The Week That Was - June 21 : Messi summoned to court for tax fraud allegations

Uttarakhand floods: Over 13,000 missing, 50,000 still stranded

A total of 33,192 people, stranded due to floods in Uttarakhand, were rescued in the ongoing mammoth multi-agency rescue and relief operation even as thousands are still trapped or missing in the hills.

Almost everyone from the worst hit Kedarnath town has been rescued. Today, the focus of the rescue efforts will be on Gaurikund and Rambara - more than 5,000 people are believed to be trapped in this narrow valley. The NDRF team reached Rambada today morning.

According to the Home Ministry statement, a total of 50,422 pilgrims were still stranded at various places. Also, over 13,000 people are said to be missing.

The search, rescue and relief operations are being carried out with the help of helicopters and personnel from Army, Air Force, NDRF, the Sashastra Sena Bal and Uttarakhand government.

The Defence Ministry said that the Army had deployed 8,100 soldiers, including medical teams, engineer task forces and signal detachment. Ten specialised mountaineering teams of the Army were also pressed into service in the Kedarnath-Soumang area.

The official death toll still stood at 150 but Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the casualties could run into several hundreds which will be known only when areas become accessible and water recedes.

Monsoon covers entire country ahead of schedule

Breaking its 53-year-old record, the monsoon arrived 13 days ahead of its schedule in the capital on Sunday.

Monsoon has this year covered almost the entire country on June 16—the last record being June 21, back in 1960.

Heavy rains that lashed the city on Sunday morning brought along much-needed relief from scorching heat but commuters were at the receiving end due to water-logging in various places.

NDA shrinks as JD(U) splits with BJP

Putting an end to all the speculations, the Janata Dal (United) on Sunday finally announced that they have decided to walk out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and that there would not be any alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Bihar government.

JD (U) president Sharad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the break up of the coalition at a press conference, exactly a week after Modi was made the BJP`s campaign committee chairman, which was widely perceived as just a step short of being made the prime ministerial candidate. Yadav also quit as Convenor of the NDA.

"We cannot compromise with our basic principles. We are not worried about the consequences. As long as the alliance was Bihar-centric, there was no problem. But we had no alternative now. We are not responsible. We were forced to take this decision," Nitish Kumar said.

"The BJP is going through a new phase. As long as there was no external interference in the Bihar alliance, it ran smoothly. Problems began whenever there was external interference," Kumar added without taking the name of Modi even once in the half-an-hour press conference but made several barbs aimed at him.

When asked whether he was referring to Modi, Kumar said "those who understand have understood, those who don`t are naive".

Bihar bandh: JD(U), BJP workers clash

Two days after the Janata Dal (United) called it quits with Bharatiya Janata Party, the friends-turned-foes on Tuesday clashed outside the BJP office in Patna, leaving many injured.

While the principal opposition party observed `Vishwasghat Diwas` across Bihar, JD(U) and BJP workers beat each other up with bamboo sticks and iron rods in Patna during the shutdown, injuring nearly half a dozen workers of both the parties.

The clashes took place after the BJP workers raised slogan against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD-U workers countered them by raising slogan against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a police official said.

Senior BJP leaders including CP Thakur, Sushil Kumar Modi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain were detained at Dak Bunglow chowk, police said.

Eight new faces in Union Cabinet, Kharge shifted to Rail Ministry

Eight new faces were inducted in the Council of Ministers in the Manmohan Singh government on Monday, with Sisram Ola and Oscar Fernandes making a re-entry after a gap of four years.

Ola, along with Girija Vyas, Mallikarjun Kharge and KS Rao were inducted as Cabinet Ministers.

Ola and Fernandes were ministers in the UPA-I but did not find a place in the UPA-II government.

Mallikarjun Kharge - Railways.

Sis Ram Ola - Labour and Employment portfolio.

Oscar Fernandes - Road and Highways.

Girija Vyas - Housing, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation

KS Rao - Textiles.

Manikrao Gavit, Social Justice and Empowerment, Santosh Chowdhury, Health and Family Welfare were inducted as Ministers of State.

JD Seelam becomes MoS Finance and ENS Nachiappan Commerce and Industry.

Hassan Rouhani wins Iran Presidential Election

Iran`s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar on Saturday announced that moderate candidate Hassan Rouhani has won the Presidential Election.

Addressing a press conference, Najjar said here that Rowhani garnered more than 50 percent of more than 36 million votes cast in Friday`s election.

Rouhani won 18,613,329 votes out of counted votes of 36,704,156, said Najjar, adding that the turnout rate in the Friday election was 72.2 percent.

He won the race with a wide lead, as his closest rival, Tehran`s Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, only won 16.58 percent of the votes.

Rouhani was the lone moderate candidate in the race supported by reformists in a race that once appeared solidly in the hands of Tehran`s ruling clerics.

