As Karnataka spends another day on tenterhooks, the BJP is likely to decide the next chief minister tomorrow. Stay with rediff.com for all that happens.

The top stories today...

1. Polish pilot errors main cause of 2010 crash
2. Pak Taliban: Free scientist for Swiss hostages
3. Reddy brothers demand apology from Lokayukta
4. MEA reacts to US university immigration foul-up
5. Team Anna wants Lokpal draft Bill withdrawn
6. SC bans mining in Bellary with immediate effect
7. Tata, Radia too big for CBI to touch: Chandolia
8. Minorities Commission begins inquiry against Swamy
9. HC to Kalmadi: How many times did you attend Parl?
10. Injured Gambhir out of 2nd Test, Yuyraj may be in
11. Ramdev aide can't be arrested till Aug 29
12. Indian-American governor says she's 'white'
13. Girl spotted in Leh not missing Madeline: Parents
14. SC relief for Teesta in body exhuming case
15. Speak Asia 'scamster' nabbed in Mumbai

Opposing the use of force for acquiring land for setting up Posco's mega steel plant near Paradip, CPI-M Politburo member Brinda Karat today claimed the
forest clearance for the project was accorded under pressure and not according to provisions of law.
"The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gave forest clearance to Posco project despite adverse reports by two central committees. What is the need for law if projects are cleared on the basis of lobbying," she said. 

Read: The Posco story in Open Magazine  

A year after the tragic plane crash that in Poland that killed then head of state Lech Kaczynski, a report says the pilots of the presidential jet made a series of errors and were poorly prepared. 

The government report admitted most of the blame for the disaster, in which all 96 people on board were killed, lay with Poland, but it also listed a number of shortcomings by Russia, where the plane went down in April last year. 

In an indictment of the Polish armed forces, it said the badly trained crew approached too low and too fast in poor weather as they prepared to land at the western Russian town of Smolensk.

Claiming that the allegations against him into the illegal mining scam were untrue, Karnataka Revenue Minister Karunakara Reddy demanded a public apology from Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde, for ''falsely accusing'' him in his report.

"I am deeply condemning this report, and I am asking, requesting him (Hegde) to tell, to ask a public excuse to the people of Karnataka and people of this country," he told a press conference in Bangalore.

Yesterday the Union Cabinet approved the Lokpal draft bill, even as Anna Hazare's team called it a deceit to the nation.

Today, rights activist Arvind Kejriwal said it the draft will "patronise" corruption and should be withdrawn. "The Bill betrays the aspirations and expectations of people fighting against corruption," Kejriwal said.

"Even the Lokpal Selection Committee will have overwhelming representation by the government with five of the nine members," Kejriwal, who won the Magsaysay Award in 2006 for activating the Right to Information movement at
grassroots, said.Kejriwal.

On NDTV.com read Sreenivasan Jain's column on the July 13, 2011 Mumbai blasts, on how there are no shortcuts to those seeking - or pursuing - justice.

Read

The reason the meeting has been postponed is is that 20 BJP MLAs are out of town and the meeting can only be held once they get back. Since it is a leadership change, they want a full strength.

However, for Jaitley and Singh it does not mean it's a day of rest. They will be involved in many meetings today to discuss developments and also listen to the grievances of a few who want Yeddyurappa to stay on.

Strange quiet from Karnataka.

Vicky Nanjappa reports that the leadership change will happen tomorrow since the BJP Legislature Party meeting has been postponed. Although Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley arrived today in Bangalore they will have to stay back another day to ensure that this process is completed.

The government today steered clear of the issue of granting permission to jailed MPs to attend the Monsoon session of Parliament, which begins Monday. "Government has nothing to do with it. The issue of permission is between the concerned MP and the Lok Sabha Speaker or Chairman of the Rajya Sabha," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said. 

His comments came close on the heels of Congress MP and sacked CWG OC chief Suresh Kalmadi saying he will approach the Delhi High Court for permission. However, the Delhi High Court today questioned Kalmadi on the number of times he had attended Parliament in the last five years and asked him to watch the proceedings on TV.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had recently said that Kalmadi would be able to attend Parliament only if a competent court allowed him to do so.

The Ministry of External Affairs has reacted to reports of the another US university that has flouted immigration laws involving Indian students.

Here's what the official spokesperson of the university said: We understand that the US Immigration authorities served a notice of intent yesterday, on the University of Northern Virginia to withdraw its authorization. However the University would not be shut down immediately, but would be given a one month notice for explanation. ICE has kept the Embassy of India in Washington DC briefed, as a very large percentage of the 2400 UNVA students are Indian nationals.

More

From MK Bhadrakumar's blog.

