PJ Crowley resigns as US State Department spokesman

Washington:  US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has resigned after causing a stir by describing the Army's treatment of the suspected WikiLeaks leaker as "ridiculous" and "stupid."

Crowley said in a statement on Sunday that he took responsibility for the remarks, and that given their impact, he had submitted his resignation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

President Barack Obama said on Friday that the Pentagon has assured him the Army private believe responsible for the largest leak of classified American documents ever was being held under appropriate conditions.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is being held in solitary confinement for all but an hour every day at a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va. He is stripped naked each night, and given a suicide-proof smock to wear to bed.

Ram Charan to Marry Upasana Kamineni this Year?

Now that Allu Arjun's marriage is over, rumours are making round around Ram Charan’s wedding. The buzz is that is he likely to tie the knot with Upasana Kamineni this year. 

Upasana is granddaughter of Prathap Reddy, Chairman of Apollo hospitals. She is the Vice President of Apollo Philanthropy & Editor of BPositive magazine.

Reports on Upasana Kamineni being engaged to the Mega Power Star came mid-last year but later got subdued. However, there was heavy buzz that the two would get married after Allu Arjun ties the knot.

And now that Allu Arjun’s marriage (with Sneha Reddy) is over, and that it was held in grandeur, focus has turned to Mega Power Star’s marriage. Sources say that Chiranjeevi is for a waiting for the right time to announce the wedding date.

Journalist's Shocking Question To RGV

Usually, it is the habit of Ramgopal Varma to give shocks to all with his questions but this time, it was his turn to face an interesting situation. All this happened during the pressmeet on the eve of his ‘Dongala Mutha’ teaser and the concepts behind the making of this film.

A noted journalist Madhu from Sakshi group asked “since the film is made with zero budget, why not have an option wherein the audience watch the film and then decides whether to give money if they like it?”. The immediate reaction from Ramu was ‘Abbaaa…..Aaasa!!’

While Madhu got his answer, another person Suresh Kondeti from Santosham magazine asked “by doing KSD Appalaraju, the talk is that Sunil’s career got a setback. Now with Ravi Teja flying high in his career, do you think ‘Dongala Mutha’ might hamper his graph?”.
For this, director Harish Shankar who was present answered and quoted the example of ‘Shock’ with Ravi Teja which brought smiles to all.

“Suresh ji! You know how we both as director and producer pulled back the career of Ravi Teja with ‘Shock’. I think this is not time to talk about pulling back careers”, said director Harish Shankar.
To this Suresh Kondeti reacted, “I asked this question to RGV”.
To this Harish answered, “But I answered you only”.
That brought laughs for all.

Ram Charan VV Vinayak’s Film to Begin from July

After the debacle of his last film ‘Orange’, Mega Power Star Ram Charan is yet to start a film. He had recently agreed for a new project that will be directed by Sampath Nandi. The film is said to be a mass masala entertainer and will have Tamanna Bhatia as heroine. It is expected to go on sets in April.

And now, the buzz is that he had agreed for another film. Sensational director VV Vinayak, who is now engaged in the making of Allu Arjun’s ‘Badrinath,’ will be directing it. Sources say that Vinayak is now working on the script for the film.  

Another buzz is that Ram Charan is preparing to sport a new look in this film. In this regard, he is now undergoing training at David Bartons Gym, one of the best gyms of the world.

Ram Charan also conveyed the same through twitter. He tweeted:

“im in miami training for my next movie. tryin to give you guys a very new look..will update u guys exactly what im doin here.ANTHA VARUKU...”

“im glad god gave me this break..as im gonna be workin the whole year ahead..3 movies back to back...will be a roller coster ride.”

“will be training in david bartons gym. they have the best trainers. cant wait to start my first session. will share my experience shortly.”

These tweets suggest that Ram Charan is doing some home work for his forthcoming films.

Libya unrest: Gaddafi closes in on rebel-held Benghazi

Cairo:  Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi today were within striking distance of the main opposition-held eastern city of Benghazi after they stormed into the city of Brega, as the Arab League came out in support of plans to impose a 'no-fly zone' over the restive country.

With air supremacy and a big advantage in tanks, Gaddafi's forces are keeping up the momentum on the ground.

"The rebel forces, who for weeks, rapidly advancing towards the capital Tripoli, in a bid to oust Gaddafi, are losing steam to the better-armed government forces," al-Jazeera reported from Brega.

Anti-Gaddafi rebels have been pushed out of the northern oil town of Ras Lanuf, reports said. BBC said the government forces now control the town and its oil refinery.

The fall of the town was confirmed by Libya's former interior minister Gen Abdul Fateh Younis, who has defected to the rebels. But he vowed that his fighters would launch a counter-attack latest by tomorrow.

