Somdev and Rahul wins historic gold in front of packed stadium

New Delhi, 10 October : Tripura boy Somdev Devvarman ensured that tennis contributes in India's swelling gold medal tally as he grabbed the much-awaited yellow metal, pipping Australia's Greg Jones 6-4, 6-2 in the men's singles final and Kolkata's Rahul Banerjee also won gold in the men's individual recurve eventof the Commonwealth Games here today.

Somdev, CWG top seed and world number 97th, was carrying millions of hopes on his shoulders after established stars Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza failed to strike gold. He has been the face of India on the singles circuit and yet again gave India a memorable moment to cherish. While Rahul Banerjee bagged the gold by beating his Canadian opponent.
Somdev said after the match, "People underestimate how tough it is to get a gold medal. I worked really hard this week. I am really happy. It has been one of the best things in my career for sure to win a gold medal in front of this kind of crowd."
Meanwhile, another Bengali archer Jayanta Talukdar too won bronze in the men's individual recurve event. န Photos : AFP

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BD President calls for turning IT as weapon of development
UNB, Dhaka, 10 October : Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman on Sunday called for turning the information technology (IT) as weapon of development through using its vast potential in the country’s development activities.
“Vast potential of information technology (IT) will have to be used in our national development,” he said while inaugurating the network of Banglalion WiMAX at Hotel Sheraton in the city. The WiMAX network of Banglalion, a high speed internet network, has been extended to the seven divisional headquarters across the country.

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Global economic recovery is fragile,says Pranab Mukherjee

PTI, Lalit K Jha, Washington, 10 October : Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the global economic recovery is fragile and cautioned that emerging economies may not be as resilient in the face of another crisis.
"Countries are recovering at different rates. Growth is well below potential. And the recovery is fragile. There is a constant danger of recovery being derailed by unexpected shocks," he said in his address to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Development Committee Meeting. He further cautioned that the world economy is passing through a lot of uncertainty. The financial and economic crisis is yet to run its full course and economies have yet to fully recover from its after-effects, he added.
"Through coordinated action, we were able to avert a prolonged recession ...The prospects are, however, full of uncertainties. Recovery continues across the world, but it is uneven," he said.

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Pranab Mukherjee wins "Finance Minister of Asia" award
PTI, New Delhi, 10 October : Pranab Mukherjee has won this year's Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award given by London-based daily newspaper Emerging Markets.
This is the second time Mukherjee has been bestowed with the honour. He was rated as the best Finance Minister in the world in 1984, a government statement said today. "Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has won this year's award for Finance Minister of the Year for Asia. This year's award is based on nominations from public and private sector economists, analysts, bankers, investors and other experts," the release said.

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PM for reinvigorate TCB to free market system to syndicate

BSS, Dhaka, 10 October : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government has already taken steps to reinvigorate the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to free the market system from the clutches of illegal trade syndicate.
"It would not be possible to revive the bazaar system from the clutches of syndicate without strengthening TCB," she said during a meeting with the chairman and members of Privatization Commission here this morning.

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India's oldest police vet' Bisweswar Chatterjee passes away
PTI, New Delhi, 10 October : Bisweswar Chatterjee, the country's oldest police veteran, passed away at AIIMS here after a brief illness. He was 95.
A member of the 1940 batch of Indian Police -- the British Raj precursor to IPS-- along with legendary spymaster Ram Nath Kao, he had served in the Intelligence Bureau and headed the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the crucial post-1962 War period for a decade.
After his retirement in 1974, he devoted time to social work and was a founder of Satyanarayan Temple at Tigri in south Delhi. He was Chairman of Raisina Bengali School for over three decades and was also associated with the Indian Mountaineering Federation.

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S Andaman Police cautions Islanders against imposters
Port Blair, 10 October : Andaman and Nicobar Police today cautioned residents of remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands against a gang of imposters who are cheating innocent people.
“Recently we have arrested two members of a gang of cheats who had been posing as goldsmiths and polishers of precious metals and thereby was cheating unsuspecting clients of their gold ornaments,” Dr. P Karunakaran the Superintendent of Police of South Andaman District informed media today.

