Media Advisory: Minister Toews Will Make an Announcement

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Jun 13 (MARKET WIRE) —
The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety will be joined by the
Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of
Canada for the Regions of Quebec) and Member of Parliament for
Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean. A brief question and answer period will follow.

Members of the media are invited to attend.

Date: Monday, June 14, 2010

Time: 3:45 pm EDT

Location: National Press Theatre
150 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario

Contacts:
Public Safety Canada
Media Relations
613-991-0657

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Government of India proposes to infuse Rs 1,200 crore into Air India

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Berlin, June 11 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has said that the Centre would infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore into Air India over the next few months.

Interacting with media on the sidelines of the annual summit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here, Patel said the government’s decision is an attempt to review national carrier’s performance to decide on the future course.

He, however, said there was no decision to divest government equity in the cash-strapped national carrier at the moment.

In 2009, the Union Government gave the airline Rs 800 crore as equity.

Commenting on merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines, Patel said the ministry still studying how the equity infusion performs.

He said officials of all airlines attending the summit have opined that “mergers do not happen overnight. It is an ongoing process which has to be achieved over time. Air France-KLM have taken six years. Nobody has said merger is a one-day process.”

Commenting on strengthening of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Patel said the government was considering granting it full autonomy and support the regulator in its functioning. (ANI)

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Congress renominates Ambika Soni, Mohsina Kidwai for Rajya Sabha polls

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): The Congress party has renominated Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni from Punjab and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Mohsina Kidwai from Chhattisgarh for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha.

“Four other candidates renominated include Vijay Darda and Avinash Pandey from Maharashtra, EMS Natchiappan from Tamil Nadu and Dheeraj Prasad Sahu from Jharkhand,” an AICC release said on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh was given a ticket to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh.

The elections are being held for the 55 Rajya Sabha seats. The voting for 49 seats from 12 states will take place on June 17, while polling for six Andhra Pradesh seats will be held on June 14. (ANI)

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Maken line, and party line

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken, who stirred up a hornet’s nest last week with his letter to young MPs urging them to oppose a caste-based census, has got quite a few sympathisers in the Congress — although the party officially disapproved of his move. A day after he sent the letter, a senior Congress leader called up Maken and advised him to write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi asking her to clarify whether Law Minister M Veerappa Moily’s vocal support for a caste census represented the party’s line.

But Maken apparently does not want to take the matter too far. While he is said to be expecting charge of some states in the organisational reshuffle in the Congress, his dismal show as AICC member in-charge of Jharkhand and Orissa could thwart his ambitions, say his party colleagues.

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Busy with Bengal politics, her ministry off Mamata’s track

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Days after the BJP hit out at railway minister Mamata Banerjee for her prolonged absence in New Delhi, the Trinamul Congress leader on Friday faced sharp criticism again from her former allies and the Left Front after the Jnaneshwari superfast express derailed near Jhargram. The critics say she had put rail safety on hold for Bengal politics.

As 81 municipalities of the state are going for civic polls, Banerjee had been busy throughout the month attending more than a hundred rallies in different parts of the state. Banerjee was present in New Delhi only for one day this month to attend the anniversary of the UPA-II. “We have been receiving requests for holding a rally from supporters from every district. Local leaders have been pressing her to attend the rallies ” said a TMC leader.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the leader of party in Parliament, declined to comment on the issue. “I have not spoken to Mamata Banerjee on the issue, so I will not comment on it,” he said. Union minister of state for shipping Mukul Roy also avoided phone calls. There have been three more attacks by the Maoists in just one month. While two of them were in West Midnapore, one was in Bihar.

Banerjee said a patrol engine had passed through the area half-an-hour earlier, but that the blast timing was disastrous and blew off a portion of the track. BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that Banerjee devote ‘full attention’ to her ministry.

