussauds Museum in Australia. He was the winner of the Sydney Aussie Votes campaign. The wax figure portrays McGrath in mid-action.
Lara, Sachin equal: Former Australian captain Steve Waugh on Thursday rated Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar as “equals” because they played in different conditions and under different sort of pressures.
Dope cheats: Nine Turkish athletes have been banned for two years after testing positive for anabolic steroids. The International Association of Athletic Federations said six of the athletes were women, including two teenagers.
Spurs’ gain: Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement with Valencia for the transfer of Spain striker Roberto Soldado, the London club said on Thursday. Manager Andre Villas-Boas earlier revealed Spurs were chasing him.
Golf feat: Playing over the course of the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on 20 July, 2013, Arun Kumar Gupta was on Thursday stated by the institution in a Press Note to have holed out in one stroke at the second hole. 
Roma triumph: AS Roma beat Major League Soccer’s All-Star team 3-1 in a pre-season friendly.  Kevin Strootman, Alessandro Florenzi and Junior Tallo scored for Roma, and Omar Gonzalez hit one goal for the hosts.
Milan lose: Manchester City outclassed AC Milan to set up a showdown with Bayern Munich in the final of the pre-season Audi Cup tournament following a 5-3 victory on
Wednesday.
Sneijder out:  Galatasaray&’s Wesley Sneijder was left out of the Holland squad for the friendly against Portugal. Meanwhile, Indian software major HCL has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Galatasaray.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Bhubaneswar, 1 August
In one of the biggest recruitment drive in education department in the state, the state government today announced that it would fill up over 25,000 posts in different categories.
“Recruitment of about 25,000 teachers will benefit children studying in different government run schools,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters here.
The posts to be filled-up include those of Siksha Sahayak, language teacher, contract teachers for high schools and also of headmasters and block education officers.
“It has been decided to recruit about 14,181 Siksha Sahayak and an additional 3,500 Siksha Sahayak for multi-lingual education. This way, a total of 17,681 Siksha Sahayak will be recruited,” said a senior official.
The multi-lingual teachers are expected to be of great help in promoting tribal languages.
“The recruitment process will start in a week’s time and the selection is expected to end by November,” he said.
The language teachers will be recruited for Telugu, Bengali and Urdu.
As per the decision, about 100 teachers will be recruited to take care of the needs of the Telugu-speaking people especially in the districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput and Puri etc. Further, the government is starting a teacher training programme for Telugu teachers this year.
In addition, about 50 Bengali teachers will also be recruited to take care of Bengali speaking students especially in the districts of Malkangiri, Nawarangpur and Balasore etc. About 60 Urdu teachers will also be appointed.
These apart, the process is already underway for recruitment of about 4,707 contract teachers for high schools through the district education officers.
Moreover, 90 posts of headmasters in Odisha Education Service (OES II) cadre and block education officers will be recruited through Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC).
The school and mass education department claimed that the filling up of the posts will improve the quality of education to a great extent.
 

Nalco award: National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has bagged the Gem Granites Environment Award for the year 2012-13, by Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), for its contributions towards environment management at Panchpatmali bauxite mines in Koraput. Company CMD Mr Ansuman Das received the award from Union minister for mines Mr Dinsha J Patel in a special function held in New Delhi on Wednesday. On this occasion, Mr S S Mahapatra, director (production) also received a citation for environment protection and sustainable mining.
Mining raid: Odisha vigilance police today raided the sponge iron unit of a steel and power company in Keonjhar district for alleged illegal mining. “Officials are verifying the plants records relating to operational and financial transactions. They have also seized some documents of the plant,” said vigilance SP S B Mishra. “We are trying to arrest people allegedly involved in the mining scam,” he added. Meanwhile, the Steel and Mines department has cancelled all licences of the company following official reports of the scam.     pti

