agencies
LONDON, 25 JUNE: Pakistan&’s Asad Rauf (in photo right), who is being investigated in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, and long-serving New Zealander Billy Bowden  (in photo left) were today dropped from the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of umpires after annual reviews of the duo’s performances.
Rauf, who is being probed for allegedly taking expensive gifts from suspected bookies, and Bowden have been replaced by former Test cricketers Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel.
“The selection panel considered the overall performances of the umpires over the past 12 months when deciding which umpires would be offered contracts for 2013-4. In Asad’s case, it is important to emphasise that the recent speculation linking his name to the IPL spot-fixing investigation was not considered during the selectors’ deliberations,” said Geoff Allardice, chairman of the ICC umpires selection panel.
Rauf, who has denied any wrongdoing, was earlier withdrawn from officiating in the Champions Trophy here.
“It is exciting to see Richard and Paul promoted to the elite panel, but it is also important to acknowledge and appreciate the outstanding contributions of Asad and Billy over a long period of time,” said Allardice.
Illingworth and Reiffel have joined Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Steve Davis, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Tony Hill, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker on the panel for the 2013-2014 season, starting on 1 July, 2013. Illingworth has been umpiring in international cricket since July 2010 and has so far stood in four Tests, 16 One-Day Internationals and seven Twenty20 Internationals.
Reiffel, who made his international umpiring debut in January 2009, has officiated in four Tests, 30 ODIs and nine Twenty20 Internationals.
The elite panel was selected by the ICC’s umpires selection panel consisting of Allardice, the ICC’s general manager (cricket), chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, ex-England player and coach and umpire, David Lloyd, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and international umpire.Bowden was included in the elite panel in 2003 and umpired in 75 Tests, 181 ODIs and 19 Twenty20 Internationals.
Rauf stood in 47 Tests, 98 ODIs and 23 Twenty20 Internationals and was a member of the elite panel since 2006.

Srinivasan yet to decide
CHENNAI, 25 JUNE: Embattled Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan, who stepped aside after the Indian Premier League’s spot-fixing scandal, has not yet made up his mind about attending the International Cricket Council’s annual conference in London and will decide on it closer to the date of sub-committee meetings. The conference started today and would continue till 29 June. There is intense speculation on whether conference would be attended by Srinivasan, who stepped aside as BCCI president after his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for alleged betting and spot-fixing. If he travels to London, Srinivasan will attend three ICC sub-committee meetings, including the one relevant to finance and commercial affairs. Jagmohan Dalmiya, looking after the BCCI’s everyday affairs since Srinivasan stepped aside, will represent India at the ICC board meeting. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel will attend the chief executives’ meeting, while IPL chief executive officer Sundar Raman will attend the working group meeting of CEOs. agencies

sns & agencies
MUMBAI, 25 JUNE: Senior Board of Control for Cricket in India official Ratnakar Shetty has been summoned to a meeting here tomorrow of the Mumbai Cricket Association committee probing the mystery of unsold tickets during the 2011 World Cup final at Wankhede Stadium.
“I have received an e-mail which also mentions four other people: Lalchand Rajput, Pradeep Zaveri, Shripad Halbe and Ganesh Iyer. I haven’t decided if I will be attending it,” Shetty said today.
Shetty, currently the BCCI’s general manager (game development), was the tournament director of the showpiece event.
The MCA has summoned Shetty, former MCA vice-president and treasurer, along with former joint secretary Rajput, current managing committee member Iyer, former managing committee member Halbe and Zaveri, to appear before the four-member inquiry panel.
“I don’t know why they have called me but, going by their letter, I have been asked to brief the committee on World Cup final tickets. I will attend,” Halbe said. 
It has been said that Rajput and Iyer are unlikely to attend the meeting and that Shetty asked for the committee’s terms of reference.
More than 400 tickets of the India-Sri Lanka final, won by the hosts, were left unsold though "sold-out" notice boards had been put up at ticket counters, prompting the MCA to form the four-member special committee to look into the matter.
The MCA’s losses totalled more than Rs 70 lakh as a result.
‘Not yet ready’
Delhi Police today opined that the time is not ripe for legalising betting in sports in India as it could not be established at this stage that such an action will bring down match-fixing.
In the light of incidents of match and spot fixing in the recently concluded Indian Premier League in India, many stakeholders are advocating creation of a new stricter legal framework and legalisation of sports betting to keep a check on match and spot fixing.