Rouhani`s conservative and hard-line opponents were far behind the moderate cleric who has vowed to follow a policy of detente and interaction with the outside world.

US, Afghan peace talks in limbo over Taliban`s new Qatar office

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday mulled his response to US efforts to repair damaged ties after a public spat over the Taliban opening an office in Qatar for peace talks.

Karzai and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke twice by telephone after the Afghan government became enraged that the office was opened in a blaze of publicity and US officials were apparently about to arrive for talks.

The office used the formal name of "Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan" from the rebels` 1996-2001 government, and a Taliban spokesman at the opening press conference declined to say they supported the peace process.

"John Kerry assured that the Qatari government has removed the `Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan` sign from the Taliban office and the office is for peace talks only," a statement from Karzai`s office said late Wednesday.

Karzai told Kerry that Afghan public opinion was "extremely negative" to the way in which the Taliban office had been unveiled in an event that many experts described as an international publicity coup for the rebels.

"The opening of this office has made the Taliban look strong, the Americans desperate and President Karzai angry," the Afghanistan Analysts Network said in a briefing note.

Afghanistan 1400, a civil youth group, said the office should be used to hold Taliban leaders to account for their crimes.

Brazil hit by new protests

Brazilians on Thursday took to the streets again in several cities on a new day of mass nationwide protests, demanding better public services and bemoaning massive spending to stage the World Cup.

More than one million people have pledged via social media networks to march in 80 cities across Brazil, as the two-week-old protest movement -- the biggest seen in the South American country in 20 years -- showed no sign of abating.

Anger about a hike in public transport fares has spiralled into a wider movement demanding an end to government corruption -- one fuelled by resentment over the USD 15 billion cost of staging the Confederations Cup and the World Cup.

In the heart of Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, thousands of protesters -- mostly students -- massed on Campo Grande square in a carnival atmosphere ahead of a Confederations Cup match pitting Uruguay against Nigeria.

Some created huge banners on big white sheets for the march. Among the slogans were "Come fight for more changes" and "Football above rights: Why, Dilma?", in a reference to President Dilma Rousseff.

Thousands more flooded the streets of the northeastern city of Recife while in Sao Paulo, Brazil`s business capital and most populous city, crowds began congregating on the main Avenida Paulista.

In Rio de Janeiro, where Nigeria meets Spain in a Confederations Cup clash, 250,000 people said they would join the protest. A huge rally was also scheduled in Brasilia under the slogan "Brazil, Wake Up".

Rupee hits record low of 60 Vs dollar; Sensex tanks 526 points

Hit hard by hefty outflows on US Fed`s plan to exit stimulus, rupee Thursday closed at all-time low of 59.57 against dollar retreating from nearly 60-levels on suspected RBI intervention and pep talk from government.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency commenced sharply lower at 59.50 a dollar from yesterday`s close of 58.70 and dipped further to log its all-time low of 59.93 as market participants panicked after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said USD 85 billion a month bond buying programme may be slowed down from this year.

The BSE benchmark Sensex fell for the third straight day by losing over 526 points Thursday its biggest intra-day fall since March last year on capital outflows as the rupee hit record low against the dollar amid a weakening trend in the global markets.

The 30-share barometer after losing over 423 points in early trade, fell further by 526.41 points to slip below 19,000-point level to trade at 18,719 points.

RBI keeps interest rate unchanged

Reserve Bank on Monday kept the key interest rates unchanged citing elevated food inflation, rupee depreciation and uncertainty over foreign fund inflows.

The repo rate at which the RBI lends to the system has been retained at 7.25 percent, while the cash reserve ratio will continue to be 4 percent.

"The monetary policy stance has been informed by the evolving growth-inflation dynamics, the balance of risks as well as recent developments in the external sector," RBI Governor D Subbarao said in the mid-quarter policy review.

He specifically cited the decision of the US Fed to trim the growth stimuli in a phased manner and articulated concern over risks coming "on account of uncertainty over policies of systemic central banks."

Unlimited mobile roaming for a fixed fee from July 1

Telecom regulator TRAI on Monday allowed free mobile roaming on payment of a fixed fee July 1 and reduced national roaming charges for others by up to 57 percent.

TRAI, however, said making national roaming completely free of charges is not practical as of now.

The ceilings on roaming charges prescribed by Trai in 2007 were Rs 1.40 per minute for outgoing local calls and Rs 2.40 per minute for outgoing STD calls.

These ceilings have been reduced to Re 1 per minute for outgoing local calls and Rs 1.50 per minute for outgoing STD calls.

Similarly, the ceiling for incoming calls while on national roaming has been reduced from Rs 1.75 per minute to 75 paise per minute.

Ratan Tata to be chief advisor to AirAsia India board

Low-cost carrier AirAsia on Sunday announced industry leader Ratan Tata as Chief Advisor to the board of its Indian venture and promised `Nano` airfares once it begins operating flights in the country.

