Hockey legend, two others elected to RS from Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Hockey legend and former Indian captain, Dilip Tirkey was among the three persons who were on Thursday declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabja from Odisha.

Besides Tirkey, BJD leader Rabi Narayan Mohapatra of Nayagarh and AV Swamy from Nuapada, supported by the ruling BJD, were also declared elected to the upper house of Parliament to fill three vacant seats from Odisha.

The results were declared by returning officer and Assembly Secretary Amiya Kumar Sarangi after the time schedule for withdrawal of nomination was over.

As there was no other contestant in the fray for the biennial election, it would not be necessary to hold election earlier scheduled for March 30 for the three vacant seats from the state, he said.

Though four others had filed their nomination for the Rajya sabha polls, these were rejected during scrutiny as the papers were without any proposer.

The three Rajya Sabja seats had fallen vacant following completion of tenure of Kishore Mohanty, Rudra Narayan Pani and Sushila Tiriya.

SL war crimes resolution: DMK, Left welcome India's move

New Delhi: The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries, including India, voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining.

Welcoming the move of India to vote in favour of the US-backed resolution, DMK MP Kanimozhi said that all the parties in Tamil Nadu were asking for it and the credit for it went to each one of them.

She said that the move "makes sure that Tamils get their rights, rehabilitation happens and they get justice".

"It is very important that international law is followed. Many countries have voted against it," said Kanimozhi.

Referring to the war crimes in Sri Lanka, the DMK MP termed it as human rights violation.

The move was also welcomed by Left leader D Raja, who said, "I thank the Prime Minister."

He, however, said that the need was to keep up the pressure on Sri Lanka.

Raja said, "We have to continue pressure on Lanka, so that Sri Lankan Tamils get genuine political solution."

The government, meanwhile, said that the move was meant to protect human rights.

Union Minister Vayalar Ravi said, "The government was concerned about the safety and security of Tamils in Sri Lanka, so naturally, it is a move to protect human right."

"India always stood for the prevention of human rights violation...this is what India has done," he said.

Nayanthara returns to Tamil films

New Delhi: Ending months of speculation over what film she will next be seen in, actress Nayanthara has signed the dotted line for a movie that will mark Telugu actor Gopichand's re-entry in Tamil. Gopichand had earlier played villain in the movie Jeyam, and will be seen playing the protagonist in this film.

This commercial flick will be director by Bhoopathi Pandian, who had earlier made films Devadhaiyai Kandein with Dhanush and Malaikottai with Vishal.

Shooting for the same will begin in April. The movie has been given the working title of Production Five, and will be produced by Jayabalaji Real Media.

This full-fledged commercial flick will mark the return of Nayanthara to Kollywood, after a two-year break. Her last outing in Tamil was Boss Engira Baskaran, in which she was paired with actor Arya. The movie hit the screens in September 2010, after which the actress did not sign any Tamil film and instead, relocated to Mumbai. She was last seen in the Telugu flick Sri Rama Rajyam.

Rumoured to have broken up with boyfriend Prabhu Deva, Nayanthara has finally ended her sabbatical in films, and has already agreed to feature in Ajith's next. This is an action thriller to be directed by filmmaker Vishnuvardhan. Ajith, Nayanthara and Vishnuvardhan had earlier teamed up for the 2007-blockbuster Billa. This yet-to-be-titled film, shoot for which is said to begin this summer, is believed to be the remake of the Saif, Akshay Khanna starrer Race.

Odisha hostage crisis: Naxals say they will free one of the abducted Italians if two demands are met

Bhubaneswar: Negotiations between the mediators and Maoists are set to begin on Thursday. Mediator Dandapani Mohanty has told CNN-IBN that one hostage will be freed on Thursday if two of their 13 demands of the Maoists are met.

The demands include action against officials who violated human rights of tribals and freeing several Maoist sympathisers including Sabyasachi Panda's wife Subhasree Panda.

The Italian hostage Claudio Colangelo who is reportedly ill might be handed over to a select group of journalists by Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda and set free.

However the second hostage Paolo Bosusco is likely to remain captive by the Maoists as negotiations begin in Bhubaneswar. One of the appointed mediators BD Sharma will be in Bhubaneswar on Thursday and is likely to begin talks with the Maoists.

The extended deadline to give into the Naxals' demands ended on Wednesday evening but the state government is yet to come up with any kind of truce.

Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also hit out at the Centre for not helping the state in the case. He said that the central government did not do anything to end the hostage crisis.

Two Italians - Puri-based tour operator Paolo Bosusco and tourist Claudio Colangelo - were abducted while trekking in Kandhamal district on March 14.

The two Italians had driven down from Puri and entered a forested area in spite of being warned by the Daringibadi police about the presence of Maoists.

