No clear winner in Australia's cliff-hanger election

Current Australian PM Julia Gillard with her partner Tim Mathieson as they leave the PM's Labor Party election night function.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Incumbent Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard says results are "too close to call"
• With 76 percent of the vote counted, Labor is leading by 1 percent
• Gillard faces Liberal leader Tony Abbott
• Voters say the economy is a key issue

Sydney, Australia Australia's political future hung in the balance after no clear winner emerged in Saturday's cliff-hanger election and a final outcome remained days away.

The results were "too close to call" a winner, said Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Labor Party incumbent, in an address Saturday night to her supporters in Melbourne.

With 77 percent of the votes counted, Labor was leading with 50.5 percent of the vote, while the Liberal-National coalition of Tony Abbott had 49.5 percent, according to results posted online by the Australian Electoral Commission.

The winning party needs to secure 76 of 150 seats in parliament but analysts were predicting both parties would fall short. That means Australia could end up with its first hung parliament since 1940.

Video: Poll numbers tight in Australia

Video: Too close to call in Australia election?

Video: 'Psychic' croc tips PM Gillard to win

"There are anxious days ahead, but I will keep fighting," Gillard said.

Abbott said the exceptionally close results were an indication that Labor had lost its legitimacy.

"The coalition is back in business," he told supporters in Sydney. "The Australian people have responded to the policies we took forward to the election."

Voting is mandatory for adults in Australia, and more than 14 million were expected to cast ballots. A spokesman for the commission said he could not say when final results would be released.

Economic issues figured prominently in the campaign. Both candidates tried to convince a skeptical public that they could get the country back in the black within three years.

Australia has a historically low unemployment rate of 5.1 percent and the country was able to avoid recession during the recent worldwide economic downturn.

Both main parties promised to slash the country's modest deficit -- national debt is only 6 percent of gross domestic product -- and to return the country to surplus in three years.

Gillard said her priorities included keeping the country's economy strong. Abbott said his government would end federal waste, repay debts and stop new taxes.

Other contentious issues with voters included the way Australia will deal with asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and human smugglers, and whether it should embrace the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Abbott leads the Liberal Party, which is nevertheless conservative and forms a center-right coalition with The Nationals. A fourth party, The Greens, is much smaller and has strong environmental ethos.

The two main parties have no massive ideological differences. Instead, many saw the election as a chance for voters to pass judgment on Labor's ouster of Kevin Rudd, who once enjoyed some of the highest popularity ratings of any Australian leader.

Rudd's poll numbers took a hit after he placed his proposed carbon emissions trading plan on the back burner and introduced a 40 percent tax on the country's powerful and wealthy mining industry.

That prompted many in his party to doubt whether he could lead the party to victory in the election, so Rudd stepped aside in June.

Gillard, born in Wales in 1961, moved to Australia with her family in 1966. After graduating with an arts and law degree in Melbourne, she worked as a lawyer before being elected to Parliament in the seat of Lalor, Victoria in 1998. She became deputy prime minister and minister for education, employment and workplace relations when Labor was voted into power in November 2007.

Her ascension to the prime minister's office has dogged Gillard, with some calling it a palace coup and referring to her as a backstabber. Liberal campaign ads have talked about Gillard's ruthless streak in giving Rudd "the chop."

Gillard said this week she believes Australia should become a republic after Britain's Queen Elizabeth II dies.

Although Australia is a fully independent parliamentary democracy, the British monarch is head of state. Gillard said the country has a "deep affection" for the queen but, that she wants to see Australia make the transition toward a republic.

Abbott said he sees "no reason whatsoever" why the current constitutional arrangement should change.

Like Gillard, Abbott has ties to Britain. Born in London in 1957, he studied economics and law at the University of Sydney and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.

He worked as a journalist for publications including The Australian newspaper, and was elected to Parliament in the seat of Warringah in 1994. He served in numerous posts during the government of John Howard, between 1996 and 2007, and last December he became leader of the opposition.

Picasso masterpiece auctioned in Britain

London A masterpiece from Picasso's "blue period" sold for 34.7 million pounds (.8 million) at a major auction of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie's in London Wednesday.

The 1903 painting, Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, had been expected to fetch between 30 and 40 million pounds at the evening sale, which Christie's said could yield a total of 230 million pounds.

However, the price for the Picasso, formerly owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Britain's foremost musical composer, remained well below expectations.

Christie's had billed the sale as the "most valuable art auction ever to take place in London."

The compelling painting, which portrays Angel with a glass of absinthe and his pipe, smoke curling upwards, had been withdrawn in the last minute from an auction in New York in 2006, following an ownership claim.

Proceeds from its sale will go to the Lloyd Webber Foundation, a charity which promotes the arts. The composer acquired the painting from the Stralem Collection at a 1995 auction in New York for .2 million.

