India static at second spot in T20 team rankings

Updated on : 16-11-2013 10:53 AM

Indian continued to enjoy the second position in the recently-released Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings, with 123 rating points in its kitty, India are five points behind leaders Sri Lanka (128).

South Africa, meanwhile, has moved into the third position in the T20I team rankings after winning both the matches against Pakistan in Dubai, an ICC statement said.  South Africa won the opener on Wednesday by nine wickets and then made it two out of two by winning Friday’s match by six runs.  The series result means South Africa has collected five ratings points and has joined India on 123 ratings points but will be ranked below Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side by one-hundredth of a decimal point.  In contrast, Pakistan, which entered the series in second position and had an opportunity to top the rankings, has dropped behind Sri Lanka (128 ratings points), India and South Africa (both 123 ratings points), in fourth position on 120 ratings points (ahead of the West Indies by a fraction of a point).

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IDBI Bank to raise Rs 1,200-cr fresh capital

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IDBI Bank on Saturday said it will raise up to Rs 1,200 crore through institutional placement of shares.

The bank needs an additional Rs 3,000 this fiscal, of which Rs 1,800 crore will come from the government and the rest will have to be raised via qualified institutional placement (QIP) route, IDBI Bank Chairman and Managing Director M S Raghavan told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday.  Speaking on sidelines of the annual banking conference (Bancon), he said, “Rs 3,000 crore is the amount we foresee, of which Rs 1,800 crore has been allotted by the government. So, Rs 1,200 crore is the rough estimate which will come through QIP.”  The lender had been allotted Rs 1,800 crore in support from the largest shareholder, the government, as part of the Centre’s Rs 14,000-crore capital infusion programme for banks during this fiscal.  Asked if IDBI Bank would also look at tier-II capital raising, Raghavan said it was very comfortable in that front and will not be doing any debt raising for the next two years.  Raghavan, who took over as CMD recently, said his main objective is to achieve the priority sector lending (PSL) target so that funds yield better margins for the lender.  IDBI started out as a dedicated financial institution for corporate finance and turned into a full-fledged lender around a decade back.

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World Newshot

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Hollande arrives in Israel, Netanyahu calls Iran main focus for French visit

The French President Francois Hollande arrived in Israel on Sunday on the first official visit of his term. Hollande will stay three days and meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres and other government officials. He will hold a working meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, address a special session of the Knesset and visit memorial sites. According to Netanyahu, speaking on Sunday, the talks are expected to focus on the next round of negotiations in Geneva on the Iranian nuclear program, due to start on Wednesday. Hollande’s visit comes after Netanyahu told the French daily Le Figaro that Israel “salutes Hollande’s firm stance on the Iranian issue,” adding that he hopes France “doesn’t give in.” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has recently derided the agreement discussed at the P5+1 talks with Iran as a “fool’s game,” hinting that it conceded too much to Tehran. In addition, media reports citing diplomatic sources said France has been apparently “blocking” the talks. French sources told Haaretz that Hollande will push home his advantage on Iran by “strongly reiterating” that “Iran’s military nuclear program must stop.”

North Sea storm traps crew on burning cargo ship

Attempts to rescue 32 crew members from a burning cargo vessel in the North Sea have been called off due to a storm. When the fire broke out on Saturday night three helicopters were scrambled from Norway to assist the Britannia Seaways, but were forced to abandon their mission. Rescue spokesman John Sjursoe told press that no one aboard had been injured and the fire appeared not to be spreading. The Danish-operated cargo ship was carrying military equipment from Norway to Bergen.

7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes in far south Atlantic – USGS

A massive 7.8 magnitude quake has been registered in the Scotia Sea near Antarctica, a US Geological Survey says. The tremor occurred at 09.04 GMT with the epicenter at a depth of 10km, followed by a 5.0 magnitude aftershock. The nearest locations to the quake were Grytviken, South Georgia islands, located 893km to the northeast and the Argentinan city of Ushuaia, 1,140km to the northwest. In Argentina, no tsunami warning followed.

French hostage freed in Nigeria after 11 months in captivity

French engineer Francis Collomp, who was taken hostage in Nigeria in December 2012, has been freed, says President Francois Hollande’s office. A diplomatic source told Reuters Collomp was weak and had lost a lot of weight but was not injured. Collomp, who worked at French renewable energy firm Vergnet, was seized after about 30 gunmen stormed his compound in the remote northern Nigerian town of Rimi. The area, which is close to the Niger border, is known for Al-Qaeda’s North African wing operations.

