Devvarman wins: India’s Somdev Devvarman notched up a stunning 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory over defending champion Alexandr Dolgopolov to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP 500 Citi Open in Washington.
Steaua triumph: Romania’s Steaua Bucharest defeated hosts Dinamo Tbilisi with two unanswered goals  in their first leg of the third-round qualification of the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League.
Boerrigter deal: Scottish football giants Celtic have signed Dutch winger Derk Boerrigter from Ajax. The 26-year-old Boerrigter on Tuesday inked a four-year contract with Celtic, reports Xinhua.
No to Luiz: Pep Guardiola has denied rumours that Bayern Munich are looking to sign David Luiz from Chelsea. Guardiola was reported to have asked the Bavarian club to buy Luiz after his side lost to Borussia Dortmund.
Strongest squad: Led by London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, India will be fielding its strongest ever squad at the 2013 BWF World Championship to be played in Gungzhou, China from 5-11 August.
Maxwell called up:  Brazil football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has given a first national call-up to Paris Saint-Germain defender Maxwell for next month’s friendly against Switzerland. He replaces Filipe Luis.

Barbados triumph: Barbados Tridents pulled off a 17 run triumph over Saint Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier T20 League opener on Tuesday. Chasing 170 for victory, the Zouks were dismissed for 152 in 19.4 overs. 
MCA elections: The bi-annual elections of the Mumbai Cricket Association are unlikely to be held before October, its president Ravi Savant said .  “ The audited accounts will not be ready till September,” Savant said.
Under-19 series: A four-nation under-19 one-day quadrangular series is to be held at Visakhapatnam from September 23, according to Cricket Board sources.  India, Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are to take part.
Ponnappa&’s value: Banga Beats bought Parupalli Kashyap as their icon player but chief coach U Vimal Kumar feels even Ashwini Ponnappa would have been a good choice as she could add value to the Bangalore side.
Debnath for Pune: Pune FC have bought young goalkeeper Arup Debnath to complete their line-up ahead of the 2013-14 I-League season. He  joins Pune FC after a season-long stint with Mumbai Tigers Football Club.
AFI&’s concern:  The Athletics Federation of India has expressed concerns over slow progress of work at the Bambolim stadium, which may miss its
deadline for the Lusofonia  Games to be held in November.
Bleak future: Devendra Jhajharia, the first Indian paralympian to win a gold at the  IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, feels the future of para-athletes is bleak in India as the Government does not have any specific policy.

filled up to make way for road connecting buildings with throughfare
Pradip Chatterjee
pchatterjee@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 31 July
A huge water body off Eastern Metropolitan bypass has been filled up to facilitate construction of roads connecting various private housing complexes with the main thoroughfare. This is despite chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s repeated pleas for stringent measures against those filling up waterbodies. 
Police have not been able to identify those responsible for filling up almost 30 feet of the 40-feet wide waterbody, though the Pragati Maidan police station is located at a distance of just 200 meters from the venue. 
Locals have registered a complaint with the police and have demanded that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation take immediate steps to save the water body. 
A private construction company which has its office in Topsia allegedly began filling up the water body by dumping solid waste. Residents of the area said the water body was used for pisciculture, bathing and washing. 
The civic body used to clean water bodies in the area from time to time. However, over the past few years, it has sold large plots to private builders for the construction residential buildings.  
Members of Hatgachia Basti Unnayan Samiti were among the first to notice the malpractice and reported the matter to Sabuj Mancha. A team from the Mancha was sent to the spot and they found that a portion of the water body near Hatgachia-I, adjacent to the wall of Milan Mela premises near Gate No 4, was being filled up, apparently to facilitate road-widening. A conglomeration of environmental organisations, including Disha and Sabuj Mancha, then surveyed the area. A senior police officer said they had begun investigating the matter.
Mr Subrata Seal, Director General, Project Management Unit, KMC admitted the pond is being filled up. "It was filled up illegally. A compliant has been filed under The West Bengal Town & Country (Planning & Development) Act, 1979. Action will be taken against the accused," he said.
Mr Sasanka Dev, Secretary, Disha, said, "Another water body faces threat of encroachment, as developers are planning to construct a wall through it to identify their land.”