Malabika Sarkar&’s extension rules applicable only for permanent V-Cs
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 1 August
The section of Presidency University Act under which present Vice-Chancellor Professor Malabika Sarkar has been given an extension of six months is only applicable to permanent V-Cs of the university. 
The “mistake” has been willfully done to cover up the previous mistake of not mentioning the age of 65 in the extension letter last year in which her term was extended till 17 October 2013 despite her turning 65 on 15 August. 
Since the statute of the university is not ready, the university will not get any permanent Vice Chancellor. 
Section 55 of the University Act lays out the transitory provisions of the university under which both Professor Amita Chatterjee, the former V-C of PU and Prof Malabika Sarkar, the present V-C were appointed. 
However, the recent order extending Prof Sarkar’s term until a successor comes, has been issued under section eight of the university act which is applicable for permanent V-Cs only. 
“This is because, there is no provision of this extension under section 55 of the university which guides the appointment of Prof Sarkar. Hence, the deviation had to be made,” said an official of the higher education department, explaining. 
According to the university insiders, the deviation proves how the state government has been caught on the wrong foot regarding this issue of replacing Prof Sarkar. 
“Section 55 does not mention of any age. The letter that our V-C was given last year too did not mention the age of 65. And now they suddenly came up with this age factor to remove Prof Sarkar," said a faculty of the university. 
Section 55 of the university Act says that the first V-C shall hold office for a period of one year,which may be extended by one year. Since, the university statute is not yet ready, Prof Malabika Sarkar will be considered as the first V-C and she will be already completing her two years on 15 August, 2013. 
On the other hand, section eight of the Act, meant for Vice Chancellors who will have full term of four years, says that the Chancellor may allow a Vice Chancellor to continue in his office even after the age of 65 till a seccessor comes, but the period will not exceed six months. 

Statesman News Service 
Kolkata, 1 August
The state government is set to be among the few states to pay wages directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).  
Instead of paying the wages through cheque, the state panchayat and rural development department will set up a special funds for MGNREGS to distribute the wages directly to the respective bank accounts. The head of the gram panchayat will have to put in his electronic signature to approve the total wages. 
Mr Subrata Mukherjee, the state panchayat and rural development minister, said that the move to provide wages to the bank accounts directly is under the direct cash benefit transfer scheme of the Centre. The new wage payment system is expected to start from September, he added.  “Paying wages directly to the bank accounts will not only ensure transparency but will also expedite the process,” said Mr Mukherjee. He claimed that Odisha is the only state apart from Bengal to have introduced the direct cash benefit transfer scheme for paying wages to MGNREGS beneficiaries.  The department will train the elected representatives of the three-tier panchayat system to work in the new system. The training will begin this month.   The state government had already implemented the system as part of a pilot project in parts of South 24 Parganas but it will now be implemented across the state.   At present, around 58 lakh families have benefited by the scheme which has recorded a mandays of 21 crore against the target of 18 crore in 2012-2013.

statesman news service
Kolkata, 1 August
At a time when global warming, scarcity of energy and unavailability of water resources are causing an impact on the lives of people, experts felt the need of promoting green buildings in the city to avoid environmental hazards. 
On the first day of two-day long conference organised by the Confederation of India (CII), Eastern region, on promoting green buildings at one of the city’s hotel, experts pointed out that the government must adopt regulations to promote green township in the state.
"The state must take initiatives to transform the government buildings into ‘Green’. If we are really serious about building a Green India, the government must show the way and convince people of the need to conserve our finite resources," said Professor Binoy Dutta, Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).   
Prof Dutta lauded the efforts initiated by the CII towards the setting up of green buildings.
He added: "It is an imperative for a sustainable tomorrow, and I am sure that an event like this will enable people to comprehend the importance of Green Buildings."
Mr Pradeep Dhobale, Co-chairman, CII National Committee on Environment  and the executive director ITC Ltd said: "Green building design, construction and operation should incorporate the latest innovative technologies, which are ecologically superior and can enhance the comfort for the occupants."
He said: "The CII would be pleased to work closely with the state pollution control board and facilitate the promotion of greener West Bengal."
Ms Shakuntala Ghosh, Chairperson, Conference on Green Building, said: "Green Building is the only solution to the growing concerns over climate change and the associated hazards."