US Secretary of State to travel to Israel for Iran talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Israel on Friday for talks on a proposed deal between the world powers and Iran regarding Tehran’s supposed nuclear arms program, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has condemned the deal that is being negotiated with Iran at the moment and maintains it will accept nothing less than full nuclear disbandment. Tehran denies it is making nuclear weapons and claims it enriches uranium solely for domestic purposes.

Mass rally staged in Australia for climate change action

Thousands of Australians gathered to call for action on climate change across the country after Prime Minister Tony Abbott moved to abolish carbon tax. GetUp, the group that organized the countrywide event, estimated that 60,000 people turned out to protest.Australia has just had the hottest 12 months ever recorded, which triggered massive bush fires in New South Wales.

28 killed, 80,000 displaced in Vietnam floods

Severe flooding in Vietnam has left at least 28 people dead over the last couple of days. Nine others have been reported missing. Around 100,000 houses were submerged and nearly 80,000 people have been evacuated, the government-run committee on floods and storm protection said in a report. More rain for the region was forecast on Sunday.

Greek leftist group claims responsible for deadly shooting

A Greek leftist group has claimed responsibility for shooting dead two members from the far-right Golden Dawn party. The organization posted their statement on the Greek news website Zougla, saying they admit responsibility for “the political executions of the fascist members of the neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn.” The shooting took place on November 1, when two young Golden Dawn party members were gunned down outside the party’s headquarters.

​ Clash at Chinese police station leaves 11 dead

Chinese police shot dead nine ax-wielding activists who mounted an attack on a police station in China’s western Xinjiang province, state media reports. The clash also claimed the lives of two officers and injured a further two people. State newspaper Xinhua said that the incident took place at around 5:30 pm (0930 GMT) in the Serikbuya Township of Bachu County in Kashgar Prefecture

Turkish police disperse protest over Gezi Park crackdown victim

Turkish police dispersed a protest in the country’s largest city of Istanbul on Saturday, AFP reported. Protesters were demonstrating over a teenager left in a coma after the Gezi Park anti-government protests in June. Police detained several people for questioning. Protesters gathered in front of Istanbul’s law courts for the rally. Berkin Elvan, 14, left home to buy bread and was hit by a teargas canister fired by police as protesters clashed with officers. Elvan’s lawyer filed a complaint on Friday for “attempted murder” against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu, and the city’s chief of police, Huseyin Capkın, Dogon news agency reported. The June protests drew 2.5 million people to the streets across Turkey, demanding Erdogan’s resignation.

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Corporate ownership of media is an inescapable reality: Tewari    Updated on : 16-11-2013 08:08 PM Corporate as well as surrogate political ownership of media are “inescapable” realities, Union minister Manish Tewari has said and asked media industry to devise ways to separate commercial considerations and editorial autonomy.  The Information and Broadcasting minister was speaking at an event organised by the Press Council of India (PCI) to mark the National Press Day on Saturday, where Vice President Hamid Ansari was also present and awards were given for outstanding journalism.  “Corporate ownership of the media is an inescapable reality as is surrogate political ownership as well as government ownership in the public broadcaster format,” Tewari said.  With diverse interests always at play, the challenge is to always try and find the elusive golden mean so that public interest does not become a “permanent casualty at the altar of competing and contradictory private interests,” the Union minister said.  He said the British government had promulgated the Royal Charter on Media Regulation recently and termed it unfortunate that this development had not found resonance here.  The media industry should consider evolving the means and measures of putting “Chinese walls cast in concrete” between commercial considerations and editorial autonomy, the Ludhiana MP said.  He lauded that recently in an influential publications, the editors had voluntarily relinquished their managerial responsibilities.  The Vice President said that the country’s media should articulate consistently and effectively the Indian discourse on global issues. He said the “credibility and commitment of the press and media to objectivity and to that elusive search for truth” is crucial.  He said that some disconcerting developments also had been observed that “media often diverts attention from real issues to non-issues, often divides people and at times promotes superstition.”  Ansari also said that in relation to economic liberalisation in the post-1991 period, the mainstream media has generally adopted a “laudatory” tone and tended to underplay its negative socio-economic effects, though there have been exceptions.  He said that there were other systemic issues that need to be considered which relate to cross-media ownership, the phenomena of “paid news”, need for effective self regulatory mechanisms, decreasing role of editors and editorial freedom, and the need to improve the working condition of media personnel including their safety and security.  Earlier speaking before the Vice President, Tewari also said that there were some pertinent questions that the first generation of the digital age should address to ensure that the process of defining agreed global rules of engagement commences in right earnest in the virtual civilisation.  Giving an example he asked -at what point does a personal ‘tweet’, essentially a digital freedom of expression turn into a ‘mass broadcast’ a telecommunications business, in effect one that has to be held to certain standards of accountability? Speaking further he said that the fundamental public interest off our times was the constitutional values which define the very idea of India.  He said “dark clouds of fascism loom ominously over the horizon- a great evil stalks our land.  The first casualty of this spectre would be the constriction of liberal spaces, curtailment of creativity and circumscribing the right to challenge the conventional and think off the beaten path.”  Referring to newsreports related to BJP leader Amit Shah, Tewari said that if an “alleged expose about state sponsored stalking is correct, I would be worried not as a woman but as a civil libertarian about the Orwellian state that some esteemed gentleman seek to construct.”  PCI chairperson Justice Markandey Katju said that India was facing huge socio economic problems and hoped that member of press would do their duty ably.