APARAJIT CHAKRABORTY
aparajit@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 31 July
The state transport department, including the private bus operators have introduced plastic coins to give exchange for fares, but the whole arrangement is illegal and violates the Reserve Bank of India rules.
Private bus operators and state transport operators throughout the state have been facing acute shortage of coins. As a result, their business has been seriously affected. 
In a desperate bid, private bus operators and state transport operators had urged the state transport department to allow them to issue plastic coins in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 3, Rs 2 and Re 1 to passengers which can be used by the passengers in place of coins. 
The demand was raised following paucity of loose change; most passengers offer Rs 10 notes for fare amounting to Rs 5 or Rs 6. 
Private bus operators of various routes (see table) have been using of plastic tokens for the past 3-4 months.  “We had urged the state government and RBI for taking initiative to resolve acute shortage of currency. But they have failed to solve the problem,” said Mr Sadan Das, general secretary, Joint Council of Bus Syndicate.  If the experiment becomes successful transport operators have plans to use even plastic coins denomination of Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 to resolve shortage of currency,” Mr Das said.
The state transport minister Mr Madan Mitra pleaded helplessness.
"We know it is illegal and a violation of RBI guidelines, but we have no option. We approached the RBI several times to supply us with token in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 but we received no response. This forced us to resort to the illegal use plastic token,” he said.
Noted economist Mr Abhirup Sarkar said, “It is a matter of grave concern that private bus operators have been using plastic tokens. The RBI and the Centre should take initiative to resolve the acute shortage of currency problem.”

