Now get your clone -- virtually

Virtual personalities are passes, welcome the online clones. An Australian company has introduced MyCyberTwin, an intelligent software that lets users create and customize virtual personalities that can chat with other people when the user is offline.

MyCybertwin could take the trend of instant-messaging avatars like Yahoo's and Second Life personas in a new direction.

The so-called chat bot technology can be used on blogs, dating sites or in social networks like MySpace by cutting and pasting code from the site onto the third-party page. Depending on how you programmed the software, the cybertwin will respond in ways like, "Never, drop dead" or "Whenever you want, pal."

The MyCybertwin service lets people pick one of five basic personalities, including "warm-hearted, intellectual," to "cheeky, down to earth," and then have that choice act as a chat proxy to friends or strangers. But a subscriber can also tailor their persona further by answering a set of psychological questions.

The user can also list frequently asked questions and answers for the programme to respond. MyCyberTwin allows users to extend their personalities online even when they are offline.

MyCyberTwin is not the first virtual personality software, but it can take online communication to a new level by offering more open lines of communication and giving more in-depth responses to personal questions. Applications such as chatterbots have been around for some time now. However, MyCyberTwin is one of the first programmes to allow users to actively educate their online personas to best suit their own.

Specific information can be registered on the website, where other could receive it depending on the questions asked. The more information the software has about the user, the more complex the personality becomes.

Oracle India expects biz partners to fuel growth

Enterprise software company Oracle on Friday said it anticipates 436 partners in India to contribute 80 per cent to its business in the country.
The company said these 436 partners are witnessing a great business momentum and would contribute significantly to Oracle India's leadership position in sectors including telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing and government among others, Oracle India said in a statement.

Oracle India has also selected 32 partners as recipients of the Oracle PartnerNetwork Partner Awards for India. The awardees include Tata Consultancy Ltd, Wipro Ltd, Blue Star Infotech Ltd, KPMG Advisory Services and Hewlett Packard India Ltd among others.

The company has also awarded Tata Consultancy's Naresh Shah as the partner executive of the year, it said.
Oracle's Alliance Vice-President Bronwyn Hastings announced the awards at the company's partner forum held in Jaipur on Friday.
"Our Indian partners have large Oracle practices that benefit our customers in India and abroad. Our partners in India are stepping up their resources and investments to fully leverage the Oracle applications and technology product lines to create innovative, market leading solutions for our joint customers," Hastings said in the statement.

Tata Elxsi Q4 PAT up 39% at Rs 16 cr

Software services provider Tata Elxsi on Friday posted 38.78 per cent increase in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 16.03 crore for the quarter ended March 31, as compared to Rs 11.55 crore for the same quarter last year.

The total income of the company increased to Rs 89.20 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, up 25.42 per cent from Rs 71.12 crore for the corresponding quarter a year ago, Tata Elxsi informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

For the year ended March 31, the company recorded a PAT of Rs 52.11 crore as compared to Rs 34.32 crore for the year-ago period.
The total income, for the year ended March 31, increased to Rs 308.38 crore from Rs 236.31 crore a year ago.
Meanwhile, the board of directors at its meeting today declared a dividend of Rs 7 on Rs 10 each (70 per cent) on the paid-up capital of the company for the year ended March 31.

US firm wannna push Linux in India

Open Invention Network (OIN), a US firm funded by six companies including IBM and Red Hat, is exploring possibilities in India to spur innovation and protect the Linux systems widely seen as a slow but certain challenge to Microsoft's proprietary Windows operating system.

Linux is a free operating system and is gaining popularity with computer makers like Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

Currently, the company officials are touring Indian technology centres hosting IT and intellectual property (IP) like Bangalore and Hyderabad which houses IT majors like Wipro and Infosys and is on a patent-hunt for Linux related software which the company plans to make available to all by licensing them on a royalty-free basis.

"We have already spent several million dollars in acquiring over 100 US and foreign patents and applications... and we have ample supply of money to buy others that may exist in India and other emerging markets," Open Invention Network CEO Jerry Rosenthal told media-persons at a press conference here.

Open Invention Network is an intellectual property company that was formed in 2005 by IBM, NEC, Philips, Red Hat, Sony and Novell, to promote and protect Linux by using patents to create a collaborative environment.

