stanley theodore
HYDERABAD, 18 JUNE: The concept was there ever since Internet arrived, but it has now come home. 
A seven-month-old start-up, www.myhomefarm.in, is selling vegetables online in Hyderabad at prices 10 per cent cheaper than those at supermarkets or the government&’s famous Rythu Bazaars.
“My open challenge is to show any place in the twin cities which sells better vegetables,” its founder and CEO Mr Suresh Iyer said.
A customer goes online and chooses a regular or medium basket, enough for a family of four for a week, or builds one&’s basket and gets the delivery on a pre-determined day of the week before 10.30 a.m. Other than credit cards, cash on delivery is also accepted.
Mr Iyer says, “Online booking is a must. We do not accept telephone orders, except from senior citizens. If a customer persists we explain the risk of us forgetting or causing a mismatch with another customer. They do understand.” 
He has other unconventional mantras. “If the service provided to a customer does not yield a profit after satisfying the customer, then there is no sense saying customer is king.” Today a customer got two snake gourds less. 
“It was in short supply or was bad. I messaged that the money would be refunded.” 
He grows vegetables with six farmers on a 20 acre farm at Vantimamidi, 33 kilometres away. Harvesting is done before sunset and moved to his warehouse in Secunderabad. The office kills any notion of e-commerce. Two tables, with two worn out computers, are surrounded by plastic chairs. They separate an almirah and a pedestal fan. Two vans outside deliver vegetables packed in plastic nets in modular baskets across Hyderabad.
Mr Iyer, 50, an electrical engineer from Osmania University was an advertising professional before joining a software company. During his visit to Texas ranches in 2011 he realised his passion for farming. “I returned home and resigned my job which was paying me Rs 1.5 lakh a month. Everyone called me a fool.”
He won’t say that he is proving them wrong, yet. “I have to reach the magic number of 600 customers from today&’s 300 to break even. The subsequent plan is multi-city franchises and 10,000 customers.” 
Why vegetables and not groceries or anything else? “Selling vegetables does not attract taxes,” he grins.
“The real challenge is to keep afloat for the next 6-12 months and we will be there. Actually it has to click, as I don’t have any other option,” he says with measured confidence.  "He knows it&’s vital as he has invested Rs 27 lakh and has a turnover of Rs 6.2 lakh.”
Have supermarkets felt his impact? “No. Many are not even aware. I just deal with a small miniscule part of the market.” He will sell one tonne a day when with 1,000 customers when government data states Hyderabad&’s daily vegetable tonnage is 800 tonnes worth Rs 2 crore.
“When I started I had 100 customers and I thought I will touch 600 in no time as I have plenty of friends. But only six friends are using my service. The others are net-savvy, but have not booked a vegetable basket even once. This was a shocker. It rankles me even now.” “The other thing is customers are not referring customers. They are happy, book week after week and don’t have complaints. They willingly put their testimonials with their pictures on my website, but don’t refer anyone. Incomprehensible!” he exclaimed.

alok kumar
NEW DELHI, 18 JUNE: The blow hot, blow cold relationship between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party struck a conciliatory note today with the latter saying it would welcome any move by the former to go to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections under the stewardship of Mr Rahul Gandhi.
The minister of state for agriculture and food processing and senior NCP leader, Mr Tariq Anwar, told The Statesman the NCP will abide by any decision to project the Congress vice president as the party’s face to lead the 2014 parliamentary polls as well as to project him as the prime ministerial candidate of UPA-III. "The NCP has a considered view on this issue that the Congress being the largest constituent of the UPA has every right to choose its prime ministerial candidate for the next elections,” Mr Anwar said. If the Congress decides about Rahul, the NCP will have no objections, he said. The NCP leader also confirmed that his party will contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with Congress at least in three states, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. In other states, he said the party is looking for alliances with other like-minded parties.
Welcoming the  decision of the JD-U to quit the NDA over the BJP’s decision to elevate Mr Narendra Modi, Mr Anwar said his party will have no inhibitions in joining hands with Mr Nitish Kumar in Bihar now. Denying differences with the Congress on any issue, Mr Anwar, who is also the NCP general secretary, said: “Now a coordination committee has been put in place which meets on regular  basis and it is functioning to our satisfaction. Whatever differences we have on issues we iron out through discussions.” Mr Anwar, however, clarified that his party is against the Centre’s intended move to push through the Food Security Bill via an ordinance. “The NCP is opposed to such an important legislation being brought into effect  by simply promulgating an ordinance. What is the hurry to adopt the ordinance route,” he asked. Asked about Mr Sharad Pawar’s chances of becoming Prime Minister, the NCP leader said as a UPA constituent the right to select the PM goes to the Congress, but in the event of the Congress failing to form a government and the choice of other like-minded political outfits falling on Mr Pawar, "he (Pawar) will not shirk from the responsibilities to lead the country”.
 Mr Anwar said Mr Pawar has all the attributes to become a Prime Minister but the numerical strength of his party would not permit it. “However, if other secular political outfits want him, he will not run away,” he added.