GURVINDER SINGH
gurvinder@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 31 July
Dengue claimed its first victim this monsoon when a minor girl from Dignal village in Durgapur, 165 km from Kolkata, succumbed to the deadly disease.
The vector-borne disease had officially claimed 11 lives in the state last year, though unofficial estimates suggest the figure could be much higher.
The girl who was suffering from unknown fever died on 24 July, almost a month after the health officials were first alerted about the spread of a mysterious fever in the village.
A two-member team from Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM) that visited the area and collected 35 blood samples have found 21 cases of dengue, said senior health officials.
Of the 151 cases of dengue detected in the past seven months, the state capital tops the list with 66 cases, followed by North 24-Parganas (24), South 24-Parganas (13) and Nadia (10).
Though officials claim the situation is under control, they don’t hesitate to accept that a mere 18 samples were found positive during the same period last year, before the numbers began to shoot up in the first week of August.
“Dengue being a contagious disease can spread rapidly if affected people travel from one place to another," said Ms Nandita Basu, director of CSTM.
The government has already identified 28 municipalities, including the KMC, that er vulnerable to dengue, and began awareness campaigns. 
“The campaign has been on since January, with our officials visiting households and educating people about preventive measures,” said Mr Atin Ghosh.  Member, mayor-in-council (health).
The Director of Health Services (DHS) Dr BR Satpathy said: “We have intensified our efforts and increased the numbers of laboratories to examine blood samples and advanced testing technique is being used for more concrete and quick reports.” 
Meanwhile, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee today released a documentary film to create awareness about dengue and other vector-borne diseases.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has spent Rs 50,000 to make the film.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Siliguri, 31 July
The Trinamul activists are in a dilemma in several gram panchayats in north Bengal districts where they do not have a majority number of elected members and they are in no position to seek help from others at a time when Miss Mamata Banerjee is keeping equidistance branding the rival parties as foes at present.
In order to keep control over the GPs and to keep the CPI-M out of power from the panchayats, the Trinamul Congress activists would have to seek support from both the Congress and the BJP members and even the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha and its ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in
the Dooars.
The Fulbari-I gram panchayat in the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri, is an appropriate example to explain the plight of Trinamul activists at the grass root level.
The Trinamul Congress bagged 10 seats in the 22-member Fulbari-I GP. The Left has also secured 10 seats, the BJP one and the Congress one.
At least 12 seats are required to keep control over the board. Interestingly, the Fulbari-I GP was under the control of Trinamul and the BJP in the past five years.
The Trinamul Congress tried hard to bag majority seats here this time but failed to bag the required seats under the leadership of the north Bengal development minister Mr Gautam Deb, despite implementation of several developmental works.
Notably, the Trinamul Congress lost one seat from Kamrangaguri area, where the construction of chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee&’s dream project mini-secretariat is
going on.
The CPI-M candidate, Md Ali, won the seat with the help of the seemingly rebel Trinamul Congress candidate, who contested against its official candidate here. 
However, a group of CPI-M supporters helped a Trinamul candidate to win another seat at
Kamrangaguri.
 Their objective was to complete a under-constructed road by setting up a culvert for their village.
The north Bengal development department had allotted huge funds and started the construction of village roads at
Kamrangaguri in the Fulbari-I GP of Jalpaiguri a few months ago.
Now voters here started discussing about the fate of Fulbari-I GP and how the Trinamul Congress leadership would be able to manage the Congress and the BJP candidates.
This is also at a time when elections for the pradhan of the board would be held when the chief minister wants to keep equidistance from them at present.
A senior Trinamul leader in Jalpaiguri, Mr Mridul Goswami, said: “The matter is sensitive and it is still under the consideration of the state leadership.”
“We are waiting for their instructions. We have to follow their directions in such cases.” the senior leader also said.
Mr Goswami also pointed out that there are four hung panchayat samiti in Jalpaiguri district where the GJMM and JMM candidates are key factors to form the board.
In case of two panchayat samitis ~ Madarihat and Dhupguri ~ the Trinamul Congress is in no position to form the board without the help of the GJMM, JMM and even the Congress there.
In Madarihat, out of total of 26 seats, the LF secured 12, TMC five, GJMM seven and JMM two.
In Dhupguri, out of 48 seats, LF won 23, TMC 17, Congress five and GJMM three.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Gangtok, 31 July
Newly formed Bhutia Lepcha Protection Force (BLPF) has appealed to the Bhutia-Lepcha people to pressurise their respective MLAs to speak out in defence of the interests of the community when their constitutional rights are being attacked at random in Sikkim, their homeland.
“If they cannot speak out against the injustice, they have no right to be there as BL representatives. Either they should resign voluntarily from MLA-ship or the community should socially boycott them," read the resolution adopted at the first meeting of the BLPF held at BL House on Tibet Road here today.
Addressing the gathering, Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee convener, Mr Tseten Tashi Bhutia, said the Chogyal of Sikkim had not resorted to discrimination in reference to his subjects while according citizenship in 1961. “But today&’s politicians are playing divisive game putting the survival of the BL community under jeopardy,” he said. 
Stressing on the special arrangement providing for 12 BL and one Sangha seats in the Sikkim Assembly, Mr Bhutia said the state government is trying to dilute it by taking recourse to the Burman Committee Report that suggested ways to increase the strength of the Assembly to accommodate reservation for the Limbo-Tamang community enlisted as Scheduled Castes.
“The total number of BL seats must be increased proportionately if the strength of the Sikkim Assembly is to be increased to any extent. We shall not rest until the seat reservation of the Sikkimese Nepalese community is restored back in the Sikkim Assembly. However, the Sikkimese Nepalese themselves are neither concerned nor serious over the matter,” he added.
Issues like attack on Revenue Order No 1 through Sikkim Land Transfer ACT of 2005, ‘anti-Sikkimese’ Burman Committee Report designed to destroy the distinct identity of the Sikkimese, decrease in the share of BLs in the government employment sector, checking of influx and protection of the old business community are supposed to have figured in the meeting that was attended by a large number of people from the twin communities.