The Arab channel said that Gaddafi's forces were now in a good position to take on Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city and the seat of the rebels' National Opposition Council, which was recognised by France recently.

Columns of Libyan tanks backed by fighters and gunships entered the city of Brega, which was captured by the rebels just a week back after fierce fighting.

Under pressure from the pro-Gaddafi forces, the rebels have repeatedly called on the international community to impose a 'no-fly' zone to stop air strikes on cities, but have been against foreign military intervention on the ground.

The 22-member Arab League at an emergency meeting in Cairo today asked the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

"The Arab League asks the United Nations to shoulder its responsibility...to impose a no-fly zone over the movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in the places vulnerable to airstrikes," said a League statement released after the emergency session.

The Arab bloc said Libyan leader's government of more than 40 years had "lost its sovereignty."

They also appeared to confer legitimacy on the rebel's interim government, the National Libyan Council, saying they would establish contacts with the group.

Arab League's approval for a 'no-fly' zone is likely to pave the way for the US and its European allies to go ahead with enforcing the zone, which effectively neutralises Gaddafi's air power.

As the sea-saw battle continued in Libya, US President Barack Obama has warned that "the noose" around the Libyan ruler was tightening and said the international community had an obligation to prevent a Rwanda-style civilian massacre in the North African nation.

"Across the board, we are slowly tightening the noose around Gaddafi," Obama said at a White House news conference, which was dominated by the Libyan uprising and the Japanese tsunami tragedy.

California 'closely monitoring' Japan nuclear leak

Los Angeles:  California is closely monitoring efforts to contain leaks from a earthquake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant, a spokesman said, as experts said radiation could be blown out across the Pacific.

While officials downplayed any immediate danger, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission deployed two experts to Japan, where the Fukushima plant, which was rocked by a large explosion earlier in the day in the aftermath of Japan's strongest-ever earthquake.

"At present there is no danger to California. However we are monitoring the situation closely in conjunction with our federal partners," Michael Sicilia, spokesman for California Department of Public Health, said.

"California does have radioactivity monitoring systems in place for air, water and the food supply and can enhance that monitoring if a danger exists," he added.

He was speaking as Japanese authorities moved to calm fears of a meltdown and said a huge explosion on Saturday had not ruptured the container surrounding the reactor, although there had already been some radiation leakage prior to the explosion.

Experts have suggested that, if there were a reactor meltdown or major leak at Fukushima, the radioactive cloud would likely be blown out east across the Pacific, towards the US West Coast.

"The wind direction for the time being seems to point the (nuclear) pollution towards the Pacific," said Andre-Claude Lacoste of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, briefing journalists in Paris on the Japanese crisis.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission meanwhile said it has sent two experts to Japan, and has been in regular contact with Japanese officials about the crisis.

"We have some of the most expert people in this field in the world working for the NRC and we stand ready to assist in any way possible," commission chairman Gregory Jaczko said in a statement announcing the deployment.

Japan quake: Officials scramble to avert meltdowns as nuclear crisis deepens

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Tokyo:  Japanese officials struggled on Sunday to contain a widening nuclear crisis in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, saying they presumed that partial meltdowns had occurred at two crippled reactors and that they were bracing for a second explosion, even as they faced serious cooling problems at four more reactors. (Watch: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear power plant)

The emergency appeared to be the worst involving a nuclear plant since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago. The developments at two separate nuclear plants prompted the evacuation of more than 200,000 people. Japanese officials said they had also ordered up the largest mobilization of their Self-Defense Forces since World War II to assist in the relief effort. (See pics: Japan earthquake triggers tsunami)

On Saturday, Japanese officials took the extraordinary step of flooding the crippled No. 1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 170 miles north of Tokyo, with seawater in a last-ditch effort to avoid a nuclear meltdown. That came after an explosion caused by hydrogen that tore the outer wall and roof off the building housing the reactor, although the steel containment of the reactor remained in place.

Then on Sunday, cooling failed at a second reactor -- No. 3 -- and core melting was presumed at both, said the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. An explosion could also rock the No. 3 reactor, Mr. Edano warned, because of a buildup of hydrogen within the reactor.

"The possibility that hydrogen is building up in the upper parts of the reactor building cannot be denied. There is a possibility of a hydrogen explosion," Mr. Edano said. He stressed that as in the No. 1 unit, the reactor's steel containment would withstand the explosion. (Watch: Japan, the day after)

"It is designed to withstand shocks," he said.

Officials also said they would release steam and inject water into a third reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after temperatures rose and water levels fell around the fuel rods.

Cooling had failed at three reactors at a nuclear complex nearby, Fukushima Daini, although he said conditions there were considered less dire for now.

