Rae Bareli (UP), May 23 : Priyanka Gandhi, during the visit to mother Sonia Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency, today met the prospective candidates of the working committee of the city.

Priyanka met the about 100 prospective candidates at the Bhyemau guest house here. She asked the workers as to what plans they had to strengthen the party and how they would discharge their duties in case they are assigned new responsibilities, sources said.

Priyanka arrived here yesterday on a two-day visit. The new working committee would be finalised soon, they said. She later left for Delhi in the evening, sources said.

During his visit to Samarkand, the Vice President also interacted with the regional heads of the Province. The Indian national flag is a horizontal tricolour of saffron at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom in equal proportion with a blue coloured Ashok Chakra at the centre of the white band. Ansari arrived in Tashkent on a four-day visit on Tuesday. He had yesterday held discussions with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov on a wide range of issues, including counter-terrorism and strengthening bilateral relations. Ansari also met I Sobirov, the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan and D Tashmukhamedokva, the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan (the Lower House).

Samarkand is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur and is the site of his mausoleum — the Gur-e Amir.

Guwahati, May 23 : The victory of Prime Minister and Congress candidate Manmohan Singh appeared certain in the May 30 Rajya Sabha elections in Assam at the end of withdrawal of nomination papers today.

At the close of the deadline for withdrawal, all the three contestants – Singh, who is the first Congress candidate, Santius Kujur, the party’s second candidate and AIUDF’s Aminul Islam remained in the fray.

The nomination papers of the three contestants were found valid on the day of scrutiny on May 21 and no nomination was withdrawn today.

Polling would be held on May 30 from 9 am to 4 pm and votes would be counted the same day at 5 pm. The election process will be completed before June 3 as per the Election Commission’s May 13 notification.

The prime minister’s victory is certain as he is the only contestant for the first preference votes of 78 Congress MLAs in the 126-member Assembly, while Kujur and Islam are vying for the second seat.

Badruddin Ajmal, the chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which is the second largest party in the Assembly with 18 seats, has said that as partners in the UPA coalition at the Centre the party respects the prime minister and wants him to win unopposed but at the same time it was keen to fight till the end for the second seat.

Singh’s four sets of nomination papers which were endorsed by 40 MLAs were found in order. Singh had, however, filed a fresh affidavit two days before scrutiny correcting his age in his nomination papers as 80 years and not 82.

Kujur, who had contested the last assembly polls from Panery in Udalguri district, is an adivasi leader from the Christian community, while Islam is AIUDF’s general secretary and an advocate in Gauhati High Court.

New Delhi, May 23 : Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha today said that the controversy-ridden Indian Premier League was nothing but a den for gambling where lots of black money were involved.

Sinha said that a report prepared by the Standing Committee on Finance, which he is heading, had pointed out financial irregularities and involvement of black money in the tournament, but the government had not acted pro-actively to stop these illegal activities.

“The Committee looked into the aspect of money laundering and involvement of illegal black money in the IPL. We called the officials of BCCI, Finance Ministry, RBI and tax officials and we came to the conclusion that lots of black money were involved in the IPL,” he said.

“We prepared a report on how the laws are being violated and how the black money were brought into the IPL teams through various routes. But government had not acted as pro-actively as it should have been to stop these irregularities,” he added.

“IPL is nothing but a den of gambling. There is less of cricket and more of gambling in the IPL. Spot fixing or match fixing does not appear to be confined to a few players or bookies. It appears to be a widespread net and these spot-fixing or match-fixing must have happened in the past years also,” Sinha, also life president of All India Tennis Association, told ‘Times Now’.

He slammed the BCCI for not regulating cricket properly and said that stringent action should be taken up against anybody found guilty howsoever powerful he may be.

Washington, May 23 : India and the US have agreed to work closely to combat terrorism, apprehend wanted criminals and effectively deal with security threats confronting them. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who is on a visit to the US, and Attorney General Eric Holder agreed that the Home Ministry and the US Department of Justice should work together institutionally to address pending issues relating to extradition, execution of Letters Rogatory and Red Corner Notices.

