Being tested for rail porter's job: an MA, a Computer Master's, pregnant 20-yr-old

On Thursday, all three women sprinted 200 metres carrying 25 kg loads on their heads. Those who finished the run in under four minutes were cleared to compete in the next stage of the entrance examination to become railway porters.

"I was married to Udai Pratap a year ago. This is my first baby," says Reeta. Her face is flushed from the exertion, she is panting a little after completing the test. Reeta and Udai have no land of their own. Udai, poor and disabled, has a small shop in their village near Allahabad, but it can't sustain the family. With their baby on the way, Reeta decided she needed to add to the family's income doing whatever she could.

Last year, the Railway Board issued guidelines that women could be licensed to be porters if they met specified eligibility criteria.

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Prime Minister talks the walk

Invoking his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s “vision” to relentlessly back engagement over enduring animosity with Pakistan despite repeated terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sought to remove the sting out of the BJP’s attack on his government over the Indo-Pak joint statement by declaring that he shared Vajpayee’s vision.

Quite contrary to the glee with which his party colleagues slam the BJP for extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan despite Kargil, Kandahar and the Parliament attack, the PM chose to take a more nuanced view to signal that his decision to engage with Pakistan was one that went beyond party politics.

“Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a decision of political courage to visit Lahore in 1999. Then came Kargil and the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar.

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Biedermann beats Phelps, takes away world record as well

Germany's Paul Biedermann handed Michael Phelps his first major individual loss in four years -- and snatched away his world record, too -- with a stunning win in the 200-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships on Tuesday.

Virtually unknown outside of his native country before this meet, Biedermann has now erased Ian Thorpe from the record book with a win in the 400 free and knocked off the winningest Olympian ever -- all in the space of three days.

Both triumphs are sure to stir up even more debate about the hightech bodysuits that are being banned by the sport's governing body beginning in 2010. Biedermann wore an Arena X-Glide, one of those polyurethane suits that is generally considered faster than the Speedo LZR Racer, the once-revolutionary suit Phelps wore.

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T-72 tanks moved to remote Sikkim area after China tests Indian defences

Chinese moves to test Indian control of the strategic Finger Area in North Sikkim last year have prompted the Army to deploy heavy tanks and armoured personnel carriers in the region and strengthen defensive positions.

In fact, the highest gallantry award to a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel was conferred to a dozer operator, Zalim Singh, who cleared a strategic road near Theing village — he was decorated with a Bar to Shaurya Chakra — for a column of advancing tanks.

While the Army brought armoured vehicles to the North Sikkim plateau in the late 1980s, the small detachment has now been replaced by the heavier and more powerful T-72 Main Battle Tanks and modern BMP troop carriers.

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'Sach ka Saamna' is now MPs and 'Government ka Saamna'

Hours after a furore in the Rajya Sabha over the alleged “obscene content” of television game show Sach Ka Saamna, the government slapped a show-cause notice on broadcaster Star Plus — for “offending good taste and decency, (showing what is) not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition, and for obscenity in words”.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has called a meeting with broadcasters’ bodies Indian Broadcasting Federation and News Broadcasters Association at noon on Thursday to discuss the issue.

Soni has so far favoured self-regulation over an imposed content code, but the ministry may now tell broadcasters clearly that failure to regulate content would leave the government with no option but to bring in a content code.

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Kalam frisked at Delhi airport: every VVIP is outraged -- except Kalam

Three months ago, the staff of Continental Airlines at Delhi airport frisked former president A P J Abdul Kalam as part of the security drill for its passengers bound for the US. Kalam never complained but the entire VVIP political establishment, united in this “assault on protocol,” has erupted in outrage.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) filed an FIR against the staff of Continental Airlines, the Civil Aviation Minister vowed the most “stringent” action and met the PM, MPs — Left, Right and Centre — slammed this “shocking insult” to the country’s “honour,” some called for shutting down the airline, others invoked American hegemony, still others a bias against Islam.

The airline stood by its decision saying there were no exceptions to its security rule and it believed that “Dr Kalam was not offended.”

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Bangalore’s wedding of the year: Infosys Murthy daughter

In what will probably be Bangalore’s wedding of the year, Akshata, the 29-year old daughter of Indian business icon and Infosys Technologies co-founder N R Narayana Murthy will wed fellow Stanford MBA Rishi Sunak on August 30 in Bangalore.

