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Bombing near building, but nurses 'safe and unharmed': Govt 

New Delhi, July 1 (PTI) India today said there has been bombing and firing in the vicinity of the building where 46 Indian nurses are stuck in Tikrit but added they were "safe and unharmed" and that it was hopeful of "extricating" them from the difficult situation as 230 Indians are already out of the war-hit Iraq.

The Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said an additional 1,000 people have approached them with the request that they want to move out of Iraq and an equal number had conveyed that they want to stay.

"There has been bombing and firing in the vicinity of their (nurses') building. They have taken refuge in the basement. They are in an extremely delicate situation. We have informed the Iraqi agencies of their location and we remain hopeful that despite these difficulties, we will be able to extricate them," the Spokesperson said.

He said the nurses were "safe and unharmed" and in touch with the Indian mission.

About 39 Indians who are still in captivity, he said India's understanding was that they were unharmed so far.

Meanwhile, Nepal, which has no embassy in Iraq, has sought India's help in facilitating the departure of its nationals, to which India has agreed, he said.

The Spokesperson said that after a batch of 94 Indians who flew back yesterday, an additional 136 are coming back, taking the total number of those who have left so far to 230.

He said the Indians who are coming out of Iraq are mainly from north India followed by Hyderabad and Kerala.

Meanwhile, Indian officials in Iraq are reaching out to compatriots themselves and busy facilitating the paperwork and ticketing, for those needing it, to enable them to fly back home. PTI

Germany edge past Algeria to set up quarterfinal 
clash with France

PORTO ALEGRE: A delightful goal from Andre Schuerrle and a counter-attack converted by Mesut Oezil carried a sloppy Germany into the World Cup quarterfinals on Monday, 2—1 in extra-time against Algeria.

The opening goal of the Porto Alegre contest came two minutes into extra-time when Schuerrle directed a lovely backheel flick into the far corner. Oezil decided the tie in the 120th minute after Schuerrle’s shot was cleared from the line.

Algeria managed a consolation through Abdelmoumene Djabou but could not stop Germany reaching the next round.

Germany meet France, who needed two late goals to dispatch Nigeria earlier on Monday, in Rio de Janeiro on Friday in the quarterfinal.

Germany beat France in memorable semi-finals 1982 and 1986 after losing the first meeting for third place in 1958.

The game was a rematch of one of the World Cup upsets from Spain 1982 when Algeria secured a 2—1 group stage win over West Germany in Gijon. An earlier victory in a 1964 friendly put them in the rare position of holding a 100 per cent record over their opponents with two wins out of two.

That proud record came to an end despite a heroic effort against more illustrious opponents. It was a moment of true quality from Schuerrle, making the most of the slightest space on the edge of the six—yard box, which first separated the teams.

Germany never looked like losing the lead and substitute Christoph Kramer could have made things safe even before Oezil lashed home the eventual winner, capitalizing when Schuerrle was denied by a goal-line clearance as he looked to complete a break away.

In the dying seconds Djabou converted a cross by Sofiane Feghouli at the back post but there was no chance to seriously threaten an equalizer.

Days after Algeria’s famous win in 1982, the Germans played out a mutually convenient 1—0 result with Austria in the final group match which ensured both European sides progressed while the North—Africans were eliminated.

On this occasion the Algerians could have no complaints of foul play; they were good, just not quite good enough.

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic made five changes from the starting eleven named in the final group game against Russia, and his side flooded forward on the break at every opportunity.

Feghouli and Faouzi Ghoulam shot off target early on from good positions either side of Islam Slimani having a spectacular header disallowed, correctly, for offside.

Throughout the game the Algerians attempted to exploit the intentionally high line held by the Germany back four which resulted in Manuel Neuer making several spectacular clearances as a sweeper.

Loew had to shuffle the starting 11 as Goetze replaced the injured Lukas Podolski, and Shkodran Mustafi came in at full-back as Jerome Boateng moved to central defence in place of flu-victim Mats Hummels.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was preferred to Sami Khedira alongside Philipp Lahm in defensive midfield and it was he who had Germany’s first shot of the game after 12 minutes, forcing Rai’s Mbolhi to palm the ball high in the air.