A water-lily painting by French Impressionist Claude Monet failed to sell at Wednesday's auction. The 1906 painting, Nympheas, was withdrawn after it failed to reach its reserve price. It had been estimated to fetch between 30 and 40 million pounds.

Other major works included in the evening sale were paintings by Matisse, van Gogh, Magritte and Gustav Klimt, a leader of the Austrian art movement known as Secession.

Prices for good art have soared recently, with Picasso's 1932 picture Nude, Green Leaves and Bust fetching 6 million in New York last month, making it the most expensive artwork sold at auction.

Some secrets out but Mona Lisa smile mystery

Paris: The enigmatic smile remains a mystery, but French scientists say they have cracked a few secrets of the Mona Lisa.

French researchers studied seven of the Louvre Museum's Leonardo da Vinci paintings, including the Mona Lisa, to analyze the master's use of successive ultrathin layers of paint and glaze -- a technique that gave his works their dreamy quality.

Specialists from the Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France found that da Vinci painted up to 30 layers of paint on his works to meet his standards of subtlety. Added up, all the layers are less than 40 micrometers, or about half the thickness of a human hair, researcher Philippe Walter said Friday.

The technique, called "sfumato," allowed da Vinci to give outlines and contours a hazy quality and create an illusion of depth and shadow. His use of the technique is well-known, but scientific study on it has been limited because tests often required samples from the paintings.

The French researchers used a noninvasive technique called X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to study the paint layers and their chemical composition.

They brought their specially developed high-tech tool into the museum when it was closed and studied the portraits' faces, which are emblematic of sfumato. The project was developed in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble.

The tool is so precise that "now we can find out the mix of pigments used by the artist for each coat of paint," Walter told The Associated Press. "And that's very, very important for understanding the technique."

The analysis of the various paintings also shows da Vinci was constantly trying out new methods, Walter said. In the "Mona Lisa," da Vinci used manganese oxide in his shadings. In others, he used copper. Often he used glazes, but not always.

The results were published on Wednesday in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a chemistry journal.

Tradition holds that the Mona Lisa is a painting of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that da Vinci started painting it in 1503. Giorgio Vasari, a 16th-century painter and biographer of da Vinci and other artists, wrote that the perfectionist da Vinci worked on it for four years.

Mrs Beckham gets hubby for her new line

London: Former Spice girl turned designer Victoria Beckham has recruited her husband David into her fashion empire as the soccer star is reportedly planning to launch a menswear line under her hit label.

Victoria is preparing to release a line of suits and evening wear for men in her upcoming 2011 collection and she has enlisted her husband to help with some of the designs.

"Victoria has been trying to persuade him to do it for a while and he's finally succumbed. She has reassured him that he has an eye for fashion," said a source.

"David is hoping to produce an entire range of men's couture clothing of fitted suits, smart day wear and an evening range, and Victoria thinks it will go down a storm.

Meanwhile, she is working on her fifth season and is going from strength to strength," the source added.

'Conan' painting goes for $ 1.5 million

Philadelphia: A 1971 painting by fantasy artist Frank Frazetta has sold for $ 1.5 million, two months after the Pennsylvania artist's death.

Frazetta's managers said this week that a private collector bought "Conan the Destroyer" from a family trust. Managers Robert Pistella and Stephen Ferzoco call it the price the highest ever for a work by Frazetta.

The illustrator died in Florida in May at age 82. His iconic illustrations of Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan and other characters often graced comic books, album covers and movie posters.

In recent years, his children have fought over an estate estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

The feud boiled over in December when Frank Frazetta Jr. used a backhoe to try to break into the artist's museum in the Pocono Mountains.

Kim Kardashian turns designer

London: Socialite Kim Kardashian has teamed up with designer Loren Ridinger to create a luxury range of earrings.

The reality TV star, who already has her own fragrance as well as a swimwear and accessories line with sisters Khloe and Kourtney, has teamed up with Ridinger to design the elaborate pieces for the Kim Kollection, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The designs will incorporate diamonds, emeralds, rubies and other precious gems and metals.

Loren, creator of Loren Jewels said: "Kim is a fashion icon and millions of people are inspired by her style, making our collaboration on the Kim Kollection a natural fit."

Raisina Residency By TATA

Priyanka Chopra was leaving for Brazil with the macho Khiladis of Khatron Ke Khiladi last night. The paparazzi were waiting for Piggy Chops at Terminal A but the wait turned out to be too long.

To their surprise they spotted a black Range Rover (MH-02-BN-700). Sources say the car belongs to Shahid Kapoor. Apparently, Priyanka got down from the black SUV.

A source present at the airport says, "I had gone to that event where Shahid received the keys of his new SUV from Mr Ratan Tata. I also remember the number so when I saw the car I was sure it was Shahid’s car."

