Tata, Singapore Airlines to form new airline in India

New Delhi: Salt to software conglomerate Tata group on Thursday said it has entered into an agreement with Singapore Airlines to start a full-service carrier in India.

The two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the airline, which will be based in New Delhi and operate under the full-service model, Tata Sons said in a statement.

"Tata Sons will own 51 per cent and Singapore Airlines will own 49 per cent," the statement added. The Tatas already have a partnership with AirAsia Bhd to start a low-cost airline in India.

Tata Sons has applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for approval to establish the new airline in India, the company said, adding the initial board will have two members nominated by Tata Sons and one nominated by Singapore Airlines.

The Chairman will be Prasad Menon, nominated by Tata Sons.

"It is Tata Sons' evaluation that civil aviation in India offers sustainable growth potential. We now have the opportunity to launch a world-class, full-service airline in India. We are delighted that we are partnering in this endeavour with the world renowned Singapore Airlines," Menon said.

Expressing similar views, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said: "We have always been a strong believer in the growth potential of India's aviation sector and are excited about the opportunity to partner Tata Sons in contributing to the future expansion of the market." With the recent liberalisation, the time is right to jointly bring consumers a fresh new option for full-service air travel, he added.

"We are confident the joint venture airline will help to stimulate market demand and provide economic benefits to India," Goh said.

Details of the airline's branding, management team and products and services will be announced in due course, the company said.

Manmohan, Sonia's visit to Muzaffarnagar secular tourism: BJP

"One month after the communal violence took place in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited the area on Saturday. Today the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul have gone there for secular tourism," BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters.

He said both the SP government in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress-led government at the Centre have not taken any action to control the situation in the state.

Tales of tragedy and destruction unfold in refugee camps

"They are taking a secular ride on the communal riots which took place under the nose of the central government and in front of the eyes of the UP government. These riots- sponsored by the UP government- have continued to play out and these forces have fanned them by giving protection to the rioters," he said.

Timeline: Muzaffarnagar adds another chapter of communal clashes in Akhilesh's UP

BJP alleged that both Congress and SP are hand in glove on

the issue and are engaged only in a mock battle.

"Had such a riot taken place in a BJP-ruled state Congress would have created an uproar... A court should be investigating the matter. There is so much fear among the people and such a large number have had to flee," Naqvi said.

Akhilesh Yadav: The man in the muddle

BJP has often complained that there is much hue and cry about the 2002 riots in Gujarat while communal riots in states ruled by other parties are ignored.

Communal conflict in UP must be checked

"These riots in Muzaffarnagar have crossed all limits of humanity. People do not want to hear the Prime Minister. They want the government to act," Naqvi said.

Naqvi said when the Centre asked the Uttar Pradesh government to send a report on the riots in Muzaffarnagar it did not and instead posed questions.

The party sought to know why Sonia and Rahul were allowed to go to Muzaffarnagar when BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and others were prevented.

"Even a central minister (Ajit Singh) was not permitted to go there. They were told if they visit the place the situation will worsen. But the Prime Minister, the Super Prime Minister and Yuvraj went there only to rub salt on the wounds of the victims," Naqvi said.

The main Opposition alleged that riots have taken place in Uttar Pradesh during Congress rule in the past - be it in Meerut, Varanasi, Allahabad, Aligarh and Azamgarh.

Timeline of Muzaffarnagar riots: eve-teasing incident led to murders, then riots

New Delhi:  It was an eve-teasing incident that led to the murders of three youths, which later escalated into a major conflagration between two communities engulfing the town of Muzaffarnagar. 
Following is the timeline of Muzaffarnagar violence: 

August 27: In Kawal village, an eve-teasing incident led to the murders of Shah Nawaz, and soon followed by killings of two youths, Sachin and Gaurav. 

Aug 28: A mob returning from the cremation ground indulges in arson. 

Aug 29: Stoning between both sides. Women devotees molested near a place of worship. 

Aug 30 - Huge mob assembles at a place of worship in Shaheed Chowk after Friday prayers. 

Aug 31 - Nearly 40,000 people assemble at Nangla Mandoud  Panchayat. Mob attacs a family goig in a car on Khatima road, sets fire to their car. 

