Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Honda-driven Japan first team to qualify for 2014 World Cup


An injury-time penalty from Keisuke Honda fired Japan into the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making the Samurai Blue the first country to qualify for next year's tournament in Brazil.
With Japan needing to avoid defeat in order to clinch one of the 32 places with a game to spare, playmaker Honda converted a late spot-kick to level the score at 1-1 after Australia had taken a surprise lead through Tommy Oar's speculative cross with eight minutes remaining.
Tuesday's point means Alberto Zaccheroni's Japan are seven points clear at the top of Asian qualifying's Group B and assured of a place in a fifth consecutive World Cup.
The top two teams from each of Asia's five-country groups advance, with both third-placed teams entering a playoff.
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The winner of that two-legged tie plays the fifth-placed team from the South American section to decide who goes to the tournament. Brazil, as host nation, has does not need to qualify.
Oman also enjoyed a fruitful Tuesday as they leaped from second bottom in Group B to second top after beating Iraq 1-0 in Muscat thanks to Ismail Al Ajmi's goal in first half stoppage time.
The Omanis' nine points are now two better than both Australia and Jordan, but the latter pair have a match in hand.
This will be played when the Socceroos, who have qualified for the last two World Cups, host Jordan in Melbourne next Tuesday.

The result of that match will determine what each team needs to do in their final qualifier on June 18, when Group B concludes with Australia at home again, against Iraq, while Oman travel to Jordan.

Japan's next commitment is the forthcoming Confederations Cup in Brazil, a warmup event for 2014's four-yearly showpiece.

Zaccheroni's Asian champions play hosts Brazil in the competition's opening game on June 15.

Elsewhere in Asia, former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been named head coach of Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R & F.
The Swede, who has also coached Manchester City, Lazio, Roma and Ivory Coast during a 36-year managerial career, has left his post as technical director of United Arab Emirates club Al Nasr.
"The club's board of directors has today officially hired Sven-Goran Eriksson as Guangzhou football coach until December 2014," read a statement from the club, which is 13th in the 16-team CSL.
"Coach Li Bing will from today no longer serve as the acting head coach."

Source : CNN

Seagate unveils Ultrathin hard disk for use in mobile devices

Source : Seagate.com
Seagate Technology has launched the thinnest hard disk drive ever, targeting use in mobile devices. The hard disk, that has been dubbed Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD, is only 5mm thin and weighs approximately 93 grams.
Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD is a 2.5- inch drive, which will be available in two variants, 320GB and 500GB, but takes 25 percent less space than its previous-generation 7mm counterpart. The suggested retail price for this hard disk is $89, for the 320GB variant. This hard disk comes with a 6Gbps SATA interface. It also supports SED encryption on the 500GB capacity version.

Due to its slim profile, Seagate is hoping the hard disk will find use in mobile device like tablets, further diminishing the boundaries between tablets and laptops.

Commenting on the launch, Steve Luczo, president, CEO and chairman of Seagate said, "When we originally demonstrated this solution last September, we knew we had a truly innovative product that would empower our partners to reimagine mobile applications. The strong support from our OEM partners indicates we have delivered on our vision and look forward to a new wave of innovative solutions enabled by this revolutionary product."

"The new Seagate Laptop Ultrathin truly raises the bar, enabling us to finally create high-capacity, thin and light laptops that consumers crave at mass-market price points they can afford," said S.Y. Shian, corporate vice president and general manager of Asus' notebook business unit. "The drive's capacity, coupled with its ultra-slim, lightweight footprint, empowers our engineers to think out of the box and create truly ground-breaking, innovative system designs- it's a win- win for both us and the consumer."

Seagate has recently unveiled 660 SSD, which is its first solid-state drive (SSD) for consumers, as well as next-generation enterprise SSDs - Seagate 600 Pro SSD and the Seagate 1200 SSD.

Source : NDTV

World Bank all for an eco-friendly Hyderabad

World Bank country head Barjor E. Mehta hails the innovative features, multi-modal integration and the urban redesign approach of the HMR project; terms it a very promising one

The World Bank has promised all support to the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project and the plans to transform the capital into an eco-friendly global city.

Appreciating the innovative features, multi-modal integration and the urban redesign approach of the project, Barjor E. Mehta, World Bank country head, had mentioned that the Hyderabad model was a very promising one. He was speaking at a joint workshop conducted by the World Bank and HMR on “land value capture for Transit Oriented Development (TOD)” in the Metro Rail Bhavan on Thursday.

Tracing out the development of cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, Hiroaki Suzuki, Lead Urban Specialist, World Bank, explained how they had achieved prosperity and development, apart from addressing traffic problems through the TOD approach.

Metro rail projects in these cities made them global centres of economic activity with planned densification along metro corridors and large-scale development of areas around stations through land pooling and incentives like higher FSI to accommodate the increasing urban population, he said.

Loss-making metro projects are cross subsidised through revenues from property development in and around stations. TOD strategies has to involve the government, city administration, private sector and other stake holders for sustainability of urban areas.

HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy highlighted the main features of “Transit + ” model of the Hyderabad project like the inter-modal integration with the railway stations of Secunderabad, Nampally and Begumpet; bus depots/stations at Miyapur, JBS, MGBS, Dilsukhnagar, Koti, Lakdi-ka-pul and Falaknuma and six MMTS stations.

The operation of merry-go-round feeder buses in colonies and business areas around Metro stations, skywalks, footpaths, bicycle stations and pedestrian facilities etc are being planned to avoid personalised vehicles, he said.

Stations are to have shopping complexes, multiplexes, food courts, clinics and retail stores to cater to the day-to-day needs of people, thereby reducing congestion on roads.

Urban Development Principal Secretary B. Sam Bob highlighted the need to finance more urban infrastructure projects by capturing enhanced land values through the TOD mechanism.

Source : TOI

Joneja, 15, becomes youngest Indian to climb Everest

New Delhi: At 15 years and seven months, Raghav Joneja has become the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, climbing the peak with five teenage mates from Lawrence School, Sanawar.

Lawrence became the first school in the world to send a team to the highest peak.

The boys achieved the remarkable feat May 21 when they summited Everest after a month-long gruelling expedition, backed by Hero Cycles.

The expedition comprised of seven boys with their sherpas, three fathers as a support team and another four old Sanawarians, who joined the group from here to the base camp for 21 days to give them moral support.

Col. Neeraj Rana, ex-director of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), was the mentor for the expedition which April 9 arrived at Lukla, Nepal from where the group trekked for nine days to the base camp. At the base camp they acclimatised for nearly a month and began the final ascent May 17.

While they set off in a group of seven, one of the seven, Hakikat Grewal, developed a problem in his oxygen mask and couldn’t reach the summit, having to retreat from 27,600 ft.

However, the rest completed the expedition successfully.

Ajay Sohal (16) and Prithvi Chahal (17) together climbed the summit first, next came Shubham Kaushik (16), who was followed by Fateh Brar (16) and then Joneja and Guribadat Singh (17).

“Whatever we do through the rest of our lives, this is one achievement that will always stick to us and will always make us proud. The team is grateful to Hero Cycles and our school for making this ultimate achievement possible for us,” said Joneja.

Established in 1847, the Lawrence School is located near Kasauli, in the Shimla Hill in Himachal Pradesh.

IANS 

Monsoon enters Andhra, to advance further

Hyderabad: The Southwest Monsoon on Monday entered Andhra Pradesh and is likely to advance in the next two to three days, says the met office.

The Monsoon has set in over parts of Rayalaseema region, said the state's disaster management department quoting the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).



The Monsoon, which touched Kerala coast on Saturday, has arrived in Andhra Pradesh two days in advance.

Many places in Rayalaseema and some parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been receiving rains since Sunday.

The IMD has forecast moderate to rather heavy rain or thundershowers at many places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema and at a few places over Telangana during the next 48 hours.

It has warned that heavy rain would occur at isolated places in the districts of Chittoor, Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa of Rayalaseema and Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari of coastal Andhra Pradesh in the next 48 hours.

Officials said Tungabhadra river in Kurnool district was in spate due to heavy rains and in the upper reaches of Karnataka.

Five people were killed in thunderbolts in Guntur district in south Coastal Andhra on Sunday. Four were injured in lightning near Hyderabad.

Several parts of the state received rains last week under the impact of low pressure area over Bay of Bengal, providing relief from the intense heat.

According to officials, 524 people died due to heat across the state since April 1.

IANS 

Political parties come under RTI Act, rules CIC

New Delhi: In a landmark ruling to ensure transparency in the functioning of political parties, the Central Information Commission on Monday held that the parties are public authorities and answerable to citizens under RTI Act.

The Commission, a quasi-judicial body, has said six national parties Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI-M, CPI and BSP have been substantially funded indirectly by the central government and they have the character of public authority under the RTI Act as they perform public functions.

After the order of the full bench of CIC, the parties will be answerable to the citizens regarding their source of funding, how they spend money and choice of candidates for elections, among other issues.

The CIC has directed the parties to appoint Public Information Officers within six weeks to respond to RTI queries and adhere to all the legal provisions.

"In view of the nature of public functions performed by political parties...We conclude that political parties in question are public authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act," the Bench, comprising Chief Information Commissioner Satyanand Mishra and Information Commissioners Annapurna Dixit and M L Sharma, said.

The Commission held that political parties have the character as public authorities and "we hold that INC, BJP, CPIM, CPI, NCP and BSP have been substantially financed by the central government under section 2(h)(ii) of the RTI Act".

The Bench held the income tax exemptions granted to the parties and free air time given by All India Radio and Doordarshan at the time of elections also substantially contribute to indirect financing from the government.

"We have no hesitation in concluding that INC/AICC, BJP, CPI-M, CPI, NCP and BSP have been substantially financed by the central government and therefore they are held to be public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act," the Bench ordered.