Neither Trinamul nor Left Front untouchable: Dalu
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Malda, 31 July
“Neither the Trinamul Congress nor the Left Front is untouchable for us to form the board in Malda Zilla Parishad (MZP). Whoever we seek the support from, there is no doubt that we would come to power in the MZP for the third consecutive time and our motto would be development,” said the district Congress President and Union Minister of State (MoS) AH Khan Choudhury (Dalu) after an hour-long marathon meeting with the block and district Congress leaders today.
However, the political observers believe that out of desperation to retain power in MZP, the district Congress is further getting confined in a maze.
It may be mentioned that the Congress won 16 seats in MZP this time which is less than the magic number of 20. The Left Front (LF) has also obtained 16 seats in MZP while the Trinamul has got six seats. MZP has altogether 38 seats.
The Congress ruled the MZP for two consecutive terms, first in 2003-2008 and then in 2008-2013. Interestingly, former Congress Sabhadhipati Mr Goutam Chakraborty is now a senior Trinamul leader.
Another Congress Sabhadhipati, Mr Ujjwal Chowdhury, also quit the Congress and this time was elected to MZP as a Trinamul candidate.
A senior Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, said: “ZP is the centre of rural administration and holding power in ZP helps in reaching a large number of people and strengthening the organisation. Hence, it is essential for us to retain MZP particularly to prevent the erosion in our party that has already shaken us.” But the Congress cannot form the board without the support either from the LF or from the Trinamul though both of those parties are arch rivals of the Congress.With an eye to get out of the maze, Dalu today met the Congress leaders of all tiers but no solution could be attained. While a large number of Congress leaders strongly opposed an alliance with the Trinamul and batted for a tie with the LF, some others favoured an alliance with the Trinamul despite the bitter relations between the Congress and the Trinamul.
“In context of the political equation since the 2011 Assembly election, striking an alliance with the Trinamul in getting power in MZP will be a suicidal decision for us.
The Trinamul will go to all extent to prevent our growth. Moreover, we must not forget the recent example of Siliguri Municipal Corporation where the Congress had to pay dearly for having an alliance with the Trinamul,” said a Congress MLA.
Another Congress MLA said: “Barkat Da (late Ghani Khan) always maintained a congenial relation with the LF for the sake of development. Hence, it will neither be immoral or against the principle of the party to seek support from the LF in running MZP following the example of UPA-I government in the Centre.”
However, a senior Congress general secretary favoured the Trinamul as an ally. “It will be a wrong decision to go against the Trinamul as they are in state power. There is nothing wrong in tieing up with them too.” “It is unwise to battle with a crocodile while you are dipping into the river,” he said.
Amid several arguments and counter arguments, the district Congress leaders could not clarify their stand at the end of the meeting. Dalu said: “We will form the board and none except the BJP is untouchable for us. We have already spoken to the state leaders. Whatever decision we take, will be in favour of the development of the district.”
It may be mentioned that the Trinamul leader and Tourism Minister Mr Krishnendu Choudhury has already said that the Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee would decide about the MZP.
The CPI-M district secretary, Mr Ambar Mitra, said: “We will contest for the MZP Sabhadhipati post unless we are requested by any other political party. In that case, the state leadership will resolve the matter.”