Announcing Tata`s name as the Chief Advisor, Malaysia- based AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes also said that the name of Chairman for AirAsia India board would also be disclosed soon.

"Persuading Tata to be advisor has not been easy. Critical, we have someone of his massive experience to help me chart Airasia India with Mittu (Chandilya) and myself," Fernandes announced on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Asked whether to expect `Nano` price or cheapest air tickets from AirAsia India, Fernandes replied in affirmative: "Yes. It`s all about low fares. And everyday."

Salman Khan to romance Anushka Sharma in Sooraj Barjatya’s next?

Anushka Sharma – who has already shared screen space with versatile actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan – is all set to romance Salman Khan in his forthcoming film.

According to a leading daily, Anushka is all set to team up with the ‘Dabangg’ star for Sooraj Barjatya`s upcoming film.

Earlier, there were reports of the ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ star doing Salman`s ‘Kick’ and the ‘No Entry’ sequel as well but that never materialised due to her loyalty to Shah Rukh.

If rumours are anything to go by, the film will go on floors this October, after Salman wraps up with Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Kick’ and brother Sohail’s ‘Mental’.

According to the buzz, Barjatya has approached Anushka for the film and she readily agreed.

Salman is teaming up with Barjatya after a long gap of 14 years. They duo last worked together in the blockbuster movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.

Song mentioning Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor altered

An item song performed by Mumait Khan in Ashuu Trikha`s forthcoming film ‘Enemmy’ has the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) stepping in with firm hands. The names of four women - Katrina, Kareena, Bipasha and Priyanka in an item song have been replaced by `Miss India` and `Miss World`.

The names used were of popular Bollywood actresses Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra.

The original lyrics, written by Shabbir Ahmed, went like - "Mujhko pataane ka hai tension, Udaaye koi rokda udaaye pension/ Dil pe kadam jo main rakh doon/ Katrina ko Kareena ko paani kam chai kar doon... Bipasha ko Priyanka ko, paani kam chai kar doon..."

Trikha is angry that he was asked to alter the lyrics.

"Kareena, Katrina, Bipasha and Priyanka are for me not the actresses but just four names," he said.

‘Dhoom 3’ and Aamir Khan to hit the theatres early this year?

Aamir Khan – who has reserved the coveted Christmas spot for releasing almost all his movies these days, and has been doing so for the past few years – will reportedly not be hitting the marquee on December 25 this year.

Aamir’s other movies to have released on Christmas include ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Taare Zameen par’ and ‘Ghajini’ – and all three of them turned out to be massive hits at the box office.

According to a tabloid, ‘Dhoom 3’ – which was all set to hit theatres this Christmas – has apparently been pushed forward. The Aamir Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer will now release on December 17 instead.

India defeat Pakistan for first time in Champions Trophy

India produced yet another clinical performance as they outplayed arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets in a high-voltage group league encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy on Saturday.

In a match where there were numerous rain-interruptions, Pakistan were bundle out for 165 in 39.4 overs due to a disciplined effort by the Indian bowling unit led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned with figures of two for 19.

India`s final revised target courtesy D/L method was 102 in 22 overs which the `Men In Blue` achieved with 17 balls to spare as Shikhar Dhawan again blazed his way to a 41-ball-48. India thus finished group league engagements with an all-win record.

Lee Chong Wei wins 5th Indonesia Open

Malaysia`s top seed Lee Chong Wei won the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier men`s singles title for the fifth time, beating German Marc Zwiebler 21-15, 21-14 on Sunday.

Unseeded Zwiebler was no match to Lee, who had won the tournament in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011, as the 30-year-old Malaysian wrapped up the final match in just 40 minutes.

Lee had considered retirement after the London Olympics but is still aiming at the gold medal in 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, to gloriously end his remarkable career.

No danger to 2014 Indian GP

The organisers of the Indian Grand Prix on Wednesday rebutted reports that the 2014 Formula One race in the country was in danger of being scrapped from the calendar due to financial constraints, saying that they are committed to fulfill their contract.

A motorsport website had claimed in an article that the 2013 Indian race was on track but the 2014 edition was doubtful since organisers, Jaypee Sports International Ltd (JPSI), are near bankruptcy.

However, JPSI rubbished the report, mentioning it as "baseless and malicious".

Messi summoned to court for tax fraud allegations

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have been summoned to appear in court on September 17 in order to provide evidence against recent tax fraud allegations.

A complaint, signed by prosecutor Raquel Amado, was filed with the courthouse in the Gava district of Barcelona last week and it has now been decided that there is enough evidence to summon the Argentine.

The Spanish tax authorities claim that the prolific attacker and his father have avoided paying the charges due from sales of the 25-year-old`s image rights by operating through companies based outside of the country, totalling over €4 million between 2006 and 2009.

Messi stressed last week that he is innocent and unaware of committing any infringements.