The Week That Was - June 28 : Dhawan, Jadeja and Kohli are India`s nucleus for 2015 WC: Bedi

IAF chopper on rescue mission crashes in Uttarakhand, 20 killed

An IAF chopper carrying 20 personnel and crew on a rescue mission in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand crashed on Tuesday and all on board were killed, as fresh rains hampered efforts to evacuate thousands still stranded.

As the crash in bad weather compounded the tragedy of the rain fury, mass cremation of bodies of hundreds of people killed in the devastation by floods and landslides since rains pounded the hill state on June 15 was delayed raising fears of disease outbreak.

The crash occurred in "difficult" weather conditions created by rains and fog, the officer said. The chopper belonged to a unit from Barrackpore Air Force Station in West Bengal under the Eastern Air Command.

An IAF spokesperson said its operations in the area will continue. A Court of Inquiry has been order to investigate the crash, the spokesperson added. IAF had started inducting Mi-17 V5 choppers only last year after 80 of them were ordered from Russia.

Cabinet clears GoM recommendations on CBI autonomy

The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared suggestions by the Group of Ministers to bring autonomy in the working of CBI which include constitution of a panel of retired judges to oversee the investigations undertaken by the agency besides increased financial powers of its Director.

Sources said the GoM, chaired by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, has recommended constitution of a panel of retired judges which would monitor the investigations undertaken by the agency to ensure that probes remain free from any external influence.

It has also recommended increase in financial powers of the CBI Director and a new mechanism for the appointment of the Director (Prosecution) which is at present a Law Ministry appointee.

The recommendations will now be part of the affidavit to be filed before the Supreme Court early next week which would hear the matter on July 10.

Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi inaugurate Jammu-Kashmir rail link

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday inaugurated an all-weather rail link to the Kashmir Valley, and assured that the UPA government at the Centre is committed to the development of Jammu and Kashmir.

On the final day of his two-day visit to the state, the Prime Minister opened nearly 11-km-long tunnel to link the towns of Bannihal and Qazigund in the two regions.

The rail connectivity will cut the present surface distance between the two towns by 18 km.

Congratulating the personnel of the Indian Railways and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the PM said, “This will link the Kashmir Valley to the progress in rest of India. We will link this to the rest of the rail network.”

US warns countries as Snowden seeks Ecuador asylum

The United States has warned countries against giving shelter to fugitive Edward Snowden, or letting him travel internationally, as the former CIA contractor landed in Moscow and said to be on his way to the South American country of Ecuador through Havana and Venezuela.

"The United States has been in touch via diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries in the Western Hemisphere through which Snowden might transit or that could serve as final destinations," a State Department official said yesterday.

"The US is advising these governments that Snowden is wanted on felony charges, and as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States," said the official on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile top US lawmakers doubted the intentions of both China and Russia in the latest unfolding development regarding Snowden, which flew from Hong Kong to Moscow.

US begins sending arms for Syrian rebels

The central intelligence agency (CIA) has started sending weapons to Jordan with a view to arming small groups of vetted Syrian rebels within a month, a US media report said.

The CIA is expected to spend up to three weeks bringing light arms and possibly anti-tank missiles to Jordan, reported Wall Street Journal citing diplomats and US officials briefed on the plans on Thursday.

"The agency plans to spend roughly two weeks more vetting an initial group of fighters and making sure they know how to use the weapons that they are given, clearing the way for the first US-armed rebels to enter the fight," reported Xinhua citing the US daily.

It said the shipments, training plus a parallel push to mobilise arms deliveries from European and Arab allies are being timed to allow "a concerted push" by the rebels starting by early August, as the rebels are losing ground in their fighting against the government forces.

Kevin Rudd sworn-in as Australia`s new PM post Gillard`s ouster

Three years and three days after he was ousted by Julia Gillard as PM, Kevin Rudd returned to the job as he was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Australia to lead the Labor party in run up to the September 14 elections.

Rudd ousted Australia’s first female PM Julia Gillard as leader of the Labor Party on Wednesday, in a dramatic leadership vote which saw Rudd clinching 57 votes to Gillard’s 45.

Gillard tendered her resignation as prime minister Wednesday night and said that she would leave politics.

Taking the oath at Government House in front of Governor-General Quentin Bryce, the 55 year old leader said, “I will do my absolute best".

CAD hits record 4.8% in FY`13

Current Account Deficit (CAD) touched a record high of 4.8 percent of GDP in 2012-13 on rising gold and oil imports, though still better than market expectation, bringing relief to the government which is struggling to arrest the sliding rupee.

CAD, which is the difference between the outflow and inflow of foreign currency, however, moderated "sharply" to 3.6 percent of GDP in the last quarter of 2012-13 fiscal after it touched a historic high of 6.7 percent in the October-December quarter.

It was 4.4 percent in the March quarter of 2011-12.

The CAD was at USD 78.2 billion (4.2 percent) in 2011-12 fiscal, but a higher oil and gold imports pushed it up to USD 87.8 billion (4.8 percent) last fiscal, RBI data said.

The central bank`s comfort level for CAD is 2.5 percent of GDP.

Gold price dips below Rs 25,000-level; plunges Rs 372

Amid a weak trend overseas, gold prices dipped below Rs 25,000-level by falling Rs 405 to Rs 24,970 per ten grams in futures trade on Friday as speculators indulged in trimming positions.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold for delivery in August last traded down by Rs 372 to Rs 24,999 per 10 gm after moving in range of Rs 24,970-25,339.

However, silver for delivery in July moved higher by Rs 196 to Rs 38,992 per kg.

Analysts said a weak trend in the overseas markets, where gold dipped below USD 1,200 an ounce to trade at nearly three-year low on persistent worries over the US Federal Reserve`s plan to wind down its monetary stimulus, put pressure on the gold prices at futures trade here.

