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Pak court adjourns 26/11 trial till Sep 1, bars media coverage ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of five LeT operatives accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks on Saturday
ordered a blackout on the media coverage of the proceedings, though sources said the in-camera hearing had been adjourned till September 1.

Judge Baqir Ali Rana of anti-terrorism court no 2, who is conducting the trial in the high-security Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, issued the gag order for the media on Saturday morning.

Though the order itself was not made public, sources told it stated that the proceedings would be kept totally secret and "not published" in any manner as the case had implications for national security and national interests.

The order said the media blackout was also necessary for the security of witnesses and the judge. Sources also said the next hearing was set for September 1 though there was no official word on this.

The five LeT operatives being tried by the anti-terrorism court are the outfit's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, communications expert Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq and Shahid Jamil Riaz.

A sixth suspect, Jamil Ahmed, who was arrested for allegedly facilitating the Mumbai attacks, was also produced in the anti-terrorism court on Saturday. The judge ordered the federal investigation agency to submit his complete records.

Ahmed's petition to be granted bail was put off by the court till September 1, sources said.

No delink of terror from talks with Pakistan: India M K Narayanan is a taciturn man. In a rare interview to Indrani Bagchi, he opened up on a host of
issues. Excerpts:

After the political storm over the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh, is India still going ahead with a meeting between the two foreign ministers at UNGA?

I would presume so. We have never fought shy of meeting Pakistan’s leaders. That’s why Prime Minister met Asif Zardari in Yekaterinburg, and Gilani in Sharm el-Sheikh. The Indian standpoint has been that we will not resume the composite dialogue until we see concrete evidence that Pakistan has acted against terrorism in a manner that we feel comfortable. That position remains. I don’t see any change in that position at any time. People have tried to misinterpret the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement.

But the statement delinked dialogue from action on terrorism, apart from a controversial reference to Balochistan. Wasn’t that a departure?

It doesn’t delink. That’s a wrong reading of the document. It’s possible that somebody may read it that way but that’s certainly not the intention. I don’t think there has been any change in our position. There was a reference to Balochistan in the document because it found a mention in the discussions. It’s possible that someone could read a meaning into it. I don’t think there is any particular meaning.

Are we heeding the Pakistan request to send the foreign secretary to Islamabad before the UNGA?

I think since the external affairs minister will be in New York for the UNGA. That would be the more appropriate place for the foreign secretaries to meet.

What are the expected highlights of PM’s Washington visit in November?

We’re looking for that one big idea that will symbolize the relationship, just as we had a major achievement like the civil nuclear agreement in 2005. That was then the one big idea. It’s not that the deal alone was important. I think that far more than the deal, the fact that a country like the US and a country like India could reach an agreement like this reflected the maturing of the relationship.

So, we need to one such big ticket item now to show a continuity of that relationship with the new US administration?

I think the relationship itself is very warm. The PM has had very positive meetings with leaders of the new administration. I don’t see any problem with the relationship. The previous administration was extremely accommodative of India. We need to see whether the new administration will see us in the same way. Across the world, there is a great deal of respect for India and for the Indian leadership. Since this is the first state visit arranged by the Obama administration, we are keen to cement it with something substantial.

You have just completed the 13th round of boundary talks with China. While there is no progress on that front, will the talks now be embedded in the larger strategic dialogue?

The Chinese side showed keen interest in widening the ambit of the dialogue. But it didn’t detract from what we discussed on the border. We had 14 hours of discussions. There’s always progress. Certainly we haven’t yet settled the border issue. But each time we meet there is greater understanding.

What is the state of play on the nuclear deal?

There are two issues. First, we have to file a declaration in the IAEA. We are taking things cautiously, doing things step by step. If we take a step we cannot retrace that would make things difficult. We’ve now reached a stage when we are comfortable and we will file the declaration. And we will fill in the Annexure, which is part of the Separation plan. Once you enter into an international agreement we do not back out. The declaration is the final step as far as the IAEA is concerned. With the US, discussions are underway on the reprocessing agreement under 6(iii) of the 123 agreement.

