Much of the news today, as you will realise, is the back and forth between Sharad Pawar, the Congress, Niira Radia and the BJP on the corporate lobbyist's claims that the NCP chief may be controlling Shahid Balwa-owned DB Realty embroiled in the 2G scam. So that, and the rest of the headlines today are...

1. Railways offers Rs 2 lakh for amputated athlete's treatment
2. Radia reacts: See CBI statement in totality
3. Former UK PM Gordon Brown next IMF chief?
4. India: Man in Chile NOT Kandahar hijacker
5. All lies! Pawar says on Radia's DB claims
6. Berlusconi vows not to run for new term in 2013
7. Root out Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes: Ramdev
8. Pak releases 89 Indian prisoners
9. China will have biggest carbon footprint
10. Feted Olympics football heroes had to pay for food

After the media and the opposition came down heavily on the government for the pittance it offered National-level athelete Sonu Sinhaafter her leg was amputated, sports minister Ajay Maken today announced a medical compensation of Rs 2,00,000 for her treatment.

Maken, who had earlier announced an immediate ex-gratia of Rs 25,000 for her treatment, said the government would give more monetary help if required.

The Railway Ministry also assured a job to Sonu, who is recuperating in the Bareilly civic hospital.

In a bid to counter anti-incumbency, the ruling CPI-M in West Bengal is likely to get expelled party leader Somnath Chatterjee to address an election rally. Chatterjee would address a rally on April 24 at the Dum Dum constituency near the city.

Chatterjeesaid,"It should be considered as a personal request only. If doctors allow me, I can attend the meet."

He also made it clear that the invitation should not be seen as any indication that he was rejoining the CPI-M.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today exuded confidence that the coming election would "create history ending the 35-year-old Left Front government's misrule" as the Marxists would not be able cling to power by dividing Opposition votes.

Banerjee launched a stinging attack on BJP, whom she described as the "big friend of the CPI(M) in West Bengal".

She also came heavily down on Independent candidates fielded by dissident Congress leaders terming them as "agents of CPI(M)".

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is emerging as the first choice for becoming the next MD of the International Monetary Fund.

Presently, Brown is in the US for a series of meetings to discuss the matter. "Brown is the obvious candidate,' the Daily Mail quoted a source, as saying. Senior IMF officials are awaiting a decision by current MD Dominique Strauss Kahn on whether he will run for the French presidency.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will visit Afghanistan on April 16 for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on bilateral and regional issues.

The one-day visit to Kabul is at the invitation of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with whom he will have discussions on a range of issues, including bilateral relations, regional matters, the situation in Afghanistan, terrorism and cross-border infiltration.

Just in: Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been injured after the military opened fire to disperse protesters in the capital, Kampala.

For the second time this week, the opposition asked people to walk to work to protest against rising prices, reports bbc.co.uk. Police had tried to arrest Dr Besigye but hundreds of his supporters surrounded him.

Just in: The Railways offers a job to volleyball player Arunima alias Sonu Sinha who lost her leg after being thrown off a train, while fending off robbers aboard the Padmavat Express on Monday.

Scroll down for the Sonu Sinha story.

The Ministry of External Affairs today confirmed what the Pakistani authorities said yesterday that the man arrested in Chile is not involved in the IC-184 hijacking in Kandahar.

Chile claimed that they had arrested the brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, accused of coordinating the 1999 Indian Airlines IC-184 hijacking. Pakistan had insisted they had nabbed someone else.

Pakistan authorities claimed the Chilean police arrested someone else because Mufti Abdul Rauf, the younger brother of Azhar, is present in of Rawalpindi.

The police investigation into phone hacking at the British newspaper, News of the World, has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of James Weatherup, a senior journalist at the paper, reports the guardian.co.uk. He is the third current or former News of the World journalist to be arrested as part of Scotland Yard's new investigation into alleged phone hacking at the paper.

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This is duckback (allegations never seem to stick) minister Sharad Pawar's response to corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's claim to the CBI that he may be controlling DB Realty.

Pawar said: "This is absolutely a lie and a foolish statement. Her claim is absolutely irresponsible and a total lie and one should not give too much importance to her statement. I have no financial interest in this company. DB Realty and that telecom company I have no relations at all. I have no financial, not one 'naya paisa' interest in that company," the minister said.

He said he knew DB Realty's Vinod Goenka's father K M Goenka for the last 35 years and he had set up a milk processing unit in Baramati about 20 years ago.

Radia, however, claimed she did not have documents to back up her claim.

He was fired from Two and a Half Men after ranting at the show's creator, but troubled star Charlie Sheen has said he is in discussion to make a return to the hit sitcom.