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Yameen sworn in as new Maldivian President

Updated on : 17-11-2013 07:10 PM

Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was on Sunday sworn in as the 6th President of the Maldives, ending nearly two years of political turmoil that threatened to isolate the country internationally.

Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Ahmad Faiz at a special session of the Parliament.  He was given a 21-gun salute. Mohammad Jameel was sworn in as vice-President.  54-year-old Yameen, an economist and a candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), clinched an unexpected victory in the presidential run-off yesterday by receiving 51.39 per cent of the votes over opposition leader and former president Mohammed Nasheed who garnered 48.61 per cent of the votes.  In his inaugural speech, Yameen said he will protect the gateway to Maldives, a popular tourist destination.  “I shall strive to make the Maldives the safest and most developed nation in the region. We will maintain good neighbourly relations with countries in the region,” he said.  Two former presidents — Nasheed and Maumoon — also attended the swearing in ceremony. Presidential spokesperson Imad Masood said over 50-members attended the special session of the Paliament.  Earlier, Elections Commission announced the official results of the presidential runoff, confirming Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, as the president elect.  Elections Commissioner Fuad Thowfeek announced that Yameen garnered 111,203 votes and Nasheed received 105,181 votes.  According to Fuad, the voter turnout for the run-off was 91.41 per cent with 218,621 people voting in yesterday’s polls.  After the results were declared, Yameen said the country desperately needed stability and hoped his opponents would cooperate. “The country needs stability,” Yameen told reporters.  “I hope we will receive the necessary cooperation from Nasheed through parliament.”  “Instead of confronting political leaders, we will confront the big challenges facing our country,” he said.  Maldives has witnessed political turmoil since 46-year-old Nasheed resigned under duress in February 2012 in a controversial transfer of power.  Nasheed conceded defeat in yesterday’s run-off after a bitterly fought battle and said he was pleased that the country finally had a democratically elected leader.  “The MDP (Maldives Democratic Party) has always asked for a government elected by the people,” Nasheed told reporters.  “Today is a happy day for the Maldives — we now have an elected government.” The Maldives had failed to elect a president in three attempts since September, raising concerns in the international community that the fledgling democracy may slip back to authoritarian rule. The international community led by the US and India had called for the democratic process to be resumed.  The Commonwealth, European Union and the US had called for democratic process to be observed. In the first round of elections held in September, Nasheed led over Yameen and Jumhooree Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim but failed to secure a more than 50 per cent of the votes. But before a run-off could be held, the results were annulled by the Supreme Court which cited irregularities in the voters’ list.  A second attempt to hold the polls on October 19 was thwarted by police after a Supreme Court ruling.  The re-vote finally took place on November 9 and Nasheed again comfortably led in the first round but could not cross the half-way mark, resulting in yesterday’s run-off with Yameen. The Commonwealth on Thursday suspended the Maldives from its disciplinary panel, a first step towards expulsion from the 53-member organisation for failing to uphold its shared democratic values. Yameen will be the second democratically-elected President on the Maldives.