Akshata is currently marketing director in San Francisco for a European firm that invests in and operates businesses that offer clean, green technologies. Sunak, an Oxford graduate, Fulbright scholar and British citizen of Indian origin, is a partner at the UK-based activist, charitable hedge fund TCI, The Children’s Investment fund.

TCI, which bankrolls projects for children across the developing world, is headed by Chris Hohn, one of the ‘new’ philanthropists — the super-rich who give away a large part of their wealth through self-controlled charities.

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Expect those behind 26/11 to meet day of reckoning: Hillary

Ahead of political engagements with the Indian leadership tomorrow, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today set the tone for the meetings when she described the grouping of al-Qaeda, Taliban and other terror outfits as a “syndicate of terrorism” and expressed hope that the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks would meet their “day of reckoning”.

Terrorism and Pakistan, her comments reflected, will form a key part of her discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna tomorrow, among other issues.

Stressing that terrorism is a “threat to all”, including those who have provided havens to such elements, and every country should stand up to defeat the menace, Clinton, speaking at the ITC Green building in Gurgaon, said: “We are certainly watching and expecting that there will be justice and those who launched the horrific attacks in Mumbai will meet their day of reckoning.”

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Attack on Congress Legislature Party leader fuels Bengal violence; bandh today

Violence erupted across West Bengal on Thursday as a spillover of the attack on a Congress Legislature Party team which was visiting trouble-torn villages in Burdwan’s Mongolkot, allegedly by CPM supporters, on Wednesday. As news of the incident spread, Congress workers blocked roads, railway tracks and set state buses on fire before calling a Bengal bandh on Friday.

In New Delhi, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said he had been briefed about the situation in the affected areas. “We have sent a message to the state government and asked them to send a report. Let the report come,” he said, adding that the Home Secretary had spoken to the state Chief Secretary.

Clearly on the backfoot, the CPM and the state government took a soft stand, with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee assuring that the culprits will be punished. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, extended its “moral support” for the bandh

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For Maya 'slur,' Uttar Pradesh Congress chief jailed, her house attacked

UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati, was remanded to 14 days judicial custody on Thursday.

Joshi was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Prashant Kumar who sent her to 14-day judicial custody.

Police said she was arrested on National Highway 24 on her way to Delhi.” A case has been filed under Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between groups) and 509 (insulting a woman’s modesty) and Sections 3 (1) and 10 of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

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Gujarat, Andhra chosen as sites for United States nuclear reactors

Days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives In India on her first official visit after taking charge, India is learnt to have firmed up a site each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh that will be dedicated for the first US nuclear reactors after the nuclear deal.

While this has already been indicated to Washington, sources said, a formal announcement could happen during Clinton’s visit.

The identification of the sites flows from a commitment India had given, through a letter of intent under the nuclear deal, which commits India to purchase 10,000 MW from US nuclear companies and mark “at least two sites” for this purpose.

Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh were the two states that offered sites for this and have now been approved.

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During China war, comrades cracked down on VS for saying let’s give blood to jawans

The sacking of VS Achuthanandan from the CPM politburo yesterday wasn’t the first time the octogenarian chief minister of Kerala had been punished by his party for indiscipline. Nor was it the first time that the veteran comrade had decided to stand his ground in the face of opposition from the party leadership.

In the matter of sticking to his guns, VS had started early — at least as early as 1962.

In that year, he took a line that can today be called “pro-India”, but which the communist leadership then decided was “anti-party” a crime for which he was demoted in the organisation’s hierarchy.

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30 cops killed in Chhattisgarh Maoist strikes

Thirty security personnel including Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Choubey, 49, were killed today in three attacks at Madanwada village near Manpur-Mohalla in the district.

The attacks occurred in one of the most remote Naxal-hit areas where the communication network is dismally poor.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (anti-Naxalite operations) Pawan Deo said the Maoists had gunned down two security personnel near the Madanwada camp of the Chhattisgarh Special Armed Force (SAF) early in the morning.