The show, which filmed its eighth series had to be cancelled partway after the 45-year-old star was hospitalised following a 36-hour drink and drug session with a bevy of porn stars.

"There's been discussions, but I was asked not to divulge anything. Had they told me at the end of season eight that that behaviour wasn't going to be cool, I would have adjusted it," said Sheen.

The highest earning TV star also hinted not getting paid for his most recent participation in the show, which is produced by Warner Brothers Television. "I'm supposed to [be getting paid], but that's - what's the term? - being withheld," added Sheen.

The revelation comes as a surprise after Sheen reacted with hostility when he first learned he had lost his job and filed a USD 100 million lawsuit against Warner Brothers and the show's creator Chuck Lorre.

Sheen retaliated earlier during the crisis as, "You guys want to go to war, let's go to war. When I call winner, game over, I hope you all have your apologies ready, I hope you're writing them now."

Just when we were beginning to enjoy Sheen's off-screen persona, certainly more interesting than his Two-and-a... character, it seems all will be well...

A 14-year-old Arab schoolgirl who has been detained in the UAE on a charge of adultery will appear in court later this month.

"The trial will start in spite of the age ceiling set for trials on sexual related crimes by the UAE law," said Gulf News today.

"The law states that the minimum age of suspects in crimes related to sex must be 15 years. Such cases should be conducted in special juvenile courts. Otherwise, suspects are considered victims rather than suspects," a "law expert" said.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed that he will not run for office again when his current term expires in 2013, reports bbc.co.uk. He said he intended to complete his plan to amend Italy's judicial system, and to change the country's constitution before leaving.

Embarassed Italians can finally stop choking on their ravioli.

Tamil Nadu recorded between 75 and 80 per cent at the polls yesterday. Today, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa claimed the high voter turnout for the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu was a reflection of people's "anger" against the ruling DMK and their resolve to oust the Karunanidhi-led government.

"People have come out in large numbers in a silent revolution to show their anger and to make sure the DMK government goes," Jayalalithaa said.

A DNA report today says that Yoga guru Baba Ramdev suggests that the government should ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes as it would root out corruption.

Speaking at the Press Club of Bangalore, he said that majority of the funds used in elections was black money being stashed abroad by corrupt politicians and officials. The first thing the government must do is to declare all that money as the nation's property.

And on that poignant note, a moment of hope for Bihar as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he would ensure that Bihar figured in the list of top five states in the field of literacy in 2021.

Yesterday, Japan reopened the Sendai airport, a month after the tsunami-cum-earthquake devastated the country.

Today, Japan announced that classes would start in a week at the Okawa Elementary School. The school is not just another school...

Seventy-four of the 108 students will never come back. They died in last month's tsunami. And all but one of the dozen teachers also perished.

The school's main building is ripped open. Trees jam into second-floor classrooms and the gym and playground have been reduced to muddied concrete foundations.

All along Japan's battered northeastern coast, schools have been heavily damaged or converted to shelters, and families are without jobs, permanent homes or cars.

But the country is determined to move ahead with one of its rites of spring: the start of the school year in April, even as some parents and children grieve.

And more...

Sonu Sinha today demanded a government job saying that a "small compensation" will not help her.

"A few thousand rupees cannot last long. I have a full life to live and what I need is not small compensation but a permanent government job," 23-year-old

Arunima Sinha, a national-level football and volleyball player, said from her hospital bed. Arunima alias Sonu lost her leg after she was pushed out of the Padmavat Express in Bareilly on Monday night by three men trying to rob her when she was travelling to Delhi to appear for an examination.

She said her dreams have been shattered. "My problem is that I won't be able to realise my dreams. I am thinking of how to fulfil my dreams," she said.

Sonu's sister Laxmi said her condition was stable, though she had fever. "Doctors have asked us to wait for two days after which Arunima might undergo surgery, if needed," Laxmi said.

"I want to appeal to the state government to ensure the security of women traveling in trains so that such tragic incidents do not happen again with anyone,"Lakshmi said.

More on the Sonu Sinha story.

The railways has formed a four-member probe team into the incident. The railways will also ensure that Sonu, who is also called Arunima, is given proper treatment. The girl, who is recuperating in hospital after her leg was amputated, said she should be given a job by the railways and compensation.

The railways have given her a Rs 25,000 compensation.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken today said he would write to the Home ministry to give a suitable job to volleyball player Sonu Sinha, who lost her leg after she was thrown out of a moving train near Bareilly by three men on her way to Delhi for a CISF recruitment examination.