Trafficking scam widens

The human smuggling racket, with MPs working as carriers to smuggle people out on forged documents, is becoming bigger and murkier with investigations pointing to the role of at least two more sitting Lok Sabha members.

The two MPs under the scanner after the questioning of three smugglers arrested over the past 24 hours are BJP’s Ramswaroop Koli and BSP’s Mohammad Tahir Khan who represent Bayana in Rajasthan and Sultanpur in UP, respectively. Another MP who, the arrested persons have confessed, was involved is Ram Avadh, former BSP member of Lok Sabha, who passed away a while ago.

In fact, Sundarlal Yadav, the smugglers’ conduit for MPs, had told the interrogators that the protagonists had tried to rope in even the former cabinet minister, Telangana Rashtriya Samiti leader K Chandrashekar Rao. A livid Rao rebutted the charge in Hyderabad.

Yadav, who was picked up by the police on Saturday, claimed that Rashid, the Hyderabad-based travel agent suspected to be the mastermind of the racket, had taken him to Rao. Yadav also told members of the Crime Branch of Delhi Police that Rashid was known to Mohan Murthy, Rao’s personal aide. The bond then forged saw Yadav introducing Rashid to Koli and Khan.

Besides Yadav, two more persons, Rajendra Kumar Gampa, alleged PA of arrested MP Babubhai Katara, and his cousin sister Kiran Dhar, who is pursuing a diploma in travel and tourism from New Delhi’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, have been arrested. Both are from Hyderabad. While their questioning is still continuing, the Crime Branch team feels the dimensions of the case may turn out to be bigger than what they had expected when the BJP MP from Dahod was caught trying to take out a woman and a boy to Canada passing them off as his wife and son.

The initial picture on the basis of Yadav’s testimony points to a Hyderabad-based operation with travel agent Rashid as lynchpin. Rashid would, through Sundarlal and possibly others, approach MPs to take people out on their passports.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee may raise the matter of MPs’ involvement in human trafficking at an all-party meeting scheduled for April 25 on the eve of resumption of the budget session.

IITians to keep eye on Delhi's roads

NEW DELHI: City roads may well be on the path to improvement if a determined bunch of students from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and other technical institutes have their way. The students, who have embarked on a mission to improve the quality of roads in the Capital, have filed applications under Right to Information (RTI) Act to inspect all resurfacing and widening work being undertaken in the city.

The 46 applications cover works on all roads including Outer Ring Road, Ring Road, NH-10, NH-24 and other PWD roads in the Capital. Says IIT student Saurabh Sharma, "Our main aim is to find out why roads develop potholes. The government has been pumping in money to undertake all these works and PWD has made third-party assurance mandatory for road resurfacing. Then why do roads go bad? We have filed 46 such applications seeking information and inspection regarding road works worth Rs 420 crore."

One such application filed by another IIT student, Swati Maliwal, seeking information on tender documents, contractor’s quotes and physical strengthening of Mother Dairy to Madhu Vihar road has already resulted in the first road inspection by students. Says Swati: "Our aim is to develop a system of parallel monitoring by citizens to check corruption and improve the quality of infrastructure works. We took a retired MCD civil engineer with us to check the strengthening work. Some students have been using this road for several months and found that the strengthening work was very slow. But just two days before our inspection, the work picked up pace suddenly."

Under pressure of 46 RTI applications, PWD for the first time told the students that they would be allowed to pick up samples simultaneously with the inspecting authority.

Handcuffed? Open it with a string!

Sometime back in 1992, a suspect from Pakistan was nabbed in the border district of Banaskantha. Wajir Polra, the accused, was duly handcuffed and sent to a lock-up. But the next morning, police found him lounging in around the cell without his handcuffs.

When the shocked cops questioned him, Polra showed how, using a sewing thread from his shirt, he had managed to free himself.

Polra's smart trick with the thread was an eye-opener for the Gujarat police. Unfortunately, the shock value was short-lived. The handcuffs, of standard design which Polra managed to open, are still in use in most police stations across the country.

The then superintendent of police, Banaskantha, Rajan Priyadarshi, who had arrested Polra, is now Inspector General of Police of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). Confirming the incident, Priyadarshi said, Polra had displayed his skills all over again and the whole show was videographed.

