Mr Soros goes to meet an old friend

Global financier and philanthropist George Soros, who chairs a network of foundations that promote, among other things, the creation of open, democratic societies, flew into Chandigarh today to meet 100-year-old Fori Nehru, wife of the late B K Nehru, one of India’s most distinguished civil servants. Soros and Fori, both born in Hungary, have been exchanging correspondence over the years.

After retirement, B K Nehru — a cousin of Indira Gandhi, he was Ambassador to the United States in the late 1950s and nearly succeeded Dag Hammarskjold as United Nations Secretary General — settled in Kasauli with Fori. He died in 2001 but Fori, who is called Shobha Aunty by all who know her, stayed put in the Kasauli bungalow.

The meeting between Soros and Fori was arranged at her son Anil Nehru’s residence in Sector 9, Chandigarh. Soros reached Chandigarh at 2 pm, flying in from Delhi on a chartered Kingfisher plane.

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Lahore again: 3 times in 3 months

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday blamed the Taliban for the attack outside the ISI headquarters in Lahore, saying the strike could be a retaliation of the Government’s military offensive against the militant outfit.

“It appears to be a fallout of the ongoing military operations in Swat, Dir and other areas of NWFP,” said Malik. There would be no let up in the crackdown on these “anti-national elements”, he added. “They want to destabilise Pakistan.Threats have been held out by Tehrik-eTaliban chief Baitullah Mehsud,” the Interior Minister told reporters in Karachi.

“We are in a state of insurgency. There is a war inside the country and there were two options before the Government... either to cave in... or to confront and crush them,” Malik said.

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First tender out for attack helicopters, US giants can now bid too

He new UPA government has issued its first defence tender to procure attack helicopters for the IAF. The tender, estimated at $600 million, was issued to five vendors on Monday, hours after A K Antony assumed charge as Defence Minister for the second consecutive term.

The IAF is looking for 22 twin-engine attack helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of Russian-origin Mi-35s. The Request for Proposals (RFP) have been sent to five vendors — Italian AgustaWestland, US companies Boeing and Bell, the Russian Khazan and the European consortium Eurocopter.

While the tenders were first issued in May 2008, the procurement process had been cancelled earlier this year after the two US companies opted out as they did not get adequate time to seek permission from Washington to take part in the contract.

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Firing in Vienna, fires in Punjab

Two persons were killed and more than a dozen injured in violence across Punjab and parts of Haryana today after Sant Ramanand of Dera Sachkhand, injured in an attack in Vienna on Sunday, died in hospital. Angry Dera followers took to the streets, torching at least 11 train coaches and an engine, stoning buses, blocking traffic and clashing with police at several places.

The Army was called out in in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Hoshiarpur — curfew was imposed in the three cities and in Ludhiana — and placed on standby elsewhere. Cable operators were told to stop telecast of channels beaming pictures of the violence in Jalandhar.

Firing was reported from several places in Punjab as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal appealed for peace.

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Last in 2008, toppers this year: Deccan script Indian Premier League fairytale

At some point during their Indian Premier League campaign, the Deccan Chargers must have realised they had a lucky mascot in their midst — the team had won every game that Harmeet Singh had played in. On Sunday night though, the medium-pacer played a bigger role than just being picked in the XI, taking two crucial wickets and snapping up a spectacular catch at deep fine-leg as Adam Gilchrist and his side completed a remarkable journey from the bottom of the table last year to the Indian Premier League title in Johannesburg on Sunday evening.

Defending a paltry 143, Hyderabad rallied late in the piece to carve out a six-run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers to lift the title.

The stunning turnaround in fortunes came about through many small efforts that added up to the big prize.

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Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam thinks they are Chennai Super Kings

With the swearing in of the Prime Minister and his uled for 6.30 pm Friday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Congress worked overtime today after allies bargained hard for ministerial berths and the DMK, mounting pressure, declared it had decided to stay out of the government and lend outside support.

“The formula by the Congress is not acceptable to the DMK, Honourable Prime Minister has discussed with DMK chief Karunanidhi. At the end, my leader Karunanidhi advised me to inform that DMK will support from outside,” party leader T R Baalu told reporters. Incidentally, the Congress is not keen to have Baalu and A Raja back in the Cabinet.

Despite the DMK announcement, Congress leaders indicated that negotiations would resume. While the DMK was pressing for eight berths (four Cabinet Ministers and four Ministers of State), the Congress was said to be offering six berths (three Cabinet, three MoS). Even if it were to settle for six berths, the DMK was adamant on four Cabinet posts.

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Iran tests missile that can hit Israel base

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran had tested a missile that defence analysts say could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf — a move likely to fuel Western concern about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Ahmadinejad announced the test on the same day campaigning for the June 12 presidential election officially started. A US Defence official also confirmed the launch.