The source adds, "The car stopped near Terminal B. Priyanka got out from the car and started rushing towards Terminal A."

Just when the rumours of their relationship had faded away, this incident raises a new question. Are Shahid and Priyanka dating?

Priyanka Chopra will be shooting for the reality show for a month in Brazil.

Vuvuzela makes it into the Oxford Dictionary

London: The ever-present hum of the vuvuzela during this year's soccer World Cup catapulted the plastic trumpet to instant fame and now it has earned itself a place in the revered Oxford Dictionary of English.

Vuvuzela is among 2,000 new words and phrases added to the third edition of the dictionary, published on Thursday, which is compiled from analysis of two billion words used in everything from novels to Internet message boards.

Terms and phrases relating to the credit crunch feature heavily in this year's additions, with words such as "overleveraged", having taken on too much debt and "quantitative easing", the introduction of new money into the money supply by the central bank, making an entry.

"Staycation", a holiday spent in one's home country, and "bargainous", costing less than usual, also reflect the hot topic of belt-tightening among consumers during the economic downturn.

The rise of "social media", itself a new term, has spawned several additions, including "defriend", removing someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site, and "tweetup", a meeting organised via posts on Twitter.

Other words include:

Bromance: a close but non-sexual relationship between two men

Buzzkill: a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect

Cheeseball: lacking taste, style or originality

Chillax: calm down and relax

Frenemy: a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry

Interweb: the Internet

Wardrobe malfunction: an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as result of an article of clothing slipping out of position.

Terror, not India, enemy No 1: ISI

Islamabad : Pakistan’s intelligence agency says Islamist militants have overtaken the Indian army as the greatest threat to national security. This is for the first time in 63 years that ISI is saying militants not India is the major threat.

The recent report has come after a regular review of national security by the ISI.

But it is unclear whether the assessment of the ISI is fully endorsed by Pakistan's military and the civilian government. The United States still worry that elements of Pakistan's military establishment, including retired ISI officers, continue to lend support to militants.

The assessment has the potential to shift Pakistan's Afghan policy, which has been driven by the belief that India is trying to encircle Pakistan.

Baghdad suicide bomb hits army recruits, kills 60

Baghdad: A suicide bomber blew himself up on Tuesday among hundreds of army recruits who had gathered near a military headquarters in an attack officials said killed 60 and wounded 125, one of the bloodiest bombings in weeks in the Iraqi capital.

The massive blast took place around 7:30 am just outside the former Iraqi Ministry of Defense building that now houses the army's 11th division headquarters.

The site receives about 250 new recruits each week as Iraqi security forces try to bolster their ranks to prepare for the US military's looming withdrawal after seven years of war.

Blown-off hands and legs could be seen among pools of blood at the scene, which Iraqi soldiers closed off. US helicopters hovered overhead as frantic Iraqis showed up to search for relatives.

At least two recruits who witnessed that attack raised the possibility that a car had also exploded at the scene, which could account for the high death toll. But a military spokesman blamed the deaths on a single suicide bomber.

"We were sitting there, and somebody began shouting about a parked car," said one of the recruits, Ali Ibrahim, 21, who suffered minor shrapnel wounds in the blast. Ibrahim said he had been waiting to get into the headquarters to secure a job since around 3 am.

"Then the explosion happened and I was thrown on my back," he said after his release from the hospital. "It was a tragic scene."

The recruits were gathered in an open area next to Maidan Square in central Baghdad as they waited to be let through the main gates in small groups, according to two Iraqi police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. At least three soldiers were among the dead and eight among the wounded, the police officials said.

Officials at four Baghdad hospitals confirmed the casualties. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Iraqi Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi, a military spokesman, told The Associated Press that the blast was caused by a single suicide bomber who detonated his vest among the packed crowd. He put the casualty count at 39 killed and 57 wounded. Varying casualty counts are common in the chaotic aftermath of massive attacks.

Al-Moussawi blamed al-Qaida for enlisting the bomber, whose upper body was found at the scene, he said.

As many as 1,000 army recruits were gathered at the division headquarters, he added, because today was to be the last day for soldiers to sign up at the unit.

"We couldn't get another place for the recruits," al-Moussawi said. "It was difficult to control the area because it's an open area and because of the large number of recruits."

Iraqi security forces have been trying to boost their numbers as the US military begins to leave the country. All but 50,000 US troops will go home by the end of August, with the rest to follow by the end of 2011 under a security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.

But insurgents determined to highlight the Iraqi government's struggle to protect the nation have been stepping up attacks in recent weeks.

Iraqi army, police and other security forces have been targeted, but civilians also have been killed by the hundreds.

This summer has seen a spike in violence in Iraq. Data from the Iraqi defense, interior and ministry officials show that July marked the bloodiest month since May 2008, with more than 500 killed, although tallies compiled by The Associated Press and the US military were lower.

