National Herald case: Delhi court summons Sonia, Rahul as accused

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi have been summoned by a Delhi court on August 7 in the National Herald case. The court has found prima facie evidence against Sonia in the case and she has been summoned as accused after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy has alleged that the Congress gave an unsecured loan to Sonia-owned Young Indian Ltd to acquire National Herald's holding company Associated Journals.

Swamy has alleged misappropriation of assets worth Rs 2000 crore of the National Herald newspaper.

The others summoned include Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda. The case pertains to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's petition against Sonia, Rahul and others over the acquisition of the National Herald publishing company by a company owned by them.

The judge in her order said, "From the complaint and evidence led so far it appears YI (Young Indian) was in fact created as a sham or a cloak to convert public money to personal use or as a special purpose vehicle for acquiring control over Rs 2000 crore worth of assets."

"There was a serious breach of trust. If proven guilty, she could be jailed for 7 years," Swamy said. "They will have to face trial. They have been summoned as accused. There is prima facie evidence against them," he added.

However, Congress sources say that they are looking at the option of moving the High Court against the lower court's order.

Courtsy:IBN

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Saina Nehwal beats top seed Wang Shixian to enter Australian Open Super Series final

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal stands just a win away from clinching her second title of the year after she stunned world number two and top seed Chinese Shixian Wang in a gruelling three-game semi-final contest of the USD 750,000 Star Australian Super Series on Saturday.

Sixth-seeded Saina prevailed 21-19, 16-21, 21-15 in a marathon match, which lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

"Beat world number 2 wang shixian in a tough 3 game match. Through to the final of the Australian Open super series!" tweeted the Indian after recording her fifth overall win against the Chinese nemesis, which took their head-to-head record to 5-3.

Saina, who had ended up on the losing side in their previous two encounters -- the most recent being the All England Championships, showed tremendous grit to outsmart the top-seeded Wang.

As expected, it was evenly-contested battle between the two players, who are pretty familiar with each others tactics.

In the opening game, it went neck and neck till 19-19 before Saina broke away to seal the issue in her favour.

Not the one to give up easily, Wang roared back in the second game. The two players were even till the 16th point but Wang broke off from that point to draw level with Saina.

However, Saina proved in the final battle of attrition and won the deciding third game rather comprehensively to enter the final.

Saina had earlier this year won the India Open Grand Prix Gold in Delhi.

Courtsy:IBN

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DMK, AIADMK Need Support Of Congress Or BJP To Get Things Done: Chidambaram

Finance Minister P Chidambaram claimed that neither the AIADMK or DMK would be able to get anything done in Delhi if their MPs are elected after the coming Lok Sabha polls as they needed the support of Congress or BJP for the purpose.

"It will be no use if you send their MPs to Delhi. Without the support of Congress or BJP, they cannot do anything there. Now the fight is only between Congress and BJP," he said addressing election meetings in the district.

He felt none could form a government at the Centre without the support of Congress.

Stating that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, as also AIADMK supporters had now given up all talk of projecting her as prime ministerial candidate, he said regional parties can do good for the state only with national parties' support.

Chidambaram said whoever contested from Sivaganga district on behalf of Congress would think that he himself was contesting and campaign with full dedication, leaving partymen wondering who the real contestant was.

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Missing Malaysian Flight May Have Been Flown To Taliban Controlled Areas

The most baffling mystery in aviation history continues as search for the missing Malaysian Airliner moves into the 11th day on Tuesday. This even as independent reports have said that the plane was flown towards Taliban controlled areas deliberately.

These reports come a day after Malaysian Newspaper New Straits Times quoted investigators saying that the plane dropped to a height as low as 5,000 feet to avoid radar detection and also kept to commercial paths to avoid raising suspicion. Investigators believe the plane might have flown over three countries.

The unprecedented hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet expanded northwest to Kazakhstan and south into the desolate reaches of the Indian Ocean after Malaysian authorities concluded the plane was deliberately diverted.

However, according to Reuters reports, aviation officials in Pakistan, India and Central Asia as well as Taliban terrorists said they knew nothing about the whereabouts of a missing Malaysian jetliner after the search for Flight MH370 extended into their territory. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished on March 8 about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard and investigators are now increasingly convinced it was diverted thousands of miles off course.

