BREAKING NEWS: DPS girl Aarushi Talwar's father arrested for twin murders in Noida.

Arushi's father, Dr Rajesh Talwar has been arrested for the murders of his daughter and domestic servant Hemraj in the sensational double murder case.

Talwar was arrested on Friday after being questioned by the Noida police. He made many contradictory statements to police during his questioning.

Dr Anita Durrani, who was working with Dr Talwar and is alleged to have had an affair with him, has also been detained. She has been named as an accomplice.

Arushi's mother, Dr Nupur Talwar, has been arrested for abetment.

Police have officially confirmed that 'honour killing' or 'extreme passion' could have been the motive behind Arushi's murder.

It is also being suggested that Arushi probably knew something about Dr Talwar that he wasn't completely comfortable with.

Arushi, 14, was found murdered in her bedroom at her L-32 Jalvayu Vihar home in Sector-25, Noida last Friday. She had four stab wounds on her forehead, shoulder and chest.

The police immediately declared Hemraj as their suspect but were red-faced when he was found murdered on the terrace of the Talwars' home, a day later.

The fact that the killer’s entry to the household was friendly and that Arushi's parents "slept" through two brutal killings in the next room had greatly baffled the police.

Her parents were interrogated almost everyday for a few hours at undisclosed locations since last Wednesday.

CONTRADICTORY STATEMENTS

Rajesh Talwar had earlier told the police that the mattress of Arushi's bed — which was

found on the terrace of the house — had been put there by the driver. However, neighbours said that their domestic help had put the mattress on the terrace.

During interrogation, Dr Talwar

let it slip that a servant had put the mattress on the terrace, and

n

ot the driver as he had stated earlier.

Call details of Arushi and her parents as well as Hemraj were analysed.

The sequence of events is a little fuzzy. A police briefing is slated to happen at 16:00 hours, w

here the polcie is expected to throw more light on the dteails.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

DAY 1

• Arushi found dead; domestic help Banjade declared “main suspect”
• SSP A Satish Ganesh: “Help must have murdered in an inebriated state and fled.”
• SP (City) Mahesh Mishra: “Case will be cracked within 24 hours.”

DAY 2

• Banjade found dead on terrace; STF joins probe

SP (City) Mahesh Mishra: “Third person involved - he seems to know the house well and

could have killed both.”

• SSP Ganesh goes mum, evades media.

DAY 3

• SP (City) Mahesh Mishra transferred; SHO of Sector-20 police station Data ram Nauneria re moved from post.l SSP Ganesh: “It is clear that the murderer’s entry was friendly - first into the house, then to Arushi’s room, and on to the terrace.”

DAY 4

• News of new suspect comes in from UP Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal’s office: former family help Vishnu under the scanner.
• SSP Gane sh: “He (Vishnu) is not under detention; his whereabouts are not known”.
• Talwars questioned for 12 hours.
• SSP Ganesh: “Case will be cracked within 24 hours.”

DAY 5

• ADG Brij Lal: “Postmortem report rules out rape.”
• Driver Umesh Sharma: “I had seen Arushi with her parents just before dinner on Thursday night.”
• Ashok Trip athi, new SP (City) takes over, raids, seals Talwars’ garage.
• Sector-39 SHO Anil Samania made the new case investigating officer.

DAY 6

• Delhi Police team visits to “assist” in probe.
• Parent s questioned for 5 hours.

Govt to hike Petrol, Diesel prices

India considering hike in transport fuel prices
The Indian government is considering a hike in the prices of transport fuels to help petroleum marketing companies tide over the burden on account of crude oil topping $135 per barrel in international markets, top officials said.

"I am not ruling out anything," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters here Friday ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting to deliberate on the issue. He said he had already briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue Thursday evening.

The minister, who is also scheduled to hold a meeting with public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the oil sector, said petrol was being sold at a loss of Rs.16.34 a litre, diesel at Rs.23.49 per litre, LPG at Rs.305.90 per cylinder and kerosene at a discount of Rs.28.72 per litre.

"The government and oil PSUs have shouldered the maximum burden of the highly volatile world oil prices insulating consumers in India from the most of the impact," he said in a statement Thursday. "We are concerned at the financial health of the PSUs."

'Indian media growing at the cost of ethics'

The rapid growth in Indian media has come at the cost of ethics, an Indian newspaper editor said here, even as the leading executive of another said the job of a newspaper like his was to “purvey optimism” and not “gloom and doom".

Indian media and Bollywood were the subjects of discussion at the Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Speakers, who included film director Shekhar Kapur and Raju Narisetti, managing editor of Mint, the business daily from the Hindustan Times group, cautioned that while the media in India had recorded dramatic growth, it had come at the cost of professionalism and a laxly enforced code of professional ethics.