The morning after an India-Pakistan exchange is always the most crucial period. There was every reason to suspect that the Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar would, the moment she was back on Pakistani soil, tear into the tendentious spin that was sought to be put by the excited Indian pundits on her meeting with the Hurriyet leaders in Delhi. 

Read more

The National Minorities Commission has begun an inquiry into the op-ed piece written by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's in the DNA on July 16. Swamy's article, Analysis: How to wipe out Islamic terror, has angered the Minorities Commission, which says he has violated many sections of the IPC.

Moreover, Harvard students and faculty have also demanded his removal. Swamy is a faculty member. Wajahat Habibullah, chairman of the minorities commission says he has sought legal opinion.

Read: Swamy's story in DNA

Swamy op-ed stokes furor in Harvard

Ratcheting pressure on Iran, the US today accused Tehran of striking a "secret deal" with Al Qaeda, saying it was a "critical" transit point for funding of terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Designating six members of an Al Qaeda network headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, "prominent Iran-based al-Qaeda facilitator, the US Department of the Treasury said, "Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world today."

Vicky Nanjappa says senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh have landed in Bangalore to chose a replacement for B S Yeddyurappa. The two leaders will hold consultations with various leaders before taking part in the party's legislature meeting scheduled at the Hotel Ashoka today. The job on their hands is to pacify Yeddyurappa and ensure a smooth transition to selecting a new Chief Minister for Karnataka.

Why Yeddy won't exit without a fight

Who among these will be the next CM of Karnataka

Vice Captain Gautam Gambhir has been ruled out of the 2nd Test match in the India vs England series. Gambhir sustained an elbow injury while fielding during the 1st Test. Yuvraj may replace Gambhir in India's playing XI, while Rahul Dravid is likely to open batting.

DSK update...

Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel maid, who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, made her first public appearance here to tell "what has happened to me should not happen to any other woman."
Ten weeks after her ordeal of a fleeting encounter with Strauss-Kahn, then head of IMF and contender for French Presidency, the 32-year-old maid, whose day in the court has been delayed got to recount her experience before the public
as she appeared at the Christian Cultural Centre in Brooklyn. 

And an update on the other big scam -- R K Chandolia, former aide of ex-Telecom Minister A Raja, today sought implication of corporate leaders and lobbyist Niira Radia in the 2G case as accused, saying they had participated in the alleged "covert deal" between the Tata group and Kalaignar TV.

Chandolia's counsel said Aseervatham Achary, an alleged associate of Raja, had allegedly conspired to bring Kalaignar TV on a Tata Sky DTH bouquet by acting as a conduit between Raja and Radia. 

"Going by this, Tata, Radia, Achary and Kalaignar TV all should be made accused in the case. Tata and Radia are big people and CBI cannot touch them but why not Achary," advocate Vijay Agarwal appearing for Chandolia said. 

News from #Karnataka: The BJP legislative party is to meet at 6 pm today. BS Yeddyurappa's supporters ask the party to reject the Lokayukta report that indicts their leader. Ten BJP MLAs say #Yeddy is still their leader.

More on the Indo-Pak bilateral dialogue between the foreign ministers. Cyril Almeida writes in the Pakistani paper, Dawn.

It looked good, it sounded good and in the fraught world of Pak-India relations, that was probably good enough, for now. The young Pakistani princess outshone her dapper Indian counterpart; the media was agog; and the outside world looked on approvingly. So are the constituencies for peace in India and Pakistan back with a bang? Not quite.

Read

Must read for manic depressives who think they need a face job.

A British advertising watchdog is cracking down on two L'Oreal foundation ads after a British MP complained that they pass off airbrushing as makeup results. The MP, who's known for crusading against advertisers who portray unrealistic and "misleading" images of women, has brought complaints against a Julia Roberts Lancme ad and a Christy Turlington Maybelline ad (both Lancme and Maybelline are owned by L'Oreal) to the Advertising Standards Authority, reports Time Magazine.  Read

Democrats have accused North Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley of listing her race as "white" in her voter registration form in 2001 andplaying on it for political convenience.

Haley created history this year as she was sworn in as first women governor of North Carolina. She is also the first governor of Sikh heritage. 39-year-old Haley is also the first Indian-American woman governor and after Bobby Jindal from Louisiana is only the second from the community to occupy this post.

Yesterday, we told you that British girl Madeline McCann missing for four years may have been sighted in Leh. A day later, as the world and her parents held their breath, it's yet another false lead.

The Daily Mail reports that Gerry and Kate McCann do not believe the young girl spotted in India is their missing daughter. The Chandigarh Tribune said that a British woman had seen a youngster bearing a remarkable likeness to Madeleine who disappeared four years ago.  But after studying a photo of the child, the McCanns announced this afternoon that the girl was not  their daughter. Read more

Toral Varia adds: The few companies that Speak Asia claimed had contacted them for surveys -- have completely denied it. Some of these companies, says Speak Asia, are ICICI and Bata.

