Panaji, Aug 11 (PTI) Goa Police has booked state Shiv Sena chief Upendra Gaonkar along with party''s Vice President Umesh Salgaoncar for allegedly trying to extort money from a casino management. While Salgaoncar was arrested last night, search is on to track Gaonkar, police said today.

The complaint was lodged at Porvorim police station, 5 kms away from here, by Hotel Majestic, which runs a casino. Police alleged that Gaonkar contacted the hotel management demanding Rs 50 lakh and later scaled down the sum to Rs 50,000.

Shiv Sena in the past has publicly opposed casinos in the state

(malathi)

A staggering 96.3 million square feet of residential space - or about 80,000 homes - is lying unsold in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the highest-ever inventory pile-up for the area. Sales are down 38% over last year.

Data compiled by real estate research firm Liases Foras show that at the end of June 2010, the unsold residential space in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander and Thane was nearly twice the 58.9 million sq ft that was available in the MMR in June 2008. Liases Foras CEO Pankaj Kapoor said if flats that are currently lying with investors, which will eventually return to the market are taken into account, another 50 million sq ft will be added to the unsold space.

Analysts see in the glut a throwback to the circumstances that led to the realty slowdown of 2008-09. Builders are again looking to raise money through IPOs, and the pricing of flats is valuation- rather than sales-driven.

"Besides high valuations, the 4% VAT and service tax on under-construction flats, and the huge difference between carpet area and notional super built-up area have created an unfriendly environment for home buyers," Kapoor said.

R V Verma, executive director of the National Housing Bank, said the recent increase in home loan disbursements has been offset in the metros, and particularly in Mumbai, by rising property prices. "The investor-centric approach is fueling speculation in prices," he said.

The average price of residential property in the MMR works out to Rs 7,747 per sq ft; in Mumbai itself it is an eye-popping Rs 13,798 per sq ft. A 1,000-sq ft carpet area flat in Kandivli, which cost Rs 70 lakh 15 months ago today costs Rs 1.6 crore, Kapoor said.
 

(malathi)

Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) In wake of the collision between two ships and the subsequent oil spill off the coast here, BMC has started conducting random checks of seafood items in civic markets to ensure they are free of any contamination. "As the oil spill spread fast and thick off Mumbai coast, we have taken samples of sea food items like Bombil (Bombay Duck) and Prawns.

These samples have been sent to labs for testing and reports will come within four days to confirm whether they are hygienic or not," BMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Markets) Deepak Kamat told PTI here. "Also, we fear that small fishermen might start fishing activity as this is their only source of income.

So we have commenced surveillance to avoid any health hazards," he said. Checks have been conducted only in affected city areas like Colaba, Fort, Nariman Point and others from where most of the sea food is procured.

These checks were done on a random basis at those landing spots that supply sea food to municipal markets, Kamat said, adding the process will continue for a few more days. BMC has 92 municipal markets in all of which 53 sell sea food.

There are over 29 markets in the city area, of which sea food is available at 24 markets, he said. The civic body has also issued an advisory asking people to take precautions while buying fish.

Fishermen have also been told to avoid fishing in areas affected by the oil spill.
 

(malathi)

Brasilia, Aug 11 (DPA) The Brazilian government has made an official offer of asylum to an Iranian woman - Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani - who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and killing her husband.

Brazilian foreign ministry sources said Tuesday in Brasilia that the offer, which Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made unofficially a few days ago, was formalised by Brazil's ambassador in Tehran, Antonio Luis Espinola Salgado.

There has been no response from Iranian authorities so far, the sources said.

Lula has friendly ties with Tehran and has repeatedly spoken against sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programme. His initial offer of asylum for Mohammadi-Ashtiani was rejected last week.

The Brazilian government has also acknowledged that Mohammadi-Ashtiani had committed a crime.

'Mr Lula is person who sets great value on humanitarian issues but in this case a crime has definitely been committed which the judiciary is following,' foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a press conference last week.

The US government also called on Iran to accept Brazil's offer and described stoning in the 21st century as a barbaric act which should be outlawed.

Mohammadi-Ashtiani was convicted of adultery and murdering her husband and was sentenced to be stoned to death. The sentence provoked an international outcry with several Western countries and human rights organisations calling on Iran to revise it.