Maken, who had announced an immediate ex-gratia of Rs 25,000 for her treatment yesterday, said the government would give more monetary help if required.

Sonu, a 23-year-old national level woman volleyball player, was pushed by three men out of the Padmavat Express on Tuesday night between Chenati and Bareilly railway stations while she tried to resist a robbery attempt.

As she fell on the track, she was hit by another train moving on a parallel track and her left leg below the knee was crushed.

A profusely bleeding Sonu was rushed to the district hospital in Bareilly, where her leg was amputated.

Pakistan today freed 89 Indian prisoners, including fishermen, from a jail in Karachi as part of a process initiated by the two countries to speed up the release of people held in each other's prisons for inadvertently crossing land and maritime boundaries.

The prisoners boarded buses that would take them to Lahore to be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah land border crossing tomorrow. The prisoners were arrested between September 2009 and January last year.

Not willing to miss an opportunity, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today took a swipe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not voting in the recently concluded Assam Assembly elections.

"Today, when we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, I am pained to learn that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not vote in the Assembly elections in Assam," Modi said. "Ambedkarji gave us the Constitution, and the Constitution gave us the right to vote. To know that the Prime Minister did not vote in the Assembly polls is a very saddening act, for the people of the country," he said.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur are registered voters from Assam's Dispur Assembly constituency, where polling took place on April 11.

The Prime Minister has been a Rajya Sabha member from Assam for the last two decades.

Amazing how the government always makes a mess of every other sports, apart from cricket.

The 1960 Olympics Indian football team felicitated in New Delhi yesterday was made to pay for their dinner.Now, sportsminister Ajay Maken apologised and said it wasn't intentional.

Stressing that there can be no justification, whatsoever, for any acts of terrorism, leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) today recreated their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

In a joint declaration here, the leaders of the five countries said: "The United Nations has a central role in coordinating the international action against terrorism within the framework of the UN Charter and in accordance with principles and norms of the international law."

They urged early conclusion of negotiations in the UN General Assembly of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and its adoption by all Member States.

China is all set to get atyrannosaurus-sized carbon footprint.A high-ranking Chinese official has publicly admitted for the first time that China is on the verge of overtaking the United States to become the globe's biggest energy consumer.

The world's second-largest economy has been under mounting pressure to transform its economic development pattern, further improve energy efficiency and diversify its energy-supply mix, said Ding Zhimin, deputy director-general of China's Policy and Law Department of the National Energy Administration.

Here's why the Congress is increasingly becoming draconian.

A tweet says that S V Shekar was thrown out of the Congress because he gave an honest assessment to NDTV-Hindu that Cong will win 10-15 seats out of 63.

An update on the Anni Dewani murder case.

The family of Anni, Shrien Dewani's murdered bride have begged the British businessman to reveal how Anni (28) died adding that they could not rest until they knew what really happened and whether her husband was involved.

"He has many questions to answer. There are many accusations against him. I think he has to answer them. I think he has to clear his name and tell us once and for all what really happened," Anish Hindocha, Anni's brother said.

Shrien has been charged with masterminding his wife's murder during their honeymoon in Cape Town last year but has denied all accusations.

Sonu was trying to resist an attempted robbery on board the Padmavat Express on Monday, where she was on her way to Delhi train at a CISF camp in Noida. The accident took place near Bareilly.

Railway officials admitted they did not have enough staff to man trains.

Bric by bric:

India and Kazakhstan are poised to consolidate on their strategic partnership as they are expected to sign an inter-governmental framework agreement on civil nuclear cooperation and some other pacts when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertakes a visit there tomorrow.

Singh, who will travel to Astana from here as part of his two-nation tour, will also discuss with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev ways to enhance two-way trade and forging closer physical connectivity.

The inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy will be among at least six pacts that the two countries are expected to sign during Singh's two-day visit as part of an endeavour to consolidate on the strategic partnership put in place in 2009.

The United States has reportedly decided to continue with its unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas despite objections raised by the ISI against the CIA-led campaign.

In spite of ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha expressing concern about the nature of drone operations during a meeting with CIA Director Leon Panetta on Monday, US sources said, the deadly drone attacks would continue.

The condition of the surviving sister in Noida's horrific case of self-confinement is stable, but her blood pressure has not yet stabilised, doctors said today.

While the elder sister Anuradha died, the younger, Sonali had to be moved into the Intensive Care Unit yesterday as her condition deteriorated.

Doctors at the Kailash Hospital where she is admitted said her condition was stable and she is responding to treatment. "Her condition is stable and she is on drugs. Her body is responding to medicines, but her blood pressure was fluctuating the whole night," a doctor at the hospital said.