On the performing of public duty point raised by Bairwal, the CIC held that political parties "affect the lives of the citizens, directly or indirectly in every conceivable way and are continuously engaged in performing public duty. It is, therefore, important that they become accountable to public".

"We are of the opinion that bringing the political parties in the ambit of RTI Act is likely to usher an era of transparency in their functioning. Besides, it would result in strengthening of democracy and democratice institutions in the country," the Commission said.

Activist Anil Bairwal of Association of Democratic Reforms and Subhash Agrawal had directed their RTI applications to these parties which were made parties by CIC when the matter reached the panel.

While Agrawal had sought information from Congress and BJP, Bairwal had sought details of funding and donors from the six major parties.

Not getting any response, they had approached the CIC seeking declaration of political parties as public authorities under the Right to Information Act after which citizens can seek information from them by paying Rs 10 as the fee.

After detailed hearings where representatives of these parties opposed bringing them under the RTI Act, the CIC full bench held in a 54-page order that they fulfill the criteria of being public authorities under the Act.


The Commission based its decision on three impotant points raised by complainants -- substantial funding received by the parties from government, performance of public duty by them and legal provisions vesting them with rights and liabilities.

The Commission said since no income tax was paid by the parties, the exact quantum of rebate could not be quantified since income of all these political parties would place them in the highest slab of income tax, at least 30 per cent of their total income would have been collected as income tax but for the total exemption given to them by law.

"No one can dispute that this is substantial financing, though indirectly," it said.

The political parties had contended such exemptions are routinely extended to many charitable and non-profit non-governmental organisations across the country but they are not considered public authorities.

This point was rejected by the CIC which said there is a great difference between the tax exemption given to charitable and non-profit non-governmental organisations and that given to political parties.

Outlining the difference in the two cases, the CIC said exemptions to non-profit non-governmental organisations are strictly conditional and withdrawn if they do not fulfil their objectives whereas the tax exemption given to the political parties is unfettered.

"The only condition being that they must report to the Election Commission of India, every year, the details of all the contributors who contribute Rs 20,000 or more to the political party concerned. Thus, the political parties enjoy an almost unfettered exemption from payment of income tax, a benefit not enjoyed by any other charitable or non-profit non-governmental organisations," it said.

The bench said "no democracy can exist today without political parties. An ordinary citizen does not have direct access to the government except through his elected representative and cannot hope to be part of the government without being a member of a Political Party. It is, thus, through the political parties that the citizens of a democracy operationalise the democratic state."

The CIC said political parties come into existence only after registering with the Election Commission which awards symbols under given legal provisions.

"ECI is vested with the superintendence, direction and control of elections under Article 324 of the Constitution. ECI is also vested with the authorities to suspend or withdraw recognition of political parties in certain contingencies," the CIC said.

It said political parties can recommend disqualification of Members of the House in certain contingencies under the Tenth Schedule.

"The contention is that the aforesaid constitution/statutory powers of political parties bring them in the ambit of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. We find the above submission quite compelling and unerringly pointing towards their character as public authority," it said.

It said INC, BJP, CPIM, CPI, NCP and BSP have been been substantially financed by Central Government under section 2(h)(ii) of the RTI Act.

"The criticality of the role being played by these political parties in our democratic set up and the nature of duties performed by them also point towards their public character, bringing them under the ambit of Section 2(h). The Constitutional and legal provisions discussed herein above also point towards their character in public authorities," it said.

PTI 

Monday, June 3, 2013

Abducted British couple rescued, 9 arrested in TN

Chennai: An abducted British couple was rescued and nine persons, including two Sri Lankans, were arrested for allegedly committing the crime and demanding Rs 2.58 crore as ransom. 

Chennai Police coordinated with Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), London, and Serious Organised Crime Agency, United Kingdom, state and central intelligence agencies and rescued the couple from an SUV bound for a house at Mandarakuppam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu last night. 

"A gang of people operated from London as well as in the state to coordinate this abduction. It was a peculiar and complex case, as it involved two different cities in two countries," Chennai Police Commissioner S George told reporters here today.


Based on a complaint on May 29 that British nationals Thavaraja (59) and his wife Salaja (55), who landed at the airport here from Colombo, were missing, a case was registered. They were originally from Sri Lanka and had settled down in the UK and obtained citizenship. 

The couple had arrived here to proceed to Tiruchirapalli, where they planned to join a tour operator and visit temples in the state for nine days. 

Investigations revealed that the couple's daughter Dharshini, residing in London, received calls from unidentified men who claimed to have abducted her parents and demanded a ransom of Rs 2.58 crore (300,000 pounds).

Chennai Police coordinated with Dharshini, as she sent them clippings of her conversation with the abductors and sought more time to raise the ransom money, as was advised by police. 

"The only source of information was Dharshini's clippings as we did not know who were the kidnappers and where they were keeping the couple," George said. 

PTI

Scientists discover vast undersea freshwater reserves

Scientists discover vast undersea freshwater reserves SYDNEY: Australian researchers said on Thursday they had established the existence ...