L A T E S T      N E W S

Afzal Guru hanging: Curfew continues in Kashmir

Security stepped up in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A day after Afzal Guru was hanged, Delhi continued to be on alert Sunday while Delhi University lecturer S.A.R. Geelani, who was allegedly detained, said he had been advised to stay home.

"Delhi continues to be on alert and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) have been asked to be prepared for any untoward incident or protests," said a senior Delhi Police officer.

He said the alert will continue for next two-three days depending upon the situation.

Geelani, who teaches at Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, was allegedly picked up by Delhi Police's Special Cell Saturday. Some other leaders from Kashmir were also detained.

Geelani was arrested Dec 2001 for his alleged involvement in the parliament attack of Dec 13, 2001. He was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2003.

"They (police) did not want me to speak to the media, so they detained me. They took me to the Special Cell offices in New Friends Colony," Geelani told IANS.

Delhi Police claimed they did not detain Geelani. However, police sources admitted that some people were being "monitored" as a preventive measure.

Geelani said that he had been let off at 10 p.m. Saturday and has been "advised" not to go out of his house.

"Even today, I have been advised to stay home. It's like home arrest," Geelani said.

Police also detained Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and journalist Iftikhar Gilani in Delhi.

Iftikar Gilani was released Saturday afternoon, after media persons arrived at the scene and protested his detention.

Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 parliament attack, was hanged in Tihar Jail Saturday.

He was buried inside the jail, even as his family sought permission from the jail authorities to perform his last rites in accordance with religious traditions.

A minor clash broke out between the right-wing Hindu groups and protesting Kashmiri youths at Jantar Mantar in the heart of Delhi Saturday.

The Democratic Students Union (DSU) of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who organised protests Saturday, denied holding any protests Sunday. — IANS

Australia series
Harbhajan picked for first two Tests, Gambhir axed

MUMBAI: Under-performing opener Gautam Gambhir was shown the door with Shikhar Dhawan being his surprise replacement in the 15-member Indian cricket squad, announced on Sunday for the first two Tests against Australia starting February 22 in Chennai.

Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh rode on past reputation to return to the squad to form a three-pronged spin attack also comprising R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.

With Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan recovering from injuries, the selectors opted to give rookie paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who impressed in the limited overs-series against England and Pakistan, his maiden Test call.

The selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, deliberated for over two hours at the BCCI headquarters and made three changes to the squad that played against England in Nagpur in December.

The 32-year-old Harbhajan, who was dropped from the team after the lost third Test against England in November, has been brought back, keeping in mind his excellent record against Australia.

The off-spinner, who has 408 wickets in 99 Tests, is a proven performer against the Australians especially on the dustbowls at home and that reputation alone seems to have worked for him given that his domestic form this season has hardly been impressive.

On the other hand, the 31-year-old Gambhir, for whom a Test hundred has proved elusive for over three years now, became the biggest casualty of India's 1-2 home debacle against England last year.

Gambhir will, however, lead India A in a practice match against Australia from February 16 to 18 in place of Dhawan.

Interestingly, Sehwag has also not been in the best of form and missed a chance to get some runs under his belt by skipping the Irani Cup tie due to a stomach bug. But the selectors have retained him with Murali Vijay and Dhawan being the other openers.

The 27-year-old Dhawan, set to be among the reserves, has been in good form in the domestic circuit, striking a hundred for Delhi in a warm-up match against England last year.

The 28-year-old Vijay, on the other hand, had cracked a century in the ongoing Irani Cup match against Mumbai.

Squad:
MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda. — PTI

Lakhs of devotees take holy dip on ‘Mauni Amavasya’

Allahabad: Lakhs of devotees on Sunday took a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of ‘Mauni Amavasya’ in the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation at the Sangam.

The day also marks the second ‘Shahi Snan’ of sadhus belonging to various ‘Akharas’

According to a rough estimate by officials, the number of people to have taken a dip by the crack of dawn appears to be “not less than 20 lakhs” and the final turnout may exceed the projected estimate of three crore.

Devotees started arriving at the bathing ‘ghats’ along the banks of the Ganga since last night itself as the special celestial configuration which makes ‘Mauni Amavasya’ auspicious has been in place since yesterday afternoon.

Tight security arrangements are in place with more than 15,000 security personnel drawn from central paramilitary forces like ITBP, CRPF, BSF and RAF besides the Uttar Pradesh Police and its Provincial Armed Constabulary and Anti Terrorist Squad keeping a close vigil.

The star attraction of the day remains ‘Shahi Snan’ of the ‘Akharas’ — orders of martial ascetics established by Adi Sankara — which proceeded, in turns, towards the holy river’s confluence with Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in majestic processions.

There are altogether 13 ‘Akharas’ belonging to various sects and each of them have been allotted specific time, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon the size of their procession. — PTI

Sonia's Mahakumbh visit cancelled

ALLAHABAD: The proposed visit of Congress president Sonia Gandhi to the ongoing Mahakumbh has been cancelled due to "want of cooperation" of the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh in making security arrangements, the party's state unit alleged today.

"We felt upset upon receiving information last night that the state government has expressed its inability to provide the necessary security arrangements for Sonia ji's proposed visit," UPCC spokesman Kishore Varshney told PTI.

