The number of air passengers transiting through Dubai annually will increase by almost four times from 40 million today to 150 million by 2030, a top airlines official has said.

“In Dubai, passenger numbers will grow from over 40 million today to 150 million by 2030. To accommodate that growth, we are building the biggest airport in the world — Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International, having a capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of freight,” Dubai airports chief executive officer Paul Griffiths said at a summit held in Brussels.

Airlines, customs, immigration, security, retailers and information technology providers should collaborate on solutions that centre on passenger needs. There should be a new approach to handle traffic growth that is estimated to top five billion journeys globally by 2027, he said.

“The current travel experience at airports is characterised by cumbersome and time-consuming processes. The lack of coordination in the process has created queues. And ultimately that poor coordination boils down to a fundamental lack of trust. We need to change the mindset and the industry model,” he said.

Almost 50 percent of a passenger’s time at the airport is absorbed by non-commercial processes, that cost the global economy as high as $35 billion per annum, he said.

“Imagine a future where the customer’s online booking, purchase, seat selection, advance passenger information and biometric data are recorded well in advance,” he said.

“Baggage is checked in advance away from the airport. Biometric data is used to confirm passenger identification, security risk is assessed and linked to passenger name records for baggage sequencing, check-in and boarding pass confirmation. Security scanning occurs simultaneously. All this occurs in minutes, freeing up time for the passenger to relax, dine or shop,” he said.

Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International opens for cargo operations June 27.

A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday closed 153 points lower, even as state-run oil companies gained after the government announced the deregulation of fuel prices.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,705.11 points, closed at 17,576.74 points, 153.5 points or 0.87 percent down from its previous close at 17,730.24 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty shut shop at 5,266.7 points, down 1.01 percent from its previous close at 5,320.6 points.

Broader markets too ended in losses with the BSE midcap index ending 0.73 percent lower and the BSE smallcap index 0.58 percent down.

The Queen’s baton for the 2010 Commonwealth Games arrived in India from Pakistan Friday amid high security and a festive mood with singers from both the countries performing at the Attari border.

It marked the first big event on Indian soil for the Games to be held in New Delhi in October.

Suresh Kalmadi, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president and chairman of organising committee of Commonwealth Games-2010, other dignitaries and leading sports personalities, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, were present when the baton was handed over by Pakistan Olympic Association officials led by Lt. Gen Arif Hassan.

“It is a great day in the history of sports in India that the Queen’s Baton Relay has arrived here after covering a long distance. The baton is received in a big way here. Both India and Pakistan have celebrated this day in a great manner,” Kalmadi said to the gathering at the border after receiving the baton here.

He added: “It is because of Pakistan’s support that India has got the Commonwealth Games. We are very happy that the baton has been carried from Pakistan to India.”

“We are very sure that relations with Pakistan will improve from here. I also thank Mike Fennell (chairman of Commonwealth Games federation) for supporting India in the event,” he added.

The Attari border checkpost, about 30 km from Amritsar in Punjab, wore a colourful and festive look despite tight security arrangements for the baton arrival event. Popular song ‘Chak de, India’ was played at the checkpost since morning to welcome the baton.

Hundreds of people, officials and mediapersons gathered here for the arrival of the baton.

Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab Salman Taseer also accompanied the baton to India and shared the dais with other Indian dignitaries.

“It is a historical occasion and the baton carries a message of friendship from Pakistan for our brotherly country India,” said Taseer. He also expressed his happiness by saying ‘Hindustan Zindabad – Pakistan Zindabad’ (Long live India, long live Pakistan).

Famous Indian Sufi singers Wadali brothers and Pakistan-based singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan gave a mesmerising performance. Scores of spectators, especially youngsters, hailed their performance by dancing on their verses.

‘Bhangra’ and ‘gidda’ dancers, performers from Rajasthan and other states, traditional music instruments and security bands added to the festive atmosphere at the border checkpost.

Commonwealth Games mascot Shera also made an impressive appearance. He was the favourite among kids as well as elders who tried to shake hands with him. They even tried to get a photograph clicked with him.

A postage stamp describing ‘Shera’ and the baton was also released.

The baton now begins its journey in India. It has been taken to the Sikh holy city of Amritsar and will remain there till Saturday morning.

From Punjab, it will head to Jammu and Kashmir.

It will travel through most states in India, covering 20,000 km, before reaching New Delhi for the 19th Commonwealth Games Oct 3-14.

By the end of its journey, the baton would have travelled over 190,000 km, through different modes of transport across land, air and sea, in 340 days. This makes the baton relay 2010 one of the longest relays in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are the biggest sporting extravaganza being hosted by India after the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi.

The Indian government Friday freed petrol from administrative control and hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas in a major policy reform that will help improve its fiscal position and release funds for other programmes.

Taking advantage of the current low international crude oil prices, the empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee approved a proposal to make prices of auto fuels market-driven and boost the revenues of oil exploring and marketing companies.

Announcing the decision, Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan said prices of petrol “will be market determined both at the refinery gate and retail level”.