With high pressure inside the reactors at Daiichi hampering efforts to pump in cooling water, plant operators had to release radioactive vapor into the atmosphere. Radiation levels outside the plant, which had retreated overnight, shot up to 1,204 microsieverts per hour, or over twice Japan's legal limit, Mr. Edano said.

NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, flashed instructions to evacuees: close doors and windows; place a wet towel over the nose and mouth; cover up as much as possible. At a news conference, Mr. Edano called for calm. "If measures can be taken, we will be able to ensure the safety of the reactor," he said.

Even before Mr. Edano's statement on Sunday, it was clear from the radioactive materials turning up in trace amounts outside the reactors that fuel damage had occurred. The existence or extent of melting might not be clear until workers can open the reactors and examine the fuel, which could be months from now.

The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that as many as 160 people may have been exposed to radiation around the plant, and Japanese news media said that three workers at the facility were suffering from full-on radiation sickness.

Even before the explosion on Saturday, officials said they had detected radioactive cesium, which is created when uranium fuel is split, an indication that some of the nuclear fuel in the reactor was already damaged.

How much damage the fuel suffered remained uncertain, though safety officials insisted repeatedly through the day that radiation leaks outside the plant remained small and did not pose a major health risk.

However, they also told the International Atomic Energy Agency that they were making preparations to distribute iodine, which helps protect the thyroid gland from radiation exposure, to people living near Daiichi and Daini.

Worries about the safety of the two plants worsened on Saturday because executives of the company that runs them, Tokyo Electric Power, and government officials gave confusing accounts of the location and causes of the dramatic midday explosion and the damage it caused.

Late Saturday night, officials said that the explosion at Daiichi occurred in a structure housing turbines near its No. 1 reactor at the plant, rather than inside the reactor itself. But photographs of the damage did not make clear that this was the case.

They said that the blast, which may have been caused by a sharp buildup of hydrogen when the reactor's cooling system failed, destroyed the concrete structure surrounding the reactor but did not collapse the critical steel container inside. This pattern of damage cast doubt on the idea that the explosion was in the turbine building.

"We've confirmed that the reactor container was not damaged," Mr. Edano said in a news conference on Saturday night. "The explosion didn't occur inside the reactor container. As such there was no large amount of radiation leakage outside. At this point, there has been no major change to the level of radiation leakage outside, so we'd like everyone to respond calmly."

On Sunday morning, an official with Tokyo Electric Power said that the emergency cooling system at the No. 3 reactor at Daiichi had stopped working. The official, Atsushi Sugiyama, said that urgent efforts were being made to cool the reactor with water, and that, as with the first reactor, there would be a release of vapor containing trace amounts of radiation to relieve a buildup of pressure.

Japanese nuclear safety officials and international experts said that because of crucial design differences, the release of radiation at Daiichi would most likely be much smaller than at Chernobyl even if the plant had a complete core meltdown, which they said it had not.

After a full day of worries about the radiation leaking at Daiichi, Tokyo Electric Power said an explosion occurred "near" the No. 1 reactor at Daiichi around 3:40 p.m. Japan time on Saturday. It said four of its workers were injured in the blast.

The decision to flood the reactor core with corrosive seawater, experts said, was an indication that Tokyo Electric Power and Japanese authorities had probably decided to scrap the plant. "This plant is almost 40 years old, and now it's over for that place," said Olli Heinonen, the former chief inspector for the I.A.E.A., and now a visiting scholar at Harvard.

Mr. Heinonen lived in Japan in the 1980s, monitoring its nuclear industry, and visited the stricken plant many times. Based on the reports he was seeing, he said he believed that the explosion was caused by a hydrogen formation, which could have begun inside the reactor core. "Now, every hour they gain in keeping the reactor cooling down is crucial," he said.

But he was also concerned about the presence of spent nuclear fuel in a pool inside the same reactor building. The pool, too, needs to remain full of water to suppress gamma radiation and prevent the old fuel from melting. If the spent fuel is also exposed -- and so far there are only sketchy reports about the condition of that building -- it could also pose a significant risk to the workers trying to prevent a meltdown.

Both Daiichi and Daini were shut down by Friday's earthquake, but the loss of power in the area and damage to the plants' generators from the ensuing tsunami crippled the cooling systems. Those are crucial after a shutdown to cool down the nuclear fuel rods.

The malfunctions allowed pressure to build up beyond the design capacity of the reactors. Early Saturday, officials had said that small amounts of radioactive vapor were expected to be released into the atmosphere to prevent damage to the containment systems and that they were evacuating people in the area as a precaution.

Those releases apparently did not prevent the buildup of hydrogen inside the plant, which ignited and exploded Saturday afternoon, government officials said. They said the explosion itself did not increase the amount of radioactive material being released into the atmosphere. However, safety officials urged people who were not evacuating but still lived relatively nearby to cover their mouths and stay indoors.

