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Indian troops did not cross LoC: Army Chief

Dissolve Parliament, assemblies by tonight: Qadri

Islamabad: Thousands of protesters led by Pakistani-Canadian cleric-politician Tahir-ul Qadri, rallied in Islamabad for the third day in a row on Wednesday, giving the government time till tonight to quit and dissolve the national and provincial assemblies to pave the way for electoral reforms.

Dr Qadri, who marched into Islamabad with his supporters on Monday and began a protest near Parliament, outlined four demands during his speech this afternoon, including electoral reforms according to the Constitution before polls and reconstitution of the Election Commission.

He said there should be no secret compromise between the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and main opposition PML-N on forming a caretaker government to oversee the next general election and the immediate dissolution of the national and provincial assemblies.

“The government should decide by tonight (on these demands),” said Dr Qadri, the head of the Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran who returned to Pakistan last month after living in Canada for the past seven years.

“This so-called democratic government will end today or tomorrow, God willing...Now we can’t accept corruption anymore in this country. We want true democracy,” he said.

In a rambling three-hour speech loaded with religious imagery, Dr Qadri repeatedly attacked politicians of both the ruling and opposition parties.

At one stage, he urged his supporters to be ready to disrobe corrupt leaders and expose their “tattoos“.

He incited officials to defy the government, saying it would be removed in a day or two.

Dr Qadri’s protest received a shot in arm on Tuesday, when the Supreme Court issued an order to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf over graft charges linked to power projects just as the cleric was making a fiery speech against “corrupt and incompetent” politicians.

During his speech on Wednesday, Dr Qadri said the government and the premier had lost their moral authority after the Supreme Court’s order to arrest Ashraf and could not be allowed to continue.

Despite Dr Qadri’s claims that he is being supported by “millions”, the crowd at Jinnah Avenue in the heart of Islamabad has been gradually thinning since Tuesday.

Though this is the largest demonstration in Islamabad in several years, TV anchors dismissed the cleric’s claim and quoted authorities as saying that 25,000 to 50,000 people were at the protest.

As Dr Qadri urged Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan to join his protest, footage on television showed large gaps in the crowd listening to the cleric.

He also said his followers should be prepared for a crackdown by authorities.

“Our chests are ready for your bullets...The first shot should be fired at me and not my followers,” Dr Qadri said, sitting inside his special bulletproof container.

Dr Qadri’s supporters have set up tents on Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad’s main boulevard that runs from the presidency to the commercial district of Blue Area, and brought in stocks of food and firewood.

The entire area was covered with litter. The sudden re-emergence of the cleric months ahead of Pakistan’s general election has triggered fears in political circles that he is acting as a front for the military to delay the polls and prolong the duration of a caretaker administration.

However, Dr Qadri said he had no interest in heading an interim administration as he was the “caretaker of the nation and of 180 million people”.

The timing of the apex court’s order to arrest the premier fuelled speculation about a judicial-military intervention. — PTI

Teachers’ recruitment scam: Former Haryana
CM Chautala, son convicted

NEW DELHI: Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, his MLA son Ajay Chautala and 53 others were on Wednesday convicted by a Delhi court for the illegal recruitment of over 3000 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in the state.

After the court pronounced its judgement, all the convicts were taken into judicial custody. The court has fixed January 22 for pronouncing the quantum of sentence.

Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar held Chautala, his son and others guilty of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Apart from the Chautalas, Sanjiv Kumar, the then Director of Primary Education, Chautala's former Officer on Special Duty Vidya Dhar and Sher Singh Badshami, political advisor to the then Haryana CM were convicted by the court in the case.

The court has fixed January 17, 19 and 21 for hearing the arguments on sentence.

The court had framed charges against them under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the IPC and and provisions of the PCA.

The court had reserved its verdict in the case on December 17, 2012 after conclusion of final arguments by the CBI and the defence counsel.

Out of the initial 62 accused, six had died during the trial while one had been discharged by the court at the time of framing of charges.