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Tendulkar is d best cricketer in the world : Sourav Ganguly

Kolkata, 10 October : Former India captain Sourav Ganguly yesterday said Sachin Tendulkar is the best cricketer in the world.
Having played together for years till he retired from international cricket, Ganguly said: "I haven't seen Sir Donald Bradman playing, but I have seen Sachin. To me, he himself is a milestone, and the best cricketer in the world." The Bengal ace said Tendulkar, who has been bestowed with the the ICC Cricketer of the Year is the role model for many. "He is 37 now and is still going strong. He has proved that performance is the last word in cricket," Ganguly said.
The Big Three of Indian cricket - Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman - are difficult to replace. "After they retire, the gap can be filled in. But it would be difficult to replace them. These players are a class apart," he said. န File Photo

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Trinamool Congress helping Maoists: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

Krishnagar, 9 October : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Saturday criticised the Trinamool Congress for demanding the withdrawal of joint forces from Maoist-hit areas of the state, alleging the party was helping the Maoist.
“We will defeat the Maoists as we have defeated the Naxals during the 1970s. The people of West Midnapore have stood up against the Maoists. It is taking time to defeat them as they are getting help from the Trinamool Congress,” Bhattacharjee said at a rally at Krishnagar in Nadia district. “Trinamool Congress is demanding the withdrawal of joint forces. They are so sympathetic to the Maoists. They are not willing to let the forces do their job,” he added.
Bhattacharjee, without naming Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, said, “the Trinamool Congress has a leader who never speaks truth… She always speaks lies. Few days ago, she said someone was trying to kill her and made a truck driver suffer,” he said. န Photo : Pranab Debnath

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Maoists kill two CPIM workers at Balarampur in Purulia dist
Purulia, 9 October : Two CPI(M) workers were shot dead by suspected Maoists today at Balarampur in Maoist-hit Purulia district.
According to police, a group of armed Maoists asked Kalipada Chakraborty and Sukumar Chakraborty to come out of their houses in Tilai village and shot them from close range at about 11.30pm. Both of them were active CPI(M) workers, police said, adding the ultras left the bodies beside a jungle near the village.

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BJP not in favour of Jt forces withdrawal from Junglemahal
Kolkata, 9 October : West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party president Rahul Sinha today said their party was not in favour of withdrawing Central forces from the Junglemahal areas.
''Our party was not in favour to withdraw the joint forces from there and the forces should stay for another few days, but the CPI(M)-led camps should be dismantled from the Junglemahal areas immediately,'' Sinha told in a press conference here. He said a delegation of the BJP parliamentarian teams would visit Lalgarh after the Durga Puja and assess the situation and would submit a report to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in this regards.

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17 dead, Bangladesh homes flooded after Three-day rain
EDT, Dhaka, 9 October : Three days of incessant rains in Bangladesh have left at least 17 people dead and 41 fishermen missing across the southern coast, news reports said Saturday.
Tens of thousands of people are stranded as waters triggered by a tidal surge have inundated thousands of homes in the low-lying coastal zone, said the Bengali-language Kaler Kantha daily, quoting officials and witnesses. Worst affected are southern coastal districts, and 15 deaths have occurred in the region, the newspaper said.
The English-language Daily Star reported that two teenagers had died in the capital, Dhaka, after a wall collapsed on them. Kaler Kantha said at least 41 fishermen, who went to the sea days ago, were missing Saturday.
Giasuddin Ahmed, chief government administrator in the coastal town of Cox's Bazar, said that at least 10,000 islanders had taken refuge at cyclone shelters - raised concrete buildings -as the tidal surge from the Bay of Bengal inundated their homes. He said they were providing the islanders with food. Officials in other parts of the region could not be reached for comment Saturday.

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Eight killed as Rajdhani Ex hits autorickshaw in Katihar Dist

PTI, Katihar (Bihar), 9 October : At least seven persons were today killed when Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express rammed into an autorickshaw carrying them at an unmanned level crossing in Katihar district today, a senior railway official said.
The train running at a speed between 90 and 100 kmph hit the autorickshaw as the auto driver tried to cross the tracks at Khaira under Dandakhora police station, Divisional Commercial Manager, North Frontier Railway (Katihar), A K Sinha told PTI from the spot. Bodies of the victims, all passengers of the autorickshaw, lay scattered on both sides of the tracks as the train went ahead and stopped only at Katihar railway station, he said.
The NF Railway authorities and civil authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident. န Photo : PTI

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Trinamool Congress to complain to WB Gov'nor about CPM
Kolkata, 9 October : Trinamool Congress today said it would complain to West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan and seek his intervention to look into the "attacks" on party chief Mamata Banerjee's rally in South 24 Parganas district.
"We will complain to the Governor against the CPI(M) which is playing with human life and has created jungle raj," senior Trinamool Congress Partha Chatterjee said while referring to "Marxist terror" at the party chief's rally at Netrabazar yesterday.