WASHINGTON, 18 JUNE: Spelling out his goal of a stable, non-sectarian and representative government in Syria, President Barack Obama today said the USA is ramping up support for both political and military opposition to the Assad regime.
“In terms of what my goals are, the goals are a stable, non-sectarian, representative Syrian government that is addressing the needs of its people through political processes and peaceful processes,” Mr Obama said.
“We’re not taking sides in a religious war between Shia and Sunni,” he said. “Really, what we’re trying to do is take sides against extremists of all sorts and in favour of people who are in favour of moderation, tolerance, representative government, and over the long-term, stability and prosperity for the people of Syria,” he said in an interview to PBS channel.  Noting that the USA has been helping the Syrian opposition along with its international partners, he said this includes the military opposition as well. “We’ve been assisting not only the political opposition but also the military opposition. So, there’s a counter-weight that can potentially lead to political negotiations ~ with the evidence of chemical weapons, what we’ve said is we’re going to ramp up that assistance,” Mr Obama said.
“And my hope continues to be, however, that we resolve this through some sort of political transition,” he said. pti

agence france-presse
BELO HORIZONTE, 18 JUNE: Nnamdi Oduamadi claimed a hat-trick as Nigeria shook off the jet lag to thrash minnows Tahiti 6-1 in their opening Confederations Cup game in Belo Horizonte on Monday.
The African champions only arrived in Brazil 36 hours before the game after a row over bonus payments, but they could even afford some wasteful finishing as they leapfrogged world champions Spain to the top of Group B.
It was a predictably chastening experience for Tahiti, ranked 138th in the world, but they were nonetheless able to celebrate when Jonathan Tehau headed in their first ever goal at a high-profile international event.
Tehau’s goal, early in the second half, trimmed Nigeria’s lead to 3-1 after a deflected Uwa Echiejile shot and a pair of goals from Oduamadi had put Nigeria in command.
However, the south Pacific islanders’ hopes of a famous comeback were dashed as Tehau put through his own goal before Oduamadi and Echiejile added further goals to give Stephen Keshi’s men a spring in their step ahead of Thursday’s crucial showdown with Uruguay.
A sparse crowd of just 20,187 made their way to the newly renovated Estadio Mineirao but they were vocal in their support of Tahiti, who registered the game’s first shot on target through Vincent Simon.
Fortune deserted the underdogs moments later, however.
After the ball bounced off referee Joel Aguilar, Echiejile launched a speculative shot that deflected off Tehau and captain Nicolas Vallar and ricocheted past Tahiti goalkeeper Xavier Samin. Oduamadi added two more, neatly side-stepping a pair of challenges and sweeping home in the 10th minute, before tapping in his second when Samin spilled a low cross from Ahmed Musa.
Nigeria made heavy work of putting the game to bed though, with Musa miskicking in front of an open goal before Anthony Ujah and Sunday Mba both allowed Samin to save when clean through on goal.
Tahiti had already seen their one professional player, Marama Vahirua, drive a shot narrowly over, and they threatened to make things interesting as Steevy Chong Hue headed wide from a Ricky Aitamai cross.
Musa miscued again from 12 yards early in the second half, before the goal that Tahiti had been threatening arrived in the 54th minute.
The honour fell to Tehau, who headed in a deep corner kick from Vahirua at the back post and then led his ecstatic team-mates in a canoe-paddling celebration.
The goal also sparked jubilation on the bench, coach Eddy Etatea leaping from the dug-out with his fists in the air.
But Tehau’s day took a turn for the worse in the 68th minute when he inadvertently toed the ball into his own goal to restore Nigeria’s three-goal advantage.
Oduamadi tucked in a cross from substitute Brown Ideye to complete his hat-trick in the 76th minute, with Echiejile adding a sixth shortly after as Tahiti’s reserves of resistance finally ran dry.

