L A T E S T      N E W S

Irrigation scandal: Pawar to ask M’rashtra CM
to accept Ajit's resignation

MUMBAI: The stalemate over Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's resignation ended on Friday with NCP chief Sharad Pawar deciding to ask Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to accept it.

"I will ask Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to accept Ajit Pawar's resignation as Deputy Chief Minister," Sharad Pawar told reporters after a meeting of the NCP legislature party here.

He said the resignations of all other NCP ministers have been rejected and they would resume their official duties from Saturday.

Ajit Pawar, 53-year-old nephew of Sharad Pawar, had resigned on Tuesday following media reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore scam when he held the irrigation portfolio between 1999 and 2009, plunging the 13-year-old Congress-NCP coalition in the state into a crisis.

NCP suspected Chief Minister Chavan had leaked "damaging information" to the media though the Congress rubbished the charge, saying in the age of RTI, all information can be easily obtained.

Addressing the media, Pawar senior said the NCP legislators had demanded in the meeting that a white paper on the status of irrigation projects in the state be brought out at the earliest.

The Chief Minister's announcement to publish a white paper on the irrigation projects had angered NCP whose ministers have been holding the irrigation portfolio ever since the coalition came into existence.

Chavan's announcement had followed tabling of the state's Economic Survey in the Legislative Assembly which said only 0.1 per cent of additional land had been brought under irrigation during a decade despite Rs 72,000 crore having been spent. — PTI

BJP amends its constitution to allow Gadkari second term

SURAJKUND (Haryana): Bowing to the wishes of the RSS, BJP today amended its constitution enabling the party president, state and district unit chiefs to get a second term, which paves the way for Nitin Gadkari to seek another term for the top post after he completes his present tenure in December.

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh moved the resolution to amend Article 21 of the party constitution and the proposal was seconded by M Venkaiah Naidu. The national council approved the resolution unanimously.

The amendment, which was passed by the BJP national executive in Mumbai in May, states that any eligible active member can hold the post of president for three years for two terms.

This clears all hurdles for Gadkari to get a second term later this year. The BJP president, who was propped up by RSS after the party's dismal performance and second consecutive Lok Sabha defeat in 2009, has arguably improved the party's prospects and style of functioning.

Sources said RSS wanted Gadkari to continue for another three-year term as it felt the work of overhauling the BJP begun by him is not yet complete.

Naidu clarified during the passing of the amendment that this is an "enabling provision" and the incumbent does not "automatically" get a second term. Though this caused a minor flutter, he made the clarification to make it clear to the state unit and district unit chiefs that they should not carry the impression that they are getting another term.

"If the voters of the constituency of that unit of the mandal or district or state or central committee feel there is reason to give another term, they can re-elect the person. This is only an enabling provision," Naidu said.

This amendment has ostensibly been made to give Gadkari another term.

A message has already been sent across to the party cadre to complete the district and state unit-level elections of the BJP by October 31. Gadkari wants his election for another term to be completed before the Gujarat elections are held in December.

Many feel once the Assembly polls in Gujarat are over, Chief Minister Narendra Modi may try to make forays into national politics.

This amendment also means that Gadkari will in all likelihood lead the BJP in the next general elections due in 2014. His second term as president will begin in January 2013 and continue till December 2015.

Under Gadkari's leadership, BJP has performed well in the Assembly elections held in Goa, Bihar, and Punjab. But in Bihar and Punjab it rode piggyback on NDA allies JD(U) and SAD respectively.

However, the party failed to impress the voter in Uttar Pradesh and its tally went down earlier this year. It also lost power in Uttarakhand.

BJP has also faced criticism due to the infighting and corruption in the party-led Karnataka government.

The party also drew flak for shifting its stand in the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand. — PTI

19 killed as aircraft crashes in Nepal
Everest-bound plane hit bird before crash: airport

KATHMANDU: The plane which went down shortly after taking off from Nepal's capital Friday was hit by a bird, the pilot told air traffic controllers moments before the crash, according to Kathmandu airport.

"Immediately after the take off, the air traffic controllers noticed the aircraft making unusual manoeuvres. When the controller asked the pilot about it, he said the plane had struck a bird," Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, told reporters.

"Shortly after, the aircraft crashed. All the bodies have been sent to hospital for post mortem examinations," he added.

The police says all 19 persons on board the Sita aircraft were killed in the crash on the outskirts of Kathmandu, including seven Britons and five Chinese.

The twin-engine Dornier Fairchild 228 was flying to the town of Lukla, gateway to Mount Everest.