"It was shocking. We had written to the Director General of Police's office about this and suggested that the handcuffs be changed as early as possible," said Priyadarshi. The tape filming Polra opening the handcuff was also shown at a crime conference, subsequently.

Additional DGP (Administration) Vineet Gupta, however, claimed ignorance of this incident. But he said that the department was seriously thinking of replacing some of the hand-cuffs. "The present ones cost us around Rs 250 per pair,while the new and improved ones will cost us about Rs 1,000," he added.

Gupta admitted that some criminals had mastered the art of unlocking handcuffs and added that sometimes the police are saddled with defective handcuffs. These, he said, were returned to the manufacturers.

Big B guards thrash lensmen

MUMBAI: A photojournalist of a Mumbai-based newspaper fell unconscious after being kicked in the abdomen by security guards outside the Bachchan residence Prateeksha, on Saturday night. B L Soni, the journalist, had to be rushed to Aryogya Nidhi Hospital at Juhu, where his condition is said to be stable.

Three more lensmen who were trying to get close-ups of the newlywed couple as their car was entering the Juhu bungalow around 7 pm, received bruises after being caned by security guards.

Following this, journalists sat on a dharna outside Prateeksha demanding an apology from the Bachchans. The senior inspector of Juhu police station, P Shinde, has promised to look into the complaint of journalists in this regard. "The safari-clad security guards outside the Bachchan home were behaving very badly with the media today. Some of the guards were openly kicking the photographers, and those with guns or sticks were also using them for beating the journos, as if we were criminals," said a Mumbai Mirror photographer who witnessed the incident.

I'd like to be foreign minister

Sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is a reluctant minister whose heart is more in foreign diplomacy than matters of sports. Speaking to Times Now , in a rare and candid interview, Aiyar said that he had all the qualities that were required for a foreign minister though he loved his job in the ministry of panchayati raj and north eastern affairs.

He said he shared a good rapport with several foreign dignitaries, many of whom even turned up at his daughter's wedding recently. He said that his love for foreign diplomacy was something he had even discussed with foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee. Aiyar said that in the present government's pyramid structure there was little place for ministers like him to be accommodated in roles of their choice. "I will wait for my turn," Aiyar told Arnab Goswami.

Excerpts from the interview:

MSA: I would like to try my hand in foreign policy. I would like to try my hand in commerce.

AG: Why do you think you would be a good foreign minister?

MSA: Because I have got a lot of experience in foreign policy — in some of the most difficult hotspots of the world. Further, I find, I have very easy rapport with foreigners. You saw that in my daughter's wedding — what an army of these people from all over the state.

And I am a Panchayati Raj Minister. But the crown prince of Bhutan was there. The president and ex-president of Sri Lanka arrived. The foreign minister of Pakistan takes time off to be there. The ex-foreign minister of Bangladesh was there, because, I have developed a good personal rapport with them. And I think a good personal rapport with fellow foreign ministers is a good way of taking forward diplomatic objectives.

AG: Would you be candid enough to tell the prime minister this? Many believe, you would be a good foreign minister, given your diplomatic skills.

MSA: On the other hand, the space at the top of any pyramid is always limited. And, I certainly do not regard myself as being in the league.
Pranab Mukherjee, who has been a cabinet minister for the last 30 years — I think.

AG: So, you will wait for your turn?

MSA: I will wait for my turn. I told him the other day, when I went to see him. I said, "Sir, one day, I would like to be sitting in this office." And he said to me, "Don't worry, you will be."

AG: The foreign minister told you that?

MSA: Yes, he said it to me. He was being very kind. I don't know, if he really meant it. You better ask him. Yes, he said that. He knows my interest in foreign affairs.

Orissa wants KBC apology for wrong info on poet

The Orissa government on Saturday lodged a strong protest with a private TV channel for "disseminating wrong information" about saint-poet Jayadev through its popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati-III .

In the game show's April 16 episode, anchor and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan mentioned that Jayadev, who composed "Geeta Gobinda", worked in the court of Bengal ruler Laxman Sen.