The court had earlier found prima facie evidence against Chautala, his son Ajay and 53 others, including IAS officers Dhar and Kumar.

Kumar was made accused by the CBI after he exposed the JBT recruitment scam.

The 55 persons convicted by the court on Wednesday include 16 women.

Except the accused, their counsel, prosecutors and the court staff, the judge did not allow anyone else to enter the court room.

The relatives and family members of the accused and media persons were asked to stand behind the barricades set up outside the courtroom, as the proceedings were held amidst tight security.

The CBI had on June 6, 2008, charge sheeted the Chautalas, Indian National Lok Dal leaders, and others in connection with the scam relating to appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in the state during 1999-2000.

In its charge sheet, the CBI had said that the probe established the manner in which the second lists were made by calling the chairpersons and members of the district-level selection committees of 18 districts to Haryana Bhawan here and a guest house in Chandigarh, where the modalities were worked out.

CBI, in its charge sheet, had also said that the father-son duo had used forged documents to appoint 3,206 teachers.

The apex court had in its order on November 25, 2003, directed CBI to take up the investigation of the case.

Reacting to conviction of Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay and 53 others in the case involving illegal recruitment of junior basic teachers in the state, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said "the law is taking its course."

"The law is taking its course. The violation of law results only in such things," said Hooda.

Om Prakash Chautala's younger son Abhay Chautala on Wedneasday denied that his father and brother committed any illegality in recruitment of junior basic teachers in the state saying there was "nothing related to corruption" in the matter.

"The matter is not related to corruption. No money had exchanged hands in the issue. We had appointed teachers on the merit," Abhay told the media after the court pronounced its judgement, convicting his father, brother and 53 others in the case.

He added he would go through the judgement to see what kind of "negligence" has been attributed to them.

While denying the involvement of his family members in the case, Abhay laid the blame on Sanjiv Kumar saying the IAS officer while heading the department of primary education was involved in several scams and the state government had suspended him after they came to light.

In order to save himself, Kumar went to the Supreme Court and told it that he was pressurised by Om Prakash Chautala, said Abhay adding that his (Kumar's) allegations, however, has not been proved in the court.

He said the recruitment to the posts of JBT were opened by the government preceding that of the Chautalas and that all formalities were done by previous government.

Making it clear that the Chautalas will file an appeal against the verdict convicting them, Abhay said "we will study the judgement and will approach a higher court."

Haryana Janhit Congress president Kuldeep Bishnoi said "the corrupt deeds" of Chautala has finally caught up with him and described the INLD supremo's conviction by the court as the "beginning of the end" for his party.

"Sooner or later he had to go to jail for his corrupt deeds. The only question was when. I salute the Delhi court for its verdict, I believe it is a milestone decision," Hisar MP Bishnoi said over the telephone. — PTI

Japan airlines ground Boeing Dreamliners
after emergency landing

TOKYO: Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s on Wednesday after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing, heightening safety concerns over a plane many see as the future of commercial aviation.

All Nippon Airways Co said it was grounding all 17 of its 787s and Japan Airlines Co said it suspended all 787 flights scheduled for Wednesday. ANA said its planes could be back in the air as soon as Thursday once checks were completed. The two carriers operate around half of the 50 Dreamliners delivered by Boeing to date.

Wednesday's incident follows a series of mishaps for the new Dreamliner. The sophisticated plane, the world's first mainly carbon-composite airliner, has suffered fuel leaks, a battery fire, wiring problem, brake computer glitch and cracked cockpit window in recent days.
"I think you're nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis," said Richard Aboulafia, a senior analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. "This is going to change people's perception of the aircraft if they don't act quickly."

The 787 represented a leap in the way planes are designed and built, but the project was plagued by cost overruns and years of delays. Some have suggested Boeing's rush to get planes built after those delays resulted in the recent problems, a charge the company strenuously denies.

Both the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were monitoring the latest Dreamliner incident as part of a comprehensive review of the aircraft announced late last week.

