Panaji, Dec 29 (PTI) Interim solution to the vexed Tillari irrigation project issue involving Goa and Maharashtra is in sight with Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar claiming today that an understanding in this regard has been reached. Parrikar said the issue would be resolved within two days. He said his Maharashtra counterpart Prithviraj Chavan had assured to solve the issue after reaching an understanding with the agitators who have been blocking, since last twenty days, the water supply from the Tillari irrigation canal in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, demanding fulfilment of promises regarding rehabilitation. The project has been supplying water to three talukas of Goa namely Bicholim, Pernem and Bardez. However, the final resolution of the issue could take place only in January. "The meeting of the Tillari Water Development Board will be held on January 18, where ministers of both the states will bring out the final solution to this vexed issue", Parrikar told reporters today. He said in the meantime, the state government will release 100-125 million litres per day (MLD) water in Tillari canal through Sal river in Goa. Parrikar claimed that of the total 2,500-3,000 hectares of land under irrigation in Goa, the closure of canal has affected only 250 hectares of land having sugarcane and banana cultivation. PTI RPS PJ NSK HKS SDM
Interim solution to Tillari issue in two days: Parrikar
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 29 Desember 2012 | 23.24
Syria doomed to "hell" without political deal - envoy
By Alissa de Carbonnel and Peter Graff
MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international mediator touting a peace plan for Syria warned on Saturday of "hell" if the warring sides shun talks, and Moscow blamed the foes of President Bashar al-Assad for refusing to negotiate.
U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said in Moscow that responsible people inside and outside Syria should "help the Syrians stop their descent into more and more bloodshed, into more and more chaos and perhaps a failed state".
Efforts to find a negotiated solution to a 21-month-old war that has killed some 44,000 people have floundered, with the opposition, buoyed by rebel military advances, demanding that Assad be excluded from power before any talks can proceed.
In a sign that the war may not quickly be won, government forces - in retreat for much of the past few months - scored a victory in the strategically important central city of Homs, where they pushed rebels from a district after days of fighting.
But in the north, Syria's national airline had to cancel a flight from Cairo to Aleppo, according to Egyptian airline officials, due to insecurity at an airport which rebels have declared as a target and where explosions were heard overnight.
Brahimi spent five days in Damascus this week as part of a major push to promote a months-old peace plan that calls for a transitional government, without specifying Assad's role.
"If the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then all of us must work ceaselessly for a political process," Brahimi said in Moscow. "It is difficult, it is very complicated but there is no other choice."
Western and some Arab states which back the revolt against Assad are hoping that Russia, his main international protector and arms supplier, will drop its support.
"WRONG, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE"
They have been searching for signs that Moscow, an ally of Syria since Assad's father seized power 42 years ago, is changing its stance - so far mostly in vain.
After meeting Brahimi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov firmly repeated Moscow's position that Assad's removal cannot be a precondition for negotiations, calling the Syrian opposition's refusal to talk to Damascus a "dead end".
"When the opposition says only Assad's exit will allow it to begin a dialogue about the future of its own country, we think this is wrong, we think this is rather counterproductive," he said. "The costs of this precondition are more and more lives of Syrian citizens."
The United States and its allies hope a change of heart in Moscow could prod Assad to yield power, much as Russia's withdrawal of support for Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic heralded his downfall a decade ago.
Lavrov noted that Assad has repeatedly said he would not go, adding that Russia "does not have the ability to change this".
Brahimi's peace plan has stalled on the demand by the opposition that Assad be excluded from any transitional government, a precondition also backed by the United States, European countries and most Arab states.
Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi, repeating the most populous Arab country's public support for the rebellion, said there was "no place for the current regime in the future of Syria".
"The revolution of the Syrian people, which we support, will go forward, God willing, to realise its goals of freedom."
Most Arab states are ruled by Sunni Muslims, who form the majority in Syria and are the foundation of the revolt against Assad, a member of the Shi'ite-linked Alawite minority sect.
Brahimi's plan was formally agreed in Geneva in June by world powers, but Washington and Moscow argued from the outset over the core question of whether the plan meant Assad must go.
In Damascus, Brahimi advocated a transitional government "with all the powers of the state", but his wording did not exclude a role for Assad, a red line for the opposition.
The envoy's credibility with the rebels appears to have withered. In the rebel-held town of Kafranbel, demonstrators held up banners ridiculing Brahimi with English obscenities.
"We do not agree at all with Brahimi's initiative. We do not agree with anything Brahimi says," the rebel chief in Aleppo province, Colonel Abdel-Jabbar Oqaidi, said on Friday.