Statesman News Service
Raiganj, 31 July
In Hemtabad and Goalpokhar-II samitis of North Dinajpur district, the TMC candidates failed to win any seat. In Raiganj panchayat samiti they won only one seat.
The Trinamul Congress leaders blamed the “secret alliance” between the Congress and Left Front for the setback.
However, the TMC achieved remarkable results in the gram panchayat, panchayat samitis and zilla parishad in Itahar.
CPI-M leaders claimed that after spreading violence the TMC leaders captured Itahar. The residents were not spontaneously casting votes for them, they said.
In Itahar, the TMC bagged eight gram panchayats out of a total of 12. They captured 23 seats in Itahar panchayat samiti out of a total of 35 seats. They even bagged all three seats of the zilla parishad in Itahar.
Apart from Itahar, the TMC candidates failed to achieve remarkable results from other blocks.
In Raiganj, Karandighi, Goalpokhar-I, Goalpokhar-II and Hemtabad blocks, they failed to capture any gram panchayat and any seat of zilla parishad. No TMC candidate won in Goalpokhar-II and Hemtabad panchayat samitis. 
They captured only 13 GPs out of a total of 98 of the district. In the panchayat samiti and zilla parishad they won 23 and five candidates respectively.
The secretary of the state TMC committee, Mr Ashim Ghosh, said: "In Raiganj, Karandighi, Kaliaganj, Hemtabad, Goalpokhar-I and Goalpokhar-II, both the Congress and CPI-M were united against the TMC candidates. As a result, we did not achieve satisfactory results from there. However, in the next elections our result will be far better from there."
The Secretary of North Dinajpur CPI-M committee, Mr Bireswar Lahiri, said: "In the afternoon on the polling day, the TMC activists guided by their Itahar MLA Amal Acharjee created panic among voters of Itahar after killing our member Md Abdul Azij. Since then, the members of the Left families could not go to cast votes. In addition, many of our counting agents could not join the counting procedure because of the threat of TMC. The TMC gained a majority after committing crimes only. There was no fair elections in Itahar at all."

Jammu, 31 July: Amid massive protests and blockade of Jammu-Poonch highway, bandh was today observed in several towns of Rajouri and Poonch against death of Amarnath pilgrim, who sustained fatal injuries in stone-pelting in Ramban district. Expressing sorrow over his death, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had yesterday announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to his family.
Over 1,500 protesters, raising anti-government slogans assembled in the Sunderbani belt ~ native place of the deceased, and blocked the highway, which left more than 300 vehicles stranded on the route.
They demanded arrest of those involved in the incident and ex-gratia relief of Rs 5 lakh and government job for the Sharma’s kin.
The protests began last evening and continued till late night.     pti

Lucknow, 31 July: Tension gripped areas of the old city when two groups of the same sect allegedly indulged in arson and resorted to brick-batting during a religious procession in Bazar Khala. “The incident took place this morning when the procession of 21st Ramzan with 25,000 people was being taken out in old city by the Shia community”, IG (Law and Order) R K Vishwakarma said. The situation took an ugly turn when some people threw stones, leading to stone-pelting and arsoning in which a shop was set afire and eight vehicles, including two trucks, were damaged by the angry mob, he said. A shop was also looted by the mob in the area, the police official said.
Later, police resorted to lathicharge to control the situation, Vishwakarma said, adding that no one suffered major injuries in the incident.     pti

BSP supremo regrets centre keeping demand pending
statesman news service
Lucknow, 31 July
With the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre giving its go-ahead to the creation of the new state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, the demand for dividing Uttar Pradesh into four small states has picked up steam once again.
Today Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati reiterated her demand for dividing UP into four small states viz. Purvanchal (east), Paschim Pradesh (west), Avadh Pradesh (central) and Bundelkhand. 
She regretted that despite her government having passed a resolution to this effect by the Cabinet and later, on 23 November 2011, by the Vidhan Sabha  and was also sent to the Central government for clearance, the decision on the same is still pending.
Addressing the Press, the BSP supremo said under Article 3 of the Constitution, the Parliament and the Centre are authorised to create new states. Besides the division of UP, the demand for carving out Gorkhakand and Vidharbha should also be met, she added.
Taking a swipe at the ministers who hail from UP and form part of the Central government, she said instead of making hollow statements they should pressurise the UPA government to work towards the reorganisation of the state. The BSP government during its four terms in office had created several tehsils, districts, divisions, police range, etc., she said.
Expressing happiness over the creation of the Telangana state, the former chief minister said she was glad that the long pending demand of the people had been met. The Central government took a delayed decision, but nonetheless it was a welcomed one. 
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar had been a strong votary for small states and administrative units on grounds that they lead to  better administration, management, in addition to ensuring that justice was meted to all sections of society. The BSP has been a strong proponent of Dr. Ambedgar&’s ideology, she said.
Saying there was no rule of law in UP, the BSP chief said honest officers were now being victimised. Referring to the recent suspension of Gautambudh Nagar SDM Durga Shakti Nagpal, she alleged that the sand mafia  had a hand in the same. She demanded that Governor B L Joshi move for imposition of President’s rule in UP. 
Contrary to the BSP stand, UP PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav, meanwhile, made it clear that the Samajwadi Party will not allow any further dismemberment of Uttar Pradesh.