This was a rare attempt by Germany in the first half though and it was only after the break that Joachim Loew’s side began to pick up — even if they were still short of the form required to be contenders for the title.

Lahm had an effort tipped away, one of his final actions in midfield before moving to full—back for the injured Mustafi. The switch, which facilitated Khedira’s introduction into midfield, certainly did not weaken the German team.

In a flurry of late pressure, Thomas Mueller had a powerful header saved and Schuerrle had his rebound attempt blocked, before Mueller poked wide after superbly controlling the ball in the box.

Algeria reached extra-time but were visibly tiring. Their resistance lasted only two minutes beyond the regulation 90 as Schuerrle broke the deadlock to the relief of the Germans.

There was late drama as Oezil and Djabou exchanged strikes in the 120th minute but Germany had done just enough to move on.- Agencies

Goalkeeper shines for Algeria in World Cup loss

PORTO ALEGRE: Algeria’s unsung goalkeeper stopped everything that came his way for 91 minutes. And even when three-time champion Germany finally scored in extra time and went on to win 2-1 to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, Rais M’Bolhi was not at fault.

That was why Rais which means leader in Arabic was voted man of the match on Monday. “We were ready,” said Rais, who plays for Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia. “No one believed we would reach this stage.”

It was the first time Algeria had reached the knockout phase after three previous appearances at the World Cup. “We’ve entered the history of Algerian football,” Rais said. Rais, it should be remembered, had shined before at the World Cup. Four years ago in South Africa, he kept a clean sheet during a 0—0 draw with England and conceded only one goal in two matches played a stoppage—time score from Landon Donovan in a 1—0 loss to the United States.

Against Germany, Rais kept Algeria alive with save after save until the Germans finally broke through the northern African squad’s weary defenders.

Fourteen minutes in, Rais stopped a blistering long-range effort from Schweinsteiger. In the 55th, Lahm unleashed a hard shot that an outstretched Rais pushed wide with his fingertips.

And in the 80th, Rais blocked a close-range header from Mueller, who had scored nine goals in his opening nine World Cup matches. In all, Rais faced 22 shots, 16 of them on target. “I’m not quite sure what we lacked,” Rais said. “Eventually we conceded two goals. I don’t know. We felt there was something to be done even though we were playing a great team like Germany.” - Agencies

Chile’s Pinilla demands ‘exemplary punishment’ for Brazil official 

RIO DE JANEIRO: Mauricio Pinilla lashed out at FIFA after Brazil's press chief Rodrigo Paiva was given a one-match ban following allegations he punched the Chile striker during the World Cup last-16 game between the countries.

"One match for Rodrigo Paiva? You should be ashamed for that delinquent dressed in a suit," Pinilla wrote on his Twitter account before comparing the ban to the four-month suspension given to Uruguay's Luis Suarez for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini last week.

"Suarez for a bite risks his career...A press chief gets one game for a punch in the face? FIFA??

"I demand that FIFA hand Rodrigo Paiva an exemplary punishment equal to that of my colleague Suarez...!!! This is even more serious! They have the images," he added.

Paiva was issued with a red card following the incident and will not be able to take any part in Brazil's quarter-final against Colombia on Friday, FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer confirmed earlier on Monday.

FIFA's disciplinary committee was also investigating the incident, meaning Paiva could face further sanctions.

In a statement on the website of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Paiva said: "I respect, as I always have, decisions taken by FIFA. The case is being investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee, and they already have proof of reprehensible conduct by the Chilean delegation that will show the truth of what happened."

The fracas happened at half-time in Saturday's match in Belo Horizonte, which Brazil won on penalties.

Chile's media spokesman Maria Jose said his Brazilian counterpart "hit" Pinilla.

Paiva told Brazilian media there was shoving by both sides as the two teams left the field.

"I was not the only one involved. Pinilla came looking for me and I just defended myself," he was quoted as saying. "I just pushed him," he added. "They started to insult us, there was some shoving but no assault." - Agencies

Bomb scare: no explosive material found in Delhi-bound plane

BANGALORE: A reported bomb threat on a Delhi-bound Air India plane from Kochi, with 164 people on board, which landed under emergency conditions at the airport here, was a hoax, police said today.

The Airbus 320 (flight AI-047) was searched "thoroughly" after its emergency landing late last night and no bomb or explosive material was detected, Bangalore Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Pant told PTI.