"We never expected such treatment from the SP government in the state, which had received generous assistance from the Centre for organising the congregation," Varshney said.

He said, "The party president had been planning her visit for the past one week. She kept waiting for the state government's response but the latter apparently had other thoughts".

The UPCC spokesman alleged that "the state government has a guilty conscience as it has failed to properly utilize the funds given for Mahakumbh and has been squandering the money on its own publicity".

"This is not the first time when a non-Congress government in UP has tried to hinder Gandhi's visit to Kumbh," he claimed.

He said the Congress president had visited the 2001 Mahakumbh and taken a holy dip "despite the then BJP government having tried its level best to prevent her from doing so".

"However, this time, in view of the heightened security concerns prevailing in the country, she has chosen to cancel her visit for want of cooperation from the local administration," Varshney said.

He, however, added "the final word is not yet out on the possibility of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's proposed visit, though given the attitude of the state government, we are not very hopeful". — PTI

Blizzard hammers US northeast; at least 9 dead

BOSTON/NEW YORK: A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 7,00,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least nine persons dead.

The mammoth storm that stretched from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic dumped more than 3 feet (90 cm) of snow across the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

Coastal blizzard and flood warnings were in effect, but Massachusetts and Connecticut lifted vehicle travel bans as the storm slowly moved eastward on Saturday evening.

Stratford, Connecticut, Mayor John Harkins said he had never seen such a heavy snowfall, with rates reaching 6 inches (15cm) an hour.

"Even the plows are getting stuck," Harkins told local WTNH television.

The storm centered its fury on Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with the highest snowfall total, 40 inches (102cm), in Hamden, Connecticut.

About 2,200 flights were canceled on Saturday, for a total of more than 5,800 over the past two days, according to FlightAware, which tracks airline delays. A few hundred additional cancellations are possible for Sunday, it said.

Boston's Logan International Airport and Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, were shut down. Logan, hit by nearly 22 inches (56cm) of snow, was expected to reopen at least partly later on Saturday.

The storm dumped 29.3 inches (74cm) of snow on Portland, Maine, breaking a 1979 record, the weather service said. Winds gusted to 83 miles per hour (134km per hour) at Cuttyhunk, New York, and brought down trees across the region.

The storm contributed to at least five deaths in Connecticut, according to Governor Dannel Malloy and police.

An 80-year-old woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver while clearing her driveway, and a 40-year-old man collapsed while shoveling snow. One man, 73, slipped outside his home and was found dead on Saturday, Malloy said.

A 53-year-old Bridgeport man was found dead in the snow Saturday morning outside his home, and a 49-year-old man died while shoveling snow in Shelton, police said.

Two people died of carbon monoxide poisoning in separate incidents in Boston. One of the victims was an 11-year-old boy who was overcome by fumes as he sat in an idling car to keep warm, a fire official said. The other victim was a man in his early 20s who was found unresponsive in his car, police said.

In Poughkeepsie, New York, a man in his 70s was struck and killed on a snowy roadway, local media reported. A 23-year-old man was killed in Germantown, New York, when the tractor he was using to plow his driveway rolled down an embankment, according to local media.

A 30-year-old motorist in New Hampshire died when his car went off the road, but the man's health might have been a factor in the accident, state authorities said.

The police in New York's Suffolk County, some using snowmobiles, rescued hundreds of motorists stuck overnight on the Long Island Expressway, said police spokesman Rich Glanzer.

Emergency medical services personnel in Worcester, Massachusetts, delivered a baby girl at her mother's home at about 3 a.m. on Saturday with the aid of National Guard soldiers.

Even as the big storm's force was slackening, the National Weather Service warned of blizzard conditions developing in the Great Plains on Saturday and continuing into Monday.

Snow and, in some areas, blizzard conditions were expected across parts of Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wyoming, it said. A foot or more of snow is expected in some areas.

Power lines down
Utility companies reported about 7,00,000 customers without electricity across nine states as the wet, heavy snow brought down tree branches and power lines.

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, lost power and shut down automatically late on Friday, but there was no threat to the public, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

In Boston, a National Hockey League game scheduled for Saturday between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins was canceled because of the blizzard.

As the storm tapered off, streets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were largely quiet except for snowblowers and shoveling. Kevin Tierney, 41, struggled with a snowblower to carve out a parking space in more than 2 feet (60 cm) of snow.

"I had this all planned out, and I don't know who said it, but everybody goes into a boxing match with a plan until they get punched in the mouth," said Tierney, an attorney.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Maine declared states of emergency before the storm. The U.S. Postal Service suspended mail delivery in parts of those five states plus New Hampshire and Vermont.

Although New York was hit by a foot (30cm) of snow, Fashion Week went on unfazed as crowds arrived to watch the morning's shows by Ruffian and LaCoste.

Andrea Daney, a digital marketing senior manager for LaCoste, said she was trying to be discreet as she changed from snow boots to high-heeled crushed blue velvet ankle boots.

"I'm calling it the shoe storm of the century," she said. "You have to make adjustments to your outfit."

The snow delighted New England's ski industry after a dry winter that has left green grass visible across much of the region.

Greg Kwasnick, a spokesman for Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, said business was slightly slower than normal on Saturday but likely would pick up in coming days as roads cleared.

"Snow is what it's all about," he said. — Reuters