Sept 1 - Police files FIRs against leaders who had spoken at meetings in Shahid Chowk and Nangla Mandoud. Affected family in Malikpura threatens self-immolation. 

Sept 2 - Walls of places of worship broken in Sanjhak and Titavi. BJP calls Muzaffarnagar bandh.

Sept 3 - Case against MLA Sangeet Som for circulating fake video of Kawal incident. Violence in Shamli town. 

Sept 4 - Sporadic violence in Muzaffarnagar. 

Sept 5 - Mahabandh call given across Muzaffarnagar district. 

Sept 6 - Bharatiya Kisan Union calls panchayat at Nangla Mandoud. Sit-in outside jail. 

Sept 7 - People going to panchayat attacked. Firing from both sides in Muzaffarnagar town as stoning, arson go unabated. Army called in and town put under indefinite curfew.  10 killed, more than a score injured in violence.

13 Maoists killed in fierce Odisha gunbattle

Malkangiri, September 14

At least 13 Maoists, including a woman, are believed to be behind the May 25 attack on a Congress convoy at Darba Ghat in Chhattisgarh,were killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest area of Malkangiri district early today. One rebel was captured after the encounter.

The group had been camping in the forest. A joint team of special operations group (SOG) and district voluntary force (DVF) raided a camp site in Silakuta forest in Padia area bordering Chhattisgarh after a tip-off, said DIG Devdutt Singh.

The Maoists opened fire leading to a gun battle, killing 13 members. “The bodies of 13 Maoists were recovered while another rebel was captured by the security personnel after the encounter,” said Malkangiri SP Akhilesh Singh as the police intensified combing operation in the area.

Akhilesh, who led the operation, said explosives, arms and ammunition, and Maoist literature were seized from the scene. The DIG described the operation a major success in the drive against Maoists in the region.

World's oldest man passes away

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. - The world's oldest man, a 112-year-old self-taught musician, coal miner and gin rummy aficionado from western New York, has died. He was 112.

Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez died Friday at a nursing home in Grand Island, according to Robert Young, senior gerontology consultant with Guinness World Records.

Sanchez-Blazquez became the world's oldest man when Jiroemon Kimura died June 12 at age 116.

Born June 8, 1901, in the village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain, he was known for his talent on the dulzaina, a double-reed wind instrument that he taught himself and played at weddings and village celebrations. At 17, he moved with his older brother Pedro and a group of friends to Cuba, where they worked in the cane fields.

In 1920, he came to the United States through Ellis Island and worked in the coal mines of Lynch, Kentucky. Ultimately, he moved to the Niagara Falls area of New York, where he worked in construction and in the industrial furnaces. He married his wife, Pearl, in 1934.

A spokeswoman for Sanchez-Blazquez's family did not immediately return a phone message Saturday.

In a statement provided by Guinness World Records earlier this summer, Sanchez-Blazquez — whose nickname was "Shorty" — said he was humbled by the attention, saying he didn't feel he accomplished anything special just because he has lived longer than most.

"He says, 'I'm an old man and let's leave it at that,'" his daughter, 69-year-old Irene Johnson, said at the time. Sanchez-Blazquez lived with Johnson in Grand Island after his wife died in 1988; he moved to a nursing home in 2007.

"We did our best," Johnson said. "We weren't going to put him somewhere just because he was old."

Sanchez-Blazquez had said his longevity was attributed to eating one banana per day and his daily dose of six Anacin tablets. His daughter had another theory.

"I think it's just because he's an independent, stubborn man," she said.

Besides his daughter, Sanchez-Blazquez had a 76-year-old son, John, seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Guinness says the world's oldest person is a woman, 115-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan.

Young said 90 per cent of all supercentenarians are female and Sanchez-Blazquez had been the only male born in 1901 with proof of birth.

Arturo Licata, 111, of Italy, is now the leading candidate to be officially recognized by Guinness as the current world's oldest man, according to Young. Guinness will make a pronouncement on Licata at a later date.

The oldest authenticated person was Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who died at the age of 122 years and 164 days.