Bristol (UK),  25 June: Darren Lehmann (in photo) insisted it was still possible for Australia to win the Ashes despite the upheaval that led to his appointment as the new head coach of the national side.
Lehmann was brought in after South African Mickey Arthur, the first non-Australian to coach the team, was sensationally sacked 16 days before the first Test in Nottingham after several high-profile on and off-field embarrassments for the team.
These included ‘homework gate’, where four players were dropped from the team during Australia’s 4-0 Test series loss in India this year and, more recently, the suspension of opening batsman David Warner until the first Ashes Test for a Birmingham bar-room attack on England’s Joe Root following the Aussies’ loss to their old foes in the Champions Trophy.
Even prior to these incidents many pundits made England, bidding for a third straight Test series win over Australia, favourites for the Ashes.
But despite everything that has happened in recent weeks, Lehmann — who took charge with immediate effect ahead of the tour match against Somerset — was in bullish mood when asked if Australia could still regain the Ashes.
“Yes definitely, It is a challenge for all the playing group and everyone involved with Cricket Australia.
“We are going to play an aggressive brand of cricket that entertains people and fans and gets the job done on and off the field.
“I am excited by the challenge.” Lehmann said he was keen to join forces with Australia captain and star batsman Michael Clarke, currently sidelined by a back injury. “I am looking forward to working with Michael closely,” said Lehmann.
Earlier CA chief executive James Sutherland praised Lehmann, appointed on a two-year deal, as the “obvious choice to replace Mickey”.
“As a cricketer and a coach he has an outstanding record,” said Sutherland. “His performances recently as coach of Queensland and the Brisbane Heat have seen him win titles in all three formats of the game.”
Meanwhile former England captain Michael Vaughan, who played alongside Lehmann at Yorkshire, tweeted: “For the 1st time in Months I am worried about Australia… If Darren Lehmann is the coach he will get them right.”
That led Clarke, appearing with Lehmann at a Bristol news conference on Monday, to joke: “Has someone hacked his account?     ”Surely he did not say anything positive. Playing for Australia is enough to galvanise the team. When you get that Baggy Green cap in your hand that is enough. We don’t need anything else.”
Meanwhile Lehmann, asked if he was an ‘old-school’ coach, said: “It’s important to talk about the game whether it’s with a beer or a Diet Coke, I don’t care.”
Australia leg-spin great Shane Warne, now working as a television commentator, has been suggested as someone Lehmann could bring on board. “We would love him in the room,” the 43-year-old Lehmann, who played 27 Tests, said.
“You don’t have a guy take 700 Test wickets and not use him if he is around the place. If he is around, and I know he is commentating with Sky all the time, then we will certainly use him.”
But Lehmann knows his tenure won’t be defined by the people he consults but by Australia’s results on the field. “If Michael gets some runs I will be ok. But if we don’t win I will go.
“That is what happens in professional sport. You are the head coach. You have to get results. If you don’t, you see what happens,” Lehmann said. agencies

