Daily News (In Short)-16-July-2015

#* India lodges protest with Pakistan over ceasefire violation

Pakistan Rangers on Thursday targeted five border outposts (BoPs) and some civilian areas in R.S. Pura and Tawi forward belts. Four persons were reportedly injured in the incident.

“BSF troops guarding the border line retaliated effectively and the firing exchange continued till 0530 hours today,” a BSF officer said.

Meanwhile, India has lodged protest with Pakistan over the ceasefire violation in Akhnoor sector in Jammu. A 42-year-old woman was killed in the firing on Wednesday.

According to government sources, India lodged protest both in Islamabad as well as in Delhi over the incident. “Our High Commissioner in Islamabad raised the issue with the Pakistan Foreign Office and Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi was also conveyed India’s concerns regarding ceasefire violation in which one woman was killed and some people injured,” they said.

Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire twice on Wednesday, resorting to firing and mortar shelling in the Akhnoor sector. There have been nine ceasefire violation in July.

These violations come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit Jammu on Friday to attend the centenary celebrations of former State Finance Minister Girdhari Lal Dogra.

"Spy" drone issue

Pakistan army on Wednesday claimed to have shot down an Indian “spy” drone which it alleged was being used for aerial photography near the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan has summoned the Indian envoy in Islamabad over “spy” drone issue, officials said.

Pakistan claimed that the drone was “brought down for violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity.”

#* Pakistan Summons Indian Envoy After 'Spy Drone' Claim: 10 Developments

NEW DELHI:  Pakistan summoned the Indian envoy this morning and lodged a protest after saying it had shot down an Indian "spy" drone, a claim that has been denied by New Delhi.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
1.Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aijaz Ahmed Chaudhary conveyed his protest against "cross bordering firing by India" and also 2.claimed that an Indian spy plane had been shot down for violation of airspace.
3.A statement from the Pakistan foreign office said: "An Indian UAV (Spy Drone) entered Pakistan's air space in violation of the international law, Pakistan's territorial integrity...The UAV was brought down by Pakistani troops."
4.High Commissioner TCA Raghavan denied that the drone was Indian, and also said it was Pakistan that fired first at the border.
5.The Pakistan army alleges that the drone was being used for aerial photography near the Line of Control and was shot down in the Bhimber area of PoK for "violation of Pakistan's territorial integrity."
6.The claim has been questioned because the drone that was shot down does not appear to be of the kind used by India. Indian officials say the drone could have belonged to the police of Pakistan's Punjab province, and is used for highway patrolling.
7.Indian government sources called it a "strange coincidence that Pakistan claimed it shot down an Indian drone soon after the violation" on Wednesday.
8.India had lodged a strong protest yesterday after a woman was killed and six, including two soldiers, were injured in heavy firing from across the border in Akhnoor sector.
9.In more firing this morning, three villagers were injured at the RS Pura sector. This month, there have been at least seven violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement by Pakistan, say Indian officials.
10.The border trouble come just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu on Friday and days after PM Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif held talks on the sidelines of a regional conference in Ufa in Russia.
As part of what was seen as breakthrough announcements after the talks, the two countries decided to arrange meetings of senior military officials to reduce tension along the border.

#* Vyapam officials helped MP CM's secretary's daughter clear medical entrance: Report

The daughter of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's personal secretary secured good marks in medical entrance examination allegedly with the help of Vyapam officials.
According to a report in The Hindustan Times, the bureaucrat's daughter, Anita, secured 85% marks in the entrance test despite answering just 31 out of a total of 200 questions.The daughter of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's personal secretary secured good marks in medical entrance examination allegedly with the help of Vyapam officials.
Documents have shown that Anita answered a total of 61 questions, of which only 31 were answered correctly. As many as 130 more questions were through another ink, apparently by Vyapam officials, said the report.
The report further said that nine of Anita's wrong answers were hidden using correction fluid.