What are your view on the Afghanistan election? Do you think the US could be tempted to cut and run since the war appears to be going so badly for them?

The very fact that elections could be held, despite the violence and threats and with so many contenders, is no mean achievement. Its more than many other countries have done.

Nuclear scientist, K Santhanam says we need to test our thermonuclear weapon again because Pokharan II was a “fizzle”. Is that correct?

It’s untrue. This is a matter that has been examined in great detail. Several measurements have been applied, specific observations have been made. The fact that we had a 45-kiloton successful thermonuclear test is now well proven the world over. We don’t need to carry out another test.

Holding of major events before CWG annoys Gill NEW DELHI: Sports Minister MS Gill, on Saturday, lashed out at national Federations for overburdening the government by hosting mega events, suchas hockey World Cup and shooting World Cup ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games
.

"We are hosting the hockey World Cup, the shooting World Cup, a four-nation hockey tournament early next year before the Commonwealth Games but these events could have been avoided till the Games," Gill said at a function to mark hockey legend Major Dhyanchand's birthday, celebrated as National Sports Day.

"I am not against test events but the Commonwealth Games is a huge burden and bringing more world events into the country is not sensible.

"I have seen all over the world the test events hardly have any significance. These are just to check whether the doors, timers of the stadiums are working. I am little disappointed with the Federations because they could have avoided bringing these events to the country before the Commonwealth Games," he said.

"It has put additional pressure on all the concerned authorities associated with the Games because now we have to complete the infrastructure of some of the stadiums by December-January," he added.

The organizers of the Commonwealth Games, scheduled from October 3 to 14 next year, are running against time and are facing a tough challenge to complete all the infrastructure required for the Games within the deadline.

Even the construction work of the National Stadium, the main venue for hockey during the Commonwealth Games, was far from over and the World Cup scheduled to be held there from February 28-March 13 and the four-nation test event in January has further compounded the problem.

The capital is also scheduled to host the shooting test event -- the Commonwealth championship from February 17 followed by the World Cup in rifle and pistol competitions in March but the contruction work at the venue -- Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range -- was way behind schedule.

Last month, the Wrestling Federation of India was forced to move the December-slated Commonwealth Wrestling event out of the capital to Jalandhar because of the delay in construction of the venue.

Even though construction work at most of the venues were running behind schedule, the Sports Minister assured that everything will be completed in time and the Games will be an overwhelming success.

"We are constantly working to ensure the smooth conduct of the Games and we will do whatever it takes to make it a success," Gill said.

Gill also said he would ensure that from now onwards all other athletes representing India apart from the Asian Games and Olympic-bound athletes were provided with daily allowance during international tournaments.

"After I took up the position, I felt embarrassed to see that government doesn't give daily allowance to other athletes who represent India apart from those who participate in Asian Games and in Olympics.

"It is disgusting. I am going to take up the matter with the government in a day or two and ensure that they get $20-25 as daily allowance," he said.

On reports about Indian Weightlifting Federation threatening to close down the training camp for lifters preparing for the 2010 Commonwealth Games if the Sports Authority of India failed to provide enough barbells, Gill said, "He will look into the matter and ensure that such a situation never arises."

H1N1 vaccine ready, India napping NEW DELHI: The first batches of swine flu vaccine rolled out from Baxter Inc labs on Friday but there’s little to cheer for India. While the
first supplies from Baxter went to the British health network, subsequent batches from Baxter and other pharma companies have been booked by countries such as US and UK which are stockpiling the vaccine to ward off a harsher bout of swine flu.

While huge quantities — 195 million and 90 million doses respectively are going to the US and UK — India is still miles from getting vaccines because the government has not entered into any pre-booking contracts with Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline or any others. India also may not have its indigenous vaccine ready before May 2010.