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Caste census: After Cong, dissent brews within BJP

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 28 — Signs of dissent are brewing within the BJP against the party’s official line in support of caste census. On Friday, senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi denounced the idea as divisive. This happened even as party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad refused a direct comment on Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken’s call to young MPs to oppose caste census, instead asking the government to clarify its position on the issue. “It is wrong; it should not happen,” Joshi told HT. “It will further divide society and divert attention from issues like internal security, terrorism and poverty. A national debate is required on the caste census, but in my opinion it is not good for the country.” Days back, RSS had also spoken against the caste census. Leaders such as Sushma Swaraj, Gopinath Munde and M. Venkaiah Naidu have said that numbers with regard to OBCs will help the government plan welfare measures for them.

Joshi said the party chief had not yet supported a caste census, and the BJP brass should get together to formulate the party’s position on the matter. There were reports that Gadkari had opposed a caste census, but he denied these reports.

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Naxal areas top priority for installing mobile towers: Sachin Pilot

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

With the lack of adequate communications facilities in the Maoist-hit areas becoming a major handicap for the security forces fighting the Naxals, the government is redoubling its efforts to install more mobile towers in these regions despite the fact that such infrastructure are one of the prime targets of the Naxals. Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said that increasing the spread of mobile network in the Naxal-affected areas was being given the top-most priority by his department.

Only a few days back, on a visit to Bihar and Jharkhand, he had approved the installation of hundreds of new mobile towers in the Maoist-hit areas of these two states.

“We are aware how important mobile services are for the security forces fighting the Naxalites and for bringing the people in these areas into the mainstream. In the coming months, the thrust would be on installing as many mobile towers as possible in these areas,” Pilot told The Indian Express.

“We know mobile towers are vulnerable targets and are often destroyed by the Maoists. But our job is to erect them and spread the mobile network. Every additional village in the network is an asset,” he said.

The absence of mobile network has been a severe handicap for the security forces fighting in these areas, especially when there is a need to attend to a crisis like sending reinforcements during an operation. Even in the two big Maoist attacks in Dantewada in the last one month-and-a-half, the lack of mobile connectivity meant that news about the ambush could be relayed back to the nearest town or city after a significant gap of time.

Pilot said his department had started out with Bihar and Jharkhand as these were relatively easier to deal with. In due course, the work for erecting more mobile towers in the worst affected districts of Chhattisgarh would also be taken up.

Another important project, of extending mobile coverage on the Amarnath yatra route, has been completed and pilgrims to this holy shrine in Jammu and Kashmir would be able to take advantage of the mobile services from this year.

“The entire route to the Amarnath cave shrine has been brought under mobile network. The services would begin from July 1 this year and would benefit the lakhs of pilgrims who visit the shrine every year,” Pilot said.

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Manohar pushed Kochi bid, Srinivasan attempted to ‘fix’ match: Modi

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In a fresh development, suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has made strong allegations against the BCCI President Shashank Manohar and Secretary N Srinivasan, and asked the duo to exclude themselves from the proceedings of the show-cause notice served on him by the cricket board on April 26.

He has also asked the board to appoint an independent body to look into the issue. In a long email sent to the IPL governing council Tuesday evening, Modi has alleged that Manohar and Srinivasan were party to all the developments, including the drafting of the tender documents inviting bids for the two new IPL teams this year, the contract between broadcaster Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd and sports marketing company WSG.

Giving the ongoing battle an interesting twist, Modi has insinuated in his letter that Manohar manipulated the entire bidding process to make sure that the two new franchisees go to the Sahara Group and the Kochi consortium.

“… the ITT (invitation to tender) itself was drafted by the corporate lawyers of BCCI and approved by the in-house counsel Akhila Kaushik, who also happens to be an ex-junior of your father Honorable Mr. VR Manohar and also your confidante having been appointed on your recommendation,” he has said in his email.

He has said the criteria of net-worth of the bidder being $1billion and deposit was specifically discussed between him and Manohar and it was confirmed by Manohar in the meeting of the Governing Council held on March 7. He has described the sequence of the entire bidding, cancellation and the re-bidding process as follows: Till 5th March 2010, which was the deadline for submission of bids, only two bids had been received from Videocon and the Adanis. After the deadline for submitting bids, late in the evening and into the night of March 5 and the morning of March 6, he received calls from former minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor and his Secretary Jacob, informing him that a third bid was coming from Delhi.