the independent & agencies
Playing in the Ashes meant everything to Nick Compton (in photo right) and everything, of course, was too much for him to bear. That Wednesday in the second week of July came to dominate his existence. It was as though he had lived for that moment.
When he made consecutive Test hundreds in Dunedin (which saved the match) and Wellington on the tour of New Zealand following an unforgettable England tour of India in which he played an important part, it seemed his place was nailed on. But he started the English summer in a state of batting reticence so grave that his thoughts seemed easy to read.
`Mustn’t get out, concentrate, mustn’t get out, don’t do anything daft, mustn’t get out.’ The upshot was that he got out, never more poignantly than in his first Test innings at Lord’s when he skipped down the pitch to the New Zealand left arm spinner, Bruce Martin, essayed a grotesque attacking shot which swirled into the air and was caught.
It showed a tortured soul and it was never to be bright, youthful summer in Compton’s Test batting career again.
Perhaps, too, he could never escape the shadow of his illustrious grandfather Denis, one of the brightest stars ever to have shone in the English firmament. Nick was his own man but Denis’s raffish, buccaneering image was never far away in every forward prop he executed.
At bottom sport should be about enjoyment and it was obvious that poor, worried Nick was not enjoying it. If only he could make Trent Bridge on 10 July then it might change.
In the background there was Joe Root, the 22-year-old Yorkshireman, who had seemed custom designed for international cricket. Many were surprised when Compton was preferred to Root at the start of the series in India. When Root was finally given his chance in Test cricket in Nagpur (a surprise choice at number six at the time) it was pretty clear immediately that it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Compo, sensitive and thoughtful, might have sensed it deep down. It probably explained his irredeemable diffidence at the crease afterwards. What almost certainly did for him in the end was the way in which Root and his fellow Yorkshireman, Jonny Bairstow, shared a partnership of 124 in the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley. There was a freedom and joy about their work which stirred the soul.Andy Flower, the England coach, offered some consolatory words to Compton about getting runs in county cricket. He did, too, 166 of them against Durham but they took 324 balls. Root, meanwhile, had the elusive secret of making the game look easy, even it if it jolly well wasn’t.The selectors had to make their call in picking the team for the warm-up match against Essex where there may be easy runs to be had. Compton was eliminated from a squad of 14 players, which included the Irish fast bowler, Boyd Rankin.
New Zealand score 201/4
Hamish Rutherford&’s brilliant half-century helped New Zealand post a fordidable total of 201/4 in a T20 international at The Oval against hosts England. Rutherford scored 62 and was ably supported by Brendon McCullum who scored a vital 68 which was also the highest score of the innings.

Patients suffer due to loophole in Medical Act
gurvinder singh
KOLKATA, 25 JUNE: A century-old Act has turned into a liability for the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and a cause of agony for hapless people demanding justice against wrong or negligent treatment by doctors.
The law in question is the Bengal Medical Act,1914 that doesn’t make registration with the state medical council mandatory for doctors coming from other states to practice here.
The result: Several hundreds of doctors engaged with private hospitals in the city fill up their pockets, but escape scot-free when the patient party accuses them of incorrect diagnosis.
"We receive substantial complaints of negligent treatment every month against the doctors but are unable to act against the non-members," said Dr D K Ghosh, Registrar of the council. 
"The time has come when the century-old rule needs to be amended as the delay would only add to the sufferings of the people,” he added.
"A doctor registered under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 can practise anywhere in the country, but the Bengal Act, if amended, would help to keep a check on the medicos at the local level practising in the various states of the country,” added a senior office-bearer with the state council. “A few states such as Karnataka, Tripura and Maharashtra have made the registrations with the state councils mandatory, for the outsiders, but others are yet to do so," Dr Ghosh added.
"The fear of getting caught on account of negligence makes the doctor reluctant to come under the umbrella of the state medical council," said another senior officer on request of anonymity.
The state council also wants an amendment to the membership clauses.  
There are around 40,000 live members registered with the council, but most of them do not renew their qualification status which makes it difficult to determine the exact number of specialists in the various health streams in the state.  
The teachers in government medical colleges need to inform the council about the changes in educational qualification but the government doctors do not bother to do so, said the registrar. 
"We want the doctors to inform about their recent qualifications, say after every three or five years, to the council," he added. 
The council plans to write to the government seeking the amendments after the polls of the state medical council gets over. 
"The amendments if done would make the doctors, especially the private practitioners answerable to the people and help the victims get justice, he added.
 

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 25 JUNE: A mentally-deranged woman threw her 7-year-old son into Tolly’s nullah from Sukanta Setu at Bansdroni this afternoon, confounding local residents and police.
Officers of the Disaster Management Group (DMG) and divers were pressed into service to search for the boy.
The search continued till late into the night, but they are yet to find him.
A senior police officer said that local residents and vendors saw the woman, Rajani Kumari Devi, a resident of Sonarpur in North 24-Parganas, throwing her son into the canal. They
caught the woman and informed police.
Policemen from Regent Park Police Station went to the spot and contacted senior police officers after they came to know the entire incident.
The rescue work was initiated within 20 minutes of the incident.
A few pieces of clothing, reportedly belonging to the child, was found on the sides of the nullah, but the child couldn’t be traced.
Police came to know after preliminary investigation that Devi has three more daughters.
She left her Baruipur home with her 7-year-old at around 2.15 p.m. when her eldest daughter, a Class IX student, went to school.
"She had been undergoing treatment and she was released a few days ago from a mental hospital. She couldn’t tell that how she, a mentally deranged woman, managed to reach Sukanta Setu from Baruipur," the police officer said.
Police spoke to her husband, Mr Ashok Sen, who works in a courier company at Burabazar, but are yet to ascertain what had prompted the woman to throw her child into the nullah. 