One Western expert saw the missile test as Iran’s response to the Israeli Prime Minister’s US visit this week.

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Ten years after her last match, Graf rediscovers Wimbledon

As a seven-time champion, Steffi Graf thought she knew every nook and cranny of Wimbledon.

Looking forward to a trip down memory lane, she jumped at the chance of teaming up with husband Andre Agassi to play in an exhibition event to mark the unveiling of the retractable roof over Centre Court.

When she walked through the All England Club gates for the first time in 10 years as a competitor on Sunday, however, she got a shock — her backyard had been landscaped beyond recognition.

“Wimbledon has changed a lot in 10 years,” a wide-eyed Graf, who had been a regular visitor to the tournament until Agassi retired in 2006, told reporters.

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Budget session from June 15

The Budget Session of the Delhi government is scheduled to begin from June 15 and will go on till July 1. The Delhi Cabinet on Monday recommended to Lieutenant-Governor Tejindra Khanna that the 17-day Budget Session of the Fourth Legislative Assembly be summoned from June 15.

The session, being held after the Lok Sabha polls, is reportedly being seen as important as the government may table the OBC reservation bill during this session.

Finance Minister A K Walia said that since the session is unusually long this time, the government will also clear a final budget for the year. “We had passed an interim budget of Rs 5,000 crore earlier because of the Lok Sabha polls,” he said.

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Tigers give up, buzz that Prabhakaran body at hand

As Tamil Tiger rebels, ending their 25-year-old war with the Sri Lankan government, admitted defeat and offered to lay down their guns, military sources said a body believed to be that o Tamil Tiger founder leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran has been found but the identity of the corpse has not been confirmed.

“They are taking the body for checks to con firm it is the real Prabhakaran,”one military official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.Four other military sources confirmed the recover and said identity checks were under way.

A senior military official said troops found the bodies of several rebel fighters who had commit ted suicide Sunday when troops surrounded them.

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NDTV poll gives UPA a clear lead

In contrast to most exit polls conducted by TV channels predicting I only a slight lead for the UPA against rival NDA, an exit poll by NDTV has projected a clear 39 seat lead for the former.

Moreover, the poll projects a clear lead for the ruling UPA constituent, Congress as opposed to the main Opposition BJP.

While it has projected 216 seats for the UPA as against 177 seats for the NDA, it has forecast 166 seats for the Congress to the BJP’s 132. Despite substantial losses for the Left, whose tally is projected to drop below 35 seats, the exit poll has projected 105 seats for the Third Front. While the Fourth Front has been projected to win merely 30 seats, about 15 seats are slotted for Others.

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‘Coaching a Twenty20 side is a challenge’

In his playing days, Greg Shipperd used to be a stubborn batsman who would occupy the crease for hours, scoring patiently.

To put it in his own words, his batting style was about “hanging around and not getting out”. “A sixer for me would be if I’m able to cross the 30-yard circle,” the Australian laughs, when asked how he would’ve played Twenty20. Shipperd is now the head coach of IPL2’s most successful team so far, Delhi Daredevils, who also boast of some of the biggest hitters, but the 52-year-old doesn’t find it ironic.

“You have to go with the flow; there is change in the game of cricket and if I have played like that,

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Lapang to be sworn in as Meghalaya Chief Minister today

The 55-day-old President’s rule in Meghalaya will be revoked on Wednesday with the installation of a Congress- led coalition Government, minus the NCP, to be headed by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader D D Lapang.

The Congress is set to form a Government along with the United Democratic Party (UDP) and Independent legislators. Earlier, Congress-NCP talks of forming a ruling combination failed as the parties could not reach an understanding over ministerial berths.

Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary said on Tuesday the Lapang-led coalition Government would be sworn in on Wednesday after a notification was issued revoking the Central rule.

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After Indian Premier League success, DJ Warner wants to shake up World T20

He is the team’s official DJ playing a selection of rock, pop, jazz and blues in the team bus; he’s also a jester of sorts, keeping the team in good spirits. Apart from that, he beats Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori in card games every night here, tees off with conviction and surfs as well as any Australian on the beach.

But it’s when David Warner walks in to bat that the buzz really catches on in the Delhi Daredevils dug-out.

The diminutive Australian left-hander has drawn a lot of attention since his T20 debut for Australia, and has also impressed since filling in for the injured Virender Sehwag at the top of the order in the IPL.

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Modi, Nitish share dais, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief seeks votes for ‘iron man’ Advani

Days before the verdict of 2009, in an atmosphere thick with speculation on imminent political realignments, the NDA put up a show of strength and unity Sunday, bringing together on stage Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar, and welcoming Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into the fold.

TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is supposed to be part of a grand alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and the Left in Andhra Pradesh, announced to the rally: “We will not only support NDA with an open heart but also rope in others to support it... You must vote for Lauh Purush L K Advani as the next Prime Minister.”

Modi walked to Kumar and, clasping his hand, raised it in a gesture of comradeship for the cameras. In his speech, Modi referred to the Bihar chief minister — who had just about a month ago said he would not share a dais with the Gujarat CM and there was no need for him to campaign for the JD(U)-BJP in Bihar — as “hamare apne Nitish Kumar”.

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Lankan troops 800 metres from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief

As Sri Lankan forces on Thursday fought their way to just 800 metres from the area where about 10,000-15,000 Tamil civilians are trapped along with the top LTTE leadership, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that the war was "nearing end".

Rajapaksa also promised Colombo-based foreign diplomats that once the LTTE were eliminated, his Government proposed to bring democracy to the north island.

"The war with LTTE is rapidly nearing its conclusion and we propose to create space for democracy in the north again," he said. His comments come as almost three divisions of the Lankan Army are closing in on trapped LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and his top aides.

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Supreme Court upholds lifer for YS Rajasekhar Reddy father’s killers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the life sentence awarded to the 11 accused in the 1998 murder of Y S Raja Reddy, father of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

The accused, all members of the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court in September 2006.

The 75-year-old Raja Reddy was killed in a bomb attack in his native Kadapa district while he was returning to Pulivendula from his farm house in a car on May 23, 1998. The accused included Perla Somasekhara Reddy, Perla Sesha Reddy, Perla Ramajaneya Reddy, Perla Ramakrishna Reddy, Annareddy Sambasiva Reddy, Annareddy Srinivasa Reddy, Annareddy Dasireddigari Lakshmi Reddy, Palle Venkatarami Reddy, Vaddarapu Obaiah, Ragipindi Sudhakar Reddy and Poreddy Viswanatha Reddy.

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Mother died before UPSC mains, father before she ranked 10

When her mother died last July, four months before the UPSC main examination, T Mithra almost gave up her Civil Services dream. But father S Thrivikraman Nair, who retired from the government as Under Secretary, helped her fight back tears and focus on the exam. On Monday evening, when the phone rang at the Nair home in Petta in the city to break the news that Mithra had ranked 10, she was mourning the death of her father who passed away last Friday after sustaining serious injuries in a fall.

“There was no celebration, my beacons of inspiration were gone. But I distributed sweets to visitors as I didn’t want others to be let down by my personal loss.” Twenty-six-year old Mithra, a post-graduate in English literature and a research scholar in Kerala University, is the younger of the two Nair daughters — sister Chithra is a lecturer.

“My achievement is the greatest tribute to my parents who wanted me to return home with the IAS honour. I have accomplished their dream. I will do my best in the future.” When Mithra left for New Delhi to appear in the UPSC interview in March, her father, lying on a hospital bed, somehow managed to wish her all the best.

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Ambani chopper sabotage: 2 held, labour dispute blamed

Mumbai Police arrested UdayManohar Warikar (32) and Balraj Thevar (38), employees of the company that maintained Anil Ambani’s helicopter, for last month’s sabotage attempt. A labour dispute led to the incident, police said.The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police on Monday claimed to have cracked the Anil Ambani helicopter sabotage case with the arrest of two helpers of maintenance company Air Works. The arrests were made late on Sunday.

Ruling out business rivalry with Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) as the motive, the Crime Branch said the attempted sabotage was triggered by a long-standing dispute between the Air Works management and its employees’ union.

The two arrested have been identified as Uday Manohar Warekar (32) and Balraj Ganpati Thevar (38). They were produced in the Esplanade Court on Monday and remanded in police custody till May 15.

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Crisis in Nepal: Prachanda fires Army chief, President steps in

Nepal's three-year-old peace process and experiment in political partnership between former insurgents and pro-democracy forces today appeared to have been dealt a crippling blow after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, on the diktat of the Communist Party of Nepal Maoists (CPN-M), sacked Army chief General Rookmangud Katawal for “insubordination”.

Dahal’s move, which sparked protests from most political parties, including ruling coalition partners, and put a big question mark on the continuance of the government, was rejected by President Rambaran Yadav who, as the Supreme Commander, directed Katawal to continue as Army chief. Yadav even sent a letter to this effect to Dahal but the Prime Minister’s office declined to acknowledge it.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) held an emergency meeting after Katawal’s sacking and decided not only to withdraw its ministers from the Cabinet but also move a no-confidence motion to bring down the government.

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