associated press
BRASILIA, 18 JUNE: Only one game into the Confederations Cup, and Brazil is already talking about a possible matchup with Spain. A day after the Spaniards enjoyed an easy victory over Uruguay in its opener, the Brazilian players couldn’t avoid talking about the World Cup champions.
Brazil and Spain first need to make sure they advance to the second round of the Confederations Cup, but Real Madrid left back Marcelo said it would be a "great match" if the teams end up playing each other in the World Cup warm-up competition. Defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo, who helped Bayern Munich eliminate Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions League earlier this year, even tried to offer some tips on how to play Spain.
Brazil, which hasn’t faced Spain in nearly 14 years, opened with a convincing 3-1 win over Japan on Saturday. Its next match is against Mexico, then it closes Group A against Italy.
 "We are not worried," Marcelo said. "We haven’t played against them in a long time, but if we have to play them, it won’t be a problem. We have to be prepared to play everybody and it won’t be different if it’s against them."
Spain is in Group B, so the teams can meet either in a semifinal or in a final if they advance past the group stage of the eight-nation tournament among continental champions.
Spain defeated Uruguay 2-1 on Sunday. "It’s not like Spain has already reached the final and is just waiting for us, the tournament has just started," Marcelo said. "We still have to play against Mexico and Italy. But if we do play them, I’m sure that it could be a great match."
Spain will play Tahiti on Thursday, then closes the group against Nigeria on Sunday.
The last time Brazil and Spain met was in 1999 in a friendly in Spain that ended in a scoreless draw. In eight matches between the countries’ senior squads, Brazil have won four times and Spain two.
 The teams drew twice. "We are talking about two national teams with a lot of quality," Luiz Gustavo said. "But to reach our goal of making it to the final we need to get past all these national teams, not only Spain." In the Champions League, Luiz Gustavo played twice against Barcelona, which has nine players in the Spanish squad that is playing at the Confederations Cup.
"There’s no recipe," the 25-year-old Brazilian said when asked about how to stop the Spaniards.

RIO DE JANEIRO, 18 JUNE: Japan are favourites to beat Italy in the Confederations Cup on Wednesday because of their Italian manager and the fact they have had more rest, according to Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli.
He believes Japan’s Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni’s familiarity with his compatriots might cause Italy problems.
"Japan will have the slight edge, I think, because they have an extra day of rest," said Prandelli. "Plus, Alberto knows us very well, he knows how we work. I expect him to prepare a trap for us. "From tonight, we will begin planning for the Japan game. I trust that he will come up with an interesting strategy against us," Prandelli was quoted as saying on www.fifa.com.
Italy have never lost to Japan but goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon knows they must improve to stand any chance of winning the Confederations Cup for the first time. Italy opened their account on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Mexico at the Maracana Stadium in Rio and face the Japanese in their second match in Recife on Wednesday.
"Success is being crowned champions and that is our objective," Buffon was quoted as saying by Globo on Monday. "You do that by paying attention to the details. We’ll certainly be better against Japan than we were in Sunday’s game."
Japan need to get points on the board after losing 3-0 to hosts Brazil in their opening game on Saturday.
"We take the field knowing that this is like a final for us," said Zaccheroni. "We will be giving it our all, because we know that if we lose it’s all over."afp

