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Fresh allegations against Gadkari

New Delhi: Pressure seems to building on main opposition party BJP president Nitin Gadkari, facing serious allegations of corporate fraud, with questions now being raised on the source of funding for the firm Purti Power and Sugar Ltd-controlled by him.

According to a report carried by the Times of India (TOI), initial investigations into Gadkari’s business interests have exposed large scale benami transactions between his firm and other groups between 1995 and 1999.

As per TOI report, Gadkari’s firm is alleged to have received huge loans by a construction firm, Ideal Road Builders (IRB) Group, which was awarded several big ticket contracts between the above-mentioned period, when Gadkari served as Maharashtra’s PWD minister.

Gadkari’s firm is alleged to have received significant investments not only from IRB but 16 other groups, spread across four cities and believed to be controlled by the BJP chief’s close aides.

What further arouses suspicion is the fact that the addresses on which these firms have been registered with the Registrar of Companies could also not be verified.

A close examination of 2010-11 records have revealed that directors of these investor companies included Gadkari's driver, his accountant and two employees of Purti. KFA staff rejects salary offer

KFA staff rejects salary offer

Mumbai/New Delhi: The Kingfisher Airlines management’s offer of payment of three months’ salary has been rejected by a section of employees prolonging the 23-days impasse at the private airline.

The management, in a bid to revive operations of the suspended Kingfisher Airlines, had made the offer on Monday.

Under the deal offered by the management, the salary dues of one month would be paid in 24 hours, another month's instalment in seven days and the third instalment before Diwali on November 13, airline sources said, adding that efforts would be made to clear the fourth instalment by December.

But the standoff showed no signs of easing with a section of its Delhi-based employees outrightly rejecting the management's offer demanding four months' salaries in a couple of days. Another section said it will revert back by Thursday.

"We reject the offer as we don't believe in CEO Sanjay Aggarwal and Executive Vice President Hitesh Patel. We want a meeting with Vijay Mallya. Where is he?”

The management has made a similar commitment in the past too", said Subhash Chandra Mishra of the Engineering department in Delhi. He also questioned the silence of Mallya.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh meanwhile said it could be difficult for Kingfisher to fly again.

Obama wins 3rd round of Prez debate

Boca Raton (Florida): America's trust deficit with Pakistan was evident today as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clashed on key foreign policy issues in the final presidential debate here during which the President savaged his Republican rival for his "wrong and reckless leadership".

In the last of the three high-stake 90-minute debates ahead of November 6 elections, President Obama was the aggressor from the start of the encounter which provided both the candidates a last chance to appeal to millions of voters in what appears to be a neck-and-neck race to the White House.

According to a CNN snap poll, Obama won the final presidential debate; and same was the case for other opinion polls including that of CBS news. While 48 per cent voted for Obama and 40 per cent supported Romney in the CNN poll.

On the broader concept of the US foreign policy during the debate, both Obama and Romney agreed that the US should not allow Iran to go nuclear, would support Israel in case of attack, the 2014 withdrawal time line from Afghanistan, and the need to take stronger action against China. However, they exchanged jabs on the size of the US military, and the current situation in the Middle East – Libya and Syria in particular.

To the surprise of many Benghazi where a terrorist attack on the US Consulate was not mentioned even a once during the debate; which appeared prominently in the previous debate.

India, the relationship with which there is a bipartisan support in the US, did not figure even once during the prime-time foreign policy debate which was moderated by the Bob Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation" on CBS.