Statesman News Service
Durgapur, 1 August
 The Chairman of the state owned public transport company found a private insurance company agent occupying the traffic police kiosk on the busy NH2 crossing in Durgapur and directing civic police volunteers to seize vehicles having no valid insurance.
Mr Tamonash Ghosh – the Chairman, South Bengal State Transport Corporation was headed to the company&’s headquarters when his vehicle was held up due to a road blockade on  NH2.
The locals had put up the roadblock  to protest the high handedness of the civic police volunteers which, according to them,  had led to fatal road accidents between Muchipara & Bhiringhee crossings on the NH2.
The locals saw an  insurance company agent identified later as Satyamal Lohar occupying the traffic police kiosk at DVC crossing and barking orders to two CPVF personnel to indiscriminately stop vehicles. Lohar, pleaded that he was acting at the behest of five private insurance companies.  “The person offers  a cut to CPVF and traffic policemen against each  insurance renewal,” said Mr Parimal Agasty, ward committee secretary in City Centre. He added: “Each CPVF and traffic police personnel are given target of 22 cases everyday and we have definite information on this.”
Today, the locals saw  CPVF men chasing a lorry and at 3.30 pm. Yesterday one such lorry had crushed one Deepak Gurung to death at the same crossing.
The angry locals cornered the CPVF men and the insurance agent was locked in the kiosk from outside (see picture). The OC, Traffic of the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, Mr R S Yadav and OC&’s of Coke Oven and New Township PS rushed to the spot after Mr Ghosh was caught in the  roadblock.
Mr Ghosh reprimanded the police personnel after he found the insurance agent operating in the kiosk. Mr Ghosh said: “I was shocked to see this. How were the private insurance agents allowed by the police to grab the traffic post.”
Mr Ghosh said: “I informed the state transport minister and requested him to look into this.” He added: “I shall discuss the menace with the Chief Minister after she returns from
Mumbai.”

TMC meet: The All India Trinamul Congress general secretary, Mr Mukul Roy, is expected to meet the Trinamul Congress Hill Committee members on Friday in Siliguri. “Mr Roy is expected to discuss  the role of the committee members in the present scenario of the Darjeeling Hills,” said a Trinamul Congress leader.
ABAVP appeals: The Terai unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP), which has been opposing the state government decision to hand over the Belgachi Hindi Higher Secondary School and Belgachi Hindi Primary School to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), met the north Bengal development minister Mr Gautam Deb in Siliguri over the issue on Tuesday. “Mr Deb assured that he would look into the matter,” said the general secretary of the Terai unit, ABAVP, Mr Rajesh Toppo.
Schoolgirl dead: A student of class two, Rajani Mahato, died after falling down from an under construction portion near her residence at Champasari on Thursday.
Special EMU train: Eastern Railway will run one a speacial pair of EMU between Sealdah and Ghutiari Sharif on 3-4 August for pilgrims attending the Sandal  Mela of Peer Gazi Sahib in South 24-Parganas.      sns
Man arrested: A person, Tanmay Ray (32), was arrested in Howrah on Thursday for posing as a police officer and collecting money from a cyber cafe owner. He allegedly took away several thousands from the owner.     sns
Tainted cops: Police amended the charges against the police officers who extorted Rs 78 lakh from a businessman in Burrabazar. They were charged with robbery, wrongful confinement and charges of Arms Act. sns
Bike-thief held: Police arrested a man, Mohammad Abid on charges of stealing a bike from Park Street area on 28 June. Police arrested Abid from Tangra and recovered the stolen bike from his possession.     sns
Security beefed up: Five companies of CRPF have been deployed in Hills for maintaining law and order situation. 4 companies of Sashastra Seema Bal and a company of women CRPF arrived in Hills.     sns
ASA memorandum: The Association of West Bengal Secretariat Assistant (ASA) submitted a memorandum to chief secretary demanding the stoppage of redeployment and creation of surplus staff.      sns 
Burdwan re-polls: Re-polling registered 66.76 percent polling in Burdwan today, in 55 booths in Memari and Monteswar blocks thatwere ordered on 29 July following chaos in a counting centre in Paharhati.
 