rajinder puri
After the announcement of the formal split between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal United (JD-U), the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is left with three alliance partners ~ the BJP, Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Mr Sharad Yadav, JD-U President, has resigned as National Convener of the NDA. Mr LK Advani continues to be the Chairman of this shrunken body. He reportedly contacted BJP President Mr Rajnath Singh after the split to point out that it was Mr Narendra Modi&’s elevation as Chairman of the BJP National Campaign Committee that had led to the split. What was the point of Mr Advani reiterating this obvious fact which every child knows? It can only be that it was stated as a complaint and a vindication of his opposition to Mr Modi&’s elevation. So, what will Mr Advani do next? Will he resign again or will he sulk as a dissident attempting to stall the party at every juncture?
Readers might recall that before Mr Advani had withdrawn his resignation, I had written that the political developments on the ground dictated that a split in the BJP was the natural and welcome option. A split was advocated in order to polarise the party on a genuine political issue. It is always better to split honestly and take the issue of discord to the public rather than continue with a hypocritical unity based upon dissidence and constant covert sabotage. Mr Advani failed to act then. Now, the logic of ground realities has driven him and his party sympathisers to confront the same hard decision they failed to take earlier due to lack of courage and conviction.
If Mr Advani did not deem the continuation of the NDA important, he should not have expressed his displeasure publicly in the first place. If he thinks it vitally important to the future of the BJP, he should take his opposition to its logical end. That is how honourable and principled politics should be conducted. It does not behoove a senior political leader to sulk and promote dissidence.
A few days ago, advising Mr Advani and his followers to split and join the proposed Federal Front, I wrote: “Both factions of the BJP would gain. Unfettered by dissidence, Mr Modi could exploit his enormous popularity at the polls, which his followers believe he possesses. Mr Advani would have the opportunity to test his belief that only inclusive politics can succeed in India by strengthening a Federal Front. Both Mr Advani and Mr Modi can test their beliefs. The public could judge. The nation would gain.”
This writer stands by his advice. The question is, will Mr Advani and his followers within the party stand by their beliefs?

The writer is a veteran journalist and cartoonist. He blogs at www.rajinderpuri.wordpress.com

OCCASIONAL NOTE

The success achieved by Lord Kitchener in Egypt adds to his already great reputation for statesmanship and for the possession of keen insight into the needs and aspirations of the common people. It would have been fortunate for India if Lord Kitchener had returned to this country as Viceroy. We should certainly in that event have been spared the Delhi “boons”, and the ryot would have found a sympathetic friend and a practical benefactor. Lord Kitchener&’s report, like the annual account formerly given by Lord Cromer of his stewardship, is obviously of great interest, and there is justice in the gibe of the Times in comparing it with the “slovenly belated hack-work called the Moral and Material Progress Report which is annually flung by the India Office at an unheeding Parliament.” If the affairs of India were presented to the British public in the manner in which the affairs of Egypt have been presented to them for many years past, there would be far greater interest displayed in India at Home, and less difficulty would be experienced in raising loans in the London market for reproductive purposes in this country.

NEWS ITEMS

MR TAGORE’S RECEPTION IN LONDON
Growth Of The National Spirit
London, June 17
Mr. Tagore held a reception of Indian students in Britain at the Criterion, at which 300 persons were present. Mrs. Naidu, the poetess, garlanding Mr. Tagore as a declaration of the love borne him by his young countrymen, said that that would help to further the ideal of consecrating their lives to the service of the Great Mother, to whom they all cried bande mataram. The national spirit in India was overcoming all distinctions of caste and creed, for Mahomedans, Hindus and Parsis were together in that room to express a common admiration for the great Indian.

BALKAN LEADERSHIP
Crisis Suddenly Arises
Austria Angry With Russia
Sequel To The Tsar&’s Telegram
London, June 17
While the replies of King Ferdinand and King Peter may be construed as an intimation that they acquiesce in the Tsar&’s arbitration, the actual situation is still regarded with considerable apprehension. The overthrow of the Servian Cabinet implies disapproval of any yielding on the part of Servia. The newspapers in Servia and Greece continue to print violent attacks upon Bulgaria, the Press of which replies with equal acerbity.
Newspapers in Vienna are perturbed by the tone of the Tsar&’s telegram to the Balkan Sovereigns, and have opened a campaign against any assumption by Russia of the supreme leadership of the Balkan States.