statesman news service 
KOLKATA, 25 JUNE: A  32-year-old man, whose valuables were allegedly snatched while travelling in a train near Rampurhat, was found lying in a semi-conscious state with injuries all over his body at East Jadavpur late last night.  
Police said the victim, Mr Biswajit Halder, is a resident of Halla Nagar in East Jadavpur. According to his statement given to police this morning, he had boarded a train from Howrah Station on 16 June for Kamakhya.  
Some unidentified youths befriended him during his journey and offered him food. He fell unconscious after having it and the youths allegedly took away all his valuables. When he regained consciousness, he found himself at Rampurhat Station with injury marks all over his body.
Some people gave him money to buy a ticket to return to Howrah Station. Last night he returned to Howrah, but failed to say how he reached his locality in East Jadavpur. 
Mr Babu Mistri, one of his neighbours, saw him lying in a semi-conscious state and crying for help. They took him to MR Bangur Hospital and informed police.  
Doctors in the hospital stated his condition to be stable. Police took his statement this morning. 
A senior police officer said though he recollected the incident, he could not say what had actually happened to him as he was still in a trance. “We are contacting the Railway police and we expect that he can give more information once he gets well,” he said.     

biswabrata goswami
TAMLUK, 25 JUNE: Eight-metre-high tidal waves, coupled with strong Easterly winds, have wreaked havoc in the coastal areas of East Midnapore, damaging the 78-km long sea-protection wall and submerging hundreds of hectares of agricultural land over the past two days. At least 10,000 people in 15 villages in Ramnagar-I and II, Khejuri-II, Contai-I and II and Nandigram-I blocks have been affected by adverse weather conditions produced by a depression over the Bay of Bengal.
Powerful waves have flattened several hamlets inhabited by fishermen and uprooted Casuarina trees. About 450 fishermen’s families living along the Digha coast and 50 families living along river banks at Bachurmari in Nandigram have already been shifted to safer places.
“A vast tract of land at Brindamanchowk, Kendemari, Bachurmari and Paschim Jalpai areas of Nandigram was badly affected when the mouth of the Haldi river began swelling owing to high tides. The river bank at Bachurmari was also broken leading to large-scale inundation,” said Mahmud Hossain, sahakari-sabhadhipati of the zilla parishad.
The sea-wall, which protects the multi-crore Sankarpur Fishing Harbour and the coastal areas along the Sankarpur-Digha coastline, has suffered considerable damage at various points.
Embankments in the Gangadharpur, Samnibasan, Atli and Jalda areas of Old Digha, and Bankipot, Bhogpur and a few areas of Contai-II block were also breached, inundating swathes of fertile lands.
Waves also lashed against the protection wall at Old Digha, inundating the local market. Tourists at various lodges in Digha were alerted to stay away from the wall.
“The situation is alarming as ferry services at many places have been suspended owing to tidal waves,” said Mr Hossain.
Mr Barun Maity, secretary, Digha Fishermen and Fish Traders’ Association, said, “Fishermen who had ventured out to sea in trawlers three days ago have returned safely. But we have issued restrictions asking fishermen not to venture into the sea until the depression weakens.”
An irrigation department official said earlier breaches in embankments have complicated the situation further.  “Breaches along 50 km of East Midnapore&’s 78-km coastline have been crying for repairs for over five years. A 4 km-long breach occurred at Shankarpur two years ago and has still not been repaired. As a result, the sea easily flooded many villages. Ten villages, including Shankarpur, Tajpur, Chandpur, Lachhimpur, Jamra-Shyampur, Jalda and Shaula, have been badly affected,” he said.
Bimalendu Jana (55), a fisherman from the coastal village of Tajpur, about 10 km from Digha, said the sea began to swell around 8 pm on Sunday. "There was chest-deep water in most parts of the village by 11 p.m. yesterday. The winds were so strong that my hut collapsed in front of my eyes,” said Jana.
Digha police has been patrolling the coast all day, asking tourists not to venture into the water. Four tourists were injured when they hit boulders due to the tidal surge, said a police officer.