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Jatiya Party chairman H M Ershad favours 'War Crime Trial

Dhaka, 9 October : Former military strongman and chairman of Jatiya Party, Hussein Muhammad Ershad has voiced support in favour of executing the war crimes trial.
"We are in favour of a proper trial. We should be sincere enough to ensure that it does not end up as a media trial." Ershad, was addressing the inauguration of a series of view-exchange meetings with district committee presidents and general secretaries at his Banani office on Saturday. The chief of Jatiya Party, one of the main allies of the ruling government, said that the punishment of war criminals should be exemplary.
Claiming to have taken initiatives to reintroduce democracy in the country, the former military dictator said, "Democracy was reestablished on 10 November, 1986. Since then no other military strongman has emerged. "

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Bomb hurled at marketplace in Meghalaya, Seven injured
PTI, Shillong, 9 October : At least seven persons were injured when some unidentified persons hurled a bomb in the busy main market in Tura in Meghalaya this evening, creating panic among puja shoppers.
The bomb, stuffed with splinters, was hurled at a bakery in the marketplace in West Garo Hills district from an auto rickshaw around 6.30 pm, police said. Four of the injured were admitted to hospital, where the condition of one of them, Arun Rai, was stated to be critical. He would be referred to Guwahati. Three others were released after first aid.

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City welcomes Canterbury Arch Bishop amid tight security
UNI, Kolkata, 9 October : Archbishop of Canterbury, Head of Church, England, Reverend Rowan Williams arrived here at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport today morning on a three-day visit.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Sanjay Wadvani received the Bishop at the NSCBI airport amid tight security. The Bishop and his entourage will visit the Mother House later in the afternoon. From there, he would head straight to St John's Diocesan Girl's High School where a special prayer will be held in his presence. Tomorrow morning, he would be visiting city hospitals. In the evening a grand welcome would be accorded to him at the St Paul's Cathedral in presence of Governor M K Narayanan.

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Rains badly affected pre-Durga Puja moods in North East

IANS, Agartala, Guwahati, 9 October : Medium to heavy rains over the past three days have badly affected life in most parts of the northeastern region in the run-up to the Durga Puja festival, beginning next week.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre officials in Guwahati, a depression formed over west central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal earlier this week had moved to northeast India and Bangladesh Friday. "Under its impact, rain and thundershowers occurred at most places in northeast India during the past two days," the officials said, adding that the depression was expected to be dissolved by Saturday evening.

Preparations for the Durga Puja celebrations have been adversely affected due to the rainfall and most puja organisers, businessmen and revellers are worried over the late monsoon rain. "Our pre-puja business is tremendously affected due to the heavy rains as most people remained indoors due to the showers," said Sadip Saha, a cloth trader in Agartala.
The agriculturists also foresee adverse effect on the winter crops due to the heavy rains. "Large quantities of crops ready for harvesting were submerged in most parts of the plains and low lands in Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya due to the rains," said an official of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
In Mizoram, incessant rains have created cracks on the surface leading to damage in many houses in Mamit township on the Mizoram-Tripura border and Ngopa village on the Mizoram-Manipur border in western Mizoram. "Many families have been displaced and more than 60 houses and churches have been damaged due to the cracks," Mizoram relief and revenue department officials told reporters in Aizawl.
Reports from different places of the mountainous state said that the downpour has also led to massive landslides in many places. န Photos : Parthajit Dutta

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BD Commerce Minister to sign border hat deal with India on 21

UNB, Dhaka, 8 October : Amid recent diplomatic breakthrough on trade issues with India, a Bangladesh business delegation led by Commerce Minister Faruk Khan will leave here New Delhi on 20 October on a four-day visit aiming at closer, mutually beneficial economic ties.
Discussions during the visit are likely to dominate a number of issues including formal inauguration of border `hat’ (market), removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, duty-free access to Indian market, further reduction of the number of items from India’s negative list, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and investment, officials said.
Meanwhile, a number of deals relating to investment, border `hat’ and removal of trade barriers are likely to be inked during the visit.
Leaders of the FBCCI, BGMEA, DCCI, BKMEA, MCCI, CCCI, IBCCI and other business bodies are included in the 22-member delegation who will visit New Delhi. န Photo : AFP

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Dola Banerjee & other archers win gold in women’s recurve