#* Obama vigorously defends nuclear deal, says the only alternative is war

Washington: Vigorously challenging his critics, President Barack Obama launched an aggressive and detailed defense of a landmark Iranian nuclear accord on Wednesday, rejecting the idea that it leaves Tehran on the brink of a bomb and arguing the only alternative to the diplomatic deal is war.
The president spoke during a lengthy news conference one day after Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers finalized a historic, yearslong agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Opposition to the deal has been fierce, both in Washington and Israel. Sunni Arab rivals of Shiite Iran also expressed concerns.
President Barack Obama answers questions about the Iran nuclear deal during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday. APPresident Barack Obama answers questions about the Iran nuclear deal during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday. AP
"Either the issue of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is resolved diplomatically through a negotiation or it's resolved through force, through war," Obama said. "Those are the options."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, perhaps the fiercest critic of Obama's overtures to Iran, showed no sign he could be persuaded to even tolerate the agreement. In remarks to Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said he was not bound by the terms of the deal and could still take military action against Iran. Netanyahu sees Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon as a threat to Israel's existence.
In Congress, resistance comes not only from Republicans, but also Obama's own Democratic Party. Vice President Joe Biden spent the morning on Capitol Hill meeting privately with House Democrats, telling reporters as he left that he was confident they would get behind a deal.
The president said he welcomed a "robust" debate with Congress, but showed little patience for what he cast as politically motivated opposition. Lawmakers can't block the nuclear deal, but they can try to undermine it by insisting U.S. sanctions stay in place.
In Tehran, Iranians took to the streets to celebrate the accord, and even Iran's hard-liners offered only mild criticism — a far cry from the outspoken opposition that the White House had feared.
The nuclear accord has become a centerpiece of Obama's foreign policy, a high-stakes gamble that diplomatic engagement with a longtime American foe could resolve one of the world's most pressing security challenges. The importance of the deal to Obama was evident Wednesday, both in his detailed knowledge of its technical provisions and his insistence that no critique go unanswered.
An hour into the East Room news conference, Obama asked if reporters had other questions about Iran — a highly unusual inquiry from a president who is rarely so freewheeling in his exchanges with the press. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, saying he had "made notes" about the main criticisms of the deal and wanted to ensure each had been addressed.
The accord requires Iran to dismantle key elements of its nuclear program, lower its uranium enrichment levels, and give up thousands of centrifuges. International inspectors will have access to Iran's declared nuclear facilities, but must request visits to Iran's military sites, access that isn't guaranteed. If Iran abides by the parameters, it will receive billions of dollars in relief from crippling international sanctions that have badly damaged the country's economy.
The deal does nothing to address Iran's broader support for terrorism in the Middle East or its detention of several American citizens, though some U.S. officials hold out hope it could eventually lead Tehran to reassess its role in the world.
Obama, however, outlined a narrower ambition, saying the deal should be judged solely on whether it stops Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. As to whether the agreement might change Iran's other behavior, he said, "We're not betting on it."
The president also sharply rebuffed a suggestion that he was content to let American detainees languish in Iran while he celebrated a deal. "That's nonsense," he said, adding that Iran would have taken advantage of any U.S. effort to link the nuclear accord to the release of U.S. citizens.
Showing a command of technical nuclear issues, Obama spent much of the news conference trying to knock down criticisms of the deal point by point.
To those who argue sanctions relief will leave Iran flush with cash to fund terrorism, Obama said Tehran is already backing Hezbollah and other groups on the cheap. He noted that the Iranian government is under pressure from citizens to use any influx of international funds to improve the country's struggling economy.
Obama insisted sanctions on Iran could be "snapped back" in place if Iran cheats on the deal, even if Russia and China object. He defended the 24-day window Iran would have before international inspectors gain access to suspicious sites, saying nuclear material "leaves a trace" and suggesting the U.S. has other means of monitoring facilities.

#* Google Is Trying to Google Google Better 

Google wants to be better at Googling Google. The company is hiring an SEO program manager so Google sites get Googled better. What a world!

Google controls the largest search engine in the world, so it’s kind of strange to think it needs to hire someone to improve the Google rankings of its pages. It’s also probably comforting to the SEOheads out there that even Google needs special help to figure out how to navigate its convoluted search engine.

One of the responsibilities is “Keep pace with SEO, search engine and internet marketing industry trends and developments and report changes as needed,” which seems like it’d be easier to do at Google than most places, considering Google controls the algorithms that surface content on the most popular search engine in the world.