August, which saw the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has also been deadly. Two bombs that set off a power generator and ignited a fuel tank on Aug 7 killed 43 people in a downtown market in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city.

1 in 5 Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim

Washington: As many as one in five Americans think wrongly that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, indicating a significant increase in the number of such people since his inauguration in January 2009.

At the same time, the number of people who now correctly identify Obama as a Christian has dropped to 34 per cent, down from nearly half when he took office, according to new Pew Research Centre survey.

Among those who say Obama is a Muslim, 60 per cent say they learned about his religion from the media, suggesting that their opinions are fuelled by misinformation, says the poll.

The poll was conducted before he expressed support for the Muslims' right to construct an Islamic cultural centre and mosque near the 9/11 terror attack site in New York.

While some suggest such a perception could pose serious political danger for the White House as the debate over his remarks continues, others say the shifting attitudes about the President's religious beliefs could also be the result of a public growing less enamoured of him and increasingly attracted to labels they perceive as negative.

In the Pew poll, 41 per cent disapprove of Obama's job performance, compared with 26 per cent disapproval in its March 2009 poll.

More than a third of conservative Republicans now say Obama is a Muslim, nearly double the percentage saying so early last year. Independents, too, are now more apt to see the President as a Muslim. Among independents, 18 per cent say he is a Muslim, up eight percentage points.

Obama was born to a Kenyan father and an American mother and was brought up by his maternl grandparents in Hawaii because his father, who was also called Barack, left for Africa when Obama was just two. He has said in his autobiography that his grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was a Muslim.

Expressing dismay over the poll results, White House faith adviser Joshua DuBois blamed "misinformation campaigns" by the President's opponents.

"While the President has been diligent and personally committed to his own Christian faith, there's certainly folks who are intent on spreading falsehoods about the President and his values and beliefs," he said.

The President's Christian faith plays an "important part" in his daily life, DuBois said pointing to six speeches on faith that Obama has given in which he talked about his beliefs. But Dubois said coverage of Obama's Christianity has been scant compared with news about the economic crisis, legislative battles and other issues.

Accept Indian aid, no role for politics in disaster: US to Pak Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/accept-indian-aid-no-role-for-politic

Washington: Asserting that there is no role for politics in disaster response, the Obama Administration has said it expects Pakistan to accept the USD 5 million aid offer from India for its flood relief work.

"In terms of responding to a disaster, politics should play no role. You have a country (India) that's willing to help (Pakistan), and... we expect that Pakistan will accept," State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.

Last week, Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna had called on his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and offered USD 5 million in aid for flood relief work.

Pakistan, so far, had not accepted the offer while at the same time its leaders have been sending SOS to the international community for more and more aid so as to meet the immediate needs of its millions of flood-affected people.

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Nearly one-fifth of Pakistan is now reported to be badly hit by the devastating flood; the worst for the country in 80 years.

Crowley, given the changed circumstance, said the US has began to think about what it would do with that long-term security assistance provided under Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill and that could require the US shifting it from what it thought was a priority three weeks ago to what is a priority today.

"I think what we'll have to wait and see is what are the mid- to long-term economic needs of Pakistan that we could use that funding to address. I guess we would also consider more immediate needs as they arise," he said.

Frank Ruggiero, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan also asked Pakistan to accept India's aid.

"I think the priority is to use offers of assistance to help the Pakistani people, so we would encourage Government of Pakistan to accept that (Indian) offer," he said.

Ruggiero said that the US would continue to call on the international community to provide the people of Pakistan with the support it needs at this dire time, as the scale of this flood was so dramatic.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Minister has arrived in New York to attend the special meeting of UN General Assembly on the flood relief work, where he is expected to ask the member states to help Pakistan with more international aid.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would also address the UNGA's special session on Pakistan.She is expected to announce more US aid for Pakistan. The US so far has provided USD 90 million worth of aid.

Mark Ward, Acting Director for USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance said Pakistan floods was one of the greatest challenges as 17 million Pakistani people were affected; six million of those needing urgent attention.

Acknowledging that donor fatigue was an issue and has reflected in the international response to the disaster assistance for the flood relief work, Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz said "but I think it's not an issue for the US.I think other governments around the world continue to make relief response a very high priority."

"The international community will need to provide even more additional assistance, that the need is extreme at this point, and that the international community and the United States will have to provide support to the Pakistani
Government to deal with it," said Ruggiero.

Modi statement to remain confidential, says Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that what Narendra Modi said about the Gujarat riots of 2002 to a Special Investigation Team cannot be revealed to anyone except the trial court hearing the case.

Modi was interrogated for eight hours in March by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the Ehsan Jafri case.

Ehsan, a former Congress MP, was burnt alive in the communal riots at Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad in February 2002.