18 June, 1913

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 17 JUNE: Police arrested armed robbers who were trying to make their getaway on a motorbike after snatching valuables and injuring two youths following a desperate highway chase at Pragati Maidan late last night.
  Police said that four armed robbers on a motorbike stopped two youths on their bicycles near Choubhaga on Basanti Highway.
The duo, Hari Shankar Shaw and Rahul Shaw, were heading toward their flats in Nonadanga. The accused, armed with a pistol and a dagger, threatened them and asked them to hand over their valuables at gunpoint.
They had handed over their mobile phones and Rs 800 in cash.
When the accused were about to make their getaway on the motorbike, Hari caught one of the criminals who was riding  pillion and had a pistol.
Both of them fell to the ground. In a bid to free their associate one of the accused stabbed Hari on his back and right leg when he was trying to salvage his valuables.
They beat up Rahul and fled towards Bantala on the motorbike.  Within a few seconds a patrol team, led by Mr Saroj Ghosh, officer-in-charge of Pragati Maidan police station, reached the spot.
Police took Rahul in their car and began a chase for the four youths who were trying to flee at a breakneck speed on the Basanti Highway.  Mr Ghosh tipped off another patrolling team who approached from the opposite direction and the accused’s motorbike collided head on with the police’s patrolling van. They fell from the bike and Md Aziz (19), one of the accused, tried to open fire at the policemen.He was caught immediately, said a senior police officer. Another accused, Md Zamir (18), was also arrested but two others managed to flee. Police seized the motorbike, the firearm and recovered Rs 800 in cash from them.
Police raided Tiljala areas at 3.30 a.m. today and arrested Amin Ali Gazi (19) and Abdul Sajjad (19). Police said that the area remains deserted after 9 p.m. and this the reason for frequent patrolling. The measure was taken to avoid any untoward incident on the stretch of the Highway  that comes under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police.

statesman news service             
NEW DELHI, 17 JUNE: Moving forward from the passenger-friendly e-ticketing initiative, the Railways from next month, will be launching a pilot project of ticket booking through non-internet-based mobile phones.   
The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking of the ministry of railways, will be launching the project.  
This will enable people using non-Internet-based mobile phones to easily access railway ticketing services through SMS/IVRS/USSD. The scheme is user-friendly, secure and eco-friendly, as no printout is required.  
The railway minister had made an announcement on the launch of ticketing through mobile phones in the Railway Budget this year.  
There will be a dedicated number on which text messages can be sent, which in turn would eliminate need of Internet at any stage ~ booking, payment, cancellation.
However, one will need to register the mobile number as well as one&’s bank account and one time password issued by it with the IRCTC for authorisation of payment.  The passenger has to type the train number, destination, journey date, class and passenger details like name, age and gender on the SMS box.  
The sender will receive transaction ID and then make payment through sending another SMS by typing PAY followed by the transaction ID, MMID as received from the bank and password.  
On successful booking of a ticket, a message will be sent to the user by IRCTC which will suffice as valid authority to travel along with a photo ID card in original.  
Cancellation of tickets can also be done through the cancellation option.  
The scheme is on a pilot basis and will not be available during the 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for booking ARP/Tatkal/general tickets.

IRCTC&’s pilot project will enable people using non-Internet-based mobile phones to easily access railway ticketing services. The scheme is user-friendly, secure and eco-friendly, as no printout is required

CHENNAI, 17 JUNE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India would convey its views on alleged attempts by political parties in Sri Lanka to repeal the 13th Amendment to its Constitution, after considering its implications. “While this is a matter on which a decision will be taken by various political parties within Sri Lanka, we will certainly consider its implications and make known to the Sri Lankan authorities our views in the matter,” the PM said in a letter to DMK chief M Karunanidhi. Mr Singh said the Centre had consistently worked for all communities in Sri Lanka to find their rightful place in the country. pti

press trust of india
HYDERABAD, 17 JUNE: Twenty-two legislators belonging to TRS and BJP, along with two Independent MLAs associated with them, were today suspended from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for two days for constantly disrupting proceedings of the House on Telangana statehood issue.
Of the total suspended members, 17 belonged to Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), three to BJP and an Independent each associated with these parties. These members stayed put in the Well of the House as soon as the proceedings began this morning and demanded the House adopt a resolution seeking statehood for Telangana region.
The House was adjourned within minutes as the din continued and Speaker Nadendla Manohar called a meeting of floor leaders to break the deadlock.
At the end of a three-hour meeting, the House resumed but the TRS and BJP members continued to disrupt the proceedings.
Finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy appealed to the protesting members to let the House function as there was important business to be transacted in the next five days.
“There are 12 important Bills that have to be passed and we also need to discuss the reports submitted by the Departmentally-Related Standing Committees on the Budget proposals. At the end of it we have to pass the Appropriation Bill. Hence, I request the Opposition MLAs to let the House run smoothly,” the finance minister appealed. His appeal, however, fell on deaf ears as the TRS and the BJP MLAs raised slogans pressing for their demand.
The Speaker then asked the finance minister to move a motion for suspension of the agitating members.
The motion was carried through voice vote and the 22 MLAs were suspended from the House for two days.
Marshals were called in to bodily lift the suspended members from the House as they refused to move out.
The CPI MLAs staged a walkout protesting the police crackdown
on Telangana activists during the "Chalo Assembly" programme last Friday. The CPM, too, registered its protest on the issue.