The analysis reveals conversations were not just ‘personal’
press trust of india
New Delhi, 1 August
The Supreme Court today pulled up the Income Tax department and the CBI for not taking action in the past five years on information gathered from tapped phone conversations of Niira Radia with corporate honchos, politicians and others, saying it is “not a happy situation”.
A Bench of Mr Justices G S Singhvi and Mr K S Radhakrishnan asked the authorities why they did not take action as the tapes contain talks “far beyond” personal conversations.
“The tapping was done five years ago, what have they (government authorities) done so far? Were they waiting for the court’s order?,” the Bench said. After going through the analysis of the conversations, done by a six-member special team constituted by the apex court, the Bench said action should have been taken earlier.
“After this report, a lot of things have come to light. We thought the conversation was only personal but the analysis says it is far beyond that,” the Bench said. It asked the IT department to place before the Bench, all original records pertaining to authorisation of tapping of Radia’s phones.
The court directed the IT department, which had tapped Radia’s phones, to apprise it whether the officers entrusted with the task of tapping had informed their seniors about the contents of the recording and whether the CBI was informed about criminality with regard to matters referred to in the conversations.
The Bench directed the IT department to comply with its order by 6 August when the matter will be taken up for further hearing.
The court was hearing a plea of an NGO Centre for PIL seeking the court’s direction to make the conversations public.
Additional Solicitor General A S Chandiok submitted the IT Department cannot make it public and if anyone wants the contents of the tapped conversations, then he may seek information under the RTI Act.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Mr Ratan Tata who had approached the apex court for a direction not to make public his private conversation with Ms Radia, said a proper mechanism needs to be in place to prevent misuse of phone- tapping and Central Vigilance Commission should be involved in it.
The apex court had said yesterday that it would direct a CBI probe into several aspects arising out of the tapped telephonic conversations of Ms Radia.The apex court, which perused the report and transcripts prepared by its specially constituted team of investigators, had said “some of the items highlighted will be the subject matter of investigation”.
The analysis of the conversations was done by a six-member special team constituted by the apex court and five from the CBI and one from the IT department.

indo asian news service
Lucknow, 1 August
Former Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya today said he was happy that the CBI had cleared him in the murder of deputy superintendent of police Zia ul Haq.
The independent legislator spoke to the media after the CBI filed a final report in a court.
Sources said the investigative agency has cleared Raja Bhaiyya and his four aides of the murder and conspiracy charges.
The CBI has attached the polygraph test findings in its report, and it has inferred that Raja Bhaiyya was not in know of the conspiracy to murder the officer.
Known as an upright officer, Haq was killed on 2 March in Paratpagarh district when he went to probe the murder of a village head.
A mob attacked and beat him to death. He was also shot.
The accompanying policemen had deserted him and fled the scene. Parveen Azad, widow of the slain officer, alleged that Raja Bhaiyya had conspired to eliminate her husband as he never complied to his diktat.
The politician claimed today that a political conspiracy had been hatched to drag him into the murder case.
Earlier, the CBI submitted a final report which reportedly exonerated the minister and his four colleagues: Gulshan Yadav, Rohit Singh, Hari Om Srivastava and Guddu Singh.
The Kunda legislator was forced to quit the state Cabinet after the murder. Bowing to Parveen Azad’s demand, the government recommended a CBI probe into the murder.