IANS, New Delhi, 8 October : India’s women archers struck gold in the recurve team event of the Commonwealth Games on Friday and attributed their success to the rigorous eight-hour daily training for the last one and a half years.
This was also the country’s first Commonwealth Games gold from the sport, which made its return to the Games after a gap of 28 years. The Indian trio of Dola Banerjee, Deepika Kumari and Bombayala Devi bagged the gold edging out tough opponents England 207-206 in a nail-biting finish. The English needed a perfect ten from the last shot to come on top but managed only an eight. Earlier in the day, India carved out an emphatic 213-185 win over Malaysia in the semifinal at the Yamuna Sports Complex.The archers said they held their nerve towards the end and were also helped by a stroke of luck.
“There is a lot of luck involved in archery and today it was on our side. We were lucky to scrape through. But we played consistent throughout the tournament and that is why are here. Our one and a half years of rigorous training has paid off,” said Kolkata's Dola, the seniormost in the team and the 2007 World Cup final winner. READ BBC REPORT န Photo : AFP

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CPI(M) branch committee secretary shot dead by Maoists
IANS, Kolkata, 8 October : A CPI(M) leader was shot dead by Maoists in West Midnapore district Friday evening, police said.
“Ranjit Duley, CPI(M) branch committee secretary for Silda area in Jhargram, was shot dead this evening near Orbonda village, while he was returning from the market,” said Jhargram Superintendent of Police Praveen Tripathi. “Duley was returning home when a gang of two-three Maoists riding on a motorbike shot him from point-blank range,” he said.

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Deutsche Welle-Radio launches FM news in Bangladesh
Radioandmusic.com, Mumbai, 8 October : Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, has officially launched DWRADIO/Bengali on FM in Bangladesh, making it available to listeners in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur daily between 8:00 and 8:30 am and 8:00 and 8:30 pm.
DW-RADIO programming is broadcast via Bangladesh Betar’s FM network: 97.6 MHz in Dhaka, 105.4 MHz in Chittagong, 105.0 MHz in Sylhet, 102.0 MHz in Khulna, 105.0 MHz in Rajshahi and 105.4 MHz in Rangpur... READ FULL STORY

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Tripura's Somdev Devvarman in men singles final of tennis

PTI, New Delhi, 8 October : Top seed Somdev Devvarman assured India at least a silver medal in the tennis competition of the Commonwealth Games by storming into the men's singles final with a straight set win over Australia's Matthew Ebden here today.
Tripura boy Somdev, ranked 97th, outplayed third seed and world number 165 Ebden, 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 11 minutes in the men's singles semifinals at the Centre Court of the R K Khanna Tennis stadium.
His next opponent will also be an Australian as the other semifinal is an all-Australian affair between second seed Peter Luczak and fifth seed Greg Jones. Unlike the previous matches, the semifinal featured long rallies but Somdev had strong enough legs and stamina to outlast his opponent. န Photo : PTI

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Tripura govt to hold polls with 50 percent quota for women
IANS, Agartala, 8 October : Tripura is the first state in northeastern India where elections to the urban local bodies would be held with 50 percent of seats reserved for women, officials said here Friday.
"Except Tripura, no state among the eight northeastern states has amended the law to reserve 50 percent of seats for the women in urban local bodies," Gobinda Chandra Bhattacharjee, secretary of the state election commission, told IANS. The politically important elections to the 15 "nagar panchayats" (urban local bodies) across Tripura and for the Agartala Municipal Council would be held in the second or third week of December.

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Inclement weather kills 6,submerges Bangladesh coastline

BSS, Dhaka, 8 October : At least six people were killed because of inclement weather as the depression in Bay of Bengal roughened the sea inundating most areas of the country's southwestern coastlines.
Officials and local residents said two people were killed as a tornado lashed parts of Barguna and Patuakhali districts also leaving scores injured while the other deaths were caused by drowning, collapse of houses and cold. They said a five-year old girl child drowned in Barguna, two women died in cold when they were drenched in incessant rainfall and swelled water in Bhola where another man died as his house collapsed due to pressures of gushing waters.

According to the reports the tornado leveled over 300 houses in several villages while the swelled seawater submerged most parts of the entire southwestern coastlines. The local fishing businesses reported that at least three fishermen were feared drowned as three fishing trawlers capsized though 23 others onboard were rescued by boats nearby.
Barguna district fishing trawlers association reported that they could establish contacts with 27 missing seagoing small boats as they took refuge in Indian shorelines with some 360 fishermen and crew onboard.
The met office earlier asked "all fishing boats and trawlers" over the North Bay and deep sea to stay in shelter in shore till further notice while it kept in force the local cautionary signal number 3 in a scale of 10 for the three seaports of Mongla in southwestern coast and Chittagong and Cox's Bazar in the southeast.
The BSS correspondents from southwestern districts said the swelled waters, infuriated further by the new moon, breached embankments, washed away homes and fishing enclosures, inundated roads and knocked down pylons and trees and left thousands homeless in the region.
The met office in its second special weather bulletin of the day, issued here this afternoon, said the low over the northwest bay and adjoining West Bengal-Bangladesh coast moved further towards northeastward direction. န Photos : UNB, BSS

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Second ODI cricket washed out
Dhaka, 8 October : Rain has forced the second one-day international between Bangladesh and New Zealand to be abandoned.
Persistent rain in Dhaka led to the outfield becoming unplayable and with no signs of an improvement in the weather the match was soon lost.