Alarm triggered

ANA flight 692 left Yamaguchi Airport in western Japan shortly after 8am local time (2300 GMT Tuesday) bound for Haneda Airport near Tokyo, a 65-minute flight. About 18 minutes into the flight, at 30,000 feet, the plane began a descent. It descended to 20,000 feet in about four minutes and made an emergency landing 16 minutes later, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.

A spokesman for Osaka airport authority said the plane landed in Takamatsu at 8:45am. All 129 passengers and eight crew evacuated safely via the plane's inflatable chutes. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said 5 people were slightly injured.

At a news conference - where ANA's vice-president Osamu Shinobe bowed deeply in apology - the carrier said instruments on the flight indicated a battery error, triggering emergency warnings to the pilots. It said the battery in the forward cargo hold was the same type as one involved in a fire on another Dreamliner at a US airport last week.

"There was a battery alert in the cockpit and there was an odd smell detected in the cockpit and cabin, and (the pilot) decided to make an emergency landing," Shinobe said.

Marc Birtel, a Boeing spokesman, said: "We've seen the reports, we're aware of the events and are working with our customer."

The Teal Group's Aboulafi said regulators could ground all 50 of the 787 planes now in service, while airlines may make the decision themselves. "They may want to protect their own brand images," he said.

Under review

Australia's Qantas Airways said its order for 15 Dreamliners remained on track, and its Jetstar subsidiary was due to take delivery of the first of the aircraft in the second half of this year. Qantas declined to comment further on the issues that have plagued the new lightweight, fuel-efficient aircraft.

India's aviation regulator said it was reviewing the Dreamliner's safety and would talk to parts makers, but had no plans to ground the planes. State-owned Air India has six of the aircraft in service and more on order.

"We are not having any problem with our Dreamliners. The problems we had earlier were fixed," Arun Mishra, Director General of Civil Aviation, said. "We are reviewing the situation now."

United Airlines, the only US carrier currently flying the 787, said it was not taking any immediate action in response to the latest incident. "We are looking at what is happening with ANA and we will have more information tomorrow," a spokeswoman said.

Shares of Dreamliner suppliers in Japan came under pressure. GS Yuasa Corp - which makes the plane's batteries - fell 4.5 percent, as did Toray Industries Inc, which supplies carbon fibre used in the plane's composites. Fuji Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI slid 2.5-3 percent on a benchmark Nikkei that was 2 percent lower. ANA shares slipped 1 percent.

Public confidence

Japan's transport minister on Tuesday acknowledged that passenger confidence in the Dreamliner was at stake, as both Japan and the United States have opened broad and open-ended investigations into the plane after the recent incidents.

The 787 is Boeing's first new jet in more than a decade, and the company's financial fortunes are largely tied to its success. The plane offers airlines unprecedented fuel economy, but the huge investment to develop it coupled with years of delay in delivery has caused headaches for customers, hurt Boeing financially and created a delivery bottleneck.

Boeing has said it will at least break even on the cost of building the 1,100 new 787s it expects to deliver over the next decade. Some analysts, however, say Boeing may never make money from the plane, given its enormous development cost.

Any additional cost from fixing problems discovered by the string of recent incidents would affect those forecasts, and could hit Boeing's bottom line more quickly if it has to stop delivering planes, analysts said.

To date it has sold close to 850 of the planes to airlines around the world. — Reuters

No plans to ground AI’s Dreamliner: DGCA

NEW DELHI: There are no plans at present to ground Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes of Air India even though the aviation regulator DGCA proposes to carry out a safety review of the new aircraft, officials said on Wednesday. 

“There are no plans to ground the Dreamliner right now,” a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said when asked about the technical glitches some of these planes have faced in the recent past. 

The comment came hours after two Japanese airlines — ANA and JAL — grounded all 24 of their Dreamliner planes following a series of technical problems. 

“We are in consultation with Boeing and Air India. Boeing will be giving us an update on the electrical problems some of these planes have suffered,” the official said. 

However, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would conduct a safety review of the aircraft currently with Air India, depending on the feedback from the manufacturer and the airline, he said. Air India has ordered 27 B-787s and six of them have been delivered so far. 

Earlier, official sources had said Air India and the Civil Aviation Ministry would await the findings of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) probe into the problems faced by Boeing 787s before taking any decision. 

The American aircraft maker had last Friday jointly announced investigations with FAA after three of these aircraft owned by the Japanese carriers suffered glitches this month -- an electrical fire, fuel leakage and a broken cockpit window. 

“There is nothing to be done by us at present. We have already carried out inspections and checks on our aircraft on our own, including the lithium ion batteries,” a senior Air India official said, adding, “We are awaiting advice from the FAA and the Boeing.” 

Aerospace experts say these batteries are used on the F- 22 and F-35 fighter aircraft, the International Space Station, battery-powered cars like Tesla and Chevy Volt, apart from the high-tech Dreamliners. 

Even as FAA continued its probe and safety review of the aircraft, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines today grounded all 24 of their planes for safety checks after one of them made an emergency landing in western Japan, reports said. 

In September last, Air India had also experienced a glitch in its Dreamliner’s liquid cooling system and electrical power system, which had led to the grounding of all three of these planes at that time. 

After the faults were rectified, these aircraft have been flying regularly on select domestic and international routes. 

Regarding the problem of fuel leaks, the Air India officials said this was not something “unusual as it occurs in all aircraft types. Such problems have to be rectified immediately but these are not anything new or different.” 

Boeing has designated a team in Delhi for any trouble-shooting for Dreamliners, they said, adding that the team was “available to us at any time in the eventuality of the planes facing any technical problem.” 

Stating that the “fuel efficient” plane has started turning the fortunes of the carrier on many loss-making sectors which were so far being serviced by B-777s, they said. 

“We are banking on these aircraft going forward because of the fuel efficiency.” 

Sectors like Delhi-Frankfurt, which were bleeding the airline, have now turned cash-positive with the deployment of these planes, the officials said. The aircraft are also being operated on Dubai and Paris routes. 

With the introduction of these planes, Air India has put five of the Boeing 777-200 LRs up for sale and gradually replacing their routes with Dreamliners. 

Dreamliners, the latest and most technologically advanced offering from Boeing, is made of lightweight composite materials instead of aluminium. 

Boeing has said it was confident about the design and performance of B-787s, maintaining the aircraft have logged over 50,000 hours of flight and there were more than 150 flights of these planes occurring daily. — PTI

Helicopter crashes in central London, 2 dead

LONDON: A helicopter crashed in central London and plunged to the ground in a ball of flames on Wednesday, with police saying it had hit a crane on top of a building.

Two people were killed in the accident, the police said.

The police did not say if the deaths were passengers and crew in the helicopter or people on the ground at the scene of the crash, an under-construction apartment block in Vauxhall on the banks of the River Thames. 

Fire engines and police were at the scene of the crash, where a huge plume of smoke billowed into the sky.

Paul Ferguson, who was working in an office near the incident, told BBC News: "There was a flash and the helicopter plunged to the ground. It exploded and you can imagine the smoke coming out of it."

Witnesses posted photographs of burning wreckage on social networking sites.

London's Metropolitan Police said the helicopter was not one of its aircraft. "We had a call at approximately 8am this morning and we are dealing with an incident," a police spokesman said.

The crash was causing long tailbacks on roads during the morning rush hour. — AFP

Cong suspends Himachal MLA arrested for murder

SHIMLA: The Congress on Wednesday suspended a legislator in Himachal Pradesh who has been booked for murder by the Haryana Police.

"The Congress has suspended Ram Kumar Chaudhary," state Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in Shimla.

He is one of four suspects in the murder of a 24-year-old woman in Panchkula in Haryana Nov 22 and is now on police remand.

Chaudhary is a first-time legislator from Doon in Solan district.

"This is my first decision after assuming charge," Sukhu said. He took charge as the state party president Tuesday. — IANS