New Delhi, 1 August: The Election Commission will hold a meeting of various political parties on 12 August for framing guidelines on ‘freebies’ in election manifestos following directions of the Supreme Court.
The guidelines are being framed in view of the recent apex court order which said there is no enactment that directly governs the contents of the election manifesto. The EC has sought the opinion of various political parties on the matter before making rules on allurements in election manifestos. Representatives of political parties have also been invited to give their views on the contentious issue of defining ‘freebies’ during the meeting.
The court has said, “Although, the law is obvious that the promises in the election manifesto cannot be construed as ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, the reality cannot be ruled out that distribution of freebies of any kind influences the root of free and fair elections to a large degree.”     pti

Lao policy makers explore new land policy

Policy makers have suggested tax increases and land occupation restrictions in order to constrain occupation of large scale of lands in Laos.
The suggestion was made in the drafted National Land Policy, which was tabled at the 5th ordinary session of the Lao National Assembly (NA)&’s seventh legislature, which closed on Friday. During the session, the law makers shared ideas to further develop the draft.
Under the draft policy, individual Lao nationals, joint venture enterprises between Lao and foreign investors and foreigners are not allowed to own land use rights to more than an appropriate area of land.
The government is required to define measures for identifying the appropriate size of agricultural plots and residential areas, so that parties cannot own usage rights to more land than is deemed appropriate.
Under the draft, the government is required to formulate regulations and measures to restrict land occupation so that the eligible parties do not occupy more land than they are allowed. Two options were offered by the policy makers in an effort to constrain land occupation, according to the drafted policy.
Under one scenario, those who already own land use rights greater than the area they are allowed to will be required to transfer land use rights to the surplus area to eligible relatives and parties.
The second option states that in cases where the holders of excess land use rights wish to retain the surplus land, they are required to pay a higher rate of land tax, similar to the graduated scale for electricity charges, where the more you consume the more you pay per unit.
Foreign investors are permitted to purchase land use rights in Laos for building residences and enterprises under the condition that the government allocate an appropriate area in accordance with the amount of investment capital and the length of the concession.
However the land use rights owned by investors will be valid for 50 years, with an extension of 40 years possible, according to the draft.
The draft policy will be put out for public comment before being resubmitted to parliament for debate and eventual approval at a later date.

Vientiane Times

Spy leaves Moscow airport, says  lawyer
agence france-presse
Moscow, 1 August
Fugitive US Intelligence leaker Edward Snowden today left the Moscow airport where he was marooned for five weeks, after Russia granted him one year’s asylum in a move that risks infuriating Washington.
Mr Snowden slipped out of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in a cloak-and-dagger operation overseen by his Russian lawyer but unnoticed by the hordes of media trying to follow his every move. The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor was whisked away to an undisclosed location, leaving his lawyer to reveal that Mr Snowden had received temporary asylum in Russia just two weeks after making an application.
“Snowden has left Sheremetyevo airport. He has just been given a certificate that he has been awarded temporary asylum in Russia for one year,” lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said. A spokeswoman for Sheremetyevo confirmed he had left the airport after 1000 GMT. A grainy still image published by Rossiya 24 television showed a young man with a rucksack ~ apparently Snowden ~    about to get into a car outside the airport.
Mr Kucherena, who had held several meetings with Snowden and helped him make his asylum application on 16 July, added his new place of residence would be kept secret for security reasons. “His location is not being made public for security reasons since he is the most pursued man on the planet. He himself will decide where he will go,” Mr Kucherena said, adding Snowden was now in a “safe place”.
Mr Snowden, 30, is wanted on felony charges by the United States after leaking details of vast US surveillance programmes, but Russia has refused to extradite him. There had been no indication until now that Snowden’s asylum application ~ which officials warned could have taken up to three months can process ~ would be handled so fast.
Interviewed by Rossiya 24 television, Mr Kucherena held up a scanned copy of Snowden’s certificate granting him a year’s temporary asylum in Russia.
The name “Snowden Edward Joseph” appears in the asylum document shown on television next to the black and white photo of the bespectacled fugitive.
It was issued on 31 July, valid until  31 July of 2014, and is complete with his fingerprint. Mr Kucherna said that Mr Snowden would eventually emerge into public view and give interviews to the press. But he said Mr Snowden first required an “adaptation course” after so long in the transit zone.
Snowden’s father visit:
Edward Snowden’s father is seeking a Russian visa and plans to visit his fugitive son in Moscow soon, the lawyer helping the US Intelligence leaker with his Russian asylum application said.