David Lochbaum, who worked at three reactors in the United States with designs similar to Daiichi, and who was later hired by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to teach its personnel about that technology, said that judging by photographs of the stricken plant, the explosion appeared to have occurred in the turbine hall, not the reactor vessel or the containment that surrounds the vessel.

The Daiichi reactor is a boiling-water reactor. Inside the containment, the reactor sends its steam out to a turbine. The turbine converts the steam's energy into rotary motion, which turns a generator and makes electricity.

But as the water goes through the reactor, some water molecules break up into hydrogen and oxygen. A system in the turbine hall usually scrubs out those gases. Hydrogen is also used in the turbine hall to cool the electric generator. Hydrogen from both sources has sometimes escaped and exploded, Mr. Lochbaum said, but in this case, there is an additional source of hydrogen: interaction of steam with the metal of the fuel rods. Operators may have vented that hydrogen into the turbine hall.

Earlier Saturday, before the explosion, a Japanese nuclear safety panel said the radiation levels were 1,000 times above normal in a reactor control room at Daiichi. Some radioactive material had also seeped outside, with radiation levels near the main gate measured at eight times normal levels, NHK quoted nuclear safety officials as saying.

The emergency at Daiichi began shortly after the earthquake struck Friday afternoon. Emergency diesel generators, which kicked in to run the cooling system after the electrical power grid failed, shut down about an hour after the earthquake. There was speculation that the tsunami had flooded the generators, knocking them out of service.

For some time, the plant was able to operate in a battery-controlled cooling mode. Tokyo Electric Power said that by Saturday morning it had also installed a mobile generator to ensure that the cooling system would continue operating even after reserve battery power was depleted. Even so, the company said it needed to conduct "controlled containment venting" in order to avoid an "uncontrolled rupture and damage" to the containment unit.

Why the controlled release of pressure did not succeed in addressing the problem was not immediately explained. Tokyo Electric Power and government nuclear safety officials also did not explain the precise sequence of failures at the plant.

Daiichi and other nuclear facilities are designed with extensive backup systems that are supposed to function in emergencies to ensure the plants can be shut down safely.

West Bengal polls: 149 new faces on CPM's list of candidates

Kolkata:  The ruling Left Front announced its list of candidates for the upcoming six-phase assembly polls in West Bengal today. There are 149 new faces on the list, 15 more than the last time.

Surprisingly, seven sitting ministers were dropped from the list of contestants apparently to counter anti-incumbency. These include Manab Mukherjee, Jogesh Barman, Partha De, Tapan Roy, Binoy Biswas, Bankim Ghosh and Rabindranath Hembrom.

The list was announced by Left Front Chairman Biman Bose at a press conference in Kolkata.

Assembly Speaker H A Halim, who has held the post for the last 29 years, will not contest the elections to the 294-member House, beginning April 18, on health ground. However, his son Farhoud Halim will stand from Ballygunge constituency.

As per the list, finalised at a meeting of the Left Front, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been renominated from Jadavpur seat.

Industry Minister Nirupam Sen has been renominated from Burdwan (South) as also Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra from Narayangar. Urban Development Minister Ashok
Bhattacharaya has been fielded in Siliguri, Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly in Raidighi, Land and Revenue Minister Abdul Rezzak Mollah in Canning (East) and IT Minister Debesh Das in Entally.

Constituencies of some ministers have been changed, including that of Housing Development Minister Goutam Deb. (With PTI Inputs)

Japan quake: Death toll may exceed 10,000

Tagajo (Japan):  The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said on Sunday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverised northeastern coast.

Although the government doubled the number of soldiers deployed in the aid effort to 1,00,000, it seemed overwhelmed by what's turning out to be a triple disaster. Friday's quake and tsunami damaged two nuclear reactors at a power plant on the coast, and at least one of them appeared to be going through a partial meltdown, raising fears of a radiation leak.

The police chief of Miyagi prefecture, or state, told a gathering of disaster relief officials that his estimate for deaths was more than 10,000, police spokesman Go Sugawara said.

Miyagi has a population of 2.3 million and is one of the three prefectures hardest hit in Friday's disaster. Only 379 people have officially been confirmed as dead in Miyagi.

The nuclear crisis posed fresh concerns for those who survived the horrors of Friday's earthquake and tsunami, which hit with breathtaking force and speed, breaking or sweeping away everything in its path.

"First I was worried about the quake, now I'm worried about radiation. I live near the plants, so I came here to find out if I'm OK. I tested negative, but I don't know what to do next," Kenji Koshiba, a construction worker, said at an emergency center in Koriyama town near the power plant in Fukushima.