Govt approves near doubling of natural gas price

Biting the bullet, the government on Thursday approved near doubling of natural gas prices to USD 8.4 from April 1 next year, a move which will result in rise in power tariff, urea cost and CNG prices.

This will be the first revision in gas prices in 3 years.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved Oil Ministry`s proposal to price all domestically produced natural gas as per a complex formula suggested by a panel headed by Prime Minister`s economic advisor C Rangarajan, a top source said.

When contacted, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said: "The CCEA has approved Rangarajan panel formula for pricing of gas. It will be applicable from April 1, 2014 and will be valid for 5 years."

Ford EcoSport launched in India; price starts at Rs 5.59L

Global auto major Ford on Wednesday launched its new compact sports utility vehicle `EcoSport`.

The petrol variant of EcoSport is priced at Rs 5.59 lakh (entry level).

The model will be available with three engine options of 1 litre petrol with Ecoboost technology, 1.5 litre petrol and 1.5 litre diesel engine.

While the price of 1 litre Ecoboost petrol version start at Rs 7.90 lakh, the 1.5 litre petrol variant will be tagged at Rs 5.59 lakh.

The EcoSport with 1.5 litre diesel will have price starting at Rs 6.69 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The company said the automatic transmission version in 1.5 litre petrol will start at Rs 8.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Sooraj Pancholi’s ex-girlfriend defends him in Jiah Khan suicide case

Sooraj Pancholi’s former girlfriend - Janvi Turakhia - has finally broken her silence on Jiah Khan suicide case. She has asserted that she never found her boyfriend of five years, abusive or violent.

Turakhia - who was in a long-term relationship with Sooraj-said that all the allegations are false and that he is just being framed.

“Whatever I am reading and hearing in the papers and TV, it is like they are talking about another person altogether. Of course my heart goes out to Jiah’s family. But I can’t believe a word of what they are saying about Sooraj! This Sooraj, who is supposed to have done these awful things to that poor girl, is not the Sooraj I know. My Sooraj is incapable of violence against anyone. He hates any kind of confrontation. Whenever we fought I was the one who was more aggressive. He would quietly leave the room. If he’s angry or upset he likes to be on his own to work his way out of the problem,” she said.

Janvi continued to defend her former boyfriend by saying “I don’t think any girl knows him better than I do. It’s impossible to dislike Sooraj. We were friends for the longest time even before we started dating. Even after we broke up we remained friends. Our families are also close. My mom loves Sooraj like her own son. When he would come home she would cook for him. Sooraj’s biggest weakness is his over-emotional nature. He gets upset by any hint of unpleasantness. To inflict pain or violence is unthinkable for him. He is one of the most soft-hearted souls I know. He not only treats his parents, sister and close friends with utmost love and affection, he treats even his domestic help, staff and driver like family.”

Here’s Priyanka Chopra and Pitbull’s ‘Exotic’ new single!

Priyanka Chopra`s new single – ‘Exotic’-which features international sensation Pitbull, had been leaked online.And ever since, it has almost gone viral with people expressing their love for both Priyanka Chopra and her song.

When the National Award winning actress realised that her song had been leaked online, she took the matter sportingly and tweeted, “Ok... so... my new single `Exotic` has been leaked! I should be angry but I`m actually quite relieved & happy to share it with You all. The official version is out any minute now.... wait for it!! And as always, let me know what you guys think.”

Later, both Priyanka and Pitbull tweeted the official version of the song.

Hrithik Roshan unveils `Krrish 3` motion poster online

Hrithik Roshan unveiled the motion poster of his much awaited sci-fi film ‘Krrish 3’ online on 28th June,2013.

As part of the digital campaign, the motion poster was launched through social networking site Facebook and the actor had a live video chat with his fans, said a statement.

The poster shows a moving close up of a light with debris lying around. As the background score gains momentum, the side pose of two faces - one of them being Hrithik`s character - emerges.

India annex Champions Trophy beating England in a thriller

India clinched the ICC Champions Trophy, in its last edition, with a nerve-wracking five-run victory over hosts England in a rain-hit final here on Sunday, giving their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the unique record of being the first captain to win three world titles.

After frustrating showers reduced the contest to a T20 affair, India first scored 129 for seven and then restricted England to 124 for eight in a topsy-turvy game that went down to the wire. Ravindra Jadeja (33 no and 2/24) made another all-round contribution which proved to be telling in the context of the match.

The sizeable Indian crowd erupted in joy when Ravichandran Ashwin (2/15) finished the final over with James Tredwell unable to hit the required six off the last delivery.

I`m not finished, says Federer after second round defeat at Wimbledon

Roger Federer insisted he will play on for many more years to come despite crashing out of Wimbledon in a shock defeat that brought his extraordinary Grand Slam run to a juddering halt.

Though downbeat, the Swiss legend said he would not go into panic mode after being knocked out by unfancied Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round on Wednesday.

The world number three said there was perhaps a sea change happening in tennis where lower-ranked players now had the belief to mix it with the sport`s best, like himself, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

Dhawan, Jadeja and Kohli are India`s nucleus for 2015 WC: Bedi

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Monday hailed the brilliant performance of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy and said the "nucleus" of the squad that will represent India in the 2015 World Cup is ready.

"This tournament has given us an idea about what will be Indian team`s nucleus during 2015 World Cup. Shikhar (Dhawan), Virat (Kohli), Jadeja (Ravindra) and Suresh Raina will form the core of Dhoni`s team for the World Cup Down Under," Bedi said on Monday.

The legendary left-arm spinner, however, cautioned that one shouldn`t get carried away as this is the time to build upon this stupendous show.