The Indian media's rapid growth, in contrast to the recession in the industry in the US, attracted enthusiastic comments from two speakers - Sarbvir Singh, managing director of Capital 18 and Rahul Kansal, brand director of Times of India.

"Today there are 2,100 daily publications with 225 million readers (in India)," said Singh. He noted that even a one percent growth in literacy adds five million readers.

Their comments came at a panel discussion on "Indian media and entertainment industry: the world's window to India", which was part of the India Business Conference at Kellogg. The conference, an annual event for more than a decade, was attended by a record number of over 400 students, entrepreneurs and executives. The theme for this year's conference was "Branding India, Indians and Indianness".

Kansal spoke about the success of his group in interacting with young readers, adding that purveying optimism was the key.

"Newspapers tend to be purveyors of gloom and doom," he said. "Optimism resonates with youth. Moreover, young people today are not content to be mute recipients."

The Times of India group had championed various causes, including greater civic responsibility and greater accountability among elected officials, he said. "Our campaigns like 'Chalo Dilli' - from walled city to world city - were a big success."

Kansal said he owed the rise in his newspaper's circulation to three factors - low pricing, efficient distribution and a strong orientation towards young readers.

In contrast to Kansal's exuberance, Narisetti, a former editor for Europe of the Wall Street Journal, now the managing editor of Mint, expressed cautious optimism. Narisetti said the Indian media needed a stronger code of ethics and had to monitor itself better.

He also hinted that the market for newspapers, especially business newspapers in India, could be overestimated. "There is no country where there are more than two business newspapers. Delhi will soon have five. Add to this the fact that the average reader spends eight minutes on the newspaper," he said.

Narisetti said the below cost price of Indian newspapers tends to devalue the product.

"The trend among Indian newspapers is to cap the price of a copy at three rupees. This is counterproductive. You cannot even get a cup of tea for three rupees. This naturally leads the reader to form the impression that the newspaper is not worth more than three rupees. We are thus a captive of advertisers and they are aware of it. Fundamentally, you have created a long term problem," he said.

Narisetti referred to the dilution of editorial quality, some of which was at the behest of advertisers. "The increasing trend towards paid-for editorial content is detrimental to long term credibility. You cannot have a product whose credibility is continually in doubt," he said.

Shortage of experienced journalists was also a serious problem, Narisetti said.

"We do not have a pipeline of good journalists (in India). We have journalists with six months experience. This is, of course, great for companies because the public relations officer has only to dictate the story to the reporter, which gets printed without any critical comment," he said.

Moreover, the rapid turnover of journalists among Indian publications discourages training, Narisetti said.

"There is no code of (editorial) conduct, which has pretty much disappeared from Indian newsrooms. It is common knowledge that many of India's largest companies have journalists on their payroll."

Kapur spoke of the growing space for Indian and Chinese cinema in the near future.

"If 'Spiderman' takes his mask off, the face underneath it will be a Chinese or an Indian. The media and entertainment industry is projected to grow to $1.8 trillion. My view is it is going to be double that," he said.

Kapur, however, noted the contradiction between the brand and the product. "Today, Bollywood is a huge brand name, but where is the product? No one (in the west) has seen a Bollywood film. You need patience to sit through three hours."

Kellogg dean Dipak Jain, in his closing remarks, urged the students to develop the quality of caring, which, he said, was embedded in Indian 'sanskar'.

"You have to be successful to make a significance (to others)," he said. Jain divided human life into three time zones - 25 to 50, which he said should be focussed on success, 50 to 75, on making significant contribution to society and 75 onwards on sacrifice.

Jain paid tributes to Bala Balachandran, the professor who was instrumental in starting the India conference at Kellogg more than a decade ago. "He built the brand of the Indian faculty at Kellogg," Jain said.

Balachandran expressed satisfaction at the conference's dramatic growth over the years. "It is so nice to see that the seed we sowed has grown and become a trend setter for other business schools (in the US)," he said.

Indo-Asian News Service

Terrorists wanted to disrupt communal harmony: former Jaipur royal

The terror attack on Jaipur was "planned" to trigger riots between Hindus and Muslims in the city who have been living here for centuries in perfect harmony, said Jai Singh, a former prince and city businessman.

"Jaipur is a soft target. Also, terrorists wanted to trigger communal disharmony and cause riots. It was deliberate, planned, and no coincidence. The government did a good job in clamping curfew on the city; otherwise there could have been some tension," said Singh, who is director of Rambagh Palace Hotel, one of the country's elite hotels.

"For centuries Hindus and Muslims have lived here together. There have been small incidents, which were due to politicians who want to use the situation for their own ends," Singh, who belongs to the Jaipur royal family, told IANS.

Singh, who is also chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Rajasthan State Council, said another heartening feature was that a number of tourists did not pack up and leave in the aftermath of the terror bombings - rather many of them stayed on to help, either donating blood or nursing the injured, said Singh.