China has 20-odd companies racing to make the vaccine, with Sinovac Biotech perhaps the first company worldwide to complete clinical trials for swine flu vaccine.

WHO said recently that countries in the northern hemisphere had ordered more than a billion doses, sparking warnings about shortages.

Developing a vaccine is the only way to protect people from the disease, which may become severe with the onset of winter and the dire possibility of the H1N1 virus mutating.

Despite the swine flu toll touching 90, Indian health authorities have failed to move fast enough.

The government has also not placed any orders with domestic manufacturers — Serum Institute, Panacea Biotec and Bharat Biotec which are developing the vaccine. (Cadila Pharma is also developing a vaccine in collaboration with US company Novavax).

Serum Institute executive director SS Jadhav told TOI, ‘‘No talks have been held with procurement agencies regarding their plans of stockpiling the vaccine, including the quantity required and target group of population.’’

As a result, companies aren’t sure about the quantities of vaccine they must produce.

When contacted, Dr VM Katoch DG, ICMR, said, ‘‘We have asked global companies like Novartis to include Indians in their clinical trials to test efficacy of the vaccine on our population. We are waiting for their reply.’’

Schoolgirl paraded without top over fee row CHANDIGARH: In a shocking incident, a Class III student was allegedly humiliated by her class teacher and stripped of her top for not paying the tuition fee. The victim, who is entitled to full fee concession, was made to move from one classroom to another to cries of "shame, shame'', it has been alleged. ( Watch Video )

The incident happened at Faridabad Model School on Friday. The nine-year-old daughter of an autorickshaw driver who had been sanctioned full fee concession by the district education department under a scheme for underpriveleged children told her teacher that she had not paid the school fee.

"The teacher then took off her T-shirt and tried to pull the skirt too. When she failed in her attempt, she paraded my daughter from room to room and made the children say shame, shame,'' the mother said. She claimed she came to know of the incident only when the distraught girl returned from school.

Though school principal H S Malik denied the matter was related to fee, she said the teacher has been suspended. The police, too, took cognizance of the complaint made by the victim's mother against the teacher, Neetu. "We came to know about this incident in the afternoon. I have instructed the police station to register a case,'' police commissioner P K Aggarwal said.

Faridabad's district education officer K Bala claimed ignorance but assured immediate probe and appropriate action against the school management and the teacher. According to reports, the victim was made to pay the fee regularly. Her parents had approached the district administration regarding this and invited the school management's ire.

N L Jangid, president of Parent's Association of Faridabad, said the government had failed to implement fee-related instructions of Punjab and Haryana High Court and Supreme Court.

Chandrayaan-1: ISRO loses contact, claims mission 'over' BANGALORE: Ten months after it was launched, India's maiden moon mission the ambitious Chandrayaan-1 came to an abrupt end on Saturday after ISRO
lost communication with the spacecraft, cutting short the dream odyssey that was expected to last two years.

"The mission is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft," Project Director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission M Annadurai said.

However, he said: "It (Chandrayaan-1) has done its job technically...100 per cent. Scientifically also, it has done almost 90-95 percent of its job".

The two-year mission, launched on October 22 last year with much fanfare, was abandoned early today after the after radio contact with the mooncraft was abruptly lost at 0130 hours.

The Deep Space Network at Byalalu near here received the data from the 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1, which carried 11 instruments on board, including six from overseas, during the previous orbit up to 0025 hours.

ISRO is conducting detailed review of the telemetry data from the spacecraft. "We will analyse as to what happened," Annadurai said.

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, launched by homegrown PSLV-C11 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, has completed 312 days in orbit, making more than 3,400 orbits around the moon.

It has provided large volume of data from sophisticated sensors such as terrain mapping camera, hyper-spectral imager and moon mineralogy mapper, meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

ISRO said last month Chandrayaan-1 had sent more than 70,000 images of the lunar surface which provide breathtaking views of lunar mountains and craters, especially craters in the permanently shadowed areas of the Moon's polar region.