Witnesses described hearing the screams of passengers and seeing flames coming from one of the plane's wings moments before it hit the ground.

"The crash has caused the death of 12 foreigners, including seven British and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese," police spokesman Binod Singh told AFP, adding there were no survivors.

The spokesman said the plane had crashed less than 1 km from the airport at around 6:30 am (0045 GMT), next to the Manohara River.

"The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire," said Singh.

Tulasha Pokharel, a 26-year-old housewife who lives near the crash site, told AFP she was among the first on the scene.

"We could hear people inside the aircraft screaming, but we couldn't throw water at the plane to put out the fire because we were scared that the engines were about to explode," she said.

"The pilot tried his best to make an emergency landing. If he had managed it, then we could have rescued some of the passengers."

The police had initially said five Japanese, two Italians and a Briton were killed in the crash but later corrected the information, which had been given in error by an officer at the crash site.

Local television channels showed several hundred soldiers and police officers picking through the smouldering wreckage of the aircraft, which was a Dornier Fairchild 228.

A number of badly burned bodies were laid in a line a few metres from the craft's shattered fuselage, as a large crowd of shocked bystanders looked on.

Autumn is the peak climbing season in Nepal, which has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest.

At least eight persons were killed in an avalanche on Mount Mansalu in northwest Nepal on Sunday, with the search for a further three missing climbers given up on Thursday.

The plane accident is the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in less than two years, with 76 lives lost in that period before Friday, raising fresh questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.

The country has a poor road network and large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on Nepal's 16 domestic airlines and 49 airports to reach remote areas.

Aircraft and pilots often have to contend with bad weather and difficult landing strips in the Himalayan nation.

In May, 15 persons were killed when a small Agni Air plane taking tourists to a treacherous high-altitude airport near Nepal's Annapurna mountain region ploughed into the ground.

In September last year a small plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Everest crashed into a hillside near the Nepalese Kathmandu, also killing all 19 people on board.

The Buddha Air Beechcraft plane, carrying 10 Indians, two Americans, one Japanese citizen and three local passengers, came down in heavy rain and fog at Godavari, about 10 km from the capital. — AFP

Delhi court issues fresh non-bailable warrants
against Raj Thackeray

NEW DELHI: Fresh non-bailable warrants were issued today against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray by a Delhi court as he failed to appear before it to respond to two complaints accusing him of making hate speeches against north Indians, particularly Bihar natives, in 2008.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Manish Yaduvanshi ordered issuance of NBWs, returnable by November 17, against Thackeray after he failed to appear before the court in response to summons issued on August 31 and sought exemption from personal appearance.

The court noted that the NBWs were issued against the MNS chief by courts in Jamshedpur and Muzaffarpur on December 16, 2008 and November 11, 2009 respectively.

Following the issuance of NBWs by Jamshedpur and Muzaffarpur courts, the Supreme Court, on a plea by Thackeray that he cannot appear before courts in Bihar and Jharkhand due to threat to his life, had transferred the cases against him to the Delhi court last year.

The ACMM, however, today noted that "instead of applying for recall of NBWs (issued by Bihar and Jharkhand courts) and physically appearing and seeking bail, the accused has sought exemption."

"The request of grant of exemption cannot be sustained. Let fresh NBWs be issued against the accused," the ACMM said.

The NBWs were issued in two complaints filed by Sudhir Kumar and Sudhir Kumar Ojha, both natives of Bihar, against Thackeray for his alleged remarks in 2008 against north Indians.

The MNS chief had allegedly termed 'Chhath pooja', a Hindu festival celebrated especially in Bihar, a "drama" and "show of numerical strength".

The ACMM, however, allowed Thackeray's application for exemption in another case pertaining to the alleged attack by MNS supporters on north Indian students, specially those from Bihar, during their examinations in Mumbai on October 20, 2008 for jobs in Indian Railway.

The complaint case, initiated by an advocate Murad Ali, was also transferred by the apex court to Delhi from a court in Bettiah.

Thackeray had sought exemption from personal appearance in all the cases on the ground that he is a respectable person in Maharashtra and as MNS president, has been facing threat to his life for which he has been provided Y-category security.

He also said that he has to participate in the Ganesh festival.

The three complaint cases are among the seven cases transferred by the Supreme Court to Delhi in November 2011. Of the seven cases, five were registered in Jharkhand and two in Bihar by different individuals. — PTI

US man behind anti-Islam film jailed over probation

LOS ANGELES: An Egyptian-American man behind an anti-Islam film that has stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was arrested on Thursday in California for allegedly violating his probation, and a federal judge ordered him jailed without bond.