This has not gone down well with several culture-conscious people of the state, as researchers have, after a long debate, accepted that Jayadev was born at Kenduli village in Puri district. They said the poet, in the mediaeval times, had dedicated his life composing and singing hymns in praise of Jagannath.

The state government, in a letter to the producers of KBC-III, said the description of Jay-adev as a court-poet of Laxman Sen has "hurt the sentiments of the people in Orissa" because he (Jayadev) had never worked in any court.

"Such utterances by Shahrukh are unacceptable. The team of KBC should do proper research before placing any historical fact because the gameshow is very popular and can mislead a complete generation," said culture minister S N Patro. "Historians and researchers have proved that Jayadev was born at Kenduli village. Though he wrote in Sanskrit, he was a pure Oriya and never served in any court," Patro added.

"We want the channel to beam the fact in its next episode and also tender an apology," he said. The government's letter came a day after celebrations of birth anniversary of the legendary poet.

Suspect in Woolmer murder case identified

The first credible suspect in the murder of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer has been identified from hotel security camera footage, a British newspaper has said.

The Independent has reported that the suspect is understood to be male. It quoted Jamaican police and their Scotland Yard helpers to refuse confirmation the suspect is in the Pakistani team or management.

The paper claimed exclusive information that digital enhancement by Scotland Yard of CCTV footage from cameras on the 12th floor of the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, has identified at least one suspect. It quoted a source close to the investigation to say: "The cleaned-up images from London show at least one individual of considerable interest to the inquiry. The time of the footage and its location mean that this individual must be considered a suspect. Further work is being done on statements given by individuals to look at any inconsistencies. It is good progress."

The reported breakthrough comes after three frustrating weeks in which police appeared to make little headway in investigating the British national's murder.

But late on Friday, Jamaican police announced "significant developments" in the hunt Woolmer's killer or killers and the country's Justice Ministry said it had postponed the inquest because of rapid progress in the investigation.

The crucial CCTV footage is understood to have come from cameras at either end of the secure floor of the Pegasus Hotel, where Woolmer was staying.

The new twist to the murder inquiry came amid other British tabloid reportage that Woolmer had been incapacitated by a powerful and rather old-fashioned poison called aconite before being strangled.

Aconite, which is derived from the plant wolfsbane, may have been given to Woolmer in sufficient quantity to kill him outright, according to reports. They said the coach may have subsequently broken a bone in his neck if he fell as he collapsed from the poison.

Aconite, which is used in herbal medicine across South Asia, is said to cause an agonising death as it shuts down internal organs and causes loss of sensation in the limbs. One of the first symptoms is vomiting and the dead Woolmer was found with traces of vomit.

Anti wrinkle creams can cause skin reaction

Washington: A recent research carried out by researchers from Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine, has found that a compound commonly used in many antiwrinkle products causes a pathological reaction in skin cells.

The mode of action of this substance, called DMAE, will be presented by lead researchers Guillaume Morissette, Lucie Germain, and François Marceau in the latest edition of the British Journal of Dermatology. DMAE (2-dimethylaminoethanol) is used in many antiwrinkle products, which are given the name of "instant anti-aging face-lifts."

Apart from antiwrinkle products, DMAE, as well as other chemically alike substances, are also found in cosmetics, creams, lipsticks, shampoos, soaps, and baby lotions, although the way they work is not yet understood. Dr. Marceau’s team conducted vitro tests and the results showed that the application of DMAE brings about an immediate and spectacular swelling of skin cell vacuoles called fibroblasts, which act as reservoirs and interface between the inside and the outside of the cell.

After applying DMAE to the skin, the researchers observed a significant slowing down of cell division, the reticence of certain metabolic reactions, and the death of a significant percentage of fibroblasts.

The mortality rate of fibroblasts, which differed according to DMAE concentration, was above 25% after 24 hours in the case of a concentration similar to the one resulting from normal use of an antiwrinkle cream. The thickening of the skin induced by the pathological swelling of the fibroblasts would explain the antiwrinkle effect of DMAE, according to the researchers.

"Even though DMAE is similar to medication, there is very little scientific documentation about its pharmacological and toxicological effects," explains Dr. Marceau, who stresses his goal is not to condemn the use of this compound. "We’re not saying DMAE is dangerous to people exposed to it, but our results indicate it’s time to begin serious research to determine whether or not it poses a health risk."