CHENNAI, 17 JUNE: In a dramatic turn of events, Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK today decided to withdraw its fifth candidate for Rajya Sabha elections in favour of CPI as DMK and DMDK entered the fray to fight for the sixth seat.
Lady luck virtually smiled on CPI candidate D Raja who succeeded in enlisting the support of ruling AIADMK as Jayalalithaa agreed to withdraw the candidature of K Thangamuthu who was nominated for the fifth seat.
The decision came following a request from CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, former general secretary A B Bardhan, and state secretary D Pandian, to support Mr Raja. Earlier, Miss Jayalalithaa had expressed her party’s inability to help the CPI and nominated five of her party candidates for the election. With these political developments, the ruling AIADMK could win four seats and the CPI could get the fifth. The fight is now between DMK’s sitting MP, Ms Kanimozhi, and DMDK’s Mr Elangovan, say observers.
Affirming AIADMK’s support, O Panneerselvam and Natham Viswanathan flanked Raja when he filed his nomination.
Meanwhile, Vijayakanth’s DMDK has also entered the fray as party treasurer Mr A R Elangovan filed his nomination for the 27 June biennial election to six Rajya Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. sns

moumita kundu reports on an art-oriented seminar at Burdwan University
VERY recently, Burdwan University&’s Department of English organised a seminar under the University Grants Commission&’s Departmental Research Support, which was coordinated by Professor Deb Narayan Bandhopadhyay and inaugurated by vice-chancellor Smritikumar Sarkar.
   Two renowned professors from the University of Louisville — Kiki Petrosino, Department of English —  and Phillip Miller, Hite Art Institute, attended the event, where the former spoke about her desire and literary life and offered a presentation, “Stride the Wreckage”. With many citations and quotations, she tried to put forward her theories on desire and constant striving towards its fulfillment.
   She said, “When you want impossible things, that is the beginning of desire,” and explained how this desire could be met through literary activity, for example poetry. She read some poems from her collection, Fort Red Border, and put it across that anxiety — which stemmed from the tension between desire and its fulfillment — could be alleviated by poetry. It is true that creative practice or literary engagements can shield us from spiritual disintegration that the present day lifestyle brings in its wake.
   Miller&’s presentation, “Necessary Action”, dealt with the innovative concept of making art an integral part of life and using it to re-energise one&’s faculties. Being well-versed with the Bhagawad Gita, he tried to link Western art with traditional Indian philosophies, citing the holy scriptures as and when required.
   The secret of form was formless  — a philosophy he demonstrated with the stupendously novel idea of a scroll which he painted, frame by frame, in terms of lunar cycle movements. According to him, this art form is replicatory of the fragmented nature of life itself. He echoed Heinrich Robert Zimmer&’s philosophy that art was not part of life but was life itself — something he not only professed but practised. This is also revealed in his sketchbook where he has worked with patterns of lines and made forms emanate from three-dimensional figures, linear outlines and geometric patterns. The intricacy of these sketches was extremely thought-provoking. Everyone at the seminar witnessed varying degrees of creativity — from poetry to painting.