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C’wealth backs strengthening human rights implementation

Updated on : 17-11-2013 07:11 PM

The CHOGM summit, held amid international spotlight on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, ended on Sunday with member states calling for “accelerated efforts” to strengthen implementation of human rights and a “comprehensive approach” to tackle terrorism.

“Heads reaffirmed their commitment, as set out in the Charter, to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development for all,” a 21-page communique issued at the conclusion of the three-day summit in Colombo, said. “They urged members to accelerate efforts towards the ratification of all major international human rights instruments to strengthen the implementation of rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” the communique said, without making a reference to Sri Lanka which has drawn criticism for alleged war crimes during the military campaign against the LTTE.  The members called for supporting “the establishment and strengthening of National Human Rights Institutions and regional mechanisms where suitable, in compliance with the Paris Principles.”  The statement recognized the right to development as an integral part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.  The Commonwealth also reaffirmed its commitment to tackle terrorism in all forms and unequivocally condemned terrorism both within and between countries.  “Heads of Government reaffirmed their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever, and for whatever purposes,” the communique said.  “They stressed their unwavering commitment to combating terrorism, including international networks on money laundering and financing and rejected the payment of ransom as a source of terrorist funding,” it said.  “They emphasized the need for continued solidarity and strengthened resolve to counter terrorism both within and between countries and recognised that new vigour needs to be injected in the negotiations to agree a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” it added.  Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, host of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), outlined the agreements signed by Commonwealth leaders.  He said there had been widespread agreement on a host of issues like ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of equality.  “Achieving growth with equity and inclusive development must be one of the priorities of the Commonwealth,” Rajapaksa said.  “Issues covered in the communique include development, political values, global threats, challenges and Commonwealth cooperation,” he said.  The member states acknowledged that lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies at the national level, as well as equitable economic relations and favourable economic environment at the international level.  The members adopted the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Development.  The Commonwealth nations agreed to prod world bodies to adopt a Commonwealth report on ways for small countries to access funds to fight climate change.  The summit was dominated by a bitter dispute over alleged war crimes during the military campaign against the LTTE with British Prime Minister David Cameron giving Sri Lanka an ultimatum to conduct a credible probe into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation.  Rajapaksa had promptly rejected Cameron’s demand and the Sri Lankan government said it would not conduct any inquiry under “pressure”or allow an independent international probe.  After a historic visit to war-ravaged Jaffna, the first by a foreign head of government since the island’s independence from Britain in 1948, Cameron met Rajapaksa Friday night. Cameron said they had a “free and frank” discussion on all issues, including an independent credible probe, reconciliation and rehabilitation of Tamils.  Cameron’s visit to Jaffna drew the spotlight away from the summit of the 53-member grouping after Rajapaksa made a combative speech at the opening ceremony.  The absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterparts from Canada and Mauritius had cast a shadow over the CHOGM summit which took place amid allegations of human rights violations against the Tamils in Sri Lanka.  Apart from the rights and freedoms, Commonwealth leaders agreed on steps to tackle high debt and poverty.  The ‘Colombo Declaration’ had as its core feature, sustainable, inclusive and equitable development, Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said at the end of the summit.  “We emphasise the need to act decisively to tackle the challenges confronting the global economy to ensure balanced, sustainable, inclusive and equitable global growth with full and productive employment,” the declaration stated.  “We affirm the importance of reforms of the international trade, monetary and financial institutions in order to ensure fair representation for developing countries,” it said.  The members also expressed deep concern about the adverse impacts of the world financial and economic crises on development prospects, particularly in developing states.

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Quake of M7.3 – SCOTIA SEA

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude	7.3
Date-Time	17 Nov 2013 09:04:55 UTC 17 Nov 2013 06:04:56 near epicenter 17 Nov 2013 13:04:55 standard time in your timezone
Location	60.293S 46.374W
Depth	10 km
Distances	893 km (553 mi) SW of Grytviken, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 1439 km (892 mi) SE of Ushuaia, Argentina 1686 km (1045 mi) SE of Punta Arenas, Chile 1708 km (1058 mi) SE of Rio Gallegos, Argentina 1191 km (738 mi) SSE of Stanley, Falkland Islands