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braintalks-This is a distinct possibility!!...
In reply to:
Petrol price may be cut by Rs 10
Posted by :
braintalks
PTI
With the assembly polls in major states concluding, the government may slash petrol price next week by Rs 10 a litre, diesel by Rs 3 per litre and domestic LPG by Rs 20 per cylinder in line with fall in global oil prices.
"Polling in Rajasthan will end today and with it electioneering in four major states. And so a revision in fuel prices is likely to be taken to the Cabinet at its next meeting scheduled on December 11," a government source said.
For the first time in three years, state-run Indian Oil [Get Quote], Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are selling petrol at a profit of Rs 14.89 a litre and diesel at Rs 3.03 per litre.
But they continue to lose Rs 17.26 on sale of every litre of kerosene through public distribution system (PDS) and Rs 148.32 per 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder.
"The Congress-led coalition is keen on rolling back the Rs 5 a litre hike in petrol, Rs 3 per litre increase in diesel and Rs 50 per cylinder hike in LPG prices announced in June.
As oil firms continue to make losses on LPG, some of the margins on petrol may be used to bring down the cooking fuel price," the source said.
Polling in Jammu & Kashmir --one of the six states that went to elections-- would end on December 24. "When even Election Commission thought it appropriate to announce results of the elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram (on December 8) without waiting for polling in J&K, the government, too, is inclined to cut fuel prices," he said.
State-run oil firms have seen margins turning into positive zone from November 1 but the government did not want to revise prices as the Model Code of Conduct for elections was in place that bars it from making any announcement that could be seen as appeasing voters.
Based on the average international oil price in the second fortnight of November, the state-run firms earn a margin of Rs 44 crore (Rs 440 million) per day on petrol and Rs 42 crore (Rs 420 million) a day on diesel. They, however, lost Rs 66 crore a day on sale of kerosene and Rs 29 crore (Rs 290 million) per day on LPG.
The fall in international oil prices will result in lower revenue loss on fuel sales this fiscal. IOC, BPCL [Get Quote] and HPCL [Get Quote] will end the 2008-09 fiscal with Rs 109,190 crore (Rs 1091.90 billion) revenue loss, Rs 92,853 crore (Rs 928.53 billion) of which has already been accounted for in the first half of the fiscal.
The source said the Cabinet may also consider a mechanism to make good the losses oil firms have borne on selling fuel below the cost.
IOC posted its largest ever net loss of Rs 7,047.13 crore (Rs 70.47 billion) in July-September quarter. BPCL posted a net loss of Rs 2,625.17 crore (Rs 26.25 billion) in the second quarter on top of Rs 1,066.70 crore (Rs 10.66 billion) in April-June, while HPCL reported Rs 888.12 crore (Rs 8.82 billion) loss in the first quarter and another Rs 3,218.92 crore (Rs 32.18 billion) in the second quarter.
The state-run firms want the government to increase the quantum of oil bonds they get as part of compensation for selling fuel below cost.
The government compensates the three refiners for half of their revenue loss on fuel sales by way of oil bonds. Another one-third of the losses are met by companies like ONGC [Get Quote] and OIL by way of discounts on crude oil they sell to them.
However, this compensation was proving to be grossly inadequate, sources said, pointing to the net losses posted by the companies in July-September quarter.
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Yash said Ansari`s arrest did not derail Lashkar`s plans for an attack. "When they found that their mole in Bombay had been caught... they carried out the operations in a different way," he said.
Meanwhile, police officers said they were trying to get as much detail as possible from Kasab.
"A terrorist of this sort is never cooperative. We have to extract information," said Deven Bharti, the head of the Mumbai crime branch.
Indian police are known to use interrogation methods that would be regarded as torture in the West, including questioning suspects drugged with "truth serum."
Bharti provided no details on interrogation techniques, but said "truth serum" would probably be used next week. He did not specify what drug would be used.
During questioning, details of Kasab`s recruitment by Lashkar began to emerge, said police, describing him as fourth grade dropout from an impoverished village who was gravitating to a life of crime.
"Lashkar recruited him, preying on a combination of his religious sentiments and his poverty," said Maria.