Chandrayaan-1 was also collecting valuable data pertaining to the chemical and mineral content of the Moon, ISRO said on July 17.

Significantly, on August 21, ISRO and NASA performed a unique joint experiment that the Indian space agency said could yield additional information on the possibility of existence of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near the North Pole of the moon.

The end to the Chandrayaan-1 mission comes just over four months after the onboard star sensor for determining the orientation of the spacecraft started malfunctioning on April 26, and one of the bus management units failed.

Source: TOI

Sania to meet Govortsova in US Open round 1

Struggling to advance beyond second rounds of Grand Slam events all season, Sania Mirza opens her US Open campaign against world number 64 Olga Govortsova of Belarus as the last Grand Slam tennis Major of the year begins on Monday.

The one-to-one record between the world number 71 Sania and her Belarussian rival is tied 1-1.

Sania had beaten Govortsova in a qualifying event in 2007 and the Belarussian settled the score with a win in Doha next year.

If Sania clears the first hurdle, she may run into 10th seed Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round.

Sania has not done well in the singles events of the Grand Slams this year, reaching the second rounds of the Australian Open and Wimbledon and falling at the very first hurdle in the French Open.

Although she has tasted some success in the doubles events, becoming the first-ever female player of the country to win the mixed doubles title of the Australian Open along with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.

Pakistan court lifts restrictions on A.Q. Khan

In an interim ruling on a petition from A.Q. Khan, the Lahore High Court ruled on Friday that no restrictions should be placed on the movements of the top scientist who was freed from a five-year long house arrest earlier this year.

The development is likely to send ripples of worry across the international community which remains concerned about the “A.Q. Khan proliferation network”. Chief among the fears is that Al Qaeda should not be able to lay its hands on any nuclear bomb know-how.

But the internationally disgraced Khan is widely revered in Pakistan for giving the country its nuclear bomb.

In February 2009, acting on a petition from him, the Islamabad High Court declared him a “free citizen”, ending a house arrest that began in February 2004 with his nationally televised confession of selling nuclear secrets abroad.

However, the court’s order also made clear it was subject to “terms and conditions” that had been “voluntarily accepted” by the scientist in a “secret agreement” with the government.

Although the terms of the deal remain outside the public realm, it was apparent that many of the restrictions on Mr. Khan continued, including a massive presence of government security personnel around his house. Though his house arrest ended, the terms of his “freedom” entailed that he had to give advance information about all his movement.

On Thursday, the scientist appealed to the Lahore High Court that the “official protocol” provided to him be removed as it was restricting his movements.

In an interim order, Lahore High Court judge Ejaz Ahmed ruled that there should be “no limitations” on Khan’s movement. The next hearing is on September 4.

The government was quiet about the ruling, but it is highly doubtful if Pakistan, which is under a constant international scanner, can give the disgraced scientist the freedom he seeks.

Reacting to the court’s ruling, Khan told reporters at his home in Islamabad’s plush E-7 sector that if the government did not remove the restrictions on him even after this, he would move the Supreme Court to obtain his freedom.

“I was living life as a prisoner under the official protocol,” he said. “I do not need it. I want to go freely.”

The scientist said he wanted to go to Karachi to visit his brother, who is unwell.

He told Geo News that if he continued to be treated badly by the government, he would reveal “sensitive secrets”.

Khan gave no interviews after his brief interaction with the press following the February 2009 court verdict, possibly under the terms of his restricted freedom. His only visible activity is a weekly column in The News, but even this has not been entirely free of controversy.

A letter-writer to the daily, a Phd student at Carnegie Mellon, pointed out earlier this week that large chunks of his recent column on computer education were lifted paragraph for paragraph from the undergraduate prospectus of the University of Sussex, the website of London’s Imperial College and the University of Cambridge.

There have been no reactions to the accusation of plagiarism, and the newspaper published the second part of the column titled Science of Computer this week.