On March 7 evening, he has said in his email, he was sitting with Manohar at the Four Seasons hotel where a representative of the Kochi franchise came to submit the bid, which Manohar asked him to accept but it could not be accepted because of some technicalities.

Modi has further alleged that because Manohar could not ensure the inclusion of the Kochi bid, he unilaterally decided to cancel the bid process. Modi has said Manohar, then, used his phone to call two executives from the Sahara Group and Dainik Jagran group and asked them to send protest letters seeking a fresh bidding process.

Modi has made allegations against Srinivasan as well. These include using his influence to appoint umpires of his choice, among others. Srinivasan’s attempt to appoint umpires of his choice for a Super Kings’ match, Modi said, was a clear attempt at umpire fixing/match fixing.

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UAE court extends date of hearing of 17 death row Indians to June 16

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): A United Arab Emirates (UAE) appellate court has extended the date of hearing of a case involving 17 Indians on death row for murdering a Pakistani national to June 16.

Earlier on April 8, Bindu Suresh Chettur, the Indian lawyer handling the case had filed an appeal awaiting the full file for defence to study the entire case.

Sources in the Ministry of external Affairs said on Wednesday that the court accepted the defence”s plea for a Punjabi interpreter for the convicts and postponed the hearing.

Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur had on April 4 said that the Union Government would provide the best legal aid assistance in the UAE to the 17 Indians.

The family members of the persons on death row had sought the Union Government”s assistance, and said that its intervention would help get the 17 people back to India.

The 17 people have been sentenced to death for killing a Pakistani man over an illegal alcohol business dispute in Sharjah in January 2009.

According to reports, about 50 people were involved in the fatal attack in which the Pakistani man was beaten to death with metal bars, but those sentenced to death, were found to have been the leaders.

Three other Pakistani nationals were also injured in the attack, but they survived.

This is the highest number of death sentence handed down at one time in the UAE. (ANI)

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Sachin Pilot promises mobile services for Amarnath pilgrims

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot has said that the mobile connectivity to Amarnath pilgrims at the height of 13,500 ft. will be provided before June 30.

He said that it has been the endeavor of the BSNL to provide telephone services throughout the country, including rural, remote, inhospitable and geographically difficult areas.

“Amarnath ji Dham is a religious and tourist destination of supreme importance for people of all faiths. This will help over four lakh pilgrims visiting the shrine every year specially old and infirm and others wanting to stay in touch with their families,” he added.

Installation of nine mobile towers – at Baltal-I, Baltal-II, Domail, Barari, Sangam/Holi Cave, Panchtarni, Mahagunastop, Sheshnag and Chandanwari – of which four are on motorable road and the rest are on pony track will immensely help pilgrims, local residents, administration and security forces.

Connectivity will enable them to stay in touch with each other and facilitate people living in and visiting the area.

At present, no other telephone operator provides service in that area. (ANI)

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Kerala Government terms IPL a gambling business, distances itself from Kochi franchise

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thiruvanthapuram, May 14 (ANI): The Kerala Government had distanced itself from the Kochi cricket team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), contending it is more of a gambling business than a game.

M Vijayakumar, Sports Minister of Kerala said: “IPL is not just about cricket, rather it is a gambling business and this is a matter of serious concern. We do not agree with this kind of business and neither do the sports fans and lovers of the game of cricket, who share the same opinion.”

Earlier, former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor met Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan to seek his government”s support for the Kochi IPL franchise.

This delegation tried to impress the Kerala Government to back their venture.
Reportedly, Achutanandan had asked the Kochi IPL cricket team”s co-owner, Vivek Venugopal, and Chief Executive Officer P T Keshav to submit their request in writing and told them that he would discuss this with the Kerala”s Sports Minister.

Vijaykumar, however, denounced cricket”s richest and most lucrative tournament, saying it was more of a gambling venture.

On Wednesday, the consortium held talks with the Kerala Cricket Association on holding home matches in the state itself during the next season of IPL.