Match officials held a final pitch inspection at 11am local time but it quickly became clear that the match could not go ahead.
Bangladesh are 1-0 up in the five-match series following their nine-run victory in Mirpur on Tuesday. The third ODI is due to take place in Mirpur on Monday. န Photo : Reuters

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Upazila chairman killed & Mayor, Journalists injured by AL
UNB, Natore, 8 October : An upazila chairman was killed and 29 others, including pourashava mayor and journalists, were injured in an attack allegedly by the activists of Awami League (AL) at Bonpara in Boraigram upazila on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Sanaullah Nur Babu (35), Chairman of Boraigram upazila and also president of pourashava BNP. Local BNP sources said as part of party’s central programme the BNP activists, led by Babu, brought out a procession from upazila parishad premises at about 11:30am. As the procession reached Bonpara Bazar, the AL activists swooped on the procession, attacked the opposition activists, leaving 25 people injured.

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Rail services in Indian northeastern states restored partially

IANS, Silchar, 8 October : Rail services between the northeastern states of Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam and the rest of India were restored partially Thursday after 114 days of disruptions, a railway official here said.
The train services were suspended June 15 following heavy landslides caused by incessant rains and damage to tracks. "The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has resumed direct train services between Lumding in southern Assam and Agartala again. However, the authority has decided to suspend the running of the special daily express train between Lumding and Silchar due to some technical reasons," a NFR spokesman told reporters. The metre gauge railway line from Guwahati passes through southern Assam's mountainous North Cachar Hills district connecting landlocked Tripura's capital Agartala and parts of Manipur and Mizoram with the rest of India.
According to a senior Tripura government official, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier asked Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar to personally ensure regular delivery of food grain, fuel and other essential items to the northeastern states. န File Photo

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Pranab Mukherjee hopeful of taming inflation down to 6%
Lalit K Jha, PTI, Washington, 8 October : Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hoped that the steps taken by the government and those by the Reserve Bank of India would bring the inflation down to six percent by the end of this financial year.
"I do hope it would be possible for us to do and we can end the financial year with an inflationary rate around six percent," Mukherjee said here, expressing his concerns with inflationary pressures on food items.

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Arunachal state to constitute special Tiger Protection Force

PTI, Itanagar, 8 October : The Arunachal Pradesh government has proposed to set up a 112-member special tiger protection force (TPF) for Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) to protect the big cat's declining population.
"The TPF would immensely help in protecting the big cats and containing poaching," conservator of forest (wildlife and biodiversity) M K Palit said here today.
The declining tiger population of 14 in 2006 against 61 as shown by the 2001-02 census was disputed as the census carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India was done in selected areas of the tiger reserve, he said. The next census is due this month, he added.
The Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district, home to a sizable number of tigers, has been appreciated by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, he said.

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Rabindra 'University' and 'Academy' to be set up in Bangladesh

PM asks to complete preparations to celebrate Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary
UNB, Dhaka, 5 October : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said a Rabindra University and a Rabindra Academy will be established in Bangladesh for higher studies and research on Bishwa Kabi Rabindra Nath Tagore.
She said the government is also contemplating to set up a Bangladesh Bhaban at Shanti Niketon in West Bengal (India) to provide housing facilities to Bangladeshis studying there. The Prime Minister made the disclosures while presiding over the first meeting of the National Committee for celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Bishwa Kabi Rabindra Nath Tagore on 25 Baishakh 1418 at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Hasina directed the authorities concerned to complete all necessary preparations to make of the programmes of celebration a success. According to the Bangladesh-India joint communiqué issued during the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Delhi visit in January, the two countries will jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. န Photo : UNB

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CSC is under consideration by India : Dr Srikumar Banerjee
PTI, Mumbai, 5 October : India is considering becoming a signatory to the international convention on nuclear damage, and the Department of Atomic Energy is providing relevant information to the Centre in this regard, a top nuclear scientist said today. "India becoming signatory to Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which has not yet come into force, is under consideration, and we are in the process of providing information to the government," Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman, Dr Srikumar Banerjee said.