The woman allegedly committed suicide on 17 May by jumping from the SP&’s flat. But he didn’t inform police and went into hiding after locking the house
statesman news service
CHANDIGARH, 25 JUNE: A Punjab superintendent of police (SP) has been booked on charges of abetment of suicide of his subordinate’s 23-year-old daughter who last month jumped to death from a sixth-floor flat owned by the SP.
As the 50-year-old SP, Mr Mohal Lal, had allegedly exploited the victim, sexually after making false promise of marriage and job in police, investigating officers said charges of rape, abduction, destruction of evidence and illegal confinement are likely to be added in the case.
The woman allegedly committed suicide on 17 May by jumping from the SP’s flat at Rishi Apartments in Zirakpur town, adjoining Chandigarh. But the SP didn’t inform the police about the incident and went into hiding after locking the house.
The woman’s head constable father, working under Mr Lal at Batala then, had
filed a complaint against his senior officer alleging illegal confinement and rape of his daughter on the pretext of getting her recruited in the Punjab Police.
Apparently under pressure from the SP, the Zirakpur police had initially tried to cover up the incident; even the victim’s father took some time to file complaint against the SP.
But the latter’s complaint led to an inquiry into the incident by a three-member police team consisting of senior police officers following which a case was registered against the officer.
The victim’s post-mortem report had confirmed sexual exploitation. The probe has revealed that the married SP had promised to marry the victim. But he later put pressure on her to marry another man from his family.
A non-governmental human rights organisation had already moved the Punjab and Haryana high court to demand registration of an FIR against the SP. The court had issued notice to the SAS Nagar police to file a reply.
 

press trust of india
NEW DELHI, 25 JUNE: The Supreme Court today said it cannot pass any order against the US government and its agencies for snooping on Internet data from India as it has no jurisdiction over them.
“Our jurisdiction is not over the entire world. American people and government is not covered under Article 21,” a Bench of justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi said.
The Bench, however, said it would hear the PIL seeking to initiate action against Internet companies for allowing the foreign agency to access information if the petitioner convinced the court that Fundamental Rights of the people have been violated.
It asked the petitioner, a former Dean of Law Faculty of Delhi University, Professor S N Singh, to come prepared on the aspect of violation of Fundamental Rights on 28 June when his PIL will be taken up.
In his plea, Prof. Singh has alleged that such large scale spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the apex court to intervene in the matter.
He claimed Internet companies were sharing information with the foreign authority in “breach” of contract and violation of right to privacy.
“As per reports, nine US-based Internet companies operating in India through agreements signed with Indian users, shared 6.3 billion information/data with National Security Agency of USA without express consent of Indian users.
“Such large scale spying by the US authorities besides being against the privacy norms is also detrimental to national security,” the petition, filed through advocate Virag Gupta, said.
Prof. Singh has submitted that it is a breach of national security as the government’s official communications have come under US surveillance as services of private Internet firms are being used by them.

press trust of india
NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR, 25 JUNE: Kashmir’s dream of an all-weather surface link will turn into a reality tomorrow when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurate the rail link between Banihal to Qazigund in the Valley.
Mr Singh and Mrs Gandhi will jointly flag off the first train at around 11.50 a.m. on the 18-km-long section between Banihal in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir, starting the rail service to the Valley.
The 8-coach train operate regularly from Banihal to Baramulla from 27 June after the inaugural run on 26 June.
The Banihal-Baramulla-Banihal train will make five trips daily, beginning at 7.10 a.m. from Banihal and 7.35 a.m. from Baramulla.
Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vora and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with other Central ministers Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad are expected to be present on the historic occasion.
“We have seven pairs of trains to run between Banihal and Baramulla. Earlier, there were five rakes only, but now it has been increased,” said a senior Northern railway official. The Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km-long tunnel, will reduce the distance from 35 km (by road) to 18 km. It has been constructed at Rs 1,691 crore.
This rail section is very significant as it will provide an all-weather link to Kashmir Valley which often gets cut off from the rest of the country due to snowfall during winters.
Passengers travelling by train from Kashmir Valley to Banihal can avail bus service from there till Udhampur where train service is available for the rest of the country.
Northern Railways is coordinating with Jammu and Kashmir government for arrangements for the bus service. “The bus service will be available from Udhampur to facilitate passengers availing train from Banihal next month,” a senior Northern Railway official said.
Train service is already operational within Kashmir Valley on the 118-km-long route between Qazigund and Baramulla in north Kashmir.
“It (Qazigund-Banihal section) was a challenging task. Besides, the difficult terrain, land was acquired for the Kashmir rail link project in adverse law and order situation in the state,” the official said.
A trial run on Banihal-Qazigund section was successfully done on 28 December  last year and since then trains carrying stones are running on a regular basis. Currently, problems are being faced by passengers travelling between Banihal and Qazigund due to closure of Jawahar Tunnel in winter months due to heavy snowfall.
Last winter, only one-way vehicular movement was allowed between Jammu and Srinagar on the national highway. There were sudden closures for almost four months from December 2012 to March this year due to heavy snowfall and slippery conditions. “All the problems will be reduced to a large extent by running of train services between Banihal and Qazigund,” the Northern Railway official said, adding that “it will be a cheaper, faster and dependable mode of transport for the people.”
Known as the Pir Panjal tunnel, it is the longest transportation tunnel in India and the third longest in Asia. The tunnel has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,300 crore and
taken almost seven years to complete.
The tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunneling Method, which has been used for the first time on such a large scale in India. This method optimises the tunnel design by mobilising the inherent ground strength in adopting a curved section, providing primary support system immediately after excavation and monitoring the ground behaviour while permitting it to develop its inherent strength.