#* Bihar govt plans education schemes for upper caste poor

In a bid to extend benefits of education and welfare schemes to the upper caste poor, the Bihar government has laid down provisions for issuing caste certificates to those belonging to Hindu upper castes — Rajputs, Brahmins, Bhumihars and Kayasthas— and Muslim upper castes—Sheikh, Sayyed and Pathan (Khan).
The move comes at a time when RJD, JD (U) and Congress have asked the Centre to reveal the caste census report. The government issued the notification Monday on the recommendations of the Bihar State Upper Caste Commission.
The commission has recommended that the benefits of the schemes should be extended to the poor from the upper castes. In all, it has made 12 recommendations, which the government will implement in a phased manner. The education department will start implementing two schemes for the upper caste poor students.
An upper caste student whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 1.5 lakh will get Rs 10,000 on passing Class X board exam with first division. Earlier, only girls from upper castes, irrespective of their annual family income, enjoyed benefits of the scheme. Also, poor upper caste students studying in Classes I to X will get scholarships ranging from Rs 600 to Rs Rs 1,800 annually. The government has earmarked Rs 100.12 crore for the schemes, which will be implemented with immediate effect.
Narendra Kumar Singh, a member of the upper caste commission, said: “Since we do not have the numbers, the exact number of beneficiaries would be determined on the basis of castes and income certificates.”He said the Asian Development Research Institute has been asked to conduct sample surveys on the economic status of upper caste Hindus and Muslims. “The findings showed that a good number of upper caste families had annual incomes less than Rs 1.5 lakh per year,” said Singh.
JD (U) spokesperson K C Tyagi said: “It is gratifying that Nitish Kumar, a backward CM, has implemented recommendations of the upper caste commission. There is an OBC PM who is sitting on the caste census report.”

#* Withdraw land ordinance: Mamata

After giving the meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi a miss, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said here on Wednesday that the Centre should withdraw the land acquisition ordinance.

“Our demand is that the land ordinance should be withdrawn,” she said.

Ms. Banerjee, who addressed an administrative meeting in the district during the day, said the Centre should leave the issue to the States.

Ms. Banerjee, who made repeated references to reduction of funding by the Centre to key schemes in the meeting, however made it clear that she did not boycott the NITI Aayog meeting. She clarified that the 100th administrative meeting called by the State government was decided well in advance and the invitation for NITI Aayog came only a few days ago.

The Chief Minister said since the NITI Aayog meeting was called to discuss certain issues like land acquisition, she decided to give it a miss. She however made it clear that if a meeting was called to discuss the financial constraints which the States are facing at a NITI Aayog meeting, she would certainly attend it.

The Chief Minister, who rose to political prominence over sustained movement against forcible acquisition at Singur and Nandigram, said West Bengal had come up with an alternative model for land acquisition where land would be acquired through direct purchase. There would be no scope forcible acquisition.

“The land acquisition model in Bengal can be a model for the rest of the country,” Ms. Banerjee said, adding that her government had acquired 14,000 acres of land without any issues. The TMC has considerable seats in both Houses of Parliament and the party chairperson’s remarks come just ahead of the crucial monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to start next week.

In an administrative meeting which lasted for over two hours, Ms Banerjee quizzed the entire range of bureaucrats and politicians present -- from ministers and secretaries to block development officers and even officers in charge of police stations.

She congratulated most of them, cautioned a few, and extended advice on all issues ranging from development work to law and order situations. According to political observers, the entire meeting, an exercise in publicity, clearly with an eye on the 2016 Assembly polls. The meeting was projected as a major achievement of the State government and its commitment to reach out to the grassroots in the State. Along with media, academicians of repute were also invited. Most of them heaped lavish praise on the ‘style of functioning’ of the Chief Minister.

#* PM Modi's Varanasi Trip Cancelled for Second Time Due to Rain

VARANASI:  Heavy rain has forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel a visit to his constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh for a second time in recent weeks. PM Modi was to have landed in the temple town this afternoon on a one-day visit.  
 
Since early morning there were frantic efforts on to pump water out at the DLW ground, where PM Modi was scheduled to make a public address.
 
The PM's rally at the same venue had to be cancelled on June 28, because heavy rain had left the grounds waterlogged. This time, the BJP had said, better arrangements had been made.
 
Power Grid Corporation of India had been asked to erect a special waterproof pandal at the venue. Three special technicians were called in from New Delhi and a large number of workers had worked round the clock to prepare the venue for the PM's visit, Sanjay Bhardwaj, a BJP functionary, had said.
 
A special floor was made by first laying bricks and then covering them with plywood, he said, adding that water pumps had been installed to meet contingencies. Those water pumps were  put to use this morning.

The venue had been prepared to seat 25,000 people.
The PM was to have announced several schemes in his constituency today.

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