The May 13 mayhem that saw 61 killed and over 200 injured as serial blasts ripped through the Pink City was not new to the Western tourist particularly. They had the experience of such attacks in New York, London, Madrid and other places in recent years, said Singh.

"Most of the tourists stayed in their hotels but did not leave the city. Many have experienced terror attacks either in their own country, or have seen the Twin Tower or the London bomb blasts," he said.

"Now, their reaction is to come forward and help. I heard so many foreigners came either to donate blood or nurse the injured. They believe in getting things back to normal as soon as possible," Singh said in an interview with IANS at Rambagh Palace Hotel, one of the first palaces to be converted into a hotel.

Foreigners have "accepted" such attacks and are able to "cope" with them, he felt.

"Those planning to come to Jaipur have not cancelled their plans even after learning about the attack," said Singh.

Though May is an off-tourist season in the desert state due to the intense heat, there has been "no large-scale cancellations".

Singh said the 2005 London train bombings took place when he was going to the city, but it didn't deter him. "People take such acts in their stride. They don't panic."

He said Jaipur, considered as one of the hot spots for tourists to India, was a "soft" target for terrorists in comparison to metros like Delhi or Mumbai.

"We can't blame intelligence agencies as terrorists pick their own time and place to target. The state cannot be on high alert all the time. We cannot be a police state. Rajasthan is a known destination on the tourist international map."

Apart from the government, the citizens and civil society now have to come forward to create awareness about how to thwart such actions again, he added.

In the midst of the devastation and destruction, he said, what stood out was the spirit of Jaipur.

Singh is keen on a memorial for those who lost their lives. "This would ensure that people never forget the black day. It will also serve as a reminder that such things could also happen again."

He agreed that the city had suffered, not just in the deaths and the injuries, but also financially. "But people geared back to life. I know it's the pavement seller who has suffered."

Singh said industry would soon hold a meeting with the government and ask how they could reach out to the injured or to the families of those who have lost their kin.

"We have not decided what kind of help we could provide. It could be either financial or we could just rehabilitate the families that have suffered. We could also honour those who volunteered to help, like the British girl," he said, referring to Esther Shaylor, who had come to work with an NGO here but pitched in to provide help to the injured at a state-run hospital.

The ordinary life of Tony Blair's extraordinary wife

Recounting scenes from a lifestyle unimaginable in VIP-conscious India, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's high-profile wife in her just-released autobiography tells of ten years in Downing Street that were - in many senses - just ordinary.

Cherie Blair's no-holds-barred book, "Speaking for Myself", has become controversial for its sensational revelations about her husband's successor Gordon Brown.

But away from political controversies, snippets from her daily life scattered through the 421-page book (published by Little, Brown) show how the Blairs, through their sheer ordinariness, changed stuffy Downing Street.

Cherie Blair not only developed her career as a barrister, but also gave birth to her fourth child after moving into Downing Street, initially drove to work (Tony drove too), continued her engagement with breast cancer charities and fiercely protected her children from the British tabloid press.

Downing Street, a stone's throw away from the grand buildings of the British parliament, is the official central London residence of the British premier.

But its long and impressive list of occupants had not included a full-time career woman living as the spouse of the premier - that is, until Cherie came along in 1997.

Other prime ministers' wives were busy in their own different ways - but none was like Cherie, a devoted mother and wife, in addition to being one of Britain's best known and busiest human rights lawyers.

The first change made by the Blairs - very much a doting pair - was to swap the traditional premier's residence at 10 Downing Street for the more spacious number 11, the home of the finance minister, who happened to be Gordon Brown.

That single practical step - taken because the Blairs had three children which necessitated a larger house - set the tone of the 1997-2007 Blair years.

"During those first few years as the prime minister's wife, I was driving myself into chambers every day. I had become increasingly frustrated at the way things continued to operate there as if we were in the nineteenth century," Cherie writes in the book.

Her life during pregnancy in 2000 was "hard", particularly by the standards of an Indian VIP's spouse.

"Pregnant or not, we trundled on. As nobody knew [of the pregnancy outside the Blairs' immediate circle], there were no concession to my delicate condition."

Once, she was on the train from London to Norwich to celebrate the opening of new offices for a firm of legal aid solicitors.

"Halfway there, overcome with nausea, I was sick all over everything. It was in the middle of the afternoon and fortunately the carriage was empty, so I was able to go into the toilet and clean myself up.

"Then I went back to the carriage to scrub away at the seat and the floor, all the time thinking, This is hard, hard, hard."

Tony and Cherie come across as very much the everyday couple. After Leo Blair was born, Cherie decided to take a break in Algrave, which meant the British prime minister stayed back in London "to keep an eye on the kids."

Unfortunately, this was just when their eldest son Euan was found by police sprawled across the pavement in central London.

