The Week That Was - July 19 : Lionel Messi and Neymar can play together, claims Pep Guardiola

From ‘puppy’ to ‘burqa’, Modi sets the agenda

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi described himself as a "Hindu nationalist" because he was a born Hindu.

"I am nationalist. I`m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I am born Hindu. Nothing is wrong. So I`m a Hindu nationalist. So yes, you can say I`m a Hindu nationalist because I`m a born Hindu," he told Reuters news agency in an interview in his official residence in Gandhinagar.

Asked if he regretted what had happened, the Gujarat strong man was quoted by Reuters as saying that the Supreme Court had created a Special Investigating Team which in its report had given him a "thoroughly clean chit, a thoroughly clean chit".

"Another thing, any person if we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we`re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will be painful or not? Of course, it is. If I`m a Chief Minister or not, I`m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad."

Reiterating his slogan of a `Congress-free India`, Modi said that the root cause of the problems was the vote bank politics being played by the Centre.

Modi alleged that the UPA was misusing government agencies, and claimed that whenever there was a problem, the Centre wore the mask of secularism.

Junior ‘Guruji’ takes charge of Jharkhand

JMM`s Hemant Soren, son of party chief Shibu Soren, was sworn in as Jharkhand`s new CM after President`s rule was revoked early.

Hemant Soren, who heads the ninth ministry in less than 13 years, became the fifth tribal CM after Babulal Marandi (once), Arjun Munda (thrice), Shibu Soren (thrice) and Madhu Koda (once) since the state was created on November 15, 2000.

Mid-day meal horror in Bihar

Twenty-two children and a cook died after eating contaminated mid-day meal at the government primary school in Dandaman village in Saran, about 100 km from Patna in Bihar.

The free mid-day meal was served to the children. The children, aged 5-12, got sick soon after eating rice, lentils, soya and potatoes, and soon 22 of them were dead and dozens were hospitalised.

No arrests have been made in the case yet. A case has been registered against the school`s headmistress, Meena Devi, and other teachers. All of them are absconding.

The deaths have triggered a war of words between the government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which blamed the supplier of foods for the tragedy, and an aggressive opposition, including the estranged ally BJP.

Quattrocchi dies in Milan; end of Bofors saga?

Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi died of a heart attack in Milan.

The 74-year-old Quattrocchi, once considered a close friend of the Gandhi family during his days in India as the representative of an Italian firm, was allegedly one of the major players in the Bofors gun scandal.

The Italian businessman was chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 1999 for allegedly acting as a conduit for bribes in the purchase of Howitzer guns from Swedish company Bofors AE. The Rs 1,600 crore contract was clinched in 1986.

The scandal, which erupted after a 1987 report on Swedish radio, was considered to be one of the reasons for the defeat of the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress party in the 1989 General Elections. In 2011, however, a Delhi court discharged Quattrocchi from the payoffs case after allowing the prosecuting agency, CBI, to withdraw charges against him, bringing to an end a major chapter in the 25-year-old Bofors saga. An application for withdrawal of the case agains Quattrocchi was filed by the public prosecutor on October 03, 2009.

The CBI had unsuccessfully tried to extradite Quattrocchi to India but it lost two extradition appeals, first in Malaysia in 2002, and then in Argentina in 2007.

Quattrochi left India in 1993 to avoid being arrested.

Malala, Gandhi & the Taliban

Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by Taliban in October 2012 addressed the United Nations. At the onset of her speech at a gathering of youth leaders from across the world, Malala thanked everyone who prayed for her fast recovery.

According to Malala, she got her power from world leaders like Martin Luther king, Nelson Mandela and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and learnt the philosophy of non-violence from Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.

Pointing that the thousands had been killed and millions injured by the terrorists, Malala said that she was just one of them, and said that she spoke for the others who could not be heard. She asserted on the need to their right to be educated.

Hitting out at the Taliban, she said, “On 9th of October, 2012, Taliban shot me. They thought the bullets will silence us, but they failed...out of that silence came thousands of voices.”

Days after Malala made a passionate appeal at the UN for the education of children, the Taliban on Wednesday asked the teenage activist to return to Pakistan and join a madrassa in the restive northwest.

Adnan Rashid, a Taliban fighter wanted for an attempt to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf, wrote a letter to Malala, who was shot in the head in a militant attack last year.

"I advise you to come back home, adopt the Islamic and Pashtun culture, join any female Islamic madrassa near your hometown, study and learn the book of Allah, use your pen for Islam and the plight of Muslim ummah and reveal the conspiracy of the tiny elite who want to enslave the whole humanity for their evil agendas in the name of a new world order," Rashid wrote.

Detroit, symbol of industrial America, goes bankrupt

Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in the US history on Thursday, setting the stage for a costly court battle with creditors and opening a new chapter in the long struggle to revive the city that was the cradle of the American auto industry.

The bankruptcy, if approved by a federal judge, would force Detroit`s thousands of creditors into negotiations with the city`s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to resolve an estimated USD 18.5 billion in debt that has crippled Michigan`s largest city.

Govt announces 2nd round of FDI reforms; 100% in telecom

In big-ticket reforms push, the government on Tuesday decided to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) in a dozen sectors, including 100 percent in telecom and higher caps in insurance and defence sectors, to boost the sagging economy.

However, the high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take a view on raising FDI limits in sectors like civil aviation, airport, media, multi-brand retail and brownfield (existing firms) pharmaceuticals.