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Documentary on Tagore to be screened at Indian HC in BD Dhaka, 5 October : Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, Indian High Commission, Dhaka is organizing presentation of documentaries on Rabindranath Tagore `Bhuvan Bhara Sur` and `Rabindra Sangeet` by Md Anisur Rahman on Friday at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the city. Anisur Rahman was awarded the biennial ‘Rabindra Purashkar’ by the Rabindra Parishad of Patna, Bihar, in May 2004 for his contribution to Tagore's music and literature. Documentary film on his singing and views of Tagore songs - Bhuban Bhara Shur (Melodies of the Soul) - released in March 2009 will be screened by the Centre on Friday along with a short recital of Tagore songs by Anisur Rahman.

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Andaman and Nicobar to have runways every 100 miles

PTI, Port Blair, 5 October : After Port Blair, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are now set to have full-length 'all weather and all aircraft' runways after every 100 miles, an official said. "Every 100 miles or so you will find an airfield capable of operating all aircrafts (which could include commercial ones) in all-weather conditions," Commander-in-Chief of the Islands D K Joshi said. Presently only Port Blair has a full-fledged runway capable of operating all kinds of aircraft but considering the height of a hill on the eastern side, it's a uni-directional airstrip. However, it's planned to be made bi-directional soon. The runways in Car Nicobar, Shibpur and Campbell Bay are also proposed to be upgraded into full-length runways. Meanwhile, Defence officials said the Taj Group is setting up a venture to boost tourism in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, even as corporates are flocking with major investments.

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India's Bengali archers dominate proceedings on CWG' day one

PTI, New Delhi, 4 October : The wind changed its course at the Yamuna Sports Complex in the eastern fringes of the capital, but that did not break India's rhythm as the recurve archers adjusted to the condition to dominate the ranking round on the opening day of their event at the 19th Commonwealth Games here.
However, the ride wasn't so smooth for the compound archers as they had to fight it out against some of the best.
Rahul Banerjee and Jayanta Talukdar occupied the top two positions after returning scores of 679 points and 676 after two rounds of 36 arrows over a distance of 70m.
Cadet world champion Deepika Kumari pipped two-time Olympian and 2007 World Finals champion Dola Banerjee for the top spot in the women's recurve.

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BD to sign deals of 25new power plants within next 6month
UNB, Dhaka, 4 October : Bangladesh government will sign contracts with different companies to set up 25 new power plants within next six months.
The decision was taken at cabinet meeting held today with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at Bangladesh Secretariat. Briefing newsmen at the PID conference room, PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said construction work of 27 power plants has already started. He said the government has already achieved significant success in improving the power situation of the country. “The government is confident of overcoming the power crisis in due time.”
According to the plan, the government wants to add about 9,426MW electricity by 2015 to overcome the power crisis. As per plan, 792 MW will come into the national grid within 2010, 920 MW in 2011, 2269 MW in 2012, 1675 MW in 2013, 1170 MW in 2014 and 2600 MW in 2015.

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Maoists kill three Forward Bloc activists in Purulia district PTI, Purulia, 4 October : Three Forward Bloc activists were shot dead by armed Maoists in Purulia district, police said on Monday.
A group of about 50 Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided Chirogora village late last night and dragged out the three activists from their houses to a distance and shot them dead, district SP Rajesh Jadav told PTI.
The deceased were identified as Leru Majhi, Dasrath Majhi, and Choto Majhi, he said. The attackers left some leaflets in the area claiming that they were killed as they were “police spies“. Joint forces and a police team rushed to the village and have started combing operations, the SP said.

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Tagore' Santiniketan to be given world heritage tag by UNESCO

PTI, Santiniketan, 3 October : A UNESCO team will is expected here on October five to assess whether Santiniketan, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's abode of peace, could be listed as a world heritage site.

Director of Rabindra Bhavan, U N Singh, said, "We expect a Unesco delegation to arrive soon. But we are not yet sure when or how many members will arrive." A highly placed official of Visva Bharati, however, said the delegation might arrive in Santiniketan on 5 October. The Archaeological Survey of India had submitted a formal request to UNESCO for inclusion of parts of Santiniketan on the world heritage site list on 20 January this year.
If accepted, the places that would get the world heritage tag under the 'culture' category were the ashram complex, Uttarayan complex and the institutes of Visva-Bharati and Sriniketan.