A driver and cook who were accompanying them and their vehicle were released by the Maoists subsequently.

A report from Puri said that the driver, Kartik Parida, and cook, Santosh, were interrogated by the police.

Mukul Roy announces rollback in rail fare hike

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New Delhi: Railway Minister Mukul Roy on Thursday withdrew the increase in passenger fares in the sleeper, suburban, ordinary second class, AC Chair Car and AC 3-tier classes announced by his predecessor Dinesh Trivedi, who had presented the budget on March 14. Roy's announcement was expected after his party, the Trinamool Congress, forced Trivedi to quit from Union Cabinet for increasing passenger fares across all the classes.

""The proposal to increase fare by 2 paise per km, 3 paise per km and 5 paise per km in second class suburban and non-suburban and Sleeper class is a huge drain on the pocket of the masses. Similarly, increase in the fare of AC Chair Car and AC 3-tier, which is now patronised by the middle class, is also quite severe. I intend to give relief to the already over burdened common man by not effecting any increase in these classes," he announced in the Lok Sabha while replying to the Railway Budget.

The rollback is in keeping with Trinamool Congress supreme and Mamata Banerjee's stand that the hike announced by Trivedi was going to impact the common man and so was unjustified.

Roy did not touch the fares of AC 2-tier, First Class and AC I. The Railway Minister also put on hold the proposal for expansion of the Railway Board. He said that the Railways intend to launch an aggressive drive to mop up resources and upgrade safety measures.

"It is important to run railways economically and safely. There will be a recruitment of 1 lakh people in 2012-13. Unmanned level crossing will be removed and we are vigorously working towards that goal. All vacancies in safety areas will be filled up very soon," he said.

Trivedi had increased the passenger fares by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class; 3 paise per km for mail/express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC Chair Car, AC 3-tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2-tier and 30 paise per km for AC I. Even the price of platform tickets has been raised to Rs 5 from Rs 3.

Apple's New iPad now available in India for Rs 36,799

Mumbai: Apple's New iPad, which was introduced by the company on March 7 in USA, is now available in India for Rs 36,799. Indian online retailer Tradus.in has listed the new iPad 16 GB, WiFi model for Rs 36,799 after discount of Rs 3191. So it is fair to assume that the official price of the New iPad will be around Rs 39,990.

The New iPad comes with Retina Display and better hardware than its predecessors. Apple has even managed to sell about three million units of the tablet in eleven different countries within first three days of launch. Interestingly, India was nowhere on the charts for availability in second phase.

The new Apple iPad comes with 9.7-inch touchscreen Retina Display supporting higher resolution 2048x1536 pixel resolution. The tablet is slightly thicker and bit heavier than its predecessor. This tablet houses Apple A5X mobile processor and features a better 5 megapixel camera at the back for recording full HD video.

Apple had launched iPad 2 in India starting Rs 29,500. Apple's pricing has always surprised everyone and the company has taken active steps to offer better pricing in India. However, this time we are not sure if Apple would be introducing the 4G LTE supporting models in India any time soon.

We consider this product listing as early bird price to pay for getting the hands on the tablet first. With the heavy demand of the New iPad in several countries, it will not be a surprise to use if the tablet comes to India by the end of second quarter this year.

Norway children custody case: Wife accuses husband of torture

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New Delhi: The case of the custody of two NRI kids Abhigyan and Aishwarya in Norway has taken another ugly turn. The children's mother Sagarika Bhattacharya has now accused her husband Anurup Bhattacharya of torturing her. "Anurup tortured me and deleted all my contacts, asked me to leave home. I left home on Monday and I'm not staying with Anurup for the past few days. I am staying with a friend," Sagarika said.

She alleged that Anurup was forcing her to sign an agreement.

"The agreement says the children will stay with the uncle and guardian given if we (Anurup and Sagarika) as the parents choose not to live together, separate or divorce. This agreement will not be challenged by us or our relatives before any court or before any authority or institution," Sagarika claimed.

Sagarika said she did not approve of the agreement, but her husband was forcing her to sign it. "Anurup says if I don't sign the paper, his brother will not take the responsibility of the children and will go back to India," she said.

She also added that CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has asked her not to sign that agreement.

Sagarika, however, denied reports of Anurup pressing for separation.

The maternal grandfather of the children has also claimed that Sagarika was a victim of domestic violence.

He said he wanted Sagarika to return to India as he feared for her life.

"I will fight for my grandchildren as well, but my priority is Sagarika's safety," the children's grandfather said.

The grandfather said he was willing to be the new guardian of the children and that he could take care of his grandchildren even if their uncle Arunabhash backs out.

This came two days after there were reports of the children's father Anurup Bhattacharya accusing Sagarika of domestic violence. He, however, denied putting any allegations on his wife later.