OPPOSITION SNUB FOR MOSCOW
Moscow has invited the main opposition leader, Moaz Alkhatib, to visit for talks, but Alkhatib rejected the invitation outright on Friday, instead demanding Lavrov apologise for Russia's support of Assad. He did, however, say he could meet Russian officials in a third country.
Brahimi said a political solution had to be based on the Geneva agreement negotiated by his predecessor, Kofi Annan, shortly before Annan quit in frustration at the divisions among veto-wielding powers on the U.N. Security Council.
"There may be one or two little adjustments to make here and there, but it is a reasonable basis for a political process that will help the Syrian people," Brahimi said of the Geneva plan.
Brahimi is to meet senior U.S. and Russian diplomats together in the coming weeks. Two such meetings this month produced no signs of a breakthrough.
Having seized much of northern and eastern Syria over the last six months, Assad's opponents seem even less likely to accept talks with the government now than when the Geneva agreement first flopped in June.
Rebels say they expect to win the war on the ground. But if both sides intend to fight to the bitter end, the longest and deadliest war to have emerged from last year's Arab revolts may have a long time left to run its course.
Despite its setbacks, the government still has the bigger arsenal and a potent air force. It controls most of the densely-populated southwest of Syria, the Mediterranean coast, most of the main north-south highway and military bases countrywide.
Life is hard in rebel-held areas, without state funding or electricity and with a harsh winter setting in.
Government forces pushed insurgents from the Deir Ba'alba district of the central city of Homs after several days of fierce fighting, opposition activists acknowledged on Saturday.
Homs, which controls the strategically vital highway linking Damascus to the Alawite heartland on the coast, was the scene of some of the worst violence of the war in early 2012.
There were unconfirmed reports that dozens of rebel fighters had been killed in the battle for Deir Ba'alba, said Rami Abdelrahman, director of the British-based, pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.
(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Aleppo Province, Syria, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Tom Perry in Cairo; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
LDALL GIRL 3 LAST
President Mukherjee led India in mourning the death of President Mukherjee led India in mourning the death of the girl and described her as the "brave daughter of India" and that all steps to bring the perpetrators of this "ghastly crime" to justice should be taken. "She was a brave and courageous girl who fought till the very last minute for her dignity and her life. She is a true hero and symbolises the best in Indian youth and women...The nation will mourn the passing of this brave daughter of India," the President said in his condolence message. Prime Minister Singh expressed the hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to make India a demonstrably safer place to live in. The Congress President said the fight of nation's "beloved daughter" will not go in vain, promising "swift and fitting punishment" to perpetrators as well as stringent laws for women protection. In New Delhi, police invoked murder charges against the six men allegedly involved in the gang-rape and said it will be their endeavour to ensure the "harshest punishment in the book" to the culprits. "We hope to file the charge sheet by the 3rd of January 2013. Section 302 of IPC, which is the penal section for murder, has been added in the case," Dharmendra Kumar, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), said. The autopsy of the victim was done by a Singaporean Medical Team and the report will be made available to investigators at the earliest. Meanwhile, Strait Times reported that the casket hearse carrying the gang rape victim left its Geylang Bahru premises at 8.50 pm local time. Her body was embalmed at a funeral parlour in Singapore. PTI SJS TAQ PNT SNK ETB SOM SMJ MPB SJY ETB NSA
Gehlot condoles death of gangrape victim
Jaipur, Dec 29 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today condoled the death of the Delhi gangrape victim, saying that all the states of the country should take "collective responsibility" of such incidents instead of doing politics. "The death of the girl is very unfortunate and there is no word to describe the pain. The accused should get severe punishment. The government tried its best to save the life of the girl and sent to Singapore for treatment," Gehlot told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. Gehlot said that the state has already taken steps to curb such crimes. "We have already announced to set up fast track courts and the state is the first to do that. Besides, all senior officials have been asked to monitor cases of women harassment," he said. "All the states should take collective responsibility for such crime instead of doing politics," the chief minister said. The state Governor Margaret Alva, condoling the death, said that the nation is in mourning because the victim has lost her battle for life after a brave fight. "Her suffering and courage have lit a flame that the nation cannot ignore," Alva said in a statement here. "We have made promises, written reports and expressed anguish at these crimes. It is no longer women crying out for justice. It is the conscience of the Indian people, particularly the youth, that has been aroused. The time has come for urgent, firm and decisive action," she said. Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje demanded that the guilty must be punished without any delay. "I am personally aggrieved with this tragic incident which has shaken the country. This is the murder of the woman's dignity and India's holy culture, so the accused should be punished immediately," Raje told reporters here. She also alleged that rape incidents were rising in the state and said that the women will have to create awareness and unite against such crimes. Meanwhile, several peaceful demonstrations were held in the city where people from all walks of life mourned the death of the rape victim. PTI SDA DBR