As a result, petrol will now be costlier by Rs 3.50 per litre.

The government hiked the prices of diesel by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder.

The politically sensitive decision is likely to stoke inflation which is already high and lead to further rise in prices of essential commodities like vegetables and foodgrains.

“We are fully aware of the sentiments of the people. We are fully aware of some difficulty that it may cause. But, in the larger interest of the Indian economy, it is absolutely essential that the consumers also share the burden of rising prices of crude in the international market,” Sunderashan told reporters.

Sundareshan said diesel would also be decontrolled eventually.

But the prices of kerosene and cooking gas will continue to be regulated by the government, he said.

The eGoM took the decision based on the recommendations of the Kirit Parikh Committee, which had suggested decontrol of fuel prices.

“This price which is likely to be very reasonable, being market-determined, can be easily accommodated by users of petrol in the country,” added Sunderashan.

He said the impact of the hike on a petrol-driven four-wheeler would be only an additional Rs.190 per month, while a two-wheeler user may have to spend out an extra Rs.30-35 per month.

“If the eGOM had not done this, the under-recoveries for diesel alone would have been Rs.23,000 crore, which is a burden which the government and upstream oil companies cannot bear,” he said.

Kerosene, which is distributed by the government on subsidized rates to below poverty level families, saw the largest hike of 33 percent.

“It has to be borne that the price of kerosene has not increased since 2002,” said the petroleum secretary. In Delhi, the current price of kerosene before the hike is Rs.9.09 per litre.

Oil marketing companies, which were bearing huge losses on selling cooking gas at subsidised rate, also heaved a sigh of relief.

Sundareshan said that even after the changes, the under-recoveries will still be around Rs.3,000 crore at the current international price of crude at $75 per barrel.

“Government and upstream companies will have to find the funds to compensate the oil marketing companies,” he said.

Ahead of his visit to Islamabad Friday, Home Minister P. Chidambaram set a positive tone by clearing the release of four Pakistanis in Indian prisons, reciprocating a goodwill gesture by Islamabad.

“The home minister has approved the release of four Pakistani prisoners as a gesture of goodwill,” the home ministry said in a statement here.

These prisoners, currently in various jails in Gujarat, will be repatriated from the Attari land border in Punjab June 30 and handed over to the Pakistan Rangers.

On Wednesday, Pakistan released 17 Indians on the eve of the meeting between foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan in Islamabad.

The Indians, including four from Punjab who had strayed into Pakistan, were handed over to Indian authorities at the border.

Chidambaram leaves for Islamabad later Friday. He will represent India at a meeting of SAARC home ministers in Islamabad Saturday.

The eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) groups Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives and Afghanistan.

Chidambaram will also hold talks with Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

At his meeting with Malik, Chidambaram is expected to press for concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, suspected by India to be the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.

Speaking in Islamabad, Malik Thursday said that all matters will be on the table during his meeting with Chidambaram.

Although terrorism figured prominently in the discussions between India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir Thursday, Chidambaram is expected to take up the issue in greater detail with Malik.

Last week, India gave a dossier containing specific sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under which Saeed is wanted in India. In the past, Pakistan had cited legal difficulties in prosecuting Saeed.

Chidambaram will also seek to know from his counterpart the status of the trial of seven Pakistanis involved in the Mumbai terror attack, official sources said.

John Isner won a three-day battle as he finally brought an end to the longest ever tennis match with his

6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68 defeat Thursday of Nicolas

Mahut at Wimbledon.

The first-round thriller lasted had lasted exactly 10 hours when it was stopped due to darkness after the fourth set on Tuesday and at 59-59 in the fifth set Wednesday.

The total time of the unbelievable, surreal contest was finally clocked at 11:05 hours. Each player served in excess of 100 aces, a feat which will never be duplicated in tennis in its current form.

Isner served 112 aces while Mahut, a qualifier, fired 103.

The end mercifully came as the number 148 Frenchman cracked, unable to reach an Isner down-the-line winner which earned the American his fifth match point.

Another winner marked the end with both exhausted and drained competitors hugging at the net as the enormity of the contest began to slowly sink in.

So special was the moment that the All England Club organised a gift presentation from former champion Ann Jones and Tim Henman for both players – and long-suffering Swedish chair umpire Mohammed Lahyani, who also sat through the entire ordeal.

“I was tired,” deadpanned Isner. “But when you come out and play a match like this in this atmosphere you don’t feel tired – even though that’s exactly what we both were.

“The crowd was fantastic. What more can I say, the guy’s a warrior,” Isner said of Mahut. “It’s too bad someone had to lose.

“But I’m proud to share the day with Nicolas, it was an absolute honour. Maybe down the road we’ll meet again – but it won’t go 70-68.”

Isner was reserving judgement on whether he would bother with his doubles first-round due to have started later Thursday.

He and Mahut and Lahyani were posed in front of the historic scoreboard on court 18 to record the impossible result for history.

“At this moment, it’s really painful