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Somnath sets up Health Centre, names it after Jyoti Basu

Santiniketan, 3 October : Announcing his decision to do social work after retirement from politics, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has set up a health centre for the poor and named after his ''mentor'' CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu.
"My age does not suit for active politics any more. Before my retirement from politics I had planned to do social work. I want to do something for the common man through social service," the former CPI-M leader said after inaugurating ''Jyoti Basu Seva Kendra'' here yesterday. Run by Niramal Chandra Binapani Trust, set up by Chatterjee and named after his late parents, the ''seva kendra'' would provide medical help to the poor and needy. "I have named it after Basu, as it was he who had influenced and inspired me most in my life," Chatterjee said during the inauguration on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.In a show of Chatterjee''s rapport with leaders of CPI(M) Bengal unit, a host of left leaders were present on the occasion.

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Bangladeshi journalist delegation leaves for New Delhi
BSS, Dhaka, 3 October : A nine-member delegation, comprising editors and senior journalists, left here for New Delhi on a weeklong visit at the invitation of the Indian government this morning.
The delegation includes Editor of the Samakal Golam Sarwar, Editor of Sangbad Altamas Kabir, Editor of the Financial Express Moazzem Hossain, Chief Editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Ihsanul Karim, Editor of Manab Zamin Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, Director and Head of News of Channel-i Shykh Siraj, Deputy Editor of Prothom Alo Sajjad Sharif, Monjurul Islam of ATN News and columnist Masuda Vatti.

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Mamata's flight co-passenger found carrying six bullets
Kolkata, 3 October : A passenger, who boarded the same flight that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee took yesterday evening to reach Delhi, was carrying six bullets, the police said.
The bullets, being carried by S Laldingli, was found during routine check before passengers of the IC-201 flight were to board the Indian airlines plane, they said. Laldingli had valid papers and he was allowed to board the flight after he left the bullets with the airport police station, they added.

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'Paid news' issue to come up at Indian EC's all-party meet

PTI, New Delhi, 3 October : Amid concern over the recent phenomenon of paid news and growing use of money power in polls, the Election Commission will hold day-long deliberations with all parties tomorrow in a bid to eliminate electoral malpractices.
Six national parties and over 50 recognised state political parties have been invited for the meeting which will also take up criminalisation of politics and the use of Electronic Voting Machines, an issue which has drawn sharp focus. Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and other two Election Commissioners V S Sampath and H S Brahma would hear the views of the leaders of political parties in order to address these issues.
The EC would hold separate consultations with the national parties and the state parties.

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East Bengal down MohunBagan to retain Federation Cup crown

PTI, Cuttack, 2 October : East Bengal rode on a Reisangmei Vashum goal in the second-half to beat arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 1-0 and defend the 32nd Federation Cup title at floodlit Barabati Stadium here today.

The former Churchill Brothers medio scored the all-important goal in the 55th minute from a long ball off Mehtab Hossain. Robin Singh chested it down for Vashum to score the match-winner as East Bengal won their seventh Federation Cup title.
In the final minutes, East Bengal successfully held off the Mohun Bagan challenge to keep the scoreline intact and thus managed to defend their title that ensured them a place in the AFC Cup next year.
East Bengal thus became the second team after Mohammedan Sporting to win back to back Federation Cup titles.
The red-and-gold brigade had won the same title in Guwahati in the last edition by beating Lajong FC earlier this year. န Photos : Ashoke Chakrabarty, Goal.Com

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Maoists should be thrown out of West Bengal : Buddhadeb
Midnapore, 2 October : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Saturday accused the states main opposition Trinamool Congress of having a "nexus" with the Maoists and said the Maoists should be thrown out of state. "We have to throw the Maoists out of the boundaries of the state. They have killed many people," said Bhattacharjee. "Many people have left their houses in this district and adjoining districts in the last one year due to the Maoist menace. Now these people are standing up against Maoists and returning to their homes. This is a very good sign," Bhattacharjee said while addressing a Left Front rally at the Midnapore College School Maidan here. Bhattacharjee, while taking a dig at the Trinamool, said the party was working hand in glove with the Maoists. "Why it (Trinamool Congress) held a meeting in Lalgarh? It had gone there to rejuvenate the Maoists, cornered by the joint forces. But this time, even the Trinamool wont be able to save the Maoists. The people have stood up against this unholy nexus," Bhattacharjee added. န Photo : PTI