Operation was named ‘Marg-e-Nijat’ and was launched to set free 6 militants

Press Trust of India
Peshawar, 31 July
A day after the Taliban freed over 250 prisoners from a high-security Pakistani prison, a top commander of the terror outfit has said they took a month to plan the assault and spent Rs one crore to execute it with military-like precision.
The Taliban gunmen launched their attack on Central Prison in Dera Ismail Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering the restive South Waziristan agency yesterday around midnight with a series of heavy explosions before firing rocket propelled grenades and machine guns. Adnan Rashid, a Taliban commander who was released by the militants in a jail break incident in Bannu few years back, said the operation was named “Marg-e-Nijat” and it was launched to set free six militants of Quetta and some others. It took a month to plan the assault and cost Rs one crore to materialise the plan, he said.
During the attack yesterday the militants killed six policemen, six Shia prisoners and two private security guards. Security forces released a list of 252 prisoners who had gone missing after the Taliban attack on the prison. The list includes the names of 11 high-profile terrorists, Dawn News reported.
Meanwhile, the police today re-arrested 45 prisoners who had escaped.
Security officials were quoted by the daily as saying that the re-arrested convicts had voluntarily surrendered themselves to police and that a search was still underway to apprehend as many escaped prisoners as possible.  “We freed two important commanders hailing from Parachinar, six each from Dera Ismail Khan and Quetta. Our friends have now reached the safe place in Mir Ali in North Waziristan agency,” Rashid told a TV channel.
He also claimed that a lady police constable was in their custody. “It was part of the plan to remain in the jail premises for 20 minutes and then escape to the adjacent tribal agency South Waziristan within one hour of the attack,” Rashid said.
“Eight special commandos (suicide attackers) participated in the jail break attempt who were equipped with latest night vision gadgets, and latest weaponry. In all thirteen vehicles were used in the operation and used two ways to reach the jail,” the Taliban commander said.
Taliban commander Haji Abdul Hakim, Haji Ilyas and Walid Akbar are among those who have been set free in the jail attack, sources said. Akbar was main accused in the attack on a Muharram procession in Dera Ismail Khan last year. Important commanders from Bajaur also escaped in the incident, sources said.

Ruling to determine if party will participate in Bangla polls

press trust of india
Dhaka, 31 July
A Bangladesh court is set to give its verdict tomorrow on whether or not fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami is legal that will have a bearing on the participation of the country&’s biggest right-wing party in future elections.
“The verdict is expected at about 2 p.m. tomorrow as a three-member Bench wrapped up the hearing of a writ petition challenging the registration of the Islamist party with the election commission,” a High Court official said.
Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, a group which preaches Sufi philosophy and promotes secularism, and 24 others filed the writ petition in 2009, saying Jamaat-e-Islami is a religion-based political party and it does not believe in independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam declined to comment on the issue but lawyers familiar with the writ petition said the verdict would determine if the party could take part in the forthcoming parliament elections due early next year. The verdict will come amid intensified demands from different left-leaning and youth groups to ban the party as it was opposed to the very emergence of Bangladesh while its leaders and activists carried out massive atrocities siding with Pakistani troops in 1971.