They also agreed to cooperate in the areas such as law enforcement, counter terrorism and judicial processes. New Delhi and Washington also recognised the compelling reasons for closer cooperation between India and the US based on the larger strategic objective underlined by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the former’s visit to India in November 2010.

During the second Homeland Security Dialogue, Shinde and US Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano emphasised that cooperation between New Delhi and Washington in internal security was a key pillar of the India-US global strategic partnership.

“They also recognised that such cooperation was imperative, in view of commonality of the threats that confront the two countries,” an official statement said. The Home Minister and his American counterpart welcomed progress made over the recent past in developing practical steps to enhance the security of the citizens and to prevent the misuse of increasingly-interconnected global financial, transportation and communication systems.

Both the countries agreed to enhance cooperation in capacity building programmes and to identify technologies and equipment useful for Indian law enforcement agencies which they can source from the US. During the dialogue, the two leaders received reports from the six sub-groups that constitute the Homeland Security Dialogue and welcomed progress being achieved in substantive terms.

New Delhi, May 23 : There is a need to focus on the principles of governance to curb corrupt businesses practices, Planning Commission member Arun Maira said today.

“A measure to tackle the problem is by fixing standards in different industries. But it is imperative to address the fundamental question that when setting guidelines, it must be the society as a whole that benefits and not just a few persons, companies or representatives,” Maira said in a conference here.

“Bribery in one level is about paying and about getting, paying to get something that you are not legally entitled to … and these transactions take place in a system which is corrupt. And more corrupt is the system, more is the temptation to bribe for the sake of performance,” he said.

Government is considering laws, including the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials Bill, the Whistleblower Protection Bill, and the new Companies Bill, to check corrupt practices, he said. Speaking at the conference, Kiran Karnik, former Nasscom president, said, “Competition is the controller and dispenser of corruption.

Media activism and civil society are most critical components in fighting bribery in business transactions and that this is a developmental phase that we are passing through.” Karnik said corruption has two types–coercive and cohesive. “The former being part of the system and the latter where individuals and companies benefit,” he said. He said it can be tackled by transparency, where Right to Information Act has been a major drive.

Bangalore, May 23 : Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone today said spot-fixing not only brings bad name to sports, but also drags names of people who are not involved in the malpractice.

“Spot-fixing brings bad name to any sport. It also drags names of other people who are no way connected to this malice,” said Deepika, who is in the city for the promotion of her upcoming film “Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani”.

The comments of Deepika, daughter of badminton icon Prakash Padukone, come in the backdrop of IPL spot-fixing scandal and the arrest of 49-year-old actor Vindoo Randhawa, who allegedly was associated with bookies.

Deepika, who will be seen in her second release of the year after Race 2, said sportspersons can bring glory to a country by their performances, but the scourge of spot-fixing is not helping in this regard.

Directed by Ayan Mukerji, the movie starring Deepika and her former beau Ranbir Kapoor, is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
“Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani” is their second film together after their 2008 hit “Bachna Ae Haseeno”. The film is scheduled for May 31 release.

Jerusalem, May 23 : Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today assured the US that resuming peace talks with the Palestinians tops his agenda, amid prevalent scepticism about the Obama Administration’s effort to bring both sides to the negotiating table.

“This is something that both you and I want, and I hope also the Palestinians want,” Netanyahu said at the start of his meeting with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry arrived in Israel today on his fourth trip since he assumed office in February to push for the resumption of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians stalled since 2010 over Israel’s settlement policy on the occupied land.

While admitting that there was scepticism and cynicism about his efforts to broker new talks between Israelis and Palestinians, Kerry praised Netanyahu for the “seriousness” with which he is looking at ways to revitalise peace talks. “I know this region well enough to know there is scepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment,” he said.

“It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, that we can lay on a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people and certainly exhaust the possibilities for peace,” Kerry insisted. Netanyahu said he wanted to restart talks with the Palestinians.

“We ought to be successful. When there’s a will, we’ll find a way,” the Israeli Prime Minister said. Netanyahu also noted that they would also discuss the Syria crisis and the Iranian nuclear threat. He hailed the “extraordinary resolution” overwhelmingly passed by the US Senate yesterday committingWashington’s support for Jerusalem in case of nuclear threat from Iran. The US Secretary is scheduled to meet later today President Shimon Peres and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will be in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians. This will be Livni’s third meeting with Kerry this month, after he met him in Washington and Rome.