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Rapid Action Battalion arrest JMBs Dhaka chief, two others
PTI, Dhaka, 2 October : A top leader of an outlawed militant organisation, JMB was on Saturday arrested in Bangladesh along with two of his associates and huge amount of explosives seized from them.
Elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) troops arrested the suspected Dhaka region chief of outlawed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Sharsul Islam Likhon in a predawn swoop at suburban Savar, officials said. "Our men have arrested JMBs current Dhaka division commander Sharsul Islam Likhon along with a full time and a part time operator of the outfit early this morning," a RAB spokesman told PTI.
Without any immediate elaboration, he said, the raid was carried out on an intelligence report while "huge amount" of explosives were also seized from their hideouts during the operation. The arrest of Likhon came months after Dhaka newspapers carried a report quoting security officials that the nearly depleted banned outfit planned to stage a series of blasts in the capital to signal its re-emergence despite a massive anti-militant campaign.
Security forces arrested last acting JMB chief Anwar Alam, alias Bhanga Shahid, in July 20101 after arrests of his two predecessors earlier while officials quoting the detained militant operatives earlier said the outfit was running without a chief and policy making "sura committee". န Photo : UNB

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Maoists blow up community hall, hours before CM's visit
UNI, Jhargram, 2 October : Hours before Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's visit to this district, suspected Maoists blew up a community hall at Bandhgora near Jhargram town last night.
Suprintendent of Police M K Varma today said some suspected Maoists exploded the landmine at about 2200 hours last night. Meanwhile, terming Mr Bhattacharya's visit to the district as totally political and fruitless, PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato, now in jail, told UNI that he had given a call for observing the day as 'black day'.

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Amazing success of Bangladesh's Income Tax 'funfairs' BBC News, Dhaka, 2 October : Two special fairs held this week in Bangladesh have proved hugely popular, but they are not for thrill-seekers. The people who have voluntarily queued for hours at the events want to start paying income tax - in a country where hardly anyone ever does. And the revenue-starved authorities are stunned by the idea's success, finds the BBC's Ethirajan Anbarasan in Dhaka. READ FULL STORY

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Ramesh announces Rs 7 crore plan for forest infrastructure PTI, Jalpaiguri2 October : Indian Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has announced a Rs 7crore plan for developing forest infrastructure, including setting up 10 watch towers, along railway tracks in the district where seven elephants were crushed to death by a goods train last week. "Ten watch-towers will be set up at vulnerable points along the 168 km stretch and the Centre has offered a Rs 7crore assistance package for railway development work like embankments, fencing and girders," he told reporters yesterday after visiting Banarhat area in Jalpaiguri district where the elephants were run over and killed by a goods train on 23 September.

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Essar, GMR among 8 bidders for PPP power project in BD Business Standard, Mumbai, 2 October : India’s Essar Power and GMR are among the global bidders for a 450-Mw dual fuel power project planned by the Bangladesh government at Sirajgonj, about 140 km from Dhaka. If either GMR or Essar succeed, this will be among the first such projects by a private sector Indian power producer in Bangladesh. Recently, public sector NTPC Ltd had signed a deal with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for setting up a 1,320-Mw power plant there... READ FULL STORY

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Joint training exercise for Indian Armed Forces in Andaman
ANI, Port Blair, 2 October : With an objective to streamline and strengthen joint operations, the newly set up Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) conducted a unified exercise for the personnel of Army, Navy and Air Force. This was first of its kind training in Andaman Nicobar Island that is not done on main lands of our country. The Amphibians, a specialised unit of ANC coordinated this exercise. The equipments are also modified according to the geographical condition of island where heavy tanks and army trucks can move easily in deep water. Soldiers are well trained to reach any place of operations on helicopter and slither down with ropes.
The entire theoretical and practical training is given by creating a warlike situation to make soldiers adapt with the true conditions of the island. Speaking to media persons Major Sachin Mahadok, spokesperson of the Amphibians Unit, said units of Indian Army's Armoured Corps and commandoes, ships of Indian Navy and aircraft of Indian Air Force are taking part to reinforce the coordinated strategies.

"We are trying to get together the persons from all other Commands and Fleets in India, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy on a common platform. To this end, how do we achieve this, is by carrying out and synergising the training of the Army, Air Force and Navy to optimise the results in actual battlefield (conditions)," said Major Sachin Mahadok. He also said that this joint exercise would enable the personnel posted at ANC to face any battle-like situation.
"The most important thing in training in amphibian domain here is to actually simulate the actual thing. To that end, how do we achieve simulation is by actually carrying out training during firing, then using the noise of the helicopters while slithering and use the smoke. We have something called as smoke, battlefield smoke which we use intelligently to obscure the training round, so as to achieve the same kind of simulation we will get in the battlefield," he added.
During training all the personnel visit each other's defence base and know about their strong and weak points. The joint exercise has given them scope to establish effective coordination among the three wings of the armed forces. The Amphibians Unit, based at Port Blair, has successfully executed the tasks assigned to it under the ANC that was established in 2001.

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