His wife, Zakia, went to the Supreme Court in 2006, alleging that Modi, along with 62 bureaucrats, police officers and senior ministers, conspired to ensure that those being targeted in the riots did not receive any assistance.

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The SC has allowed the SIT to probe former Gujarat Home Minister Gordhan Zadafia and two former police officers in connection with the petition of Zakia Jaffrey, the wife of the Ehasan Jaffrey, Congress MP who was brutally murdered along with 39 others in the Gulbarga society.

The SIT is headed by former CBI Director RK Raghavan.

Nearly 70 people died in Gulbarg Society, which was one of the worst-affected areas during the Gujarat riots. In the minutes before he was set on fire, Jaffri was on the phone, allegedly trying to convince senior bureaucrats and policemen to send help.

Zakia has alleged: ''Narendra Modi had issued instructions to the police and security establishments to remain inactive and allow a free run to rioters. That's why the police didn't act.''

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/modi-statement-to-remain-confidential-says-supreme-court-45685?cp

'No coach, so don't expect much at CWG from me'

New Delhi: A dejected Samresh Jung says he will not be able to repeat his Melbourne Commonwealth Games' astonishing shooting feat at home in October as he is under-prepared in the absence of a regular coach.

Jung had won five gold, one silver and a bronze medal at the 2006 Melbourne Games and was adjudged "Best Athlete of the 18th Commonwealth Games".

Jung, who was in contention in eight events in the previous edition, said he will not be able to compete in more than seven events this year due to lack of preparations.

Dubbed 'goldfinger', Jung said not only he but other Indian pistol shooters are also under-trained as they are without a coach since 2008 Beijing Olympics Games.

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"I don't think that I will be able to repeat the Melbourne feat. The main reason is that I will not be participating in eight events. Plus last time we had a coach and were better prepared. The absence of coach and training facilities will affect our performance for sure," Samresh said.

"I have enough international experience which is helping me in individual preparation. But we badly need a coach. It's just not possible to give your best shot without any guidance," he added.

Between the 2006 Games and now, he has only two yellow medals in his kitty which he won at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships this year.

Czaba Gyorik's contract wasn't renewed after the Beijing Olympics and the NRAI couldn't get a coach after that.

Sports minister MS Gill himself gave an assurance to Pistol shooters but the status quo remained.

Last month the ministry had offered renowned Russian coach Alexander Melentiev a contract only till the 2010 Asian Games.

But the Russian has reportedly refused the short term offer and hence the Indian pistol team will be without a coach till the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November.

Jung said India will not be able to exploit the home advantage due to non-availability of Karni Singh range.

"We don't have the venue for the practice yet. All the training we get is during camps in Pune. Karni Singh range will be available only after the opening of Games village. Naturally we won't be able to have the home advantage."

He also refused to predict about medals in CWG before the team selection.

"We have selection trials at the end of this month, and then only I will be able to predict anything. I hope that Indian shooters will do their best. It's like T20 match. One who performs on the big day, wins. The past record doesn't count here," Jung signed off.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/sports/no-coach-so-dont-expect-much-at-cwg-from-me-45585?cp

CWG : Public sector unit sponsors rethinking Rs. 260 crore

In what could be a severe jolt to the crisis-ridden Commonwealth Games, the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday said his ministry has asked PSUs to hold back sponsorship money totalling up to Rs. 260 crore for the event.

"We have already asked PSUs to hold on. Instructions were issued by DPE secretary to hold on (to) the funds," Deshmukh said.

As such, NTPC and PowerGrid have already held back their funds, while most of the big corporate entities have shied away from the Games.

He said earlier the ministry had said that if the PSUs wanted to contribute they could. "(But) after this controversy now I think no PSU is going to contribute," he added.

The comments come within hours of Congress President Sonia Gandhi telling her party MPs that "it (Games) was a matter of national pride and efforts should be made to hold them successfully."

At the same time, she said that those found guilty of corruption in works related to the Games should be punished after the event.

The ministry's direction to PSUs to withhold sponsorship funds about 10 days coincided with numerous instances of financial irregularities revealed by Central Vigilance Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Asked if the step taken by NTPC and PowerGrid is in the right direction, Deshmukh said, "Yes".

Already NTPC and PowerGrid have decided to hold back Rs. 40 crore sponsorship money out of a combined committed sum of Rs. 60 crore for the event.

NTPC, which has already given Rs. 20 crore in February out of the committed Rs. 50 crore sponsorship deal, is also asking for an audit by a government appointed agency for the sum it has paid to the CWG organising committee.

The Board of the state-run power producer at its meeting on Wednesday decided to withdraw any further sponsorship for the Games to be held here during October 3-14 this year.

"Yes, we have decided to stop it (sponsorship) further," NTPC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma said when asked to comment on the firm's sponsorship in the wake of numerous reports of financial irregularities in the CWG organizing committee.