PM announces `710 crore for rural road network
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced Rs 710 crore for land acquistion for expansion and upgrade of rural roads network in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Singh made the announcement after a meeting with the Council of Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir during which he reviewed the progress of various development projects.

Initiate talks with all shades of opinion: NC to PM
SRINAGAR, 25 JUNE: The ruling National Conference today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consider early restoration of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir and initiate talks with all shades of opinion in the state. An 18-member NC delegation, led by MP Mehboob Beg, called on the Prime Minister here and discussed political and developmental issues facing the state, a party spokesman said. The delegation also pitched for resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue, implementation of Working Groups and interlocutors’ reports, opening cross-LoC routes and special recruitment package for youths in various Central government departments and institutions. Revision of special package for Kashmiri migrants, special package for PoK Refugees of 1947, 1965 and 1971, package for earthquake affected areas and rehabilitation and return of misguided Kashmir youth from across the LoC were among the demands raised by the delegation. The demand for quota for the Paharis without affecting the reservation available to the Scheduled Tribe was also raised. pti

alok kumar
NEW DELHI, 25 JUNE: Human resource development minister MM Pallam Raju and visiting US Secretary of State John F Kerry today emphasised the need for jointly working towards increasing skills of students to face future challenges.
They also expressed their intent to step up exchange programmes and partnerships between India and the USA as several institutions from the two countries announced tie-ups and collaborations.
Eight projects for building partnerships between American and Indian institutions of higher education in priority fields were signed. These include Harvard-India Nutrition Initiative between Harvard School of Public Health and St John’s Research Institute, Bangalore; an MoU between Aligarh Muslim University and Ohio State University, and between Assam Agricultural University and Washington State University.
An MoU was also signed between IIT-Delhi and University of Nebraska on cyber systems. Each of these projects will receive an award of approximately $250,000 that can be utilised over a three-year period, with the objectives of cultivating educational reforms, fostering economic growth, generating shared knowledge to address global challenges and developing junior faculty at Indian and American institutions.
IIT Bombay entered into an MoU with edX ~ a massive open online course platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University to offer free online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines. The intended outcome also includes two-way students’ mobility from India to the USA and vice-versa. India and the USA will also take up linkage between industry and academia and faculty development.
Mr Kerry emphasised that the two countries needed to lead the way as a large young population has to be trained. “There are gigantic challenges. People don’t just have to be trained for work; they need to be trained so that they can take part in democracy, so that they know how to decide between fiction and fact. This is something India and the USA have the capacity to share with the world,” he said  at the third India-US Higher Education Dialogue here.