Tharoor was forced to resign from his ministerial post over his alleged involvement in the IPL controversy. He had participated in the discussions as a ”mentor”.

Opposition parties have accused Tharoor of misusing his ministerial position to influence the 333 million dollar bid for the Kochi team. (ANI)

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Indo-Canadian lawyer honoured

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Indo-Canadian Lawyer Shan Padda was honoured for his outstanding contributions in the field of human rights today.

Purneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs presented the award to Padda for his human rights work with SAHRA (South Asians for Human Rights Association) and for his contributions towards the promotion of establishing a World Punjabi centre in Toronto.

The event was organised by Banda Bahadur Foundation.

“Shan Padda is a tireless worker of the Punjabi Culture and Human Rights and we are proud that he is getting honoured,” J S Dhaliwal, The president of Banda Bahadur Foundation, said in a statement.

Shan Padda is a Human Rights and Immigration Lawyer who is a director of Toronto Based Human Rights Organisation SAHRA.

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Antony asks Defence Accounts to expedite pension

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday called for early disbursal of revised pension and arrears to Ex-Servicemen, asking the Defence Finance officials to expedite and further streamline the pension system for the Armed Forces personnel.

“Even now, I am getting a lot of complaints from people that they are not getting pensions… Considering the past, things have improved, but even then complaints are there. So, you must take all steps possible so that they get their dues at the earliest,” said Antony after inaugurating the Controllers” Conference of the Defence Accounts Department.

Commending the Defence Accounts Department for facilitating the procurement of weapons and systems, the Defence Minister noted that the capital expenditure, utilised last year, has been an all-time record.

Antony called for transparent, timely and judicious use of Defence Expenditure, adding that the government has tried to infuse more transparency in the huge Defence outlay, which is over Rs. 1.52 lakh crores for the current financial year.

“Defence expenditure and procurement issues are complex and time-consuming and have a direct bearing on our national security. We have tried to infuse more transparency and efficiency into our procedures and systems,” said Antony.

“It is my firm belief that expenditure of public money must have an appropriate system of checks and balances”, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Defence Dr. MM Pallam Raju said that the Defence Pension Adalats have become an effective mechanism for grievance redressal on the ground.

Hoping that the pension arrears for pre-2006 PBORs would soon be disbursed, he said that the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) would soon roll out the e-ticketing system for air travel.

The Chief of the Army Staff General VK Singh and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister Dr. VK Saraswat were among the dignitaries present at the inauguration of the three-day biennial conference. (ANI)

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Congress ticks off Jairam Ramesh for comments on Home Ministry

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 10 (ANI): Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday criticized Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh for his alleged comments in China on the Home Ministry.

“It was not proper for Jairam Ramesh to comment on another ministry. He should have not made those comments,” said Singhvi.

“Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has made his displeasure clear to the Union Minister,” he added.

Further lashing out at Ramesh”s comments, Singhvi said: “We don”t approve of the comments made by Jairam Ramesh. Yes, as a party, we disapprove his comments.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought an explanation from the Prime Minister on the whole issue.

“Lobbyists have entered the Union Cabinet. Prime Minister must reign in his ministers and give an explanation on the whole issue,” said a BJP leader.

Dr Singh reportedly spoke to Ramesh over his critical comments.

PMO sources said Dr Singh asked Ramesh not to comment on the functioning of other ministries.

On a visit to China this weekend at an international conference on climate change, Ramesh embarrassed his own government by using words like ”alarmist” and ”paranoid” for the Home Ministry”s policies on the entry of Chinese companies in India. (ANI)

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Motormen”s strike: Lok Sabha adjourns till 5.30 pm

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): With the debate over the indefinite strike by railway motormen refusing to die down, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar was forced to adjourn proceedings till 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday.

While, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy said a statement would be made in the House by 6 p.m., the opposition demanded a statement by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Earlier, the house was adjourned twice-once at 12 p.m. and second time at 2 pm on the issue.

Earlier, immediately after completion of obituary reference, Shiv Sena members trooped into the well flashing placards ”Mumbai comes to a grinding halt” and sought to raise the issue of railway motormen strike.