Another power public sector unit PowerGrid Corporation, which had committed to sponsor Rs. 10 crore for the event, has also taken a U-turn.

"Yes, we have decided not to give any money for the Commonwealth Games," PowerGrid CMD S K Chaturvedi said.

Central Bank of India has already contributed Rs. 50 crore to the Games.

State-run carrier Air India had also committed Rs. 50 crore for the CWG, which are to come mainly in the form of services.

Corruption allegations against the CWG organizing committee erupted with a Central Vigilance Commission report pointing out financial bungling in handing of construction and other contracts of the Games last month.

Earlier this month, three official of the CWG organizing committee, T S Darbari (joint director general), Sanjay Mahindroo (deputy-director general) and M Jeychgandran (treasurer), were sacked, along with the Australian firm SMAM.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/cwg-public-sector-unit-sponsors-rethinking-rs-260-crore-90667?cp

Israel probing claims of flotilla ship thefts

The Mavi Marmara with Israeli troops on board nears the port of Ashdod, Israel, in May after the flotilla raid.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• At least four Israeli soldiers have been detained, according to media reports
• Israeli military says it isn't certain gear was from the ship Mavi Marmara
• Arab Knesset member says scale of theft is far greater than reported
• High-ranking officer is quoted as saying incident "will prove embarrassing and shameful"

Jerusalem ( Israel is investigating claims that some of its soldiers stole personal belongings of activists participating in the controversial Gaza aid flotilla in May.

At least four soldiers were being detained on suspicion of stealing and selling laptops belonging to activists aboard the ship Mavi Marmara. Ynetnews, the English-language website affiliated with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, first reported the development and other agencies have followed up.

The Israeli military intercepted the ship and others to keep them from entering the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Violence erupted on the Mavi Marmara and left nine Turkish citizens dead, including one with dual U.S. citizenship.

When asked about the theft of computers, electronic devices and money, an Israel Defense Forces representative told CNN that "at this point it is not certain that the equipment indeed originated on the Mavi Marmara. The matter is currently investigated by the military police criminal investigation division and we cannot therefore provide any further details at this time."

Ynet quoted a high-ranking officer saying the investigation "has just begun, but as it appears now it will prove embarrassing and shameful. These are soldiers who don't understand what their uniform represents."

Haneen Zoabi, an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, said this must have taken place while the Israeli navy was confiscating the ship and forcing it to dock in Ashdod.

"This is not a surprise and it is not the whole truth," Zoabi said. "We will discover that a lot of the personal belongings of the activists were stolen and looted."

Zoabi contended the items were stolen "not after the confiscation of the ship but even before we docked in Ashdod," because most of the activists were unable to reach their belongings, which he said soldiers placed "in one big pile."

Zoabi said one activist who was able to reach his belongings discovered that 2,000 euros and $2,000 had disappeared from his bag.

Zoabi has sent an official letter to the Israeli army inquiring what happened to the belongings of four Palestinian citizens of Israel but said he has received no response.

"We are not talking about one soldier, we are not talking about six computers, we are talking about hundreds of computers, we are talking about hundreds of cameras and hundreds of electronic valuable devices and talking about tens of thousands of euros and dollars which [were the] personal belongings of the 600 activists, " Zoabi said.

Lubna Masarwa, one of the flotilla organizers who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, said her purse, $1,000 in U.S. currency, Israeli currency, a computer, a camera, credit cards, her passport, driving license and telephones all were confiscated and not returned to her.

Two weeks ago, Adallah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, submitted a letter on behalf of Masarwa and another activist requesting their property be returned.

"I am not surprised by this act," Masarwa said. "The soldiers were ready to kill civilians, and I am not surprised that they have stolen everything that was on board the ship, and this is a continuation of sea piracy and theft.

"This is an army with no morals, and I consider myself living in a mafia country where there is no protection to my life or to my human rights or to my personal belongings. I not only request the sentencing of the soldiers for the theft of belongings but also for the killing of civilians who were aboard the ship."

7 die in tricycle bomb attack in China

Police in western China detained a man suspected of driving an explosive-laden tricycle into a crowd on Thursday, killing seven people and injuring 13, a government official told CNN.

"The explosion took place around 10:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Aksu city in southern Xinjiang," said Hou Hanmin, deputy director of Xinjiang's information department. "Police have determined it was an intentional act."

She said the suspect, an ethnic Uighur, also injured himself and was caught on the scene, adding that police are investigating his motive.

All the casualties were local residents, Hou said, and authorities are still verifying their identities and ethnic backgrounds. Officials at Aksu No. 1 People's Hospital, where the injured are believed to have been sent, declined to comment.

Long-simmering ethnic tensions between Han Chinese and native Uighurs in Xinjiang, who are Turkic-speaking Muslims, erupted into street riots in the provincial capital of Urumqi in July 2009, killing almost 200 people and injuring more than 1,800.