It is noteworthy that none of the financial transactions made by the company were done by its management, but by agents in their personal capacity. 

Suspicion that money was internally circulated comes from the fact that there was a three-month time lag for recovering the original subscription amount made by a member.

From Live Mint:

Speak Asia has close to two million members in India and since January 2010, when it started services, has clocked a revenue of $80.5 million (Rs 360 crore) over the last three quarters. According to a press release, 1.2 million panellists have received over $52 million over this period through bank transfers via RBI-authorized foreign exchange channels.

Tarak Bajpai, the COO of Speak Asia, has been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and conspiracy as well as section 3 , 4, and 5 of the Money Circulation Act 1978. Toral Varia reports...

Bajpai's arrest comes after the Bombay High Court had a discussion with the additional commissioner of police Rajvardhan in response to a public interest litigation demanding action against the management of Speak Asia.

Speak Asia, originally registered in Singapore, does not have a single office in India and is reportedly owned by Singapore-based Harinder Kaur. It is not even legally registered in India. Yet, the company built a client base of over 19 lakh members, who paid a subscription in multiples of Rs 11,000, but have not been reimbursed for the last two months. 

The company would request members to initially enroll with Speak Asia's online survey by paying an initial amount of Rs 11,000. The members were expected to fill online surveys and submit it online.

For every form filled and submitted, the client was paid Rs 200, while two forms filled earned Rs 1000.

The company promised that in four weeks the client would be paid Rs 4000 and in 12 months about Rs 48,000.

Bajpai, was arrested this morning from Indore, apart from Vivek Gautam, the chief marketing officer, and Kumar, who is the chief executive officer.

Rediff.com's Toral Varia says Tarak Bajpai, COO of Speak Asia has been arrested by the Economic offences wing of the Muumbai police. He was brought in from Indore. More details coming in.

Speak Asia, an online survey company collected hundreds of crores from users by promising huge payments for filling its surveys. Investor protection groups allege Speak Asia, which started operations in India about a year ago, appears to be running a Ponzi scheme where new investments are used to pay existing subscribers.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar (who is back in Pakistan after three-days in India as a fashionista) has claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is ready to 'walk the extra mile' on all outstanding issues between the two countries.

"Their message is that India wants a stable Pakistan. The effort is to converge on mutually agreed points despite divergently stated positions,' Khar said.
The foreign minister said that there was an emerging need for reducing tensions between the two countries after the Mumbai attacks.

Even as senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh (also former party president), Venkaiah Naidu and spokesperson Arun Jaitley are in Bengaluru considering the option to ousted Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa, the man himself said he will step down in the wake of the Lokayukta indictment in illegal mining scam.  In his first comments after keeping the BJP on tenterhooks, Yeddyurappa said, "The month of 'Ashada' (considered inauspicious) will be over on July 30. I will be tendering my resignation as Chief Minister on the forenoon of July 31," he said in a statement late last night. "I have consistently toiled for 40 years to build the party from scratch and have got satisfaction of bringing the party to this level. It is my committed desire to work for the development of the party in future also," he said. The BJP leaders have assured Yeddy that the selection process will be on the basis of a consensus.

Kasab moves Supreme Court, challenging death penalty (The Hindu)
Gunman Ajmal Kasab has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court judgment confirming the death sentence slapped on him by a trial court for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Read

Cabinet approves Lokpal Bill (The Hindu)

The Bill includes some of the provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by Team Anna Hazare; keeps the office of Prime Minister outside Lokpal purview. Read

Lokpal draft too weak to deter corrupt: Anna Hazare (The Times of India)
Social activist Anna Hazare said the Lokpal bill draft approved by the Cabinet on Thursday was so weak and ineffective that the corrupt would not be afraid of the watchdog and the poor would never get justice. Read

After BJP sheds its BSY baggage, three more will go (Indian Express)
Party made it clear that Reddy brothers and their close associate Sreeramulu would also be dropped. Read

Reddys park Rs 215 crore in tax havens: Report (The Times of India)
The Lokayukta report has assessed that a whopping Rs 215.12 crore has been parked by Reddy brothers and their confidant B Sriramulu in tax havens. Read

Kalaignar TV property brought under money laundering act (DNA)
Karunanidhis third wife Dayalu Ammal and daughter Kanimozhi 80% stake in the channel, while Sharad Kumar, channels MD, holds the remaining 20%. Read

Fai was ISI's most valuable asset in US (Hindustan Times)

Ghulam Nabi Fai was trained in intelligence tradecraft by the Pakistani spy agency ISI before he was installed in Washington to 'raise awareness on Kashmiri struggle for self-determination', said sources in  Indian security establishments. Read