Malaysia said it had sent diplomatic notes to all countries along an arc of northern and southern search corridors including India and Pakistan, requesting radar and satellite information as well as land, sea and air search operations.

Indian defence officials rejected the possibility of a plane flying for hours above the country undetected. "The idea that the plane flew through Indian airspace for several hours without anyone noticing is bizarre," a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"These are wild reports, without any basis," he said, adding a pilot would have to know the precise location of all Indian radars and surveillance systems to be able to get around them. Explaining why this was unlikely, he said surveillance was so tight on India's border facing its nuclear arch-rival Pakistan that the air force scrambled a pair of Sukhoi fighters last month after an unidentified object showed up on the radar.

It turned out to be a weather balloon drifting towards the Pakistan border. Pakistani officials said they had detected nothing suspicious in the skies after the plane vanished. "We have checked the radar recording for the period but found no clue about the ill-fated flight," the Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

Central Asian countries Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, at the northern end of the search arc, said no unidentified planes had entered their air space on March 8. "Even if all on-board equipment is switched off, it is impossible to fly through in a silent mode," the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement sent to Reuters. "There are also military bodies monitoring the country's air space."

As the search widened, some observers suggested the plane might have flown to remote mountainous areas abutting Pakistan's border with Afghanistan where Taliban terrorists are holed up. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan, who are seeking to oust foreign troops and set up an Islamic state, said the missing plane had nothing to do with them.

"It happened outside Afghanistan and you can see that even countries with very advanced equipment and facilities cannot figure out where it went," he said. "So we also do not have any information as it is an external issue." A commander with the Pakistani Taliban, a separate entity fighting the Pakistani government, said the fragmented group could only dream about such an operation. "We wish we had an opportunity to hijack such a plane," he told Reuters by telephone from the lawless North Waziristan region.

In Delhi, the defence official said that theoretically the aircraft could have flown a path hugging close to the Himalayas where radar is less effective because of the mountains. But again for that sort of "terrain masking", you'd need intelligence and the skills of a military pilot, he said.

In Port Blair, capital of the remote, forested Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Indian Navy Ship Kesari returned to its base after being recalled following a two-day search scanning the Andaman Sea. A senior defence source there said that if the plane had crashed in the area light debris could have drifted a vast distance. "I would estimate that debris would be travelling at least 15 nautical miles an hour, so you can imagine how far it would be after more than a week," he said.

Suicide theory

Meanwhile, authorities have increased their scrutiny of the two pilots - confirming reports that a pilot spoke to air traffic control after a signalling system was disabled on the jet, without referring to any trouble.

The CEO of Malaysian Airlines said earlier on Monday that the last radio message from the plane was an informal "all right, good night" and it was spoken after the system on board communication system was shutdown. This was a sign-off to air traffic controllers as the plane left Malaysian airspace.

Investigators are now considering suicide by the captain or first officer as one possible explanations for the disappearance.

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Crimean Parliament Declares Independence

The Crimean parliament declared independence from Ukraine Monday after official results showed 96.77 percent of Crimean voters chose to join Russia in Sunday's referendum.

The legislature passed an independence declaration during an extraordinary session, proclaiming the Black Sea peninsula an independent sovereign state, the Republic of Crimea, Xinhua reported.

The declaration appeals to the UN and its member states to recognise its existence and promises to "build its relations with other states on the basis of equality, peace, good neighborliness and other universally recognized principles of political, economic and cultural cooperation."

The parliament has also formally sent an application to the Kremlin to join the Russian Federation as a new republic.

A delegation of Crimean authorities is expected to arrive in Moscow later to discuss the procedure of Crimea's integration into Russia's economic and legal system.

Earlier in the month, the Crimean parliament voted to become part of Russia and passed a resolution of declaration of independence, paving the way for Sunday's referendum.

Ukrainian authorities have dismissed the referendum as "illegal", saying it violated the country's constitution.

"Crimea is a territory of the Ukrainian state. Our citizens reside there. We do not recognise and will never recognise the so-called referendum," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said.