According to officials, at least 1,000 people were killed - including 200 people whose bodies were found Sunday along the coast - and 678 were missing in the disasters.

The US Geological Survey calculated the initial quake to have a magnitude of 8.9, while Japanese officials raised their estimate on Sunday to 9.0. Either way it was the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. It has been followed by hundreds of powerful aftershocks.

Teams searched for the missing along hundreds of miles (kilometers) of Japanese coastline, and hundreds of thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centers that were cut off from rescuers and aid. At least 1.4 million households had gone without water since the quake struck and some 2.5 million households were without electricity.

Japanese Trade Minister Banri Kaeda said the region was likely to face further blackouts and that power would be rationed to ensure supplies go to essential needs.

Large areas of the countryside remained surrounded by water and unreachable. Fuel stations were closed and people were running out of gasoline for their vehicles.

Public broadcaster NHK said around 380,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters, many of them without power.

In Iwaki town, residents were leaving due to concerns over dwindling food and fuel supplies. The town had no electricity and all stores were closed. Local police took in about 90 people and gave them blankets and rice balls but there was no sign of government or military aid trucks.

At a large refinery on the outskirts of the hard-hit port city of Sendai, 100-foot (30-meter) high bright orange flames rose in the air, spitting out dark plumes of smoke. The facility has been burning since Friday. A reporter who approached the area could hear the roaring fire from afar, and after a few minutes the gaseous stench began burning the eyes and throat.

At a small park near the refinery, trees and large swathes of grass were covered in thick black crude oil. Two large tanker trucks were jammed sideways among the trees, their gas tanks crumpled.

Mayumi Yagoshi, an office worker at the refinery, said she had taken the day off Friday because she had slipped and hurt her back.

"I was lucky, but I feel really bad. My mobile phone doesn't work and I have no idea what happened to everyone else," she said.

In the small town of Tagajo, near the hard-hit port city of Sendai, dazed residents roamed streets cluttered with smashed cars, broken homes and twisted metal.

Residents said the water surged in and quickly rose higher than the first floor of buildings. At Sengen General Hospital the staff worked feverishly to haul bedridden patients up the stairs one at a time. With the halls now dark, those that can leave have gone to the local community centre.

"There is still no water or power, and we've got some very sick people in here," said hospital official Ikuro Matsumoto.

One older neighborhood sits on low ground near a canal. The tsunami came in from the canal side and blasted through the frail wooden houses, coating the interiors with a thick layer of mud and spilling their contents out into the street on the other side.

"It's been two days, and all I've been given so far is a piece of bread and a rice ball," said Masashi Imai, 56.

Police cars drove slowly through the town and warned residents through loudspeakers to seek higher ground, but most simply stood by and watched them pass.

Dozens of countries have offered assistance. Two US aircraft carrier groups were off Japan's coast and ready to provide assistance.

Two other US rescue teams of 72 personnel each and rescue dogs were scheduled to arrive later Sunday, as was a five-dog team from Singapore.

India to have 400 million 3G connections by 2015

The number of 3G mobile service subscribers in India will reach 400 million by 2015 as the telecom operators ramp-up the rollout of the high-end mobile telephony service, said a Wireless Intelligence study.

"India's 3G connections are set to grow three-fold between 2011 and 2015 as operators ramp-up rollout of new 3G networks," said the study titled "India 3G rollout".

According to the report, the telecom operators are likely to invest $2.5 billion in building the new networks and rolling out 3G services in 2011.

"Indian operators spent a combined $15 billion in acquiring Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) 3G spectrum at auction last year and are forecast to jointly invest a further $2.5 billion in building the new networks and rolling out 3G services in 2011," it added.

The study notes that over 80 per cent of 3G connections will be based on WCDMA in five years, with the remaining 20 per cent on CDMA-based 3G networks.

However, 2011 has already seen a succession of rival launches, including Bharti (in January), Aircel (February) and Vodafone (March) and it forecasts that all new WCDMA-based operators will have launched services by June 2011.

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is expected to command the largest 3G share with 18 per cent followed by Reliance Communications and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd with 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

"Competition in the Indian 3G space is likely to be intense as most operators have set ambitious targets," said Joss Gillet, senior analyst at Wireless Intelligence.

"Market share growth clearly depends on how fast operators can deploy 3G networks in their respective licensed areas, and how rapidly they can address demand in rural areas," he added.

Even though initial 3G rollouts are concentrated in the metro areas including cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata they will soon be outstripped by fast-growing demand for 3G in more populous regions such as Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

But the situation is complicated as no 3G operator is able to offer a nationwide service, which will require network sharing and roaming between operators. Pricing 3G services appropriately in a market where around 200 million prospective users live on less than $2 a day is also a major challenge.