Authorities have blamed independence-seeking Uighur groups for the worst ethnic violence in recent Chinese history. The government has since increased its crackdown on so-called "separatist terrorists" and announced last July the breakup of a bomb-making ring in southern Xinjiang.

Afghanistan, Africa most at risk for food shortage, UN says

Afghanistan and several African nations are the most at risk to have a food shortage, an organization that works with the United Nations said in a report Thursday.

Afghanistan was named as the country with the most vulnerable food supply, according to the study by Maplecroft, a British-based research agency.

After Afghanistan, African nations were on the rest of the top 10 list. In order, the next were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Liberia, Chad and Zimbabwe.

In all, African nations were 36 of the top 50 on the list.

"Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to food insecurity because of the frequency of extreme weather events, high rates of poverty and failing infrastructures," the organization said.

Maplecroft said it worked with the U.N.'s World Food Programme to develop the criteria to judge 163 countries. The group came up with 12 categories to help make evaluations.

Those categories included the nutritional and health status of populations, cereal production and imports, Gross Domestic Product per capita, natural disasters, conflict and the effectiveness of government, the group said.

The United States was ranked No. 158. Finland got the best rank and was considered least at risk.

China: Mechanical failures to blame for North Korean plane crash

Photograph of the downed plane show North Korean air force markings on the fuselage.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chinese authorities say mechanical failures caused the pilot to lose direction
• The plane crashed Tuesday in northeastern China
• The pilot is dead
• North Korea has apologized

Beijing, China - Mechanical failures caused a North Korean air force plane to lose direction before crashing in northeastern China earlier this week, state media quoted Chinese authorities as saying Thursday.

China's official Xinhua news agency said that Pyongyang has apologized to Beijing for the incident and the two sides have "reached a consensus on dealing with the aftermath."

The plane went down Tuesday at Lagu township in Fushun county, killing the pilot and destroying one home on the ground. The crash site in Liaoning province is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) away from a North Korean air base in the border town of Sinuiju, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

An employee at Songgang Iron Mine, a company near the crash site, told CNN Wednesday that armed police officers and special forces agents immediately cordoned off the area after the plane went down.

Photographs of the wreckage purportedly taken by an eyewitness have been circulating on Chinese websites, showing the North Korean air force emblem on the fuselage beneath the tail of the aircraft. Military enthusiasts online have identified it as a Russian-built MiG jet but differed on the specific model, with some calling it a MiG-21 fighter and others claiming it to be a MiG-15 trainer.

Xinhua's latest report did not give details on the plane.

Yonhap had earlier quoted unnamed sources in South Korea as saying the plane's pilot may have been trying to defect from North Korea to Russia. Chinese commentators had speculated that the plane may have run out of fuel.

Indian, Pakistani troops clash on Kashmir border

Indian soldiers from Rapid Action Force (RAF) stand guard during a protest in Srinagar on Tuesday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Pakistani military confirms the gunfire, but says Indian troops fired at its soldiers
• India alleges that Pakistani border troops fired across the line of control in Kashmir
• Indian troops retaliated "appropriately," army spokesman says
• Kashmir is a source of bitter dispute between India and Pakistan

Srinagar, India ( Indian army accused Pakistani troops of violating a cease-fire agreement early Thursday by firing across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir.

Pakistani border troops fired for about 90 minutes in Poonch district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, said Biplab Nath, an Indian army spokesman.

The Pakistanis used heavy volumes of small arms, and heavy caliber weapons such as mortars and rocket propelled grenades, Nath said. Indian troops retaliated "appropriately" to the "unprovoked" firing, he said.

A spokesman for the Pakistani military confirmed the gunfire, but said Indian troops fired at their soldiers. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the two nations have agreed to meet soon to discuss the incident and seek clarification.

Nath said there were no casualties on the Indian side.

"Our assessment is that this firing was to primarily assist infiltration of terrorists," he said.

Such ceasefire violations have been common since 2003, but Nath described the latest incident firing as "major."

Kashmir has been a source of bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since the independence of both nations in 1947.

Under terms agreed by the two countries, Kashmir's rulers could either opt to merge with India or Pakistan or remain independent. One part sided with Pakistan. The ruler of the other part sided with predominantly Hindu India, sparking a controversy among the region's Muslim majority.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir and militants, who India says are backed by Pakistan, have been fighting since the late 1980s to end Indian rule in the region. A cease-fire to end the violence was agreed to in 2003.

Both India and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of firing across the border.