Western countries including the US, France, Germany and Britain also rejected the referendum, calling the vote "illegal" and "contrary to the Ukrainian constitution".

US President Barack Obama said the US would not recognise the Crimean referendum and vowed to impose fresh sanctions on Russia.

In his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone, Obama said the vote in the Ukraine's autonomous republic violated the Ukrainian constitution, Xinhua quoted the White House as saying Sunday.

It was also held "under duress of Russian military intervention", Obama said.

He told Putin that "Russia's actions were in violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that, in coordination with our European partners, we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions".

Putin refused to back off.

"Putin said the Crimean population's vote is proceeding in full compliance with international law," the Kremlin web site said, citing the telephone conversation between the leaders.

"Russia will respect the choice of Crimean residents," Putin said, adding that he was concerned about the aggravation of the situation in eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine.

But Putin and Obama agreed to continue searching for ways to restore stability in Ukraine.

Washington has canceled trade talks and military exchanges with Russia, and Obama has authorised visa bans and freezing of assets of some Russians and Ukrainians blamed for Moscow's military takeover of Crimea.

Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier that Russia would "respect the choice" of the Crimeans.

Merkel, however, underscored the urgency of holding direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said.

The German chancellor said the existing presence of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine should be quickly expanded.

She stressed that it was urgent and necessary for the governments of Russia and Ukraine to hold direct talks.

Washington and its allies have been pushing for Moscow to withdraw its military personnel posted in bases in Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, allow international monitors into Crimea and to open a dialogue with the Ukrainian government.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denied the legitimacy of Crimea's referendum, urging Russia to take immediate measures to avoid a "useless" and "dangerous" escalation of Ukrainian crisis.

"Nothing in the way that the referendum has been conducted should convince anyone that it is a legitimate exercise," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

The European Union said the referendum in Crimea was "illegal and illegitimate" and its outcome "will not be recognised".

Moscow Saturday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution while China abstained.

The resolution, drawn up by the US and backed by Western countries, called on international organisations to ignore the results of the voting in Crimea.

"China holds an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue," Liu Jieyi, Chinese permanent representative to the UN, told the Security Council.

"The vote by the Security Council at this juncture will only result in confrontation and further complicate the situation," said Liu.

Crimea, historically part of the Russian Federation, was transferred to Ukraine in May 1954, then a republic of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the Crimean Supreme Council (parliament) declared independence pending a referendum which was called off by the Ukrainian authorities.

Crimea held two other referendum in 1991 and 1994, testing voters' preference for greater autonomy within Ukraine or uniting with Russia.

The Crimean Supreme Council passed a resolution of declaration of independence March 11 this year to pave the way for Sunday's referendum.

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India Lose To Sri Lanka By Five Runs In World T20 Warm-Up

Indian team's batting woes continued in the familiar sub-continental conditions as they lost their opening warm-up tie of the ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka by five runs on Monday.

Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 153 for six and then bowled out India for 148 in exactly 20 overs.

Needing 12 off the last over bowled by Lasith Malinga, Indians could get only six as the Lankan slinger finished with figures of 4 for 30 from four overs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat in this unofficial match.

India's inability to finish a close match again came to the fore as the likes of Suresh Raina (41), Yuvraj Singh (33) and Virat Kohli (17) all failed to convert their starts.

Ravichandran Ashwin's all-round show (3 for 22 and 19 runs) was the lone bright spot in the opening encounter.

India were off to a disastrous start as Shikhar Dhawan (2) played a lazy shot off Kulasekara to be holed out at mid-off while Rohit Sharma (4) was caught at the deep mid-wicket boundary off a Malinga delivery.

Ravichandran Ashwin's all-round show (3 for 22 and 19 runs) was the lone bright spot in the opening encounter.

India were off to a disastrous start as Shikhar Dhawan (2) played a lazy shot off Kulasekara to be holed out at mid-off while Rohit Sharma (4) was caught at the deep mid-wicket boundary off a Malinga delivery.