"Indian operators are betting on 3G services to stabilise ARPU (average revenue per user) and increase non-voice revenues to around the 30 per cent mark in the coming years," added Gillet.

"Even though we do not anticipate a price war in the 3G space, profitability will take time due to the high investments required and the current need for additional spectrum."

Delhi's first female autorickshaw driver

New Delhi:  Delhi may be considered unsafe for women, but that hasn't stopped Sunita from taking up as odd a job as an autorickshaw driver. Thirty two-year-old Sunita, the national capital's first female driver, transcends all barriers, living and playing by the rules in a profession dominated by men.

"I drive an auto because I enjoy it. People should do what they enjoy," she said.

Sunita has been an autorickshaw driver for the last five years. A matriculate, she was forced to drop out of school after her father died.

To support herself and her mother who lives in Bulandshahr, she came to Delhi looking for work that pays daily.
Delhi may have seen a spurt in crimes against women in the city of late, yet Sunita's unfazed. But in a profession dominated by males, the going wasn't easy at all.

Passengers would constantly stare at her making her uncomfortable and other male auto drivers just wouldn't cooperate.

And Sunita faced all this without her family knowing what she does. But she sped on, playing by the rules in this profession, playing it like men.

She rides on full of confidence and a never say die attitude.

Over 3,800 schools functioning in rented premises in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu:  Over 3,800 schools were functioning in rented premises in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government said today.

In a written reply to a question, state Education Minister Peerzada Mohd Sayeed said that 3,837 schools are functioning in rented premises for which Rs. 11.91 crore has been paid in the last three years.

Giving further details, he said out of these, 3028 are primary schools, 736 Middle schools, 67 High schools and 6 Higher Secondary Schools.

He said that out of Rs. 11.91 crore spent on the rent,

Rs. 418.59 lakh was spent as rent in 2008-09, Rs. 368.04 lakh in 2009-10 and Rs. 404.50 lakh in 2010-11.

Airport security arrests man with look-out circular

Kolkata:  An air passenger, a native from Punjab, was arrested as his Hong Kong-Kolkata flight landed at the NSCBI airport in Kolkata on Saturday evening with a look-out notice issued against him at major airports.

Airport sources said Mahinder Singh was detained by immigration department upon arrival as his name and other details tallied with the look-out circular.

Singh was later handed over to the airport police and put under arrest.

Hasan Ali to appear before Enforcement Directorate today

New Delhi:  Hasan Ali, the biggest tax evader in the country, will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) again on Sunday.

The ED was left red-faced when Hasan Ali, accused of evading taxes worth thousands of crores and links with arms dealer Adnan  Khashoggi, walked out on bail on Friday.

The court threw out the ED's case as it felt the agency has been unable to provide any proof that he is a money launderer, or any concrete evidence of arms dealing.

The Enforcement Directorate, after more questioning of Hasan Ali, will take the matter to a higher court.

13 dead in New York City tour bus accident

New York:  Thirteen people died on Saturday when a bus returning from a casino flipped onto its side on a major highway in the Bronx and was sliced in half by the support pole for a large sign, authorities said.

The driver, who survived, told police he lost control after being clipped by a tractor trailer. Police began a hunt for the truck, which did not stop after the crash, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.

The wreck left a scene of carnage and closed the southbound side of Interstate-95 for hours while emergency workers attended to critically injured survivors and removed bodies.

The bus, operated by the charter company World Wide Tours, was headed to Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood carrying a full load of passengers returning from the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

According to the driver, the bus was struck from behind as it entered the city around 5:30 a.m., Browne said. The bus began swerving, toppled and crashed into the support post for a highway sign indicating the exit for the Hutchinson Parkway.

The pole entered through the front window, then sheared the bus from front to back along the window line, cutting like a knife through the seating area and peeling the roof off all the way to the back tires.

Police and fire officials say the bus was carrying at least 31 passengers.

In addition to the fatalities, six passengers were critically hurt, a Fire Department spokesman said. A total of 19 were being treated at area hospitals.

Traffic was also closed on the northbound side of the highway after the crash, but was moving again by mid-morning.

Limo driver Homer Martinez, 56, of Danbury, Conn. happened on the scene just moments after the wreck and saw other drivers sprinting from their cars to see if they could assist the injured. He said they were horrified by what they found.

"People were saying, 'Oh my God. Oh my God,' holding their hands on their heads," Martinez said. "I saw people telling other people not to go there, 'You don't want to see this.'"

Firefighters and medics were on the scene quickly, running to the vehicle with bags and stretchers, he said.

"I see a lot of accidents. I've even seen accidents happen. But I've never seen anything like this," said Martinez.

Fourteen of the hurt passengers were being treated at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. A hospital spokeswoman, Barbara DeIorio, said some of the injuries were serious, but she had no immediate information on how many were gravely hurt. Another five patients were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital.