"Nothing was found. All the baggages were searched thoroughly and the plane was cleared of any bomb or explosive material," Pant said, at the end of the security check of the aircraft that extended from around 10 pm till the early hours of today.

An Air India spokesman said the stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by another flight early this morning.

The flight, with 156 passengers and eight crew onboard, had landed under emergency conditions at the Kempegowda International Airport here, following an "unspecific call" about a bomb threat.

After the plane took off from Kochi around 8.40 PM yesterday, there was a call from a man saying that there could be a bomb in the aircraft, the airline and police officials had said, adding the pilot was asked soon thereafter to land at the nearest airport, which was Bangalore.

The Kochi airport had received an "unspecific call" from a person, who had come to the Kochi airport to see off his female friend, according to the airport police here.

The woman contacted him over phone saying that there was lot of frisking going on at the Kochi airport and then she switched off her mobile, which made him panicky and inform Kochi airport authorities about the alleged bomb threat, the officials had said.

The bomb detection squad and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which handles airport security, had carried out the search. - PTI

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan gets back his sarod missing on BA flight

NEW DELHI:  Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's sarod, which he has been strumming for the last 45 years, was restored to the iconic musician by British Airways after it went missing on a flight while he was returning to Delhi from London on Saturday night.

The 68-year-old Padma Vibhushan sarod maestro took to Twitter today to announce that the instrument was delivered to him by British Airways(BA), calling it an "epic reunion".

"Epic Reunion!!! BA delivers my Sarod. Thank you all for your prayers and love, especially the media for their...," Khan tweeted.

Khan had gone to London along with his wife Subhalaxmi for a performance at Dartington College to celebrate the life of Rabindranth Tagore on June 21 and returned on the night of June 28.

He and his wife were travelling first class on BA flight (BA-143) on their return journey from London.

"But when we arrived at Delhi airport on June 28, I could not find my priceless sarod. We waited there for 4-5 hours while airline people tried to trace the instrument. But they were not able to trace it, and they said most likely it would come by the next flight," Khan told PTI yesterday.

"But now its more than 48 hours and still I am waiting for some news. How can such a big airline be so irresponsible," Khan said.

Khan later posted on his Facebook page, "After damaging my Sarod in 1997, British Airways now misplaces my Sarod. 48 hours and I still wait anxiously for some news. Still not traced!!! When contacted, British Airways said yesterday, "There have been intermittent problems with Heathrow Airport's baggage system in Terminal 5. We are working round-the-clock to make sure we reunite all of our customers with their baggage as quickly as possible".

"This process has taken longer than anticipated and we apologise for the inconvenience caused," an airline spokesperson said on being asked about the missing sarod and when it will be returned to the maestro. - PTI 

US authorised NSA to spy on India, Pak among 193 countries

ISLAMABAD: Reports have surfaced that the US had authorized National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on foreign-based political organizations including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from India and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from Pakistan.

 According to the Express tribune, a classified document revealed that US spy agency NSA had been sanctioned to spy on most countries and some international bodies and political parties under the FISA court certification.

The report by the Washington Post said that under a 2010 certification approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), NSA had the permission to spy on 193 foreign governments as well as foreign factions, political organisations and other entities.

While Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand remained same from NSA's spying program following the US' no-spying arrangements with the four countries, two factions of foreign nations Palestinian Authority; Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on NSA's radar was also spied on.

Moreover, the NSA was also authorised to spy on international bodies such as the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and many others. - ANI

Supreme Court grants regular bail to Tarun Tejpal

NEW DELHI: Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal who has repeatedly contested the allegation of sexual harassment against him, has been granted regular bail by the Supreme Court. 

Earlier, Tejpal’s interim bail had been extended till June 27 by the Supreme Court after spending five months in jail to enable him to perform the last rites of his mother who died on May 18. But he could not perform the last rites due to a delay in his release from the Sada Jail in Goa.

Tejpal had then sought a regular bail from the court.

The former chief editor of Tehelka had demanded that the state police hand over to him all evidence so that he can establish his innocence.

Tejpal was charged by the Goa Police with sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman journalist in a lift of a five-star hotel in Panaji in November last year, and has been in police and judicial custody since January. - ANI