Islamabad, May 23 : Chinese Premier Li Keqiang today assured Pakistan of “every support and assistance” to boost bilateral cooperation in key areas of business, trade, energy and infrastructure to cement their “all-weather” ties. “China will give you every support and assistance and by helping you, we have to help ourselves,” Li said while addressing a special session of the Senate or Upper House of Pakistan’s Parliament.

Pakistan’s support is vital for China’s development, he said, adding that both the countries should stand shoulder-to-shoulder as friends and brothers with “pragmatic cooperation”. Li, in his maiden visit to Pakistan as Chinese Premier, said China will extend further cooperation in all sectors, especially in the fields of strategic relations, energy, science and technology and agriculture. “To be friends forever is the cherished desire of both nations”, he said, describing the friendship as the outcome of centuries-old people-to-people contacts.

Highlighting priorities for taking both countries towards development and progress, Li said they would have to speed up the development of the Karakorum Highway and its use for trade activities. “We are ready to work with Pakistan to speed up the project of upgrading the Karakoram Highway, actively explore and develop the long-term plans of building a China-Pakistan economic corridor, expanding our shared interests”, he said. Launching social and financial projects and cooperation in energy and agriculture would also boost bilateral ties, he said.

Li, 57, recalled his first visit to Pakistan 27 years ago as a youth leader and said that through his interaction with people, he had learnt that both sides cherished their friendship. Referring to Pakistan’s geo-political significance, Li said the country was involved in maintaining regional stability and global peace. He said support and cooperation were vital for the mutual benefit of both countries.

Raipur, May 23 : Four naxals, including a woman, today surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district. “The cadres surrendered before Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Amit Kamble at Benur police station of the district,” Additional SP N K Sahu told PTI over phone.

Those arrested have been identified as – Ajay (21) and Bharat (22), the members of Kudur LOS (Local Operating Squad) of Maoist, Vinod (32) of Chinahri Sarkar Raksha Sakha and Sudha (23), a member of Kohkameta platoon no.1 of ultras. They all were involved in several cases of crime ranging from loot, arson and murder in the region, Sahu said, adding, that of them, Vinod was active for past several years.

“Under pressure from security personnel and (due to) harsh forest life, he decided to quit and join the mainstream,” the ASP said. Sudha also claimed that she was abused, humiliated and beaten by senior naxal functionaries at times and was often denied basic facilities, Sahu said. They will be rehabilitated as per the government policies, he added.

Visakhapatnam, May 23 : Police have seized around 750 kg of ammonium nitrate, which is used in explosives, from a village under Ankapalle rural police station limits in the district.

Acting on a tip-off, Anakapalle rural police conducted raids on a building near a stone quarry at V V Ramanam Colony and found 15 bags of ammonium nitrate late last night.

Police said 46-year-old N Venkateswara Rao had procured the ammonium nitrate without any permissions from Visakhapatnam, to sell it, illegally, to quarry owners in Anakapalle mandal.

Rao, a former quarry worker, was expert in blasting for mining, they added. He has been arrested under Explosive Substances Act.

New Delhi, May 22 : After enthralling audience with his dance moves, TV actor Ravi Dubey is all set to turn anchor for a reality show ‘India’s Dancing Superstar’. The 29-year-old actor, who was last seen in ‘Nach Baliye’ with his partner Sargun Mehta, has replaced the former host Mohit Malhotra from the Star Plus’s show.

‘India’s Dancing Superstar’ is phenomenal show. I am very excited to be a part of it. I wanted to be an anchor since a very long time. After doing fiction for seven years, it is a refreshing change,” Ravi told PTI.

Having started his career with TV soaps including ‘Saas Bina Sasural’, ’12/24 Karol’, Ravi feels that the transition from an actor to anchor was difficult as the new job requires spontaneity. “Most of this is not going to be scripted and it will need strong interpersonal skills to bring spontaneity on the show,” he said. Passionate about dance, he confesses that he is an ardent follower of dance reality shows and sometimes even practices certain steps. Recently, he impressed audience with his dancing skill on ‘Nach Baliye’ along with Sargun.