Japan quake shifted Earth 4 inches on its axis

Washington:  The massive earthquake that shook Japan and triggered a huge tsunami appears to have shifted the Earth on its axis and moved an island of Japan, a media report said on Saturday.

Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, told CNN: "At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass."

Reports from an Italian institute estimated that Japan earthquake shifted Earth on its axis by as much as 4 inches, CNN said.

The earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale rocked Japan on Friday and spawned a tsunami that slammed into the northeastern coast, leaving about 1,000 people dead.

Shengzao Chen, a geophysicist, explained that the quake occurred as the Earth's crust ruptured along an area about 400 km long by 160 km wide, as tectonic plates slipped more than 18 metres.

The Japan quake follows the Feb 22 earthquake in New Zealand that killed 150 people.

World rushes aid to quake-hit Japan

A residential area damaged by tsunami in Sendai,
Japan. (Getty Images)

Paris:  International rescue teams were rushing to Japan Sunday after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami left more than 1,000 dead, at least 10,000 missing and seriously damaged a nuclear power plant.

The world has rallied behind Japan, where tsunami waves up to 10 metres (33 feet) high rolled across the low-lying northeast on Friday, washing away everything in their path.

US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived off the coast of Japan early Sunday to provide logistical support for Japanese forces.

Japan has asked it to refuel its helicopters and help transport its troops to affected areas, the US Pacific Fleet said on its Facebook page.

A 144-member rescue team of the US Agency for International Development was also due at Misawa, northern Japan, later Sunday, to join inland operations, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

They included 12 dogs trained to detect victims trapped under rubble and about 150 tonnes of rescue equipment, USAID said.

With more than 1,000 people feared dead and authorities scrambling to bring reactors under control at two nuclear plants, Japanese officials have asked other nations to provide sniffer dogs to help search for trapped survivors.

Australia, South Korea and Singapore on Saturday all pledged to send dogs and search and rescue teams, as they also offered their condolences to Tokyo.

On Sunday, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said they had offered self-contained field hospitals and disaster victim identification teams to help in the process of both rescuing survivors and recovering bodies.

They had also offered the expertise of nuclear specialists to help address the threat from the damaged power station, he added.

And two experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission were headed for Japan, the commission announced on Saturday.

Japan reported that an estimated 200,000 people had been evacuated so far from the areas around the Fukushima No.1 and No. 2 nuclear plants, the UN atomic watchdog said.

After an explosion at the plant's No. 1 reactor Saturday afternoon despite efforts to control high temperatures and growing inside pressure, the operator said Sunday another reactor was at risk.

In a message to the Japanese prime minister the Dalai Lama, who has a huge following among Japanese Buddhists, expressed his "sadness" at the catastrophe and praised Japan's high level of disaster preparedness for saving lives.

And Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sent her "heartfelt sympathy" in a message to Japan's Emperor Akihito.
After the European Union vowed to get aid to Japan Friday, many member states were quick to make their contribution.

From Britain, a 59-strong search and rescue team was headed for Japan Sunday, with two rescue dogs, a medical support unit -- and 11 tonnes of specialist rescue equipment including heavy lifting and cutting gear.

France said it was sending two civil security teams to help with rescue efforts.

The Japanese Red Cross on Saturday sent 62 emergency teams to rescue victims of the earthquake, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said from its Geneva headquarters.

Around 400 doctors, nurses and other experts had been deployed to help victims of the disaster using mobile clinics, the federation added.

China's Red Cross also pledged 1 million yuan ($150,000) to its Japanese counterpart, state media reported.

The Afghan province of Kandahar announced $50,000 in aid.

And a 66-strong Japanese team which has spent more than two weeks searching the rubble left by last month's 6.3-magnitude quake in Christchurch in New Zealand was due back home to confront the unfolding tragedy.

The United Nations said Japan had also accepted help from Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.

Rescue teams from another 39 countries were on standby, it added.

A team from the United Nations Disaster and Assessment body (UNDAC) was on the way.

Libya unrest: Arab League endorses no-flight zone

Cairo:  The Arab League asked the United Nations Security Council on Saturday to impose a no-flight zone over Libya in hopes of halting Col. Moammar el-Gaddafi's attacks on his own people, providing the rebels a tincture of hope even as they were driven back from a long stretch of road it had captured in the three-week war.

The extraordinary move by the 22-nation bloc -- an extremely rare invitation for Western military forces on Arab territory -- increases the pressure on the Obama administration, which has been reluctant to intervene in a war that could turn out to be prolonged and complex.

However, by inviting the West to take such action, it also clears the way for the United States and Europe to press for a strong Security Council resolution and to counter the objections of China and Russia, which traditionally oppose foreign intervention in a country's internal disputes.