Agence France-Presse
Harare, 1 August
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s allies today declared that the veteran leader had romped to an election victory, a claim rejected by his rival who branded the vote a “sham”.
A top member of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party said that Mr Mugabe had trounced Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change in Wednesday’s presidential and parliamentary elections. “We have romped (to victory) in a very emphatic manner,” said the party member who asked not to be named. “We have won all of them, including the presidential and parliamentary.”
But the claim was swiftly slapped down by Mr Tsvangirai, bidding for a third time to end 89-year-old Mr Mugabe’s 33-year rule of the troubled southern African country. “It’s a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people,” he said, pointing to a litany of alleged irregularities.  “In our view this election is null and void,” he added. “This election has been a huge farce.”
“The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis.” The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the count has been completed and results are now being collated from the first vote since bloody polls in 2008 led to an uneasy power-sharing deal between Tsvangirai and Mugabe.
Tsvangirai stopped short of claiming victory himself, a move that could have enflamed tensions in a country where political violence is common.  The vote itself passed off peacefully, but in a sign of simmering tensions around 20 riot police were deployed near the headquarters of Tsvangirai’s MDC party, a reporter witnessed.
Foreign diplomats and independent Zimbabwean election observers also expressed grave misgivings about the conduct of the poll.
“Up to a million voters were disenfranchised,” said Solomon Zwana the chairman of Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has 7,000 observers. “The election is seriously compromised.”The Catholic Church ~ which has 3,000 people on the ground ~ said it was premature to call a winner but there was a “strong feeling” across the country that Mr Mugabe would lose.  “If certain people feel their choice was not accepted they may resort to violence. That potential is still there,” a church spokesman said.

Telangana  a  Congress  survival  strategy
SIR, The demand for a separate state of Telangana, first raised in 1956, had been rejected by Indira Gandhi and the successive governments of Andhra Pradesh. But the people of the Telangana region had over the decades sacrificed their lives for the cause. Its creation at this juncture suggests that the Congress is desperately seeking a strategy to survive. It eventually decided to bite the Telangana bullet by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and carving out Telangana as the country&’s 29th state.
 The bifurcation is bound to weaken both the parent state of Andhra Pradesh as well as the fledgling state. In terms of GDP, Andhra holds the second position in the country.
 Though Hyderabad will be the capital of both states, Telangana will be devoid of the agricultural resources of the Andhra region. In order to benefit both states, the Polavaram irrigation project should be declared a national project. Besides, the Centre should put in place a mechanism to address the concerns of Andhra and Rayalseema over the sharing of river waters, power and ensuring the security of the people.
The Congress has manipulated politics at the right time, hopefully to grab the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region in next year&’s Lok Sabha election.
It has also checkmated the BJP,  which  had  promised statehood for Telangana, if voted to power.
Yours, etc., Bidyut Kumar
 Chatterjee,
 Faridabad, 31 July.
DIVIDE AND RULE
SIR, Having failed on all fronts, Sonia Gandhi is now engaged in vote-bank politics of divide and rule. She has approved the carving out of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh as a separate state. It is not a practical solution; the Congress has actually turned the clock back. The creation of a new state is acceptable if economic development is the compelling factor. Politics can never be the singular underpinning. There were several small states and principalities before Independence; Sardar Patel gave us a united India and this benefited the states generally. An increase in the number of states can only  the existing problems and impede the country&’s progress in the long run. This can jeopardise the unity of the nation.
Yours, etc., Mahesh Kumar,
New Delhi, 31 July.
SECTARIANISM
SIR,  It was extremely disheartening to read the report on 31 July that the Congress-led UPA has decided to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.  This will only provoke sectarianism. Several other groups and organisations  will now clamour for statehood. The creation of a new state calls for a separate administrative set-up. It eventually adds to the overall expenditure of  the government that is trying to grapple with poverty, inflation and unemployment. Instead of creating new states, the Centre should immediately take steps to curb petroleum prices, if it really feels for aam aadmi.
Yours, etc., Pinaki Roy,
Balurghat, 31 July.
PRINTING & FONT
SIR, I am a regular reader of The Statesman since my school days. I am now an old man and am prepared to miss a day&’s meal but not a copy of  the paper. I entirely agree with the views expressed by Mr AK Mukherjee in his letter on 20 July. He has stated that The Statesman ‘is a newspaper and not a news magazine, like the others’. My only suggestion is to improve the quality of printing and the font-size of  the letters.
Yours, etc., SP Ghosh,
Howrah, 24 July.