He feels that sharing the stage with her has brought the couple closer. “By working together in ‘Nach Baliye’ for three months, we have spent a lot of time together which has brought us really close,” he added. Ravi is keen to work in more reality shows and soaps too. “Working in fiction has made my existence in the industry. I want to do more reality shows and If I could manage I will work in both. Currently, I am enjoying doing reality shows.”

New Delhi, May 22 : Newcomer Dev Goel, who is all set to make his debut with “Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke”, modelled his character in the movie on Shammi Kapoor. Dev, who has also turned scriptwriter for the film, said the film is inspired by a real-life road journey that he took from Mumbai to Pune. It is directed by his father Jyotin Goel.

“My character’s name is Shammi Suri and I have modelled him on Shammi Kapoor saab, that’s why I have kept the name Shammi because I wanted to bring that flamboyance and energy to the character.

“The germ of this story is from a true life story. I was actually taking a road trip from Mumbai to Pune and in Khandala I got a flat tyre,” Goel told PTI. “I wrote the first draft and took it to my father and I said to him that ‘I have got this fantastic script and nobody but me can play the leading man and he said okay let’s see how well you can do in the audition’,” he said.

The film stars “1920″-famed actress Adah Sharma opposite Dev in the lead.

“Hum Hai Raahi Car Ke” also stars Anupam Kher, Sanjay Dutt , Juhi Chawla and Chunky Pandey among others in smaller roles. The film will hit theatres on May 24.

Los Angeles, May 23 : Several photographs of screen diva Marilyn Monroe were stolen in Prague just days before they were to be featured in an exhibition. The truck carrying Monroe’s photographs were raided in the theft but other memorabilia arrived safely to Prague Castle, the venue for the exhibition, reported Ace Showbiz. Publicist Alice Titzova of PR agency 2media announced that Mannequins and display cases which were to be featured at the event are missing too, reported Ace Showbiz.

The exhibition was supposed to take place in Prague from May 30 to mark the 50th death anniversary of the actress. So far, there is no word whether the Prague exhibition will carry on as per scheduled or will be delayed. After Prague, the event will travel to Tokyo.

London, May 23 : Socialite Paris Hilton has hinted that she is ready to tie the knot with boyfriend River Viiperi. The 32-year-old heiress has been dating the 21-year-old model for just eight months, but the pair are smitten with one another and Hilton thinks they will definitely tie the knot in the near future, reported Daily Mirror.

“Marriage could happen soon… I trust him with my life and that means the world to me more than anything,” she said. Hilton, who was previously engaged to model Jason Shaw and shipping heir Paris Latsis, said she is keen to start a family with Viiperi.

“I can’t wait to have little Parises,” she added. The former reality TV star has previously said that she has curbed her partying ways and ‘grown up’. “I’m staying out of trouble. I’ve grown up,” she had said.

Srinagar, May 23 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the UPA government at the Centre should not be linked with the IPL spot fixing scandal as it had nothing to do with it.

“What has the UPA got to do with IPL? You can hold the UPA responsible for other things but in IPL, players took the money and bookies paid them…people gambled on it,” Omar, whose National Conference is part of the UPA, told reporters here.

Responding to a question about involvement of UPA members in the spot-fixing scandal, Omar suggested that the ruling alliance at the Centre was unnecessarily linked to every wrong that takes place in the country. “What are you talking about? Wherever you see any wrongdoing, you bring the UPA into it,” he retorted. Omar said, since there was no specific law to deal with spot fixing and match fixing at the moment, the Centre has decided to enact a new law to deal with the problem.

“The (Union) Law Minister and (Union) Sports Minister have decided to bring a new law, which will provide for strict punishment for (those involved in) match fixing and spot fixing,” he added.

Jaipur, May 23 : Accusing the Gehlot government in Rajasthan of not acting promptly in the sexual harassment case of speech and hearing impaired orphan girls, Opposition BJP today demanded a high court monitored investigation into it.