Shiv Sena members trooped into the well flashing placards ”Mumbai comes to a grinding halt” and sought to raise the issue of the motormen strike.

AIADMK members also stormed into the well waving copies of a newspaper that carried reports on the controversy surrounding 2G spectrum bids.

They demanded resignation of Communications Minister and DMK leader A Raja.

With members unrelenting, the Speaker asked Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was replying to a question, to take his seat as nothing could be heard amid the din and adjourned the proceedings till noon.

DMK sources have ruled out the possibility of Raja resigning.

Sources said Raja has emerged as the Dalit face of the DMK and enjoys a good rapport with Karunanidhi.

Though Raja is embroiled in two major allegations — the spectrum allotment — and his alleged telephone call to a Madras High Court judge for a favourable order Karunanidhi has remained soft on him. (ANI)

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Massive fire engulfs Pune slum

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Pune, May 3 (ANI): A massive fire engulfed the Ambedkar Nagar slum of Pune on Sunday.

The slum, consisting over 5,000 huts, was immediately evacuated after the fire broke out at around 11.50 p.m.

Nearly 500 huts were totally gutted.

The enormous blaze was brought under control by 15 fire engines after nearly three hours.

Maharashtra”s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ramesh Bagwe, confirmed that the fire broke out after some LPG cylinders in the huts exploded.

“The fire which erupted after the blasts of LPG cylinders spread quickly because of the wind. Till now we have reports of one injured,” said Bagwe.

Slum-dwellers have been relocated to the nearby schools belonging to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). (ANI)

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Tharoor demands thorough inquiry into ‘IPL-Gate’

April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 24 (ANI): Reacting for the first time after his exit from the Union Cabinet, former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he was looking forward to a thorough inquiry into the ‘IPL-Gate.’

Making his comment on the twitter, Tharoor said his resignation would be worthwhile only when it leads to reforms.

“Looking forward to thorough inquiry into the IPL. If my resignation leads to real reform, it will be worthwhile. Our cricket shld (should) be clean,” he said.

Tharoor posted new tweet on Saturday early morning.

He also thanked his supporters for standing with him during a difficult time.

Tharoor who was regular on twitter and has lakhs of followers on the social networking site, went silent after he was struck in the IPL-Gate last week.

“It”s been a rough week…Overwhelmed by the support I”ve been receiving………Thank u (you) all,” Tharoor’s commented.

After his resignation, Tharoor has received overwhelming support in social networking sites.

Meanwhile, on Friday night almost all top brass of the Board of Cricket Control in India stayed away from the IPL awards ceremony distancing themselves from IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, who is at the centre of controversies. (ANI)

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Minister says rockets not fired from Jordan

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jordan said on Thursday a rocket that hit a warehouse in Jordan was fired from outside the country, targeting the kingdom, and said no rockets had been launched from within its territory.

“After an investigation, the cause of the explosion was the fall of a (Soviet-made) Grad rocket from outside Jordanian territory. The rocket was not launched from Jordanian territory,” Nabil Sharif, minister of state for information, told Reuters, without giving further details.

Witnesses and a Jordanian security source earlier said two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba, just east of Israel’s resort city of Eilat, but landed on the empty warehouse. The minister did not mention a second rocket.

Hours after Jordan confirmed that an explosion took place at a warehouse causing minor damage, Sharif told Reuters that “there was nothing so far that indicated that any rockets were launched from Jordan”.

Witnesses had said that at least one rocket was fired from the mountainous ridge overlooking the port of Aqaba and hit a refrigerated warehouse and caused no injuries.

“The rocket came from the direction of the eastern mountains,” said one witness.

ISRAEL UNTOUCHED

“We saw a ball of fire that struck a warehouse at the entrance of the city,” said another witness who was performing dawn prayers at a mosque in the early morning.

Another said he heard an explosion minutes after he saw what resembled a rocket hit a warehouse. “There was a strong explosion but we couldn’t see anything beyond that,” he added.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military said security forces searched Eilat after explosions and flashes of light were reported, but found no evidence of a security-related incident.