Sonali was diagnosed with malnutrition, dehydration and depression and her blood pressure had fallen. The two sisters were rescued on Tuesday from their sector 29 apartment in a very bad condition after a self-confinement of six months.

Somebody's goose is cooking, and the smell seems to come from Sharad Pawar's kitchen.

Yesterday, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia told the CBI that Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar may be controlling the controversial DB Realty. According to the reports, she also told the investigative agency that he may havespoken with former telecom minister A Raja about the allocation of spectrum and licence to Swan Telecom.

Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegation. She said DB Realties was directly or indirectly is controlled by Pawar and his family members.

And that Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka (both cooling their heels in Tihar jail) are key persons in the company.

Said Radia, "In that background, I had quoted the name of Sharad Pawar who might have pursued the matter with Raja, then telecom minister, for showing favour to Swan as well as to Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications in issuing of UAS unified access service licence and dual technology."

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Update on Sathya Sai Baba.

The Putaparthi seer who has been undergoing treatment for multi-organ dysfunction, is in a relatively more stable condition of health today, doctors attending on him said.

"All his vital parameters like heart rate, blood pressure, blood biochemistry values are nearly normal and stable," a health bulletin issued by A N Safaya, the Director of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, said. He is in a "relatively more stable condition of health," the bulletin said.

Yesterday, doctors for the first time admitted they were worried about his health.

Emphasising that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies occupy a strategic economic position, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today said that all these countries share the vision of inclusive growth and prosperity in the world.

Addressing the plenary session of BRICS Leaders in Sanya, China, Dr Singh said, "The challenge before us is to harness the vast potential that exists among us. We are rich in resources, material and human. We are strengthened by the complementarities of our resource endowments. We stand for a rule-based, stable and predictable global order.

"We respect each other's political systems and stages of development. We value diversity and plurality. Our priority is the rapid socio-economic transformation of our people and those of the developing world. Our cooperation is neither directed against nor at the expense of anyone," he added.

Stay tuned for Nikhil Lakshman'sreports on the summit.

Two days after reports of Tahawwur Rana admitting to providing support to 26/11 terrorists at the behest of Pakistani government and ISI, his attorneys today denied "knowing any involvement" of the Pakistani-Canadian in the attacks.

"Contrary to recent reports, Tahawwur Rana has neither admitted nor confessed to any knowing involvement in the tragic events in Mumbai of November 2008," his attorneys Patrick W Blegen and Charles D Swift said in a brief statement.

The clarification came following reports that Rana provided "material support" to the terrorists at the behest of the Pakistan Government and its spy agency ISI and not the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Catherine Zeta Jones has received treatment for bipolar disorder after dealing with the stress of her husband's battle with throat cancer. Zeta Jones, 41, made a decision to check into a "mental health facility" for a brief stay, says bbc.co.uk.

Michael Douglas, who was diagnosed last year, said in January his tumour had gone and he was beating the disease.

Last September, Zeta Jones said she was "furious" that doctors failed to detect the cancer earlier. Bipolar, also known as manic depression, causes severe mood swings, that usually last several weeks or months.

Haven't watched a really bad movie in a while, apart from Thank You? Try getting the DVD of Wills and Kate, the movie. Here's what the review says in the Sun.co.uk. PS.

(In one scene Kate, dives into a river to greet Wills. Then Wills, serenades her in a karaoke bar.)

Read

While we await more news from the BRICS summit, India today said there was no dilution in its position that all those responsible for the Mumbai terror attack should be brought to justice expeditiously and the on-going dialogue with Pakistan will seek to address the country's terrorism-related concerns.

"It is our expectation that all those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack will be brought to justice expeditiously. This position is shared by the international community at large, particularly those countries whose nationals were killed during this horrific attack," the Ministry of External Affairs said here.

Noting that India has embarked on a dialogue process with Pakistan with the aim of normalising relations, the ministry said, "This dialogue will naturally seek to address our terrorism-related concerns, particularly with respect to the Mumbai terrorist attack."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said an agreement has been reached on financial cooperation and credit to be issued in local currencies among BRICS members.

There will also be cooperation among the capital markets in BRICS countries.

The prime minister is addressing the BRICS leaders' press conference in Sanya, China.

The global recovery process will depend on how the economies of BRIC nations perform, Dr Singh said.
He said there was no role for complacency and the developments in the Middle East, North Africa and the tragic events in Japan had introduced fresh uncertainties in the economic recovery process.