sharbani banerjee
NEW DELHI, 25 JUNE: The flash floods and devastation in Uttarkhand has resulted in mass cancellations of holiday bookings at hill stations. Tour operators in the Capital are also being flooded with queries about the safety of such visits.  
Tour operators said the Uttarakhand tragedy has resulted in a 20-30 per cent loss.
“May and June are considered the peak season for tourism in the state, with hotels registering 100 per cent occupancy, but now they mostly wear a deserted look and several have also been washed away in the floods,” said Manish from Diamond Travels.
Apart from Mussoorie or Nainital, tour operators said tourists are now also wary of visiting other hill stations such as Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie.
One such tourist, Neha, agreed. “We are planning to visit Shimla (file photo) on 26 June for five days. However, we are pretty worried about the recent cloudburst in Uttarakhand. What about the situation in Shimla? Also, is it really advisable to continue with the trip?” she asked.
“Business has been adversely affected as not just Uttarakhand, but Mussoorie,  Shimla and Manali have also been hit badly, as tourists are choosing to avoid the area. Many people have cancelled their plans and no queries are being received for hill stations,” said Dev Jai from Travel Gateway Pvt Ltd.
According to tour operators,  23-24 lakh pilgrims visit Uttarakhand annually for the Char Dham Yatra, which includes Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, but the disaster has hit tourism badly.  “If we consider government figures, thousands of hotels, inns and residential houses have been severely affected by the flood and hundreds have been obliterated,” said Ganga Singh Bhandari, a Delhi-based tour operator. He said the next two years might be very difficult for the sector.
“My hotel beside Kedarnath temple got washed away. Of the 12 buses we had sent from our centres in Delhi and Rishikesh, some are yet to return. We also lost three pilgrims,” he said. He noted even if people want to go there, they would not be able to do so as roads have been destroyed.
“For the time being, we are asking tourists to refrain from travelling to Uttarakhand,” said Rohit, an employee of a travel company.

Alonso left out
Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso will miss Spain’s Confederations Cup football trip due to a groin injury. Alonso has struggled with injuries in the second-half of the season and has not been given the all-clear by Madrid’s doctors to take part in the competition which starts 15 June. Also left out of the team were mid-fielders Benat Extebarria and Javi Garcia as Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque released the final 23-man squad on Sunday. Spain will travel to Brazil for their opening game of the tournament against Uruguay, on 16 June in Recife. Squad: Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Victor Valdes.  Defenders: Nacho Monreal, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Raul Albiol, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa, Cesar Azpilicueta.  Midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla, Javi Martinez. Forwards: Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, David Silva, Pedro, David Villa, Jesus Navas, Roberto Soldado.

Goalz project                    
Eric Pickles, British secretary of state for communities and local government, met on Monday boys included in the British Council’s Premier Skills Kolkata Goalz project in Nadial, South 24 Parganas, accompanied, among others, by Sujata Sen, director, British Council (eastrn India), and George Telegraph Sports Club assistant secretary Anirban Dutta. The club train the young, underprivileged children in football, aided by the police, to stop them from straying into crime. Pickles said India represented the future, adding that Britain offered friendship and partnership.

Indians shine
Hunting for an International Master norm, Sagar Shah played a solid game to hold Grandmaster Yuri Solodovnichenko of Ukraine while former Junior World champion Abhijeet Gupta recovered to score his first victory in the second round of Grand Europe Albena chess tournament in Bulgaria. Vishnu Prasanna did not face many troubles and accounted for talented Indonesian girl Irine Kharisma Sukandar and Ashwin Jayaram outwitted Mario Vutov of Bulgaria. Turkish Yildiz Cavusoglu found a strong opponent in Anurag Mahamal while Swapnil Dhopade warded off the challenge of Dimitar Marholev.
Medals galore
Talented Sutirtha Mukherjee beat compatriot Manika Batrato to claim win the girls’ singles title at the Slovak Junior Open in Senec, Slovakia as Indian paddlers bagged six medal -four gold and two silver- their best-ever show in an international  competition. Earlier, Sutirtha partnered with Manika Batra to  clinch the Girls Doubles and two days earlier had secured the Girls Team Event alongwith Manika Batra & Reeth Tennison.

Race tips
Following are selections for Tuesday&’s Banglaore races: 2 pm: Nayan Star ; 2.30 pm: Royal Admiral: ; 3 pm: Salzburg;  3.30 pm: Jersey Shore;  4 pm: Miracle Memories; 4.30 pm: Catamaran;  5 pm: Silken Touch; 5.30 pm: Magnomical. Best bet: Miracle Memories.
 