Gujjars in Jamp;K break away from ABGM to create separate outfit
Jammu, Dec 29 (PTI) Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir today broke away its allegiance from Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Mahasabha (ABGM) to constitute an independent outfit for themselves to focus on state-specific needs of the community. A separate state organisation 'Bhartiya Gujjar Mahasaba' (BGM) was constituted here today with Ishfaq ul Rehman Poswal representing as its president. "Like other non-political organisation working in different states of India for the benefits of Gujjar Community, we have broken away from ABGM Jammu and Kashmir and constituted a separate state organisation under the banner of BGM, J&K," Poswal told reporters here today. The state president claimed that all district and block level members of ABGM would be shifting to BGM. Poswal said the main agenda behind the creation of the non-political organisation was to highlight state-specific issues of the community. "The major issue which is to be highlight through this organisation is to uplift the tribal Gujjars of the state," he said. The organisation will be affiliated to all the national and state level organisations associated with Gujjar community across the country, he said. Poswal said the main demands of the organisation included implementation of tribals sub-plan in J&K, rehabilitation of nomads, reservation for Gujjars in block development council, legislative council, assembly and providing recruitment to tribal youth. PTI AB DK HU
Five youths held in Haryana on harassment charges
Rewari(Har), Dec 29 (PTI) Five youths were arrested in Lala village in the district for allegedly harassing girls on their way to school, police said here. According to the complaints lodged by the parents of 40 such girl students, the youths, identified as Pramod, Deepak, Parvinder, Azad and Amit used to pass obscene remarks and harass the girls on their way to school, SSP Rewari, Bharti Arora said. The girls, who belonged to the neighbouring Sooma and Katopuri villages, were even stopped by their parents from going to school due to the harassment, Arora said. She said that the girl students would be provided protection in the future and the accused would be severely punished. Further probes are on, the SSP added. PTI COR CHS DBR
Two more ministers to be inducted in HP cabinet: Virbhadra
Shimla, Dec 29 (PTI) Four days after taking the oath as Chief Minister for a record sixth time, Virbhadra Singh today said two more ministers would be soon inducted in the 10-member Himachal Cabinet. In addition to the induction of two ministers, the state government will also appoint some Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, the Chief Minister said. Singh made the statement on his return from New Delhi after meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Two former ministers Anil Sharma, son of former Union Minister Sukh Ram, and Karan Singh from Banjjar are among the front runners for the two ministerial posts, sources said. He rubbished media reports on differences over the distribution of portfolios in the state Cabinet. The portfolios were distributed after the approval from Congress chief and there was no resentment among the members over this issue, Singh said. Referring to composition of his cabinet, Singh said it is a balanced ministry with a mix of veteran ministers with experience and youths with vast talent. Referring to controversial Jhakoo ropeway project in Shimla, Singh said that much work has been done and the project was nearing completion. However, the shortcomings or violations if any would be looked into, he added. When asked about irregularities in allocation of Eco-tourism projects, Singh said the cases where projects have been allotted to people with no experience or ground of tourism would be looked into. He said the government would expedite the ongoing developmental projects and accord priority to completion of ongoing Theog-Hatkoti and Una-Mehatpur double-lane road projects. PTI PCL KAS
Guj mulling Knowledge Cities on the lines of S Korea, Taiwan
Ahmedabad, Dec 27 (PTI) The Gujarat government is planning to set up Knowledge Cities, hubs of academia, research, technology and industry, for promoting innovation, on the lines of countries such as South Korea and Taiwan. "There are two proposals for Knowledge City received by the government with long-term investment commitments," Additional Chief Secretary (Science and Technology) Ravi Saxena said. "Such cities are where you have universities, academic and industrial research laboratories, incubators, and you have the industry," he said. "Accommodating all of these at the same place is necessary so that people could move from one to another, like a professor could go to industry if he has a patent in his hand, which is possible when he doesn't have to shift residence or town," he said. "The concept is on lines of technology parks in Taiwan and a city in South Korea." Hshinchu Technology park of Taiwan and Gwangju Metropolitan City in South Korea are examples of this model. Gujarat currently has around 51 universities and over 1,400 institutes of higher education catering to over 7 million students. However, only a few institutes have active tie-ups with international institutes. In view of this, officials said, the state is going to organise the second edition of International Conference for Academic Institutions (ICAI) as a part of Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS) 2013, where MoUs or Letter of Intentions between Gujarat, foreign universities, state industry would be signed. The first edition of ICAI had seen 33 delegates from 25 universities, representing 9 countries, during which 74 MoUs or LoIs for collaboration between Gujarat universities, foreign universities and industry were signed. PTI VKB PD MR SDM