Source:The Hindu

By: Nirupama Subramanian

SC defers hearing on Ambani gas row to October 20

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday deferred hearing on petition filed in regard to the Ambani gas dispute to October 20.

A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan decided to pose the matter for October after Reliance Industries counsel suggested the matter be heard on the 20th of that month.

Anil Ambani group counsel Mukul Rohtagi said he had no objection.

The cross appeals filed by Mukesh and Anil Ambani group firm on the petition filed by the government was to come up for hearing on September 1, but would have had to be postponed because the Chief Justice was to head the bench on the case was supposed to lead a constitutional bench on that very day.

Sensex shies away from 16k level; rises by over 140 pts

MUMBAI: Extending gains for the seventh straight session on Friday, the Bombay Stock Exchange barometer Sensex rose by over 140 points as fund houses picked up stocks following strong global cues.

The 30-share index, which gained 6.5% in the last six trading sessions, added another 141.27 points to close at 15,922.34 points. The index touched the day's high of 15,957.67 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 44.15 points to 4,732.35 points.

The market was supported by reports of firm Asian cues and better opening of European stock markets on increased optimism about the global economic recovery.

Stocks of realty, auto, capital goods, bank, metal and refinery sectors registered notable gains as investors rushed to buy fundamentally strong blue-chips.

Let Sikhs join US military: Lawmakers

NEW YORK: Forty-one members of the US House of Representatives have written to defense secretary Robert Gates to permit Sikhs wearing their religious symbols to join the military.

Sikh organisations have been lobbying with US lawmakers after the refusal by the army to let two Sikhs with turbans join active duty a few months ago.

Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Second Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, were told to remove their turbans by the military when they were about to enter active duty after completing their preliminary programme.

In their letter to Gates, the lawmakers say: "We do not believe that any American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country, and urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that these two officers - and other Sikhs that may wish to serve - are able to maintain their articles of faith.

"Including Sikh Americans will enrich the military's understanding of diverse cultures, languages, and religions, thereby allowing us to fully appreciate not only the rich fabric of our own country but also the lands where we send our soldiers into harm's way."

Citing the example of Canada, Sweden and other countries where Sikhs are allowed to wear their symbols in the armed forces, Sikh organisations led by Sikh Coalition have urged Secretary Gates to end this discrimination by the US army.

The coalition said they will continue their 'Sikh right to serve' campaign till the US military changes its "exclusionary policy" against Sikhs.

Banks to cap third party ATM cash withdrawal from mid-October

Banks have decided to put a Rs 10,000 cap per third party ATM cash withdrawal from October 15, besides limiting such transactions to five in a month.

Indian Banks’ Association, which is the industry lobby of Indian banks, has sent a circular to its 150 member banks directing them to implement the decisions from mid-October, a source close to the development said.

“IBA has sent a circular to all banks asking them to implement these decisions on third party ATM transactions from October 15,” the source said.

Early this month, the Reserve Bank had put a Rs 10,000 cap per withdrawal from ATMs not owned by the bank in which the customer has an account, besides limiting such transactions to five in a month.

The apex bank had sent a communication in this regard to Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).

IBA had submitted its recommendations to the central bank last month citing the financial burden faced by banks on account of huge number of third party usage and small-ticket withdrawals.

Since April 1, RBI had declared third party ATM usage, including cash withdrawals and account enquiries, free for all customers and said that banks can charge Rs 18-20 per month from other banks in case of third party ATM transaction.

With the number of third party transactions surging post-April, banks approached the Reserve Bank through IBA to revisit the current norms and make necessary modifications.

Though IBA had also recommended a minimum limit of Rs 1,000 on third party ATM withdrawals, this was rejected by the Reserve Bank to protect the interest of small withdrawers.

swine flu, death toll in India mounts to 89

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The swine flu pandemic showed no let up and claimed the life of a 39-year-old man in Mumbai, pushing the toll to 89 while 123 fresh cases of infection were detected across the country.