Fifth baby dies after Romania hospital fire

Rescuers tend to a newborn injured by a fire at the Giulesti Maternity Hospital in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Fifth baby dies after suffering severe burns after Monday's fire
• Six babies now survive, one of whom is in critical condition
• Managers of the burned hospital have been suspended pending an investigation
• The fire began with an electrical cable in the intensive care unit

Bucharest, Romania Medical staff and parents frantically tried to enter a burning intensive care unit in a Romanian hospital to rescue 11 premature newborns, footage released Thursday by the government showed.

Five babies -- two boys and three girls -- died in the blaze Monday at the Giulesti Maternity Hospital in Bucharest. The other six are struggling to survive.

One was in critical condition Thursday and given minimum chances of survival, said Raluca Alexandru, a spokeswoman for Grigore Alexandrescu Children's Hospital, where the babies were being treated.

The latest death was of a newborn who suffered burns over 75 percent of his body and died overnight, Alexandru said.

The dramatic silent video released by the prosecutor's office showed people using a chair to break down automatic doors that could only be opened with a card that no one had at the time. Seconds later, the hallway filled with dense smoke.

A firefighter spokesman said the video showed that hospital staff were not adequately trained in how to deal with a fire, though it is required by law, and did little to evacuate people from the burning building.

The managers at Giulesti have been suspended until the investigation into the fire is completed, Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu said Wednesday. An interim hospital manager has been appointed, he said.

Investigators have so far questioned 25 people, among them hospital staff, guards and parents, prosecutor Marius Iacob said at a Thursday news conference.

He said his office obtained footage from eight hospital cameras but only released the one because the others could affect the ongoing investigation. One of the videos, he said, showed when the nurse in charge left the intensive care unit.

There are now at least 25 doctors taking constant care of the injured newborns, said Dr. Dan Enescu, director of Grigore Alexandrescu. Ten Israeli specialists arrived in Romania on Wednesday to offer their help in treating the babies, he said.

The fire began Monday after an electrical cable in the air-conditioning system caught fire behind a wooden closet in the intensive care unit, according to prosecutors' preliminary conclusions. The cable had not been installed and isolated properly, they said.

The fire also caused severe damage to the intensive care unit, burning incubators and other medical equipment.

Prosecutors said the fire burned slowly for about an hour before any medical staff entered the room, which was supposed to be staffed at the time.

They have now launched an investigation to find out why the nurse on duty was not in the room and why staff failed to evacuate the newborns. They are also talking to the specialists who worked on the air-conditioning system.

Mandela charity trustee resigns over Campbell diamonds

Naomi Campbell testifies at the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor in The Hague August 5 about diamonds she reportedly received.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Jeremy Ractliffe held on to diamonds given to him by Naomi Campbell
• The diamonds allegedly came from former Liberian President Charles Taylor
• He handed the diamonds to police earlier this month

Johannesburg, South Africa man who accepted three uncut diamonds from supermodel Naomi Campbell and held them privately for years is stepping down as a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the fund said.

Jeremy Ractliffe will not run for reelection as a trustee at the end of this month, the fund said Wednesday. He is also resigning immediately as a board member with the U.S. affiliate of the fund, it said.

Ractliffe came under international scrutiny in early August when Campbell testified at the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. She was asked about reports that Taylor gave her uncut diamonds in 1997, a story that prosecutors hoped to use as evidence to prove Taylor used "blood diamonds" to fund a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone.

While Campbell said she didn't know whether Taylor was the source of the diamonds, she testified she gave them the next day to Ractliffe, a friend who at the time was the head of the children's fund.

Ractliffe said in a statement afterwards that he kept the diamonds to protect the reputations of both Campbell and the charity. He handed the diamonds over to South African police after Campbell's testimony.

"Mr. Ractliffe regrets his omission to inform the chairperson, CEO, and the rest of the board of trustees of the NMCF of his receipt of the uncut diamonds until now and acknowledges that had he done so, he and the board could have found a better and lawful way to manage the situation," the fund said in the statement. "He has apologised to the chairperson, CEO, the board, and the NMCF for the anxiety and possible reputational risk his conduct may have caused to the NMCF."

Under South African law, the possession of uncut or rough diamonds is restricted to permit-holding producers, cutters, and toolmakers. Any other person who finds or receives unpolished diamonds is required to take them to a police station immediately.

"Mr. Ractliffe has stated that he acted in what he sincerely believed to be in the best interest of the NMCF and its founder and realizes that he has left himself open to possible prosecution," the fund said in its statement. "For these reasons, he considers it correct and proper for him not to make himself available for reelection as a trustee."

Conflict or "blood" diamonds are diamonds that are illegally traded to fund conflict in war-torn areas, particularly in central and western Africa, according to the World Diamond Council, which represents the commercial diamond trade.

The United Nations defines conflict diamonds as "diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council."

They are generally in rough form, meaning they have recently been extracted from the earth and not yet cut.

At the height of the civil war in Sierra Leone, it is estimated that conflict diamonds represented approximately four percent of the world's diamond production.