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Over Rs 14 crore missing in name of Naxal war in Jharkhand

In Naxal-hit Jharkhand, the first stop for 20 Union Secretaries working on a counter-Naxal strategy and where President’s Rule was extended for six months last week, the withdrawal of over Rs 14 crore Secret Service funds by Director General of Police V D Ram and other officials has been questioned by the office of the Accountant General which has called for an investigation saying rules were not followed and “the possibility of fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation of government funds cannot be ruled out”.

In one instance, DGP Ram withdrew Rs 5.60 crore in cash from the Secretariat branch of the State Bank of India on March 16, 2006 — a fortnight before he gave the withdrawal and disbursal power to the Additional DGP.

With the AG raising objections, Chief Secretary A K Basu has written to Ram: “DAG has raised certain objections regarding non-observance of provisions of Special Branch Manual and Bihar Financial Rules regarding Secret Service Expenditure.

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Will complete Doha Round by 2010: India agrees with G8

In what would be a significant step forward, the G8 and the Group of Five (G5) developing countries — India, Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa — will agree to commit themselves to conclude the Doha Round of talks in a year’s time by 2010.

In fact, India is expected to host a ministerial meet before the September G-20 Summit at Pittsburgh with a view to resolve existing differences.

They will also agree not to indulge in “competitive devaluation” of currencies during the economic crisis.

The almost-finalized draft of the joint communiqué, agreed after detailed discussions among officials today, states: “We are committed to reaching an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha Development Round in 2010,

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All set for a quiet launch of India's first indigenous Nuclear submarine

More than two decades after it was conceived, India’s first indigenously built nuclear submarine, for long called the Advanced Technology Vehicle project, is set for a quiet launch towards the end of this month. Christened INS Chakra after the Charlie class nuclear submarine taken on lease from the Soviet Union in 1988 for three years, it will be put out in the waters of the Bay of Bengal in Visakhapatnam harbour for sea trials.

Top government sources told The Indian Express that the Navy has been cleared for two more 7,000 tonne-Chakra class submarines with an in-principle clearance for another two of the same class. Completing the nuclear triad as envisaged in the Indian nuclear doctrine, INS Chakra will carry intermediate range submarine-launched missiles that have already been tested twice on the eastern coast.

The submarine was scheduled to be launched on July 26 but the date has now been changed because it also happens to be Kargil Victory Day and the government has no intention of sending any message to the neighbourhood.

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Government meets demand,12 lakh retired jawans get pension hike

The Government has announced a substantial increase in pensions of jawans to meet a long-standing demand of the ex-servicemen community. Presenting the budget on Monday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the enhanced pensions would benefit more than 12 lakh personnel below officers rank and would cost the exchequer Rs 2,100 crore annually.

While pensions for jawans have been increased, a similar raise for retired officers has not been announced and is expected to be resolved later. However, the non-inclusion of officers in the announcement has raised concerns amongst ex-servicemen who are waiting for a detailed explanation by the government.

The only change from the interim Budget that was announced in February is the decision to increase pensions for ex-servicemen,

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Rain gain for team india

India sealed their fifth one-day series win on the trot after persistent rain ruined the fourth and final match against the West Indies at Beausejour Stadium on Sunday. The visitors bagged the series 2-1 following victories in the series opener in Jamaica and the third match on Friday. This is also India’s second series victory in the Caribbean after the Sourav Ganguly-led side won the five-match series 2-1 in 2002.

The West Indies, put in to bat by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after he won the toss for the fourth straight time in the series, reached 27 for one in 7.3 overs in what was reduced to a 49-overs-a-side affair. However, rain intervened again to ruin the contest.

India began well with West Indies skipper Chris Gayle falling to Ishant Sharma off the second ball of the match, edging a good length delivery to Dhoni behind the stumps.

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Top Iran cleric says British Embassy staff to go on trial

Brushing aside British and European efforts to seek the release of local British Embassy staff members held in Tehran, the Iranian authorities indicated on Friday that they planned to put some of them on trial — a move that could deepen a crisis in diplomatic relations with the European Union and provoke withdrawal of ambassadors.

In London, the Foreign Office said it was urgently checking reports that the Iranian authorities planned to put two of its local employees on trial.

Nine staff members were seized after the unrest sparked by Iran’s disputed presidential elections on June 12, and as many as eight of them were subsequently reported to have been released. But the precise number still detained was not clear.

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