Earlier on Wednesday, a diplomat from the Indian embassy in Oslo met the father and uncle of the two children Abhigyan and Aishwarya in Stavenger on Wednesday. They told him that the uncle is willing to take custody of the children and the father Anurup Bhattacharya regretted his outburst in the media on his marital dispute, saying he was stressed.

The father Anurup Bhattacharya and uncle have also pleaded with Norway's Child Welfare Services to revert to the earlier arrangement.

But the Chlid Welfare Service appears unwilling to trust them for now. It has said the children won't be allowed to return to India.

The hearing on a final agreement in the Norway custody case scheduled for March 23 was also cancelled.

The Norwegian Child Welfare Services claim that the NRI parents Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya and the paternal uncle, who was to be made guardian of the two kids, have changed their position several times in recent days.

Norway has said that they won't give the two children Abhigyan and Aishwarya to their uncle even if he is willing to. Gunnar Toresen, head of the Norway Child Welfare Services said, "The parents and uncle have changed their position many times in the recent days. The Child Welfare Service is no longer confident that they want to enter into a genuine agreement. Even if the family comes to an agreement now, the children could be caught up in a very unfortunate tug of war in India."

There were reports their uncle refused to take the custody of the two children after reports of marital dispute between Anurup and Sagarika.

Anurup had alleged his wife Sagarika had a psychological problem. However, after reports that Anurup had accused his wife Sagarika of marital violence, he denied the allegations and also blamed the media for distorting the facts.

The two children have been in foster care since May, 2011 with the Norwegian child services worried about their safety. The two were expected to return to Kolkata within days, but may now continue to live in Norway.

Indian Americans the third largest Asian community in US

Washington: Indian Americans numbering 3.2 million is the third largest Asian American community in US after Chinese Americans (3.8 million) and Filipinos (3.4 million). As per the details released by US Census Bureau for the year 2010, Asian American communities has emerged as the fastest growing ethnic communities in the last one decade.

The total US population grew by 9.7 per cent, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010.

However, the Asian population increased more than four times faster than the total US population, growing by 43 per cent from 10.2 million to 14.7 million, it said.

As a result, the Asian alone-or-in-combination population represented 57 per cent of the total population in Hawaii.

California had the next highest proportion at 15 per cent, followed by New Jersey (9 per cent), Nevada (9 per cent), Washington (9 per cent), and New York (8 per cent).

The same six states had the highest proportions of the Asian alone population.

The 2010 Census showed that New York, had the largest Asian alone-or-in-combination population, with 1.1 million, followed by Los Angeles (484,000), and San Jose (327,000).

Three other places, Francisco and San Diego in California and Urban Honolulu in Hawaii had Asian alone-or-in-combination populations of over 200,000 people.

As per the figures, the Bhutanese population experienced the fastest growth from 2000 to 2010, growing from about 200 in 2000 to about 19,000 in 2010.

Census Bureau said of all the detailed Asian alone-or-in-any combination groups that had a population of one million or more, the Indian American population grew the fastest, by 68 per cent, followed by the Filipino (44 per cent), Vietnamese (42 per cent), Korean (39 per cent), and Chinese (40 per cent) populations.

The Japanese population experienced the slowest growth among the detailed Asian groups with alone-or-in-any-combination populations of one million or more, growing by 14 per cent.

An analysis of respondents who identified with only one detailed Asian group shows the Chinese population accounted for 23 per cent, the Indian Americans accounted for 19 per cent, and the Filipino population accounted for 17 per cent of all respondents who identified as Asian alone.

Combined, these three groups accounted for 60 per cent of the Asian alone population.

Vietnamese (11 per cent), Korean (10 per cent), Japanese (5 per cent), other single detailed Asian groups (13 per cent), and two or more detailed Asian groups (2 per cent) accounted for smaller proportions of the Asian alone population.

The largest proportion of Asian in combination with another race(s) was for respondents who identified as Filipino (24 per cent), followed by all other single detailed Asian groups (20 per cent).

The next highest proportions were Japanese (14 per cent), Chinese (13 per cent), Asian Indian (9 per cent), Korean (8 per cent), two or more detailed Asian groups (8 per cent), and Vietnamese (4 per cent).

The Asian Indian population was the largest detailed Asian group in nearly half of all states.

The Census Bureau said Indian American population was the largest detailed Asian group in 23 States, more than any other detailed Asian group.

The metro area with the largest Indian American population was Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, (186,000) followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, (142,000), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (108,000), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (98,000), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (86,000), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia (60,000).

Of these 6 metro areas, none was located in the West, the report said.

6.7-magnitude quake hits Papua New Guinea: USGS

Port Moresby: A strong magnitude-6.7 earthquake has rattled Papua New Guinea. There were no immediate reports of injury or damage from the Thursday morning earthquake.

Chris McKee, the assistant director of the Geophysical Observatory in Port Moresby, says the earthquake was centered deep enough that it could be felt widely but hopefully didn't do too much damage.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck at 8:15 am local time and was centered 384 kilometers (238 miles) north of Port Moresby.

The USGS estimated the earthquake's center was about 105 kilometers (65 miles) below the ground.

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Saif: Pakistan's ban on 'Agent Vinod' a shame

Mumbai: Actor-producer Saif Ali Khan has said it is a shame that Pakistan's Censor board has banned the release of 'Agent Vinod' in that country.

The Bollywood film has been banned in Pakistan as the movie contains references to the ISI that could hurt the sentiments of Pakistani people. "It is a shame that the movie is banned, with no offence to anyone, as the idea is to have open films between the two countries.

I was proud that this film was to release there," Saif said at an event here today. "In fact the heroine in our film is a Pakistani girl. We were hoping that they would appreciate that," he added. The 41-year-old actor, who plays a RAW agent in the film with girlfriend Kareena Kapoor in the female lead, said that 'Agent Vinod' has drawn references from the real-life tension between Pakistan and India.

"This is a realistic kind of a thriller. We have shown that there are some negative elements in Pakistan towards India and their Censor have a problem showing that. "We have shown a few most-wanted criminals, those that are harboured in Pakistan, which is a known fact. May be they have taken offence to that.

But ultimately we want a RAW agent to win and baddies to lose. "If they are uncomfortable with that then they should publicise that fact that they are banning Agent Vinod in Pakistan," said Saif. The actor also said that the ban in Pakistan will also lead to increase in its piracy.

"Pakistan forms a large portion of our audience. The minute you put a censorship or ban, people will make sure they watch it. And we want them to see the film. In fact we wanted them to see the mujra performed by Kareena. "It is a shame that they could not see the film in the best way possible. But we tried our best," said Saif. 'Agent Vinod' releases in India on March 23. 

Victor Banerjee upset with National Awards jury

Mumbai: Victor Banerjee is upset with this year's National Awards jury for rejecting Assamese director Bidyut Kotoki's film 'As The River Flows' for not being Assamese.

Victor, who plays a central part in the film, said: "I'm flummoxed by the absurdity of a National Awards jury watching a film in the Assamese language, directed by an Assamese and shot in Assam being proclaimed as being 'not Assamese'. Hello? How much more Assamese did they want the film to be?"

"I'm ashamed at the high-handed arrogance of a jury that has no business calling itself national. 'As The River Flows' is an important Assamese film with a message for all to ponder upon. I've nothing more to say," he added.

Victor feels it is such ignorant evaluations of the region that has led to the neglect of the area.

"The entire nation is ignorant of the reality in the Northeast and it's ridiculous circumstances like the one Bidyut Kotoki has faced that makes me realize why the North East is up in arms, and why for decades the region wants to sever ties with the rest of India."

"Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling are just curiosity pieces...who provide a circus of amusement in Delhi," he added.

Delhi, feels Victor, is taken up with its own agenda. "They are bogged down by the OBC casteism, fodder and tele scams and the perpetuation of corruption on all levels, sports, politics, and now even culture."

Soumitra Chatterjee to get Dadasaheb Phalke award

New Delhi: Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee will receive the 2011 Dada Saheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to cinema. Chatterjee, 77, who has won a National Award in 2008 for his film 'Podokkhep', is an iconic actor in Bengali cinema with a career spanning over half a century.

Sources said the award jury has finalised 77-year-old Chatterjee's name and an announcement in this regard would soon be made.

Recognised as one of the finest actors the country has produced, Chatterjee is known for his long association with legendary Ray, starring in 14 of his films.

He has worked alongside most of the stalwarts of the industry, including legendary actor Uttam Kumar, and some of the best directors of the country.

His best work includes films with honorary Academy Award winning director Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha. 'Apur Sansar', 'Devi', 'Teen Kanya', 'Abhijan', 'Ashani Sanket', 'Sonar Kella' and 'Joy Baba Felunath' are some of the films he shot with Ray.

He made his film debut with Ray's 1959 film 'Apur Sansar' and went on to act in several other of his masterpieces like 'Devi', 'Charulata' and 'Ghare Baire'.

Besides Ray, Chatterjee also worked with renowned Bengali directors like Tapan Sinha ('Kshudito Pashan') and Mrinal Sen ('Mahaprithibi').

He also acted with Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar in a few films. Chatterjee, who was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2004, continues to add on to his huge body of work with new films, mostly commercial.

"This award means a lot to me. I am grateful to my viewers," Chatterjee said on Wednesday.

The Dada Saheb Phalke Award is the highest honour in Indian cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution.

With Additional Inputs from PTI