Press Trust of India
Islamabad, 31 July
After successfully pulling off a daring attack on a high-security prison in north-west Pakistan, banned militant outfits have planned to attack former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s farmhouse here, a media report today said. Mr Musharraf who is an accused in multiple criminal cases is being held at his Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which was declared a sub-jail on 20 April. Information gathered by Intelligence agencies pointed at a possible attack by militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, The Express Tribune said quoting Intelligence sources.  In the light of these recent threats, security agencies have issued warnings to all the relevant departments.
According to the alert, the attackers might disguise themselves as security officers. TTP had earlier issued threats to assassinate the 69-year-old former dictator, calling him the “Satan”.
Mr Musharraf entered the Taliban hit list after ordering the army in 2007 to storm Lal Masjid in Islamabad. The operation left more than 100 people dead and opened the floodgates to attacks in Pakistan.  He had escaped three assassination attempts when in office from 1999 to 2008, a target of extremists because of his alliance in the US-led “war on terror” and attempts to clamp down on militants.

Harare, 31 July: Zimbabweans are voting in elections that will determine the future of longtime President Robert Mugabe, who has denied allegations of vote-rigging despite concerns about the credibility of the polls.
Lines of voters snaked around a school in Harare, where polling booths opened just after the scheduled time of 7 a.m. (0500GMT) today. Many were dressed in heavy coats to ward off the winter chill. Some had flasks of hot drinks.
Voter Isaac Rufaro says he joined the line before dawn, noting: “We have got to get this done.”
The contest pits Mugabe against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader who teamed up with the president’s party in an uneasy coalition.     AP

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Mumbai, 31 July
A huge Rs 403 crore gain from treasury income, coupled with a spurt in interest income and margins, pushed up the standalone net profit of ICICI Bank by 25.3 per cent to Rs 2,274 crore in the April-June quarter.
The country’s largest private bank had reported a net profit of Rs 1,815.05 crore in the year-ago period.
It booked a Rs 403 crore income from treasury operations in the first quarter of 2013-14, as against Rs 21-crore loss in the year-ago period, which was the major reason for the spike in overall profit.
A healthy 20 per cent spurt in key net interest income, which is the difference between interest paid and interest earned, at Rs 3,820 crore during the quarter pushed up the total income of the bank by 13 per cent to Rs 12,905 crore.
Its non-interest income jumped 32 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,484 crore, driven by treasury gains and higher dividends from subsidiaries.
This has had a positive impact on the net interest margin (NIM), which is a key gauge of profitability for banks, pushing it up to 3.27 per cent in the quarter from 3.01 per cent a year ago, ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Ms Chanda Kochhar told reporters at a conference call.
The domestic margins stood higher at 3.63 per cent in the quarter, she said.

Jet fuel price up: Jet fuel prices were today hiked by 6.3 per cent as a falling rupee made imports costlier. ATF price in Delhi was hiked by Rs 4,169.4 per kilolitre to Rs 70,203.15 per kl with immediate effect.     pti
Airtel net down: Bharti Airtel today reported a 9.6 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 688.9 crore in the first quarter ended 30 June, mainly due to depreciation in the rupee and higher taxes.     pti
Kesoram stake: Promoters of Kesoram Industries Ltd have hiked their stake to 49.28 per cent from 27.22 per cent through a recent rights issue, KIL company secretary Gautam Ganguli said.     pti
Inflation rate: Retail inflation for industrial workers rose to 11.06 per cent in June compared to 10.68 per cent in May due to rise in prices of food items, cigarette, electricity charges, doctors fee, medicines and petrol.     pti
Retail FDI norms: The government is likely to liberalise FDI norms for multi-brand retail today a move that finance minister P Chidambaram expects will help attract first foreign investment in the sector.      pti 
Force sales: Force Motors is looking to boost its sales on the back of new product launches. It has launched two new variants of its sports utility vehicle Force One ~ Force One SX and Force One EX in Kolkata.     sns