"Several compounds found in cosmetics are just as complex as medication—they are absorbed through the skin, flow through the bloodstream, are expelled by the kidneys, or stocked in cells or even in the liver. Yet, the laws regulating their use are far less restrictive than those regulating drugs," concludes Dr. Marceau.

PFMI '07 winners share success mantra

Pantaloons Femina Miss India World: Sarah-Jane Dias

What was the first thought/expression that came to mind when your name was announced for the Pantaloons Femina Miss India World crown?

I couldn’t feel the ground under my feet and couldn’t even breathe. I stood stiff for a while and didn’t even move ahead to collect my crown. But when I realized that I’ve won it, tears came rolling down. Don’t know where they came from but I was happy with everything. My mom was sitting right in the front and it made me happier at that time.

When you reached the top five, what was foremost in your heart and mind – mounting nervousness or boosting confidence?
A little bit of both. I tried my best to be as calm as possible and retain my confidence level. But at the same time a tinge of nervousness was there as I was overwhelmed to be in the top five finalists. Every step and moment that happened that night would be imprinted in my mind forever. There were so many people sitting in the audience along with judges and I think there is a certain amount of pressure on each individual to look good, talk well, stand straight and smile perfectly. I might be sounding clichéd but it was my belief in me that kept my confidence level high. Honestly, I have never been so focused, but for this pageant I guess I’d put in all my dedication and devotion.

After being crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India World, your ultimate journey has begun. Now that you have a chance to represent India at the international Miss World pageant, what are your apprehensions? How do you plan to prepare for the bigger thing?
No apprehensions at all. I am moving ahead with a positive approach. I don’t find a single reason why I can’t make it at the international beauty pageant. Preparations have started from today itself and I know that it’s going to be tougher as time goes by.

How do you judge the other two winners – Pooja and Puja? Do you think either of them posses the qualities of a Pantaloons Miss India Worlds?
We all are at the same platform and similar level, so I wouldn’t be able to really choose between two of them. But I know that it is my honesty that sets me apart from anyone else in this contest.

What do you think matters most - winning or participating? Would you have been equally happy if you were adjudged PFMI Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe or Earth? What do you think the judges were looking at while taking a decision?
Participation matters any day and I surely would have been happy with the other titles as well because at the end of the day, all three of us are winners. No distinction is being made, except the kind of contest in which we would be representing India as a country. Judges were looking at confidence, confidence and more confidence.

Sex education through teen magazines

Teen magazines doling out information about sex may not be going down so well with teachers, but school inspectors in the UK have praised them for being a positive source of advice for teens who can’t speak to their parents about the subject.

The mags have raised the ire of teachers, and have been banned in some schools across the UK, but the report on personal social and health education in primary and secondary schools by Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has commended the mags for tackling sensitive issues when parents and teachers fail.

"Many young people say that many parents and some teachers are not very good at talking about the more sensitive issues such as sex and relationships," the Telegraph quoted the Ofsted report, as stating.

"They feel that parents and teachers leave it too late and do not talk about such issues until they have reached puberty or have started feeling sexual desire," it added.

The inspectors insisted that while some of the magazines, whose target audience was adolescent males, was at times sexist, they still helped provide useful information. "For example, the increase in magazines aimed at young men, while at times reinforcing sexist attitudes, has helped to redress the balance of advice available to young people," the inspectors said.

"The 'problem pages' in magazines remain a very positive source of advice and reassurance for many young people," they added. However, they admitted that mags such as these were also complicit in spreading the perception that all young people in the UK are sexually active.

"The range of topics and the explicitness in dealing with them have increased in many magazines read by young people. While many now stress the importance of safe sex, some communicate, inaccurately, the perception that all young people are sexually active," they said.

Ofsted also reported that according to data from the schools health education unit, parents were less likely than previously to be seen as the main source of advice.

Karnik to exit Nasscom

Raw treatment meted out to Indian information technology sector by Union Finance minister P Chidambaram in his Annual Budget 2007 seems to have taken a toll upon the main lobbying body for Indian software, Nasscom with its president Kiran Karnik bowing out of office.