Cong to support DMK in RS polls
CHENNAI, 25 JUNE: The
Congress today decided to support estranged ally DMK for the 27 June Rajya Sabha polls from Tamil Nadu, with its five MLAs all set to vote for DMK nominee Kanimozhi. TNCC president B S Gnanadesikan said AICC general secretary and party’s in-charge for Tamil Nadu Mukul Wasnik had informed him of the decision over phone. “INC has decided to support Kanimozhi…accordingly, all five Congress MLAs will vote for her,” he said in a statement. The term of six Rajya Sabha MPs from Tamil Nadu ends next month. sns            
Penalty on Airtel approved
NEW DELHI, 25 JUNE: Telecom minister Mr Kapil Sibal is learnt to have approved levying of Rs 650 crore penalty on Bharti Airtel for violating roaming norms in 13 service areas between 2003 and 2005. pti
        details on page 9
10 hurt in blast
MALDA, 25 JUNE: At least 10 people, including two women, were injured this evening when a powerful bomb exploded around 8.30 p.m. at Gazole bus stand in the Gazole police station area, 30 km from Malda town. A large contingent of police rushed to the spot. sns

statesman news service
MUMBAI, 3 JUNE: Anticipating a turnaround in Infosys Technologies’ fortunes after its co-founder Mr NR Narayana Murthy’s returned at the helm as executive chairman on 1 June, the stock of the IT major zoomed almost eight per cent this morning on Dalal Street. Brokerages as well as investors expect Mr Murthy to restore Infosys back on the path of progress.
The share touched Rs 2,624.90 on the BSE and Rs 2625 on the NSE. It pared early gains to end the day at Rs 2,513.95 (up 4.42 per cent) and Rs 2,514.10 (up 4.25 per cent) on BSE and NSE respectively.
Infosys gaining after several weeks failed to cheer the markets reeling under sell-off pressure in auto, oil and interest rate sensitive shares.
Global negative clues also hit investor confidence as the rupee continues to depreciate against the American dollar. Continuing its free fall for the fifth straight session, the rupee today slumped by 26 paise to hit a new 11-month low of 56.76 on fag-end dollar buying and capital outflows.
In the morning, all Asian markets ended with varying losses in their indices. The top loser was Tokyo’s Nikkei which closed 3.7 per cent down shedding 513 points at 13,262. Benchmarks on Dalal Street suffered more because European exchanges started the week almost one per cent down. France’s CAC, Germany’s DAX and FTSE of London were all down more than per cent. They recovered a bit later.
The S&P BSE Sensitive Index closed at 19,610.48 down 149.82 points or 0.76 per cent. The 50-share Nifty of the NSE ended 0.78 per cent 46.65 points down at 5,939.30. In Sensex 10 shares advanced and 20 declined while in Nifty the ratio was 17:33.
The day belonged to Infosys. The return of Mr Murthy prompted many investment bankers to come out with fresh assessment of the Infosys Technologies’ share. Goldman Sachs says: “Return of Mr Murthy after seven years may boost long-term investors’ confidence in the company.”
Morgan Stanley “maintains overweight rating. Leadership is likely to improve performance of Infosys but this could take six to nine months to reflect in company’s financials. Merrill Lynch said: “We raise on target PE to 16X our financial year 2014-15 EDE at 10 per cent discount to TCS from current 30 per cent and raise the target price to Rs 2,850 from Rs 2,350 anticipating possible upside risk to earnings.
In the 30-stock Sensex the top losers included Hero MotoCo at Rs 1,667.55 (down 3.65 per cent), Bajaj Auto at Rs 1,762.20 (down 3.32 per cent), ONGC at Rs 317.55 (down 2.85 per cent) and HDFC at Rs 868.90 (down 2.40 per cent).

MUMBAI, 3 JUNE: Making it tougher for aspirants, the Reserve Bank today said it will look for very high quality applications to issue new bank permits and it may not be possible to issue licences to all eligible applicants.
“There is no predetermined number. The RBI will be very selective while considering the applications for new bank licences. It will look for very high quality applications,” the RBI said in a notification elaborating its response to the queries raised by various stake holders.
It may, therefore, be not possible to issue licence to all the eligiblle applicants,” it said.
On timeline for granting in-principle approval for bank licence, the RBI said: “It will not be possible to indicate the timeline for grant of in-principle approvals at this stage.”
The RBI, which had on 22 February issued final guidelines for issuing new banking licences, today came up with clarifications to various queries. pti