Punishment for rape must be speedy and certain: Editors Guild
New Delhi, Dec.29 (PTI) Condoling the death of the Delhi gangrape victim, the Editors Guild of India today asked the Government to tighten laws dealing with crimes against women and make punishment for rape both speedy and certain. It also asked the Government to outline a programme for changing attitudes towards women, so that the ill-considered remarks of the sort made by some politicians in recent days are not considered symptomatic of broader attitudes. "The Guild recognises that the heinous crime of rape is far too common an occurrence in the country, and calls for speedy action to make punishment for rape both speedy and certain, as that is the surest preventive step that can be taken," it said in a statement here. It said the death of the 23-year-old woman, who was gangraped and assaulted in a moving bus on December 16, has sent shock-waves across the country, and brought about a public outpouring of grief and anger as never witnessed before. The Guild noted that the media has risen to the occasion in covering this episode with responsibility, and helped the protest stay mostly peaceful by providing outlets for the expression of both grief and anger. The media has also rightly taken the government and the police to task for poorly judged decisions on how to deal with demonstrations and for imposing excessive traffic restrictions,. it said. "The Guild recognises the role played by the social media in mobilising people to come out and express their solidarity, and notes that this marks an important change in the non-political organisation of widely shared feelings and thoughts. Governments will have to respond, and governance change," it said. PTI VMN VMN
Berlusconi accuses Monti of plot with Italy's centre left
By Catherine Hornby and Antonella Ciancio
ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday condemned outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's plan to lead a centrist alliance in Italy's election in February, accusing him of a plot to favour the left, but centrist leaders denied any secret accord.
Monti, who replaced Berlusconi as prime minister last year as Italy scrambled to avert a financial crisis, said on Friday he wanted to unite a broad coalition of factions around a reform agenda aimed at easing the country's economic woes.
Monti ended weeks of speculation when he confirmed his bid for a second term, pitting him against the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party in a three-way contest.
Speaking to reporters at Milan Central railway station, Berlusconi said Monti wanted to help the left secure power after the February 24-25 election so he could continue his austerity agenda of tax hikes and spending cuts.
"This grouping has been formed to favour the left - also the harmony with the left's programme they have celebrated heads in this direction," he said, after earlier describing Monti as "the spare wheel" of the PD in an interview with Vista TV.
The 76-year-old billionaire, who caught the train from Rome with his new 27-year-old partner, Francesca Pascale, said he did not believe Italian voters would "fall into the trap" which he said was aimed at stealing votes from the centre right.
But Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of Italy's oldest and largest centrist party, the UDC, which is cooperating with Monti, strongly denied the accusations.
"Our initiative was not born with the support of the PD. It has not been started with a predetermined alliance ... until election day, what's important is aiming for the majority," Casini said at a news conference on Saturday.
"PHASE OF RESPONSIBILITY"
Opinion polls suggest the PD, under Pier Luigi Bersani, will win a comfortable lower house majority but may have to strike a deal with centrist forces in the Senate, where the centre left has struggled to gain control in past elections.
The PD, which has pledged to maintain Monti's broad reform course while putting more emphasis on jobs and growth, has urged the 69-year old technocrat to clarify the approach the centrist forces will take towards the left.
"Will they present themselves as alternatives, as rivals, or as open to an alliance?" Bersani asked on SkyTG24 television on Friday, saying that the centre left would be open to discuss an accord when Monti's position is clear.
Monti, a former European Commissioner, is a favourite with international investors, the Catholic Church and the business establishment, and has been widely credited with restoring Italy's credibility after the scandal-plagued Berlusconi years.
"For the first time an atmosphere is forming that points towards the future for a Europe that needs Italy and a country that wants to change deeply," centrist leader Casini said on Saturday.
"From yesterday we are putting behind us the empty electoral promises, populism, demagoguery, fake assurances, a phase of responsibility is beginning," he said.
The PD has so far maintained a tone of polite respect for Monti, in contrast to Berlusconi's attacks on his "Germano-centric" austerity policies, which he blames for deepening a severe recession and fuelling record unemployment.
The media tycoon also said on Saturday he was disappointed that Monti had made a bid for a second term because the economics professor had told him he would not use the exposure gained as an unelected technocrat for future political motives.
Berlusconi added that if the centre right won the election he would launch an investigation into Monti's ascent to power.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