The second wave of reforms comes within 10 months of the government opening floodgates of foreign investment in sectors like multi-brand retail and civil aviation.

Today`s announcement comes as the government cramps in reforms in the limited window it has before the assembly elections in states like Delhi this year and the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.

After Posco, ArceloMittal scraps Rs 50K cr steel project in Odisha

In the biggest foreign investment pullout, world`s largest steel maker ArcelorMittal on Wednesday scrapped its USD 12 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) steel plant in Odisha over inordinate delays, problems in acquiring land and securing iron ore linkages.

The development comes just a day after South Korean steel major Posco pulled out of its Rs 30,000-crore steel mill in Karnataka and the government widened its doors to foreign direct investment for a dozen sectors.

Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal-headed ArcelorMittal`s proposed plant in Odisha was among the biggest foreign direct investments India has attracted.

Two other plants -- Rs 52,000 crore steel mill of Posco in Odisha and Rs 50,000 crore steel mill of ArcelorMittal in Jharkhand are the two other largest FDI India has attracted. Both the projects are also facing inordinate delays.

RBI announces fresh steps to tackle rupee volatility

In a move to stem the continuing fall of rupee, the RBI on Monday night came out with a slew of measures including hiking the lending rates for banks and sucking up of Rs 12,000 crore, to make the currency dearer.

The measures came after high level meetings between the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister followed by discussions with RBI Governor D Subbarao who was called here today as the rupee lost 33 paise to reach 59.89 after touching over 61-levels last week.

Under the measures announced, RBI raised lending rates to commercial banks 2 percent to 10.25 percent making the loans costlier.

The RBI will conduct sale of Government of India Securities to suck up Rs 12,000 crore on July 18 from the market, in a move to make rupee dearer.

Veteran Bollywood actor Pran passes away at 93

Veteran Bollywood actor Pran, who made a mark for himself by portraying strong negative and supporting roles, passed away at the age of 93 on July 12, evening after prolonged illness.

The actor breathed his last at the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai, where he was admitted just a week back. Pran`s condition was frail since the past few months, when he was in and out of the hospital multiple times.

"He passed away at Lilavati Hospital at around 8:30 pm," his son Sunil told a news agency.

Carl Lewis watches `Bhaag Milkha Bhaag`, calls Milkha Singh

Former American track and field star Carl Lewis watched ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and he was so deeply moved by the biopic that he called former Olympian Milkha Singh to convey his appreciation.

Confirming the story, the film`s director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said: "Yes, Carl Lewis indeed rang up Milkha Singh after seeing the film. We all hoped Milkhaji`s life-story would make an inspirational impact. But we never imagined the impact would be so widespread."

It is celebration time for the entire ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ team, including Farhan Akhtar who plays the main lead in it. While Mehra`s biopic on the amazing life of Milkha Singh has become an all-India success with the total collections over the weekend being Rs.33.35 crore, its impact seems to resonate far beyond the Flying Sikh`s homeland.

Shweta Tiwari tied the knot with fiancé Abhinav Kohli

Television actress Shweta Tiwari, who has been in a relationship with Abhinav Kohli for three-and-a-half-years now, has finally embraced wedlock.

Shweta was earlier married to Raja Chaudhary, but the couple got divorced owing to their irreconcilable differences and Raja’s abusive behaviour towards Shweta. She has a daughter named Palak from her marriage with Raja, and the girl is supposed to stay in her mother’s custody as per the court’s orders.

The bride wore an embellished blue and pink anarkali for her pre-wedding functions and it was a dark green and red lehenga for her wedding festivities. The groom, on the other hand, wore a black sherwani for the sangeet, and then changed into a white coloured garb for the main wedding.

Here’s wishing the couple a blissful married life.

1st Ashes Test: Anderson guides England to 14-run win over Australia

In yet another fascinating Ashes Test, James Anderson displayed a superb spell of swing bowling on Day 5 as a result of which England defeated Australia by 14 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Anderson struck just after lunch to end the 65-run partnership for the tenth wicket between Brad Haddin and James Pattinson. Brad Haddin missed one from Anderson, and the ball went straight to Prior, England appealed but Aleem Dar once again wasn’t interested. Cook immediately reviewed the decision after which the third umpire took his time and Aleem Dar changed his decision and raised his finger much to the delight of the local crowd.

Earlier in the day, Brad Haddin and Ashton Agar started off well and played almost 15 overs before Agar edged one to Cook at first slip. Anderson bowled a similar delivery in his next over and new batsman Mitchell Starc was dismissed in the same manner as Anderson picked his second wicket of the day.

MS Dhoni’s close friend, who taught him helicopter shot, no more

Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s close friend Santosh Lal reportedly died while undergoing treatment for acute pancreatitis in a Delhi hospital.

The former Ranji player is survived by parents, wife and a three-year-old daughter. He was 32.

The body is expected to arrive in Ranchi later in the day.

Dhoni, who is out on a tour of the US, credits childhood pal Lal for his famous helicopter shot and he was bearing the cost of his treatment.

Lionel Messi and Neymar can play together, claims Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is convinced Lionel Messi and Neymar will combine to devastating effect for Barcelona next season.

The former Santos starlet secured his move to Camp Nou earlier in the summer and, but sections of the media have questioned whether the pair will be a good fit together due to their similar styles of play.

However, the Bayern Munich boss took some time out from verbally jousting with his former club to assert that the pair will have no difficulties playing together next season.