“Firstly, the case was kept under wraps due to the visit of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Then when the matter came to light, the government took no serious action and there is still no statement from the Chief Minister,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman said at a press conference here. “We have no faith in CBI, so the party demands that the matter be probed by a special investigation team monitored by the high court,” she said adding, “CBI must be independent, but the agency is being misused by Congress.”

Allegations of sexually harassing several speech and hearing impaired girls by male employees of a residential school run by an NGO here, came to light last week. Expressing confidence that the BJP would form the next government in poll-bound Rajasthan, Sitaraman said people will give a fitting reply to Congress. Refuting the UPA-II government’s report card on completion of four years, she said it was based on half-truth.

“Newer corruption cases are tumbling out every month, but the government does not say who is accountable for it,” Sitaraman said. She accused the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of misusing public money by launching the recent campaign for political reasons at public expense.

Accusing the Congress of not acting against its corrupt ministers, the BJP spokesperson said, “The Supreme Court issued notices against six Congress ministers of Andhra Pradesh government for corruption, but no action has been taken against them.

” BJP state vice-president Arun Chaturvedi informed that the party would organise ‘Jail Bharo’ agitation on June 1 in the state to protest against misuse of CBI. Claiming that the party’s senior legislator and Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria was implicated in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case at the behest of Congress, he added that Kataria is innocent.

New Delhi, May 23 : Countering the government’s and Congress’ allegations that the NDA has been an irresponsible and disruptive Opposition, BJP today said the Manmohan Singh dispensation is not keen on passing the Food Security and Land Acquisition bills and trying to put the blame on it. The main Opposition also picked holes in the UPA report card on its performance in the last four years and said it is making false claims of success. BJP charged that the report card does not stand scrutiny on figures, facts and statements made in the document.

“We want the Food Security and the Land Acquisition bills to be passed with certain amendments,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters here. He rubbished UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s charge that the Opposition had frequently disrupted Parliament which had prevented passage of important bills. “Did this government not get the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal and the FDI in multi-brand retail issues passed in Parliament despite our opposition to them. So why can they not get the Food Security and the Land Acquisition bills passed? The first two were matters of interest to them but these two bills are not,” Trivedi said.

BJP alleged that though Congress has been in power for 56 years since Independence yet it has failed to provide food security to the people. “Even today two-thirds of the population of this country needs food security. Congress should apologise to the nation for this,” Trivedi said. He also refuted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s contention yesterday that when Congress-led UPA came to power in 2004, it inherited a glass which was “half-empty”. BJP cited GDP growth figures to claim that the glass was full to the brim in 2004 and Congress-led UPA is responsible for the dismal economic situation prevalent today.
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Chennai, May 23 : Opposing government’s moves to disinvest an additional five per cent stake in the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today warned the Centre that any such proposal would lead to “labour unrest” disrupting power supply to the State.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Jayalalithaa said any proposal to disinvest even a small portion of the shareholding would lead to “considerable labour unrest”.

“Given the current acute power shortage in the State, any disruption of power supply from NLC would very adversely affect the interest of the state. Hence, I strongly urge you to explore (other) alternatives to the proposed investment,” she said.

Noting that NLC employees have “justifiable apprehension” on disinvestment even a “portion” of Government equity, she said, “Instead of reassuring the large workforce, the concerned Ministry and the company management seem to be trying to justify the disinvestment based on specious and artificial regulatory requirements.”

Jayalalithaa said her government has been strongly opposed to privatising any portion of NLC and was of the view that the public sector character of NLC should be maintained without any dilution.

Listing the possibilities available for government in the matter, she said it was incorrect to state that there was no option to disinvesting a further five per cent stake.

“NLC can be delisted by buying back the 6.44 per cent currently in public hands through the buy back mechanism available under SEBI regulations. Alternatively, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, can be amended to make a special exemption for NLC by introducing a necessary provisio under Rule 19(2)(c)”, she said.

Observing that NLC is the largest public sector unit in Tamil Nadu, she said it was also the largest Central power producer located in a backward region of the state providing employment to more than 17,500 persons.

She urged Singh to take necessary action to ensure there was no further disinvestment or dilution of the share holding of the Government of India in NLC.