The incident took place nine days after Israel told its nationals holidaying in Egypt’s Sinai, across the border west of Eilat, to leave, saying militants planned to kidnap Israelis.

Israeli media reports said earlier that Israel suspected the rockets were fired by militants in the Sinai. Egyptian sources denied that rockets were fired from there.

In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba’s port but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through the Sinai and killed three people at an Eilat bakery.

Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, is one of a handful of Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. Those ties were frayed by Israel’s crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Anti-Israeli feeling has risen in recent years and many politicians have repeatedly demanded the severing of relations with Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Missy Ryan in Cairo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Rockets fired at Israel fall in Jordan – source

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba towards Israel on Thursday but landed on an empty warehouse in Jordan, a Jordanian security source and witnesses said.

The security source said two rockets were launched from an undisclosed location in Aqaba, which is adjacent to the Israeli city of Eilat. The source gave no details.

Witnesses said at least one rocket was fired from the mountainous ridge overlooking Aqaba and hit an empty warehouse.

“The rocket came from the direction of the eastern mountains,” said one witness.

“We saw a ball of fire that struck a warehouse at the entrance of the city,” said another witness who was performing dawn prayers at a mosque in the early morning.

Another said he heard an explosion minutes after he saw what resembled a rocket hit a warehouse. “There was a strong explosion but we couldn’t see anything beyond that,” he added.

Jordan’s Minister of State for Information Nabil al-Shareef, who earlier told the state news agency Petra that an explosion took place at a warehouse causing minor damage, told Reuters that “there was nothing so far that indicated that any rockets were launched from Jordan”.

He said authorities were investigating the incident.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military said security forces searched Eilat after explosions and flashes of light were reported, but found no evidence of a security-related incident.

The incident took place nine days after Israel told its nationals holidaying in Egypt’s Sinai, across the border from Eilat, to leave, saying militants planned to kidnap Israelis.

Israeli media reports said earlier that Israel suspected the rockets were fired by militants in the Sinai, but Egyptian sources denied that rockets were fired from there.

In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba port but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through the Sinai and killed three people at an Eilat bakery.

Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, is one of a handful of Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. Those ties were frayed by Israel’s crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Anti-Israeli feeling has risen in recent years and many politicians have repeatedly demanded the severing of relations with Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Jeffery Heller in Jerusalem and Missy Ryan in Cairo; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

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Videocon Chairman ignores query on IPL bid

April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, April 21 (ANI): Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot on Wednesday avoided questions asking for missing documents related to his company’s Indian Premier League bid here.

Replying to one such query, after attending a seminar on Energy Options for Telecom Sector, Dhoot said: “I don””t know. I woke up and came to attend this seminar. I have not read today””s newspaper… I don””t know even if it is two days old story, I was out of country for last two days, so I am not aware of them.”

A media report had suggested that Dhoot was in possession of the document and is ready to provide it to authorities, if asked.

But Dhoot refused to comment on that as well.

Meanwhile, during another raid in Mumbai city, income tax (IT) sleuths digging into IPL papers have failed to locate two vital documents — the bid papers of the Videocon and Adani Groups, whose failure to win teams for Pune and Ahmedabad is said to be at the root of the IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi – former Union Minister of State for External Affairs Minister Shashi Tharoor row.

Sleuths of IT department have said the absence of the documents could leave a crucial hole in the probe.

The missing files could settle one way or the other the widespread perception that the first round of bidding on March 7 in Mumbai for the two new IPL teams was tweaked to favour Dhoot and Adani.

These documents are also an important ””missing link”” in the controversy surrounding the IPL that has so far cost the Central Government its minister.

Ahead of his resignation, Tharoor had said that many “powerful people” were upset at the Kochi team””s unexpected victory in the IPL auction.

Modi””s tweets questioning the ownership of the Kochi consortium was under pressure from these “powerful people” who wanted the team to go elsewhere, Tharoor had suggested.

The recovery of the original bid documents should settle the controversy about those who were behind these losing bids. (ANI)

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