Dr Singh also pointed out that all BRICS nations are members of the UN Security Council and the nations would intensify consultations on global matters.

The prime minister also spoke of the challenges to the world from terrorism, and the need to reform institutions of global governance so that they are truly representative of contemporary realities.

Ten years after Goldman Sachs drew up the concept, BRIC has become something of an international phenomenon.

South Africa will officially join the BRIC -- Brazil, Russia, India, China -- formation on Thursday at the third BRIC summit in Sanya, southern China. The organization will now be called BRICS , though BRICSA has also been suggested.

Russia has the highest GDP per capita among the existing BRIC countries: $18,945. Brazil comes next at $10,427, with China third at $6,675. India comes in last at $3,248 (Source: The World Bank, September 2010).

But wait. According to a recent blog on The Economist site, most of BRICS will be growing at 'decidedly un-BRIC-like growth rates.' The only exception, the magazine felt, could be India, whose demographics are far more favourable and 'likely to add 2% points to annual growth for the next 20 years.'

Jim O'Neill, then chief economist, Goldman Sachs, conceived BRIC ten years ago as 'large, developing countries with the potential over the next few decades to become a much larger force in the world economy.' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once noted that BRIC is an attempt to give life to a Goldman Sachs concept.

Russia is growing at 2%, Brazil at about 7.5%, India at 8% and China at more than 10%.

'Without China, the BRICs are just the BRI, a bland soft cheese that is primarily known for the whine that goes with it,' wrote David Rothkopf in Foreign Policy. 'China is the muscle of the group and the Chinese know it. They have effective veto power over any BRIC initiatives because without them, who cares really?'

This is probably why China's invitation to South Africa to join BRIC last winter apparently took India by surprise though Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma denied it vehemently when Rediff.com asked him this on Tuesday.

The Hindu's correspondent in Beijing, Ananth Krishnan, reported on Wednesday that BRICS is the new focus of China's multilateral diplomacy.'

Economists feel Nigeria has better credentials than South Africa to represent that continent in BRIC. At 150 million it is 20% of Africa's population, and its economy could double in maybe 20 years. But China, it is felt, wanted 'political capital' in Africa and South Africa offers Beijing a gateway into the continent, furthering Chinese commercial interests.

Interestingly, China is the largest trading partner for Brazil, India and South Africa; it is the third largest trading partner for Russia.

According to Goldman Sachs, by 2020, BRIC will contribute 49% of the world's GDP growth.' BRIC already accounts for 40% of the world's population. According to the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, BRICs will contribute almost half the world's output by 2030, rising from 17% in 2010 to 47% in 2030.

Russia has the richest people in BRIC, twice as well off as the average Chinese, and fives times better off than the average Indian (Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines).

According to the Russian investment bank Troika Dialog, 68% of the Russian population (100 million) is middle class, compared to 31% of Brazilians (75 million), 13% of Chinese (160 million), and less than 3% of Indians (30 million).

Writing in The National, Harvey Jones noted that since February, the BSE Sensex had fallen 10% with investors withdrawing more than $1.5 billion; Brazilian stocks were down 4%, the Chinese economy had flattened out with a trade deficit of $7.3 billion, the largest in eight years. Only the Russian economy, boosted by its oil sales, held up.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said last month that the G-7 and BRICS could join forces to reform the global monetary system.

Indian economists are compiling a detailed study of the BRICS economies and will submit at the next BRICS summit, which is likely to be held in India next year

For the first time in BRIC history, all its members are on the United Nations Security Council - China and Russia, of course, are permanent members; Brazil, India and South Africa are non-permanent members for the next two years.

One observer writing on the Foreign Policy blog felt that BRICS as a group will 'have a lot less influence after the expiration of the UNSC membership of Brazil, India, South Africa unless any of these three become permanent UNSC members by then.'

Expressing the Chinese point of view on this, Liu Youifa of the China Institute of International Studies felt the 'timing is not right to have a common political agenda. The reason why the BRIC countries came together is because of the similar economic development stage they are in and similar foreign trade structure. Political agenda is not a key concern for the BRICS mechanism at this point of time. Maybe in the future, but not at this stage.'

India sees BRICS as another forum to engage China, with which it has an inimical equation in recent times; with Russia, its friend of over half-a-century; and with Brazil and South Africa, with which it has developed strong ties in recent years. As one Indian government official put it, "BRICS is part of the open, pluralateral international system, which we want to be part of."

Goodmorning! Rediff.com's Nikhil Lakshman, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the BRICS summit in the Chinese town of Sanya, reports that the next BRICS summit will be held in India