Iran's judiciary said the 43-year-old woman was not only convicted of adultery but also of killing her husband in 2006. But it has delayed her sentence indefinitely.

Over the weekend, her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, fled to Norway, saying he had drawn the wrath of Iranian authorities for defending Mohammadi-Ashtiani, juvenile offenders and political prisoners.
 

(malathi)

New York, Aug. 10 -- New York Senator Chuck Schumer may have described Indian information technology giant Infosys as a "chop shop", but what the Bangalore-based company has been chopping is the number of its H1B hires. And given lower demand for that visa, analysts believe that the recent Bill passed by the United States Senate levying a penalty on firms based in America with more than 50 per cent H1 and L1 visa employees, is a populist gimmick in an election year. The mid-term congressional and state elections in the US are just three months away. The numbers present a stark picture of how the H1B isn't as popular as it once was. The cap for the fiscal 2009-2010 was only reached in January this year, while the uptake for the current year has been worse - just 28,500 petitions as against the available quota of 65,000 H1Bs. And Infosys is actually the leading company in sharply reducing its H1B intake. In 2008, it had 4,559 HIB visas approved; that number dropped to just 440 in 2009, a drop of over 90 per cent. Demand has also dropped from Wipro, another company targeted by the Bill's proponents, while US majors such as Microsoft and Intel have increased the number of H1B hires, according to data available. The bill sponsored by Senator Schumer and Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri primarily seeks to tighten security along the US-Mexico border, and proposes to raise funding for its objectives, including unmanned drones, through penalties on mainly Indian companies. Vivek Wadhwa, Senior Research Associate at Harvard University, described the bill as "bizarre." In fact, illegal immigration and a tighter rein along the US border with Mexico will be a major issue leading up to the elections and the Democratic Party, to which Senators Schumer and McCaskill belong, has been on the backfoot on this issue. Immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta said, in this regard, "It's a symbolic gesture. They are trying to show they are doing something. It's basically political."

The provisions of the Bill, though, will last through 2014, if, in fact, it is passed by the House and signed into law by US President Barack Obama. The House could take it up as early as this week.

(malathi)

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 11 (IANS) Virgin Group founder and chairman Richard Branson and US-based Indian management guru Anil Gupta will address a forum here next month.

Branson is expected to outline his thoughts on the current investment landscape and on the growing importance of Asia in the forum entitled 'Dawn of the New Decade - Alternative Investment in Asia'.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will present the keynote address at the two-day forum to be held Sep 27-28.

The event is being organised by the International Herald Tribune in association with the London Speaker Bureau.

Gupta is a widely known expert on strategy and globalisation, The Star newspaper said Wednesday.

Other speakers are Mary Buffet, daughter-in-law of world renowned investor Warren Buffet, and Augusto Lopez-Carlos, the chief economist with the World Economic Forum.
 

(malathi)

10 ships have sunk in the last 13 years

Ten ships, including a few offshore supply vessels, have sunk near Mumbai harbour in the past 13 years, making the channel a graveyard of ships. The debris of the sunken vessels are already posing a threat to ships and fishing boats.

Apart from that, more than 30 stranded offshore supply vessels (OSV) continue to pose a major threat to lives of seafarers.

Rusty buckets
The 30-odd vessels have been reduced to rusted buckets after they were anchored in Mumbai harbour since July 2007.

They have been found unfit for sailing soon after a survey conducted by the Director General of Shipping.
DG shipping conducted a survey after the sinking of offshore vessel SAM10 near Bombay High in July 2007. Most of the ships did not conform to the specifications laid by Indian Register of Shipping, an apex governing body for shipping in the country.

While some of the ships are anchored near Ferry Wharf, a majority of them are pitching and rolling in the rough seas in the main navigation channel leading to the harbour.

Some of the supply vessels are anchored along the route to Mora, Karanja and Rewas across Mumbai harbour. These ships are a threat to local fishermen, particularly after nightfall.

The rust that emits from these  ships is creating an ecological threat to the marine fauna in the region. And authorities have done nothing to tackle this threat so far.
 