M Shaikh, who had tested positive for the virus, had undergone treatment at MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai for ten days and was shifted to D Y Patil Hospital, also in the same area, yesterday, Navi Mumbai Chief Health Officer Deepak Paropkari said.

Shaikh died on Friday night, he said. With this death, the nationwide flu toll climbed to 89.

Maharashtra now accounts for 47 fatalities — 25 in Pune, ten in Mumbai, seven in Nashik, two in Aurangabad and one each in Dhule and Latur.

20 people have died in Karnataka, seven in Gujarat, three each in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, two in Uttarakhand and one each in Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan and Haryana.

The flu spurt continued across the country with 123 fresh cases of the viral disease being detected yesterday, bringing the total number of those who had been infected to 3,396, Health Ministry officials said in Delhi.

The ministry said that the virus was affecting people in the 14 to 44 age bracket more and late reporting for treatment was the reason for most of the deaths.

Director General of Health Services R K Srivastava, quoting a survey by the ministry, said on Thursday that instances of death occurred when people infected by the virus reported for proper treatment five days or more after the symptoms surfaced.

Interpol warrants for Pakistani militants

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Interpol has issued alerts for at least two Pakistani Islamists wanted by India for last year's terror strikes in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

The red notice for Hafiz Saab Sayed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba militant group that India blames for the 2008 attacks, has been posted on the Web site of the international police agency.

A similar alert has been issued for Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, also linked to the same organization, which was designated by the United States as a terrorist group with ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The notices came in the wake of an Indian court issuing arrest warrants in June for 22 Pakistanis, including Sayed and Lakhvi, in connection with the siege that began November 26, 2008, in India's financial capital.

The warrants were handed down because of a motion by Indian prosecutors in the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the 10 men who launched the attack.

In all, there are 35 suspects wanted in the case, including other members of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, according to Indian authorities.

The three-day rampage started with attackers targeting 10 sites and taking over three five-star hotels and a Jewish center.

Both Sayed and Lakhvi are accused of "terrorism incitement" among other offenses, the Interpol notices said.

The Interpol red notices are not international arrest warrants, but a tool to help identify and locate wanted people.

"These red notices allow the warrant to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition," the agency explains.

Somdev clears first round, Prakash loses in US Open qualifiers

NEW YORK: India's Somdev Devvarman won his first round in his bid for a place in the US Open tennis main draw, beating American Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-3, 6-3, but Prakash Amritraj lost to Colombian Alejandro Falla 6-7 (5), 6-4, 3-6 at Flushing Meadows.

Somdev, ranked 161, beat the 133rd ranked American of Russian origin for the second time in a month Tuesday, having beaten him to qualify for the LA Open late last month, also in straight sets.

Prakash's fight-back against Falla, who is ranked 31st for the qualifiers, was of no avail as he lost a tight first-set tie-break, won the second but could not carry the momentum into the third.

Somdev's victory is an upset of sorts as Bogomolov was seeded 16th in the qualifiers. The Indian will now play Dutchman Igor Sijsling who moved into the second round as his opponent Joshua Goodall of Britain retired trailing 2-4 in the third set after losing the first 6-7 (7) and winning the second 6-2.

Somdev, who is yet to play in a Grand Slam event, having lost in the second round of the qualifiers at the Australian Open, third at Roland Garros and in the first round at Wimbledon, has to win two more rounds to qualify for the main draw at the US Open.

The Indian should beat Sijsling, who is ranked 305, to take on the winner of the match between 229th ranked Jerzy Janowic of Poland and 153rd ranked Frenchman Alexandre, seeded 26.

Swine flu claims 25th victim in Pune

PUNE: Swine flu toll in the city rose to 25 with a middle-aged woman succumbing to the viral infection here on Wednesday. The victim -- Shabana Shaikh -- had been put on ventilator since her admission to the government-run Sassoon Hospital on August 22, hospital sources said.

Meanwhile, attendance at schools and colleges, which reopened on August 24 after a gap of a fortnight, remained affected by the swine flu scare among parents and students.