The revelations came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with leaders in Islamabad after visiting India`s capital — part of a US effort to pressure Pakistan to share more intelligence and pursue terrorist cells believed to be rooted in the country.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari promised Rice his country would take "strong action" against any elements in Pakistan involved in the siege.
...
In reply to:
Mumbai plot revealed in Feb by arrested LeT man
Posted by :
indianstock
Associated Press
A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India`s financial capital Mumbai, authorities said, a blow to officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani terrorists.
As investigators sought to unravel the attack on Mumbai, stepping up questioning of the lone captured gunman, airports across India were put on high alert amid fresh warnings that terrorists planned to hijack an aircraft.
Also Thursday, police said there were signs that some of the six victims of the attack on a Jewish center may have been tortured. "The victims were strangled," said Rakesh Maria, a senior Mumbai police official. "There were injuries noticed on the bodies that were not from firing."
Members of an Israeli rescue group which had a team in Mumbai said it was impossible to tell if the bodies had been abused, however, because no autopsies were conducted in accordance with Jewish tradition.
The surviving gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab, 21, told interrogators he had been sent by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba and identified two of the plot`s masterminds, according to two Indian government officials familiar with the inquiry. Lashkar, outlawed by Pakistan in 2002, has been deemed by the US a terrorist group with ties to al-Qaeda.
Kasab told police that one of them, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Lashkar`s operations chief, recruited him for the attack, and the assailants called another senior leader, Yusuf Muzammil, on a satellite phone after hijacking an Indian vessel en route to Mumbai.
The information sent investigators back to another reputed Lashkar operative, Faheem Ansari, who they hope could be key in pulling together different strands of the investigation.
Ansari, an Indian national, was arrested in February carrying hand-drawn sketches of hotels, the train terminal and other sites that were later attacked in Mumbai, said Amitabh Yash, director of the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh police.
During his interrogation, Ansari also named Muzammil as his handler in Pakistan, adding that he trained in a Lashkar camp in Muzaffarabad — the same area where Kasab said he was trained, a senior police officer involved in the investigation said.
In Pakistan, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters he had no information on Lakhvi or Muzammil but that authorities would check. According to the US Treasury Department, Lahkvi has directed Lashkar operations in Chechnya, Bosnia, Southeast Asia, training members to carry out suicide bombings and attack populated areas. In 2004, he sent operatives and funds to attack US forces in Iraq.
Ansari "told us about a planned Lashkar attack on Bombay, on southern Bombay", said Yash, referring to Mumbai by its previous name. "He gave us eight or nine specific locations where the attack would be carried out," he said, adding that Ansari had detailed sketches of the places and escape routes from the sites.
Ansari said he carried out the reconnaissance in the fall of 2007, and that it also included the US consulate, the Bombay stock exchange and other Mumbai sites that were not attacked.
Ansari is now in Indian custody, according to Yash. It was unclear if he was being questioned again, but Maria said they were working to determine if Ansari played a role in how the attackers "got such intricate knowledge of the sites".
Mumbai plot revealed 10 months ago
Indian authorities have faced a torrent of criticism about missed warnings and botched intelligence, and revelations that Ansari disclosed details of the Mumbai plot 10 months ago will be added to the list.
Linking an Indian national to the plot also undermines India`s assertion that Pakistan is solely responsible.
Yash said during extensive interrogations Ansari confessed to scouting Mumbai, arranging a safe-house there for Lashkar militants and provided details on his involvement in the group. "We got everything out of him, whatever he knew," he said.
Ansari linked up with Lashkar while working at a printing press in Dubai. He was taken by sea to Pakistan to the Lashkar camp in Muzaffarabad and received a false Pakistani passport and citizenship papers, which police recovered when he was arrested.
In 2007, Ansari said, he traveled to Katmandu, Nepal, and then crossed back into India and settled in Mumbai, where he conducted reconnaissance for a future attack, Yash said.
He was arrested on February 10 in the northern city of Rampur after suspected Muslim militants attacked a police camp, killing eight constables. He said he was there to collect weapons to bring to Mumbai for a future attack.
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Associated Press
A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India`s financial capital Mumbai, authorities said, a blow to officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani terrorists.