press trust of india
LONDON, 17 JUNE: A disciplined Sri Lanka set up a semi-final date with India in the ICC Champions Trophy as they knocked out holders Australia by posting a 20-run win, with veteran Mahela Jayawardene caressing his way to an unbeaten 84-run knock here today.
Jaywardene made his runs off 81 balls to propel Sri Lanka to 253 for eight in their 50 overs, leaving Australia with a near impossible task of chasing down the target in 29.1 overs to ensure a semi-final berth at the Kennington Oval.
Australia couldn’t achieve the target in the required overs and were eventually all out for 233 in 42.3 overs.
During the course of his innings, the elegant Jayawardene crossed 11,000 runs in this form of the game, the eighth cricketer to do so.
In Sri Lanka’s bowling department, Nuwan Kulasekara was the pick of the lot as he finished with impressive figures of three for 42 in his nine overs.
Going into the match, Sri Lanka’s recent success against Australia provided them the psychological edge.
In the last 10 ODIs played between the two sides, Sri Lanka have won six while they drew the ODI series 2-2 earlier this year in Australia.
A last-wicket stand of 41 runs between Clint McKay (30) and Xavier Doherty (15 not out) frustrated the Lankans before Tillakaratne Dilshan pulled off a brilliant catch off his own bowling to seal the issue in his side’s favour.
The move not to bring back strike bowler Lasith Malinga, with Australia on the verge of defeat, was surprising. But Dilshan’s blinder ensured it was Sri Lanka, and not New Zealand in the last-four stage.
Meanwhile, England will take on South Africa in the other semi-final at The Oval on 19 June.

agence france-presse
SYDNEY, 17 JUNE: Captain Michael Clarke says that it will be difficult for errant batsman David Warner (in photo) to hold his place in the Australian side for next month’s first Ashes Test after his bar room punch-up with England’s Joe Root.
Writing in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph today, he said that Warner’s actions were an unwelcome distraction at the beginning of a four-and-a-half month tour of England and he must work hard to win back the trust of his team-mates and Australian fans. The explosive opener was fined Aus$11,500 ($11,000) and suspended until the start of the Ashes series by Cricket Australia on Thursday for the incident during the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Warner will miss the rest of title-holders Australia’s involvement in the tournament and their two warm-up matches before he is again available for the first Test against England at Nottingham, which starts on 10 July.
But Clarke said that it would be difficult for opener Warner to keep his place, given what has happened.
“David has been punished and must now suffer the consequences,” he wrote in his newspaper column, adding: “He will miss most of the Champions Trophy and our two lead-up games before the first Test at Trent Bridge, making it difficult for him to retain his place in the Test side. David has accepted the punishment and knows he must work hard for the remainder of the tour to win back the trust of his team-mates and Australia’s cricket-loving public.”  Clarke, who has been away from Australia’s one-day team for treatment on a troublesome back, said that they could not afford a repeat of such incidents if they were to regain the Ashes.
“I have made it clear to David that his behaviour is not acceptable for an Australian cricketer,” he said.
“The other five guys who were out drinking with David also know they made a poor decision. If you haven’t got a reason to celebrate you shouldn’t be out at 2:30am and you shouldn’t be drinking with the opposition who have just beaten you,” he added.
Clarke said that sent out the wrong message, adding: “As proud Australians it should hurt when you lose.
There is an enormous difference between being on the winning side of an Ashes series and losing. I know which side of that ledger I want to be on come the end of August. He (Warner) has let the team down and all of those at home who love and support Australian cricket.”

press trust of india
NEW DELHI, 16 JUNE: Central government employees are in for a disappointment as the Centre is currently not considering any move to raise the retirement age to 62 years.
A senior official in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, which acts as a nodal department for personnel matters, said there was no such proposal to increase the age for superannuation of government employees.
Recent media reports said the ministry has written to Prime Minister’s Office for raising the retirement age and sought the Union Cabinet’s nod for the purpose. There are about 50 lakh Central government employees working in various departments across the country.
Officials in the ministry said increasing retirement age requires a detailed consultation with all stakeholders and discussion with the Finance Ministry.
Without the finance ministry’s permission, the matter cannot not be processed, they said.
At a time when the government is working on austerity drive by cutting expenditure and putting in efforts to rein in current account deficit (CAD), the move to increase retirement age will also burden the exchequer’s kitty, they said.
The CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency, had touched a record high of 6.7 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2012-13 on the back of rising oil and gold imports.
The retirement age for a majority of Central government employees is 60 years. However, the age for retirement in case of teachers and scientists is 62 years. The age of superannuation in states, like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam, is also 60 years.
In a related news, the government has decided to further increase the retirement age of specialists in scientific and medical fields (scientists) to 64 years. “A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the purpose,” said another personnel ministry official.