The district administration has issued an appeal to people to get on with their activities without frequenting crowded places even as Ganesh festival enthusiasts in some parts thronged pandals to have glimpses of tableaux depicting scenes that underlined vigilance to curb spread of the deadly virus.

Microsoft apologises for racism

LOS ANGELES: Software giant Microsoft Corp is apologising for altering a photo on its website to change the race of one of the people shown in the picture.

A photo on the Seattle-based company's US website shows two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table.

But on the website of Microsoft's Polish business unit, the black man's head has been replaced with that of a white man. The colour of his hand remains unchanged.

The photo editing sparked criticism online. Some bloggers said Poland's ethnic homogeneity may have played a role in changing the photo.

“We are looking into the details of this situation,” Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos said in a statement. “We apologise and are in the process of pulling down the image.”

India to unveil its foreign trade policy tomorrow

NEW DELHI: India will on Thursday unveil its foreign trade policy that is expected to eliminate or refund taxes and offer cheaper bank credit to recession-battered exporters, besides encouraging them to look beyond the US and European markets.

The policy will outline the government's priorities over the next five years for resurrecting the sector that contracted by over 31% in the April-June quarter.

Job-intensive segments such as textiles, handicrafts, leather and gems and jewellery will receive special attention by way of zero taxes or tax refunds and subsidised credit.

"Tomorrow's FTA may satisfy many... (but) may not satisfy everyone. It will be forward looking, taking on board the concerns of the industry, particularly the labour-intensive sectors. They will get special attention," commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said.

Exporting units employ 150 million people and their jobs were the first to be put to risk following the demand slump in traditional export markets such as the US and Europe.

Sharma, who would be presenting his first FTP, said that he would like exporters to diversify their portfolio beyond North America and western Europe. As much as 54-55% of India's $168 billion exports land US and European ports.

Africa and Latin America remain the least priority for the exporters while full potential with south east Asian economies has not been realised. "I have directed my team to prepare a strategy paper for Africa and Latin America," Sharma said.

Rupee falls by 7 paise against dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee on Wednesday depreciated by seven paise to quote at 48.82 against the US dollar in early trade on month-end dollar demand from importers and refiners.

Forex dealers said apart from demand from refiners and importers, a firming US dollar against some leading currencies also put pressure on the Indian rupee.

They said, however, expectations of more capital inflows by foreign funds as stock markets may continue its upward journey today in line with other firm Asian markets, capped rupee's losses to some extent.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency was quoted seven paise lower at 48.82 a dollar. The rupee had lost 14 paise to close at 48.75/76 against the US currency yesterday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex yesterday gained nearly 60 points on an upsurge in IT, consumer durables and refinery sectors.

Equities choppy; IT, realty, power top performers

MUMBAI: Equities were witnessing a choppy session as traders were squaring positions ahead of August series F&O expiry. IT, realty and power stocks were the top performing sectors.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 4684.50, up 25.15 points or 0.54%. The broader index touched a high of 4697.80 and low of 4659.10.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 15779.47, up 91 points or 0.58%. The index touched an intra-day high of 15831.49 and low of 15695.94.

BSE Midcap Index was up 1.13% and BSE Smallcap Index gained 1.97%.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index moved up 3.49%, BSE Realty Index gained 1.53% and BSE Power Index moved 0.67% higher.

TCS (4.27%), Infosys Technologies (4.14%), Wipro (3.52%), Sterlite Industries (3.44%) and Suzlon (2.77%) were amongst the top Nifty gainers.

Losers included GAIL (-2.20%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (-1.72%), Hindustan Unilever (-1.69%), HDFC Bank (-1.46%) and Jindal Steel (-1.35%).

Market breadth was positive on the Nifty with 30 advances and 20 declines.

European markets were subdued as gains in financials were offset by commodities. FTSE 100 was down 0.08%, CAC 40 slipped 0.08% and DAX declined 0.19%.

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