ALSO SEE Sangakkara to retire from T20Is after World T20

Raina looked more comfortable on a low-bounce track as he played those customary lofted shots in the region between extra cover and mid-off. He also lofted Kulasekara for a six over mid-wicket.

He was looking good for a big knock as he reached 41 with the help of five fours and a six. But the 31st ball he faced saw him fail to reach to the pitch of the delivery. Ajantha Mendis was the bowler and Raina couldn't clear Rangana Herath at long off boundary.

Ajinkya Rahane offered a simple return catch to Sachitra Senanayeke as India were in deep trouble at 56 for four.

Yuvraj was having a bit of trouble initially reading Senanayeke's deliveries but he broke the shackles by coming down the track to hit left-arm spinner Rangana Herath over long-on for a six. He also picked up Mendis' carom ball early to hit another six over long on.

Kohli started off on a promising note smacking 17 off only eight balls as the duo added 32 runs in quick time before Malinga struck.

Coming back for his second spell, Malinga got Kohli to play away from his body and he dragged it back onto the stumps. Yuvraj was gone trying to steer Kulasekara and Sangakkara took a fine diving catch behind the stumps.

The left-hander hit two sixes and two fours in his 28-ball stay at the crease. Once Yuvraj was gone, it was difficult for the others to finish the game.

Earlier, Ashwin gave a good account of himself as two-time finalists Sri Lanka upped the ante in the end to put on a competitive total after being sent into bat.

Ashwin ended with impressive figures of three for 22 in his four-over spell as the batsmen had lot of trouble playing their strokes on a slowish track at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Amit Mishra (1 for 38 from four overs) got some stick but also bowled a few good balls while Raina (1 for 12) was lucky to get a wicket.

Nuwan Kulasekara with 21 off 14 balls and Thisara Perera with 18 from 11 deliveries added 30 runs in the last three overs to take the score past 150.

Among the pacers, Varun Aaron worked up good pace in his three overs to end with one for 18 as Mahela Jayawardene (30) and skipper Dinesh Chandimal (29) were the only ones in the top-order, who looked like scoring a few runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken for 17 runs in his final over as he finished with figures of none for 33 from three overs.

Mohammed Shami's inspiring effort in the field definitely helped in lifting the spirit of the team. Having bowled an over at full tilt, the speedster stationed at mid-off dived full stretched to take a brilliant one-handed catch that dismissed Kusal Janith Perera (21) off Aaron's bowling.

Dilshan, on the otherhand, looked ill at ease both against pacers as well as spinners as he simply could not get off the blocks.

Jayawardene, however, looked attacking from the start as his mistimed pull shot off Shami went over Dhoni's head for a boundary. But the very next shot was a beauty as he bisected the point and gully fielder to find another boundary.

When Ravindra Jadeja was introduced into the attack, Jayawardene muscled him behind square leg boundary for a six.

The veteran right-hander slog swept leggie Amit Mishra over square leg for another maximum.

But Mishra had his revenge off the very next ball when he varied the length. He altered it by a feet and Jayawardene was induced into playing early offering an easy return catch which Mishra had no problems in pouching.

Finally, Dilshan's misery ended when he was adjudged leg before after being struck on the frontfoot trying to flick an Ashwin delivery. Sangakkara played the worst shot among the top order batsmen as he literally gifted Raina a wicket.

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Nissan Datsun Go To Be Launched In India On March 19

One of the most eagerly awaited hatches, the Datsun GO will be launched in India on March 19 in New Delhi.

The Indian launch will mark the brand's return to the world stage after decades. We have driven the Datsun GO and the entry-level hatchback justifies all the hype surrounding it.

Nissan revived the Datsun brand with a focus on affordable entry-level cars.

The car's production started last month at the company's Oragadam facility in Tamil Nadu. It will be priced under Rs 4 lakh, but does not feel cheap and is quite good-looking for an entry level car.

The GO has good cabin space and performance is more than enough for the urban commute.

The car has 170mm of ground clearance and gets 13-inch steel rims. Safety, however, is not up to the mark with none of the model trims getting ABS or airbags even as options.

The car will be powered by 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol which gives 67PS and 106Nm of torque.

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