The decision, formally announced by Nasscom on Thursday, confirmed what was being talked about in hushed tones by the industry captains for the past few weeks.

In a terse statement, Nasscom said it had appointed search firm Korn Ferry to look for Karnik’s successor in consultation with him and key organisation members. This, it said, was part of the mission to “institutionalize” Nasscom through appropriate structures, systems and processes “for which well-defined HR policies had been laid down”.

Nasscom statement went on to suggest that Karnik’s bowing out of Nasscom was due to these norms which cap the working age of the president at 60 years.

Since Karnik turned 60 on March 16 this year, he was slated to retire anyways, claimed a Nasscom spokesperson. However, the fact that Nasscom had never earlier talked about these norms, nor the about the impending exit of Karnik, indicates that the decision wasn’t a planned one. It was formalised at Nasscom’s annual meeting that took place a couple of days ago in Hyderabad.

There has been a lot of discontentment among a cross-section of member companies over Nasscom’s sudden going out of favour vis-à-vis the political dispensation, as also its inability to influence the government to continue with a preferential taxation regime.

A highly capable and distinguished personality in his own right, Karnik was an ISRO veteran for over two decades and later worked as head of Discovery channel in India before taking over at Nasscom. He joined a rudderless Nasscom five years ago after the sudden death of its mentor and first president Dewang Mehta in 2001. Interestingly, the mandate for his search too had been handled by Korn Ferry.

Voting begins for 2nd phase of UP elections

Polling for the second phase of elections in the 58 constituencies spread over 10 districts of western Uttar Pradesh began on Friday amid tight security.

Over 1.60 crore voters, including 75 lakh women, would decide the fate of 881 candidates in this phase.

There are 15,887 polling booths in 8,479 polling centres arranged for the polls and over 18,400 EVMs will be used in this phase.

Besides central observers, 100 micro-observers had also been appointed to keep an eye on election process for this phase, officials said.

About 65,000 personnel of paramilitary force had been deployed.

Keeping in mind the low percentage of votes cast in the first phase, the Commission had directed the returning officers to find out reasons of low polling, if any.

Prominent among those whose political fortunes will be decided on Friday are Rajbir Singh and Prem Lata Verma, son and daughter-in-law respectively of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.

Rajbir has thrown his hat into the ring from Debai and Prem Lata from Atrauli.

All sensitive constituencies have been identified and special security measures taken to ensure peaceful voting there, officials said.

Security forces aim to target Maoist leaders

B unabated attacks by Maoist guerrillas, security forces are wondering if they should kill the long underground leaders of a four-decade-old insurgency that shows no signs of ending.

The home ministry has convened a series of meetings in Hyderabad to review the existing strategy that clear is not proving effective enough to tackle the rebel violence.

The most dramatic Maoist offensives in recent times have included a major attack on a Bihar jail, the assassination of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Sunil Mahto and the slaughter of 49 policemen and militia members in Chhattisgarh.

Following the Hyderabad meeting on Friday would be similar conferences in Patna April 16 and in New Delhi April 24.

Attending these meetings would be members of the Anti-Naxal Task Force and the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG). An anti-Maoist Coordination Centre meeting chaired by new Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta will be held in New Delhi April 24.

Informed sources said the ministry would take a fresh look at its counter-Maoist strategy and examine the feasibility and efficacy of the new doctrine to fight the rebels by increasing the number of security personnel in the affected areas.

The officials will also examine the feasibility of accelerating development work in the areas where the Maoists operate, drawing to their cause thousands of poor and landless workers.

Maoists, whose rebellion started in India in May 1967, are most active today in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

They have refused to give up violence despite appeals from Maoist leaders in Nepal with whom the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has had long-standing fraternal links.

The meetings would also look at steps to strengthen security to irrigation works in Bihar.

One suggestion put up by some security forces that they need to "target" the Maoist leaders - an official euphemism for killings as was done systematically in Punjab in the 1980s. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has suggested that targeting prominent leaders would leave the Maoist cadres rudderless.

Additionally, by eliminating key leaders, the security forces hope to spark a leadership tussle among the cadres so as to further undermine the guerrillas, whose fighting strength is estimated at a few hundreds.