But it was far from clear that, even if action were forthcoming, it would be enough to stall the march of Colonel Gaddafi's troops eastward to the rebel capital of Benghazi. As the rebels withdrew from the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf 100 miles east to Brega, and by nightfall on to Ajdabiya, superior government forces pressed their advantage on an insurgency that began as a disparate protest movement and even as it tried to construct a government and an army remained chaotic, splintered and largely leaderless.

The government sweep intensified pleas from the rebels for Western military support. Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, the vice chairman of the rebels' shadow government, the Libyan National Council, said a no-flight zone would give the rebels a fighting chance against Colonel Gaddafi's superior armaments.

"We feel we have the right to ask for help," he said in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Libya. "If the international community chooses to play the role of bystander, we will have to defend ourselves."

The Arab League vote drew loud cheers when it was announced in Benghazi, but the prospects that a no-flight zone would become reality were far from assured.

Even if the Security Council authorized the measure, American officials have said it would be warranted only if it appeared that Colonel Gaddafi's forces were acting effectively from the air. A no-flight zone, they have said, would have little effect against helicopters or artillery, both of which the Libyan government has used extensively.

In a statement on Saturday, the White House said it welcomed the Arab League decision, "which strengthens the international pressure on Gaddafi and support for the Libyan people."

However, the statement said nothing about a no-flight zone, which Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates has largely dismissed as ineffective and ill-advised. Other administration officials have said privately that the level of violence in Libya would have to approach the scale of that in Rwanda or Bosnia in the 1990s before the United States would engage militarily.

While the Arab League resolution did not specifically mention the United States or any other country, an effective no-flight zone would require a leading Western role. No one else, with the possible exception of Russia, has the level of military sophistication, firepower and surveillance ability it would take to first disable Libyan air defences, and then enforce the zone.

American officials have also said that the Arab League would have to do more than endorse action -- it would have to participate in it, too. "That doesn't mean they have to fly airplanes," one official said, "but there is much they can do, from providing airfields to gas and maintenance."

At the Security Council, a diplomat from one member nation said the Arab League decision was "helpful, but there are quite a lot of reservations around the Council table still."

The objections, mainly from Russia and China, have centred on questions about whether the need for a no-flight zone has been demonstrated, and whether it has a strong legal basis and clear regional support.

The Arab League action checked one condition off the list, the diplomat said, but the others remain unsettled.

The Europeans have also been divided on the issue and have said that Arab League backing was critical to their ultimate decision. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, was expected in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the no-flight decision with the Arab League.

Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, said that a no-flight zone would protect ordinary people. "Our one goal is to protect the civilian population in Libya after what has been reported of attacks and casualties in a very bloody situation," he said at a news conference after the vote.

Mr Moussa said that he and other Arab League delegates were shocked by recent statements in Tripoli about the group. He was referring to a derogatory statement about the league made last week by Colonel Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam al-Gaddafi.

But the measure did not pass without tense debate. Syria and Algeria, in particular, argued that foreign intervention would destabilize the region.
Syria's ambassador, Youssef Ahmed, said Arab states should oppose any step that "violates the sovereignty, independence and unity of Libyan territory."

Those objections appeared to account for wording in the resolution that the Arab League rejected "foreign intervention," and Mr Moussa's caveat that the action end as soon as the crisis is over.

The League has suspended Libya's membership and opened contact with the rebels through the Libyan National Council, but it stopped short of recognizing the shadow government as the country's legitimate authority.

In Libya, the government proudly took journalists on tours of the recently recaptured cities of Bin Jawwad and Ras Lanuf.

In Bin Jawwad, a small, green government flag decorated a blown-out house amid a sea of burned-out cars. In Ras Lanuf, officials said a ransacked hospital and a still-burning oil refinery were the work of drug-addled rebels.

The satellite television channel Al Jazeera reported that one of its cameramen, Ali Hassan al-Jaber, was killed after gunmen fired on a car that he and his colleagues were traveling in. The journalists were attacked on the outskirts of Benghazi, the channel reported.

In Brega, the mood was grim as fighters formed a line to carry ammunition out of a makeshift depot along the road, loading boxes onto a flatbed truck headed to Ajdabiya. By nightfall, rebel checkpoints along the road to Ajdabiya were manned by far fewer fighters than in recent days.

In Benghazi, Omar al-Hariri, the rebel defence minister, insisted the rebels would be able to defend the city "with weapons and also with our bodies." A former army captain who was jailed by Colonel Gaddafi, Mr Hariri said that the opposition was taking steps to better organize their youthful volunteers into "a military force."

"We will fight, and we are powerful," he said. "We know how to win, with God's will.