"But you don't have to worry because I'm in charge," Tony told Cherie on the telephone.

"If you were really in charge, this wouldn't have happened," she replied.

But their cherished freedom to move about freely and lead the ordinary life changed forever after the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US, when the entire family had to have round-the-clock protection.

This meant having to make compromises - the Blair children could no longer take the public transport, such as buses and trains, to school and Euan, who had been taking the underground train to school since 1996, "was far from pleased."

"Like Tony I could no longer drive... no popping out to the shops, or going for a run in St James's Park," Cherie writes.

On one occasion, she was late for the theatre and had to call up her security to make for late-night arrangements, suggesting they meet her at the theatre.

"I'll just get a taxi there," Cherie said.

"Sorry, Mrs B. You can't do that. You'll have to wait till I get there."

"But we'll be late," Cherie replied.

"Well, then you'll just have to be late."

IPL fever infects Pakistanis

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has caught the imagination of Pakistanis. Go to any café on the trendy M.M. Alam Road in central Lahore, you will find young upwardly mobile Lahoris engaged in cricket natter -- around the fortunes of 'bad boy' Shoaib Akhtar, the glamour of Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan who are sponsoring some of the teams, and the "connecting" power of cricket between the two neighbours.

At Café Zoo, a trendy hangout for the young, Zareen Chaudhry, a 20-something art student and painter, sips coffee, tucks into delicious kebabs and is seemingly talking to her boyfriend. But her eyes are glued to Shoaib Akhtar playing for the Kolkata Knight Rider team.

"I love cricket and I love films. It's a perfect combination for an evening out these days," Zareen tells a visiting IANS correspondent as she recalls the magical debut of Shoaib in IPL last week when he demolished the Delhi Daredevils top order in the three-over opening spell, scripting a spectacular win for his team.

The win triggered jubilation across the streets of Lahore, especially since Shoaib's participation in IPL was under cloud because of his running battles with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

But it's not just when five Pakistani cricketers are playing in IPL matches that Pakistanis are watching IPL matches. They are equally enamoured of Indian cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

"Cricket cuts across boundaries. The IPL has brought the world's top cricketers together," says a lawyer and cricket fanatic who identified himself as Iqbal.

What makes IPL genre of cricket tick in Pakistan?

"Cricket is a passion we share with Indians. The IPL matches are wildly popular here because it's first-rate cricket and first-rate entertainment," says Khurram Khan, a 30-something executive at Pepsi company.

Khan has just returned from a business trip to India and is full of talk about cricket diplomacy and connecting people through sports, business and cultural exchanges.

Inayat Khan, manager of Ziafat restaurant, specializing in Oriental cuisine, told IANS: "Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta are big names here. Glamour helps and surely sells. Shohaib Akhtar in the Kolkata match was a smashing hit."

The IPL cricket is not just an entertaining distraction when many Pakistanis are reeling under rising prices and a general sense of insecurity. For some, IPL is serious business as well.

Shahnawaz Hussain, a businessman, says rich Lahoris are gambling big time on IPL matches. "Betting is big time and there is a lot of money to be made."

Cricket has done what political leaderships of the two countries are still struggling to achieve - making borders irrelevant through free travel, trade and people-to-people contacts.

"Everybody loves cricket, watches cricket, plays cricket," chimes in Waseem Ibrahim, a manager at the posh Hotel Avari. "Cricket is a great connector."

Indo-Asian News Service

Noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar passes away

Noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar was cremated here Monday, a few hours after his death following prolonged illness, his family said.

Tendulkar, 80, was rushed to the Prayag Hospital here early Monday as his condition deteriorated. Doctors at the hospital declared him dead at 8 a.m.

Shirish Prayag, a doctor at the hospital, said: "Tendulkar had been suffering from Myaesthena Gravis,a disease affecting the muscles, for the last one and a half years. He was first admitted in November last year and discharged in December. He fell ill again in April this year. He was readmitted but his condition did not improve."

Tendulkar's funeral was held at about 11 a.m. at the Vaikunth crematorium here. It was attended by his family and friends, including actor and director Amol Palekar.

Tendulkar's friend Ashok Kulkarani said: "A quick funeral was held. All his family and friends were present to bid him farewell."

Palekar told IANS: "The world of Marathi cinema is going to miss him a lot. He will be remembered for his work."

Tendulkar was born on Jan 6, 1928. His son Raja and wife Nirmala both died in 2001. His daughter, actress Priya Tendulkar, died in 2002.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Tendulkar was best known for his plays "Ghashiram Kotwal" and "Sakharam Binder". He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement.

In 1977, Tendulkar won the National Film Award for his screenplay of Shyam Benegal's movie "Manthan". He also wrote the screenplays for other critically acclaimed films like "Nishant", "Akrosh" and "Ardh Satya".

Indo-Asian News Service