The home ministry also favours improving intelligence gathering in Maoist-infested areas to be one step ahead of the guerrillas.

The government's strategies would get finishing touches at these three meetings.

Allahabad HC lawyers go on strike

ALLAHABAD: Lawyers of Allahabad High Court went on a day's strike on Friday to protest against Thursday's lathicharge in which over a dozen advocates and media persons were injured.

The decision to abstain from work was taken at a meeting of the High Court Bar Association this morning.

The lawyers took out a march towards the High Court building and blocked traffic on the adjacent Grand Trunk Road. Over a dozen lawyers and a couple of mediapersons were injured in lathicharge by police which clashed with the advocates here over movement curbs in a court for filing of nomination papers for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Doctors' strike

Nayak Hospital were hit on Wednesday after an estimated 1,500 resident doctors, interns and medical students along with 500-odd nursing staff went on an indefinite strike in protest against the dismal security situation at the hospital and the non-availability or substandard quality of essential items.

Patients were refused admission in the emergency ward, critical ones were moved out for tests and tempers ran high in the hospital throughout Wednesday with patients' relatives screaming outside the locked emergency building through the glass doors of which, the resident doctors and nurses who had assembled since morning looked on.

The scene was better in the wards where senior doctors had gone for usual rounds and many people in fact were oblivious about the trouble raging elsewhere in the hospital. Senior doctors in the hospital maintained that work in the OPDs had not been disrupted even though the news of strike spread, the turnout was lower than usual.

Additional medical superintendent Dr K D Mehta conceded that services have been affected "But not that much. Faculty members were working extra to compensate for the resident doctors' strike. Talks are on to resolve the crisis. The doctors and medical superintendent Dr Ramteke have gone to the principal secretary health."

The immediate provocation for the strike, resident doctors said, were two nearly simultaneous incidents on Tuesday night in which doctors on duty were threatened by patients' attendants. In the first incident, attendants reportedly threatened to "kill" a resident doctor in the medicine ward. "He was busy with a very serious cardiac patient when the other patient came in. He gave him some treatment but returned to the other patient which upset the attendants of second patient," said the hospital's resident doctors' association president, Dr Jitender.

In the second incident, doctors and nursing staff on duty in the surgery ward were threatened by four attendants of a Pakistani patient when they refused to hand over the patient's medical file. The staff members had reportedly called the security personnel but nobody turned up.

"This is a routine thing here. Security personnel are possibly bribed because there is a rule that only one attendant per patient is allowed but anything between four to ten people are present attending to each patient in the emergency. There is constant badmouthing and sometimes even manhandling of doctors. This cannot go on," said Dr Jitender.

Doctors and nurses also pointed out that in the new emergency block that was built very recently, there is no drinking water for anybody, there are no toilets on the ground floor and even for simple things like an X-ray or a CT scan, patients have to be taken all the way to the old emergency block.

"What good is an emergency where not even an x-ray can be done?" asked one striking doctor. Even as the hospital administration went into a huddle trying to negotiate with the irate staff members, Dr Jitender said: "We have had enough of the medical superintendent's assurances. We have even after all this, followed all procedures given a notice and then gone on strike. This time we will not take any assurances from anyone other than the principal secretary, health."

India, Pakistan should not destabilise the region

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration has cautioned Asian nations not to do anything that would "destabilise" the region after India successfully tested its nuclear-capable Agni III missile, while maintaining that New Delhi demonstrated "responsibility" with respect to prevention of weapons proliferation including nuclear technology.

US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, while admitting that he could not verify the characteristics of the latest Indian missile test, urged governments of the region to work within the parameters of agreements on prior notification regarding missile tests.

"The Indians do have an active missile programme. And typically what they do under their agreements with the Pakistani government is there's a prior notification.”

"I can't verify for you at this point that that did take place in these circumstances. What we have - what we urge all the governments in the region to do, India, Pakistan included, is to work within the constraints of the agreements that they have regarding notification and also not take any actions that would be destabilising to the balance in the region," he said.

Asked if India'a latest missile test can be considered as an action that could destabilise the region, the spokesman replied: "I'd have to check to see if this is something that is technically different or goes beyond the previous technical, demonstrated capabilities of the Indian government, the Indian military, in launching the missile."