(malathi)

Ghatkopar stockbroker has been receiving such SMSes for the last 18 months; this despite changing his cell number

Your daughter is having an affair with me...
Your daughter-in-law is a prostitute
Your wife f***s around with me...

That's an abridged and toned-down version of text messages that a stockbroker from Ghatkopar, Jagdish Shah, 48 (name changed), and his relatives from Malad have been receiving on their cellphones every day over the last 18 months.

During that period, the two families have received hundreds of such messages. Fed up of the torture, they lodged a complaint at Pant Nagar police station. With no arrests made, they complained to the Cyber cell of the Mumbai police. The case has now been transferred to the Crime Branch whose officials are just as clueless.

New number
The Shahs did try changing their cellphone numbers but that was of little help. They continued getting the lewd text messages despite changing their numbers, said police sources.

Police officials, who did not wish to be named, said Shah and his family receive around 100 to 125 such abusive messages a day. "We are fed up of those vulgar messages," Shah told MiD DAY. "We thought a change of numbers would relieve us, but no such luck."

"My daughter is scared to step out of home, and is even reluctant to go to college," said Shah. "She feels threatened that this person might attack her."

Number traced but...
"An unidentified person sends messages to the family stating that their daughter, wife, daughter-in-law and other relatives are prostitutes, have had sex with him," said a police source. "When we did trace the number, we got to know that the SIM card had been procured using fake documents. The person whose documents have been submitted does not exist. So, we told the family to get in touch with the Cyber Cell.

The case was subsequently transferred to the Crime Branch.

Now, the Crime Branch is trying to track the person sending the messages, through the IP address, but have not succeeded so far. The Crime Branch has been keeping vigil on agencies selling SIM cards without proper documents. Such cards are referred to as 'khacha' cards.

"There is a major racket of fake SIM cards in the market," said sources in the Crime Branch. "Agents sell these SIM cards on the basis of fake documents. Such cards often land in wrong hands."

"The case has just been transferred to us. Our investigation process is still going on," said Police Inspector Sunil Kawdekar of Crime Branch (Unit VII). "The accused only uses the card to send text messages, not to call up. Tracking the sender of a text message is not as easy as zeroing in on a caller." 
 

(malathi)

In a shocking incident, the headmistress of a government-run primary school in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district tortured students with a burning wood as they were making noise in their classes.

At least 13 children of Class 1 to 4 sustained burn injuries on different parts of their bodies Monday.

The incident that took place in Jamandlapalli village of Mahabubabad mandal came to light Tuesday when parents along with their children staged a protest outside the school, demanding action against the headmistress, Shruti Kirti.

Acting swiftly, the district education officer of Warangal suspended the headmistress and ordered a probe into the incident.

Parents alleged that the headmistress had been cruelly punishing students for the last few days. The children, including girls, showed torture marks on their hands and legs. 
 

(malathi)

The Taliban executed a pregnant woman on charges of adultery in western Afghanistan, an official said on Monday.

A Taliban court in Qadis, a remote district in Badghis province, found Bibi Sanawbar, a 40-year-old widow, "guilty because she got pregnant by having illicit affairs", Jabar Saleh, the deputy provincial police chief, said.

Sanawbar was kept in prison for three days before being publicly executed, he said, adding, "She was first flogged 200 times and then was shot in her head three times."

Mullah Mohammad Yousif, a Taliban commander in the district, sentenced the woman to death and then personally carried out the punishment on Sunday, Saleh said.

While they were in power from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban staged public executions, mainly in recreational places, including football stadiums.

Under the ultra-Islamic regime, the Taliban publicly stoned and lashed those who were found by their courts to have had sex outside marriage.

Nearly nine years since the ouster of their regime by the US-led invasion, the militant group still metes out justice based on its harsh interpretation of Islamic laws in the areas where they currently hold sway.

Officials in the western region said that the area where Sunday's execution took place was completely controlled by the militants.

The militants in the recent years have also killed dozens of Afghan people, including women, after accusing them of spying for the Western-backed Afghan government or the international forces.

Among those executed was a seven-year-old boy, who was killed by suspected militants on charges of spying for the Afghan government in the southern province of Helmand in June.
 

(malathi)