Nakoula Basseley, 55, was taken into custody at an undisclosed location by US marshals and brought to court in Los Angeles still wearing his street clothes but handcuffed and shackled at the waist.

Nakoula has been under investigation by probation officials looking into whether he violated the terms of his 2011 release from prison on a bank fraud conviction while making the film, though authorities have said they were not probing the movie itself.

"The court has a lack of trust in the defendant at this time," U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal said in refusing Nakoula's request for bail at a hearing in U.S. District Court.

His crudely made 13-minute video was filmed in California and circulated online under several titles including "Innocence of Muslims." It portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant.

The clip sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest in Egypt, Libya and dozens of other Muslim countries over the past two weeks. The violence coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

Nakoula, under the terms of his release from jail, has been barred from accessing the Internet or using aliases without the permission of a probation officer, court records show. He now faces eight probation violation accusations.

In denying his request for bail, Segal called him a flight risk and said the Coptic Christian filmmaker who most recently lived in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos had "engaged in a lengthy pattern of deception," including using several aliases.

Nakoula has stayed out of the public eye for much of the past two weeks, amid outrage over the film. Last week, Pakistani Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour offered $100,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the video.

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office later distanced itself from that statement.

A lawyer for Nakoula expressed concern in court on Thursday for his client's safety and asked that the hearing be closed to the media.

Reporters were not allowed into the hearing but watched from a specially arranged viewing room a block away, and the judge ordered that a camera filming the proceedings for closed-circuit viewing not show Nakoula's face.

Defense attorney Steve Seiden, in asking for Nakoula's release on $10,000 bond, argued unsuccessfully that he had stayed in touch with probation officials even while in hiding.

"It's a danger for him to be in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center due to the large Muslim population there," Seiden said, referring to the federal jail in downtown Los Angeles where Nakoula would likely be housed.

But prosecutors said Nakoula, who could be sent back to prison for up to two years if he is found to have violated the terms of his release, had been dishonest with the court, even about his name.

"Most specifically, he did not accurately present himself as who he was to the people he cast in the film," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale, adding that in his view Nakoula would be safer behind bars.

The probation issues were the latest of Nakoula's legal woes. On Wednesday, an actress who says she was duped into appearing in the film sued Nakoula, who she identified as the producer. Cindy Lee Garcia also named YouTube and its parent company Google Inc as defendants in the case.

Google has refused to remove the film from YouTube, despite pressure from the White House and others to take it down, though the company has blocked the trailer in Egypt, Libya and other Muslim countries. — Reuters

NASA's Mars rover finds first evidence of 'vigorous' stream

FLORIDA: NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, dispatched to learn if the most Earth-like planet in the solar system was suitable for microbial life, has found clear evidence its landing site was once awash in water, a key ingredient for life, scientists said Thursday.

Curiosity, a roving chemistry laboratory the size of a small car, touched down on August 6 inside a giant impact basin near the planet's equator. The primary target for the two-year mission is a three-mile (five-km) -high mound of layered rock rising from the floor of Gale Crater.

Scientists suspect the mound, known as Mount Sharp, is the remains of sediment that once completely filled the crater. Analysis of a slab of rock located between the crater's north rim and the base of Mount Sharp indicate a fast-moving stream of water once flowed there.

Images taken by Curiosity and released on Thursday show rounded stones cemented into the rock, which rises like a piece of jack-hammered sidewalk from the planet's surface.

The stones inside the rock are too big to have been moved by wind, Curiosity scientist Rebecca Williams, with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, told reporters on a conference call.

"The consensus of the science team is that these are water-transported gravel in a vigorous stream," she said.

The rock is believed to be from the floor of an ancient stream which was once between ankle- and knee-deep.

The analysis is based on telephoto images taken by the rover, which is en route to a patch of land named Glenelg where three different types of rock intersect.

Scientists have not yet decided if the slab of rock warrants a chemical analysis, or if there are better targets for Curiosity to look for the building blocks of life and the minerals to preserve it.
"The question about habitability goes beyond the simple observation of water on Mars," said lead scientist John Grotzinger at the California Institute of Technology.

"Certainly flowing water is a place where microorganisms could have lived. This particular kind of rock may or may not be a good place to preserve those components that we associate with a habitable environment," he said.

The $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity mission is NASA's first astrobiology mission. — Reuters