OCCASIONAL NOTE
Professor Milne, whose death is announced today at the age of 63, was one of the founders of modern seismological science. Born in Liverpool, he was educated as a mining engineer in London. He was employed professionally in Newfoundland and Labrador, and was geologist to Dr Beke’s expedition in Arabia. The main work of his life was accomplished in Japan, where for twenty years he was in the service of the Government as geologist and mining engineer. It is claimed that the scientific work which was commenced in Japan in 1880, mainly through the influence of Professor Milne, and with the aid of instruments invented by him, gave a new impetus to the study of earthquakes.

News Items
CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY LECTURESHIPS
(From Our Correspondent)
Simla, Aug 1

There is no truth in the report that the Registrar of the Calcutta University has received an official intimation that the Government of India are unable to reconsider their decision to veto the appointment of Dr. Suhrawardy, Mr. Rasul and Mr. Jayaswal as University lecturers. The letter of the Registrar of the Calcutta University reached Simla only the other day, and it is understood that the government of India has not yet come to any decision on the points raised in that letter. Mr. Sharp has not sent any reply to the Registrar of the Calcutta University either by post or by telegram.

PARK FOR NORTH CALCUTTA
Representation To Local Government

The Corporation of Calcutta have for some time past been considering the formation of a Park in the fringe area of Ward No. 1 in the north of the town. In view of the expense involved, the Corporation forwarded the papers to the Calcutta Improvement Trust with a request that it would consider the advisability of opening out such a Park as part of an Improvement Scheme. The Improvement Trust has lately had the matter under consideration and has addressed an enquiry to the local Government as to whether the Government land required for the Park would be presented to the Trust free of cost.

RISE IN SHIPPING FREIGHTS
Grain Market Fluctuations The Cause
(From Our Correspondent)
Bombay, Aug 1

There is a rise of 2s. in shipping freights from Bombay the rate per ton having risen from 22s. to 24s. This has been caused by buyers at Home having been backward with their purchases lately owing to the trouble in the Balkans having caused markets to fluctuate considerably, most of the grains for European consumption being landed at Black Sea ports. As a result of this the supply of grain threatened to run short at Home and buyers therefore have been forced to purchase. Ships being scarce in these waters at this time of the year, the demand for cargo accommodation is greater than the supply, and the rise in freights is only natural.

INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS
Council’s Report On Strike Procedure

The Powers Of Joint Committees
London, Aug 1

The Industrial Council presided over by Sir George Askwith has issued its report on industrial agreements. It disapproves of compulsory arbitration, but says that conciliation boards or joint committees should possess means of arriving at a final decision. Moreover, before recourse to a strike or lock-out there ought to be a pronouncement on a dispute by an independent body or by an important individual.
The Council does not approve of monetary penalties for breaches of agreement.