As investigators sought to unravel the attack on Mumbai, stepping up questioning of the lone captured gunman, airports across India were put on high alert amid fresh warnings that terrorists planned to hijack an aircraft.
Also Thursday, police said there were signs that some of the six victims of the attack on a Jewish center may have been tortured. "The victims were strangled," said Rakesh Maria, a senior Mumbai police official. "There were injuries noticed on the bodies that were not from firing."
Members of an Israeli rescue group which had a team in Mumbai said it was impossible to tell if the bodies had been abused, however, because no autopsies were conducted in accordance with Jewish tradition.
The surviving gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab, 21, told interrogators he had been sent by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba and identified two of the plot`s masterminds, according to two Indian government officials familiar with the inquiry. Lashkar, outlawed by Pakistan in 2002, has been deemed by the US a terrorist group with ties to al-Qaeda.
Kasab told police that one of them, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Lashkar`s operations chief, recruited him for the attack, and the assailants called another senior leader, Yusuf Muzammil, on a satellite phone after hijacking an Indian vessel en route to Mumbai.
The information sent investigators back to another reputed Lashkar operative, Faheem Ansari, who they hope could be key in pulling together different strands of the investigation.
Ansari, an Indian national, was arrested in February carrying hand-drawn sketches of hotels, the train terminal and other sites that were later attacked in Mumbai, said Amitabh Yash, director of the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh police.
During his interrogation, Ansari also named Muzammil as his handler in Pakistan, adding that he trained in a Lashkar camp in Muzaffarabad — the same area where Kasab said he was trained, a senior police officer involved in the investigation said.
In Pakistan, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters he had no information on Lakhvi or Muzammil but that authorities would check. According to the US Treasury Department, Lahkvi has directed Lashkar operations in Chechnya, Bosnia, Southeast Asia, training members to carry out suicide bombings and attack populated areas. In 2004, he sent operatives and funds to attack US forces in Iraq.
Ansari "told us about a planned Lashkar attack on Bombay, on southern Bombay", said Yash, referring to Mumbai by its previous name. "He gave us eight or nine specific locations where the attack would be carried out," he said, adding that Ansari had detailed sketches of the places and escape routes from the sites.
Ansari said he carried out the reconnaissance in the fall of 2007, and that it also included the US consulate, the Bombay stock exchange and other Mumbai sites that were not attacked.
Ansari is now in Indian custody, according to Yash. It was unclear if he was being questioned again, but Maria said they were working to determine if Ansari played a role in how the attackers "got such intricate knowledge of the sites".
Mumbai plot revealed 10 months ago
Indian authorities have faced a torrent of criticism about missed warnings and botched intelligence, and revelations that Ansari disclosed details of the Mumbai plot 10 months ago will be added to the list.
Linking an Indian national to the plot also undermines India`s assertion that Pakistan is solely responsible.
Yash said during extensive interrogations Ansari confessed to scouting Mumbai, arranging a safe-house there for Lashkar militants and provided details on his involvement in the group. "We got everything out of him, whatever he knew," he said.
Ansari linked up with Lashkar while working at a printing press in Dubai. He was taken by sea to Pakistan to the Lashkar camp in Muzaffarabad and received a false Pakistani passport and citizenship papers, which police recovered when he was arrested.
In 2007, Ansari said, he traveled to Katmandu, Nepal, and then crossed back into India and settled in Mumbai, where he conducted reconnaissance for a future attack, Yash said.
He was arrested on February 10 in the northern city of Rampur after suspected Muslim militants attacked a police camp, killing eight constables. He said he was there to collect weapons to bring to Mumbai for a future attack.
...
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Tata Steel on drive to cut headcount by 7,600
Hit by the global credit crisis, Tata Steel is planning to reduce its headcount by more than 7,600 by 2010, an internal memo issued by the country`s largest steel maker says. The current strength of the company is nearly 31,500 and the plan is to reduce it to close to 23,900, says the memo made available to HT. Company sources said the work-force cut would primarily be done through mechanisation of plants, outsourcing of work and the closure of a couple of units, in addition to other rationalisation measures.
"As ESS is a voluntary process, we cannot ascertain the number of people who will be opting for this option; hence no number comes into the picture," said a company spokesman in JamshedpurCorporate spokespeople in Mumbai said they could not offer any immediate comment. Tata Steel has already put on hold its two large greenfield expansion plans in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Tata Steel recently re-launched a lucrative early separation scheme (ESS) considered by many as a golden handshake project. The company expects to convince about 2,200 workers to make use of this scheme soon, and about 1,400 are expected to be from the steel works department.
Following the global recession, the company has already announced to put on hold two large Greenfield expansion plans in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which would incur a total investment of around Rs 66,000 crore. The company is focusing on modern technology to increase productivity and the ESS is an exit route for less skilled workers, being offered in agreement with the labour unions.
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by :
sambala
Siemens to lay off 150 jobs at El Paso plant
It is reported that Siemens Energy & Automation plans to close its East Side manufacturing plant, lay off about 150 workers and move production to its plant in Juarez in 2009.
The El Paso plant at 1400 Henry Brennan makes components for home electrical circuit breakers and other home circuit protection products. The plant uses plastic injection molding and sheet metal fabrication for the parts.
Mr Michael Krampe a Siemens spokesman in Atlanta said that "A reduction in product orders tied to the nation`s economic slowdown forced the company to take these steps to remain competitive in this line of business."
Mr Krampe said that about 60 workers in technical and management jobs from the El Paso plant, which now employs about 210 people, will be offered jobs in Juarez. The Juarez plant now employs about 710 people.
Workforce Commission data show that the production shift will begin in January 2009 and the El Paso plant will close by June 30th 2009. El Paso has lost an estimated 900 manufacturing jobs since October 2007.
Mr David Coronado, labor market analyst at Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande, El Paso`s public employment agency, said that he expects more layoffs in coming months due to the nation`s economic recession. The major layoffs will likely take place in manufacturing, but other industries also will likely be cutting jobs or not hiring. He added that "Consumers are not spending as much as they had in the past and companies are cutting production."
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Ever felt that your online search got a little monotonous? Microsoft today rolled out a fun way to search for your information online with a new contest on the Live Search engine called - “Win with Search”. ...
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Ministry of home affairs reponsible for internal security has to be as competitive as Ministry of external affairs.
Winning over terrorism is not a task of few days, still US has proven how to tackle it as there has not been even a single incidence there, now....
In reply to:
Some Mumbai attackers may have fled: US official
Posted by : marketbear
that is obvious. They are not fool to wait to be caught by security. They are mastermind and people only can throw them out of the country. India should stop alloting visa for pakistanis as pakistan behaviour will not improve and they don`t understand good language. They should be tought a lesson by destroying it.
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ashalanshu-Is there any agency specifically designated to protect Indian Public??...
In reply to:
Mumbai Terror - Pay your tributes to ATS Chief Hemant Karkare.
Posted by : ashalanshu
Dear K.N.Pillai16968, Plz. read my post to dear subasu on the same subject.
Yes ur understanding is right there r 2 separate agencies in india each with a differant job to handle on paper.
SPG - Special protection group is designed specifically for security of V IPs, V V IPs, V V V IPs, V V V V IPs, V V V V V IPs..............
NSG - National Security Guards - To counter terrorist attacks & plane Hijacks....
In case of NSG, I put it as POLITICIANS Security Guards (PSG), just to show my anger like all of u but with a humorous note.
Thanks
Ashal
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that is obvious. They are not fool to wait to be caught by security. They are mastermind and people only can throw them out of the country. India should stop alloting visa for pakistanis as pakistan behaviour will not improve and they don`t understand good language. They should be tought a lesson by destroying it....
In reply to:
Some Mumbai attackers may have fled: US official
Posted by : indianstock
Several attackers may have survived the three-day siege of Mumbai that killed 212 people last week, analysts said on Thursday.
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indianstock-Thats not good news!!...
In reply to:
Some Mumbai attackers may have fled: US official
Posted by : indianstock
Several attackers may have survived the three-day siege of Mumbai that killed 212 people last week, analysts said on Thursday.
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Several attackers may have survived the three-day siege of Mumbai that killed 212 people last week, analysts said on Thursday.
...
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A woman (mis)quoting from bhagwatgita, prefers to spell Krishna as Krsna (ISCON way), quoting from kamsutra, calls herself a progressive forward is a joke. Madam, whatever your quotes on Bhagvadgita & Kamsutra are there indicates that you must be Osho(Rajnish) follower. No harm in that because you are in India & not Saudi Arabia....
In reply to:
Shame shame shame shame on BJP VP
Posted by : radhika_nandlal
Chemkiron,
If you quote advani you become BJP chief??? what an absurd post.
I think u have a problem with progressive forward thinking action oriented women. If u have such problems in India you will have to suffer alone.. you should perhaps think of settling down in countries were women accept a docile role, then you can establish your supremacy over all u survey easily... no use taking shots at me this way
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Thorium Power Ltd., the leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services for emerging nuclear programs and Punj Lloyd Group, the diversified engineering, procurement & construction conglomerate, today announced the signing of Memorandum of Understanding...
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If I remember correctly, during the prime minstership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, there was war between Pak and India.Pak was marching towards India on two fronts. Instead of defending on those two fronts, our Army opened third front and pak was defeated. OFFENCE IS THE BEST DEFENCE. We should pay Pak in the same coins. Indian army should train 1000 human bombs and with their help,training and breeding camps in POK and Pakistan should be destroyed. If a nation of 1 billion people cannot have resources to do this, do we have right to to remain INDEPENDENT?...
In reply to:
`Pakistan is a semi-failed state`
Posted by : MMB Messenger
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Arabic newspaper Alquds Alarabi, is an expert on Al-Qaeda. He became one of the very few Western journalists to interview Osama Bin Laden. Abdel Bari Atwan talks to Shishir Prasad and Charles Assisi on the ramifications of the Mumbai terror attacks.
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Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Arabic newspaper Alquds Alarabi, is an expert on Al-Qaeda. He became one of the very few Western journalists to interview Osama Bin Laden. Abdel Bari Atwan talks to Shishir Prasad and Charles Assisi on the ramifications of the Mumbai terror attacks....
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New Delhi: The US may have used its considerable diplomatic clout to gain India entry into the nuclear club and France may have signed a deal regarding the sale of nuclear reactors to the country, but Russia will be the first to sell four reactors to India after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) cleared nuclear commerce with India two months ago.
India and Russia will sign an agreement to this effect on Friday, during the three-day visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, his first to India since taking over as President in March.
The four reactors, each with a capacity to generate 1,000MW, will be constructed at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, where Russia is already constructing two reactors, each of 1,000MW capacity, for a power plant.
India has also agreed to identify another location for a nuclear power plant that will be built by Russia, a government official, who did not want to be identified, said.
The agreement between Russia and India to this effect has been ready for a year, but it couldn’t be signed and ratified because India is yet to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which allows the transfer of sensitive civilian nuclear technology.
Dmitry Medvedev
To be sure, India is yet to sign the treaty, but the waiver by the 45-member NSG, which controls the export and transfer of nuclear material and technology, has now made it possible for the two countries to sign the nuclear deal.
Russia is a member of NSG and while the US lobbied for a waiver for India, it will be Russia that reaps the first commercial benefits of this waiver.
Medvedev’s visit to India is part of a process of annual summits between India and Russia put in place some years ago, not only to promote the relationship between the two countries, but also to sort out several disputes relating to defence, trade and economy.
For instance, on the eve of Medvedev’s visit, Russia agreed that the dispute between Russian company Technoprom Exports and NTPC Ltd over the supply of boilers would be sorted out through a process of adjudication.
India briefed Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Zhukov on the adjudicator’s report, which was submitted on Monday and which states that the two sides should resolve the matter together. Zhukov agreed that the Russian company would adhere to the Indian adjudicator’s advice, the government official added.
Zhukov was in New Delhi to participate in the 14th session of the India-Russia inter-governmental commission, which is co-chaired by him and India’s foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The government official clarified that there was “no linkage” between the resolution of the Technoprom-NTPC dispute and India’s interest in buying a 20% stake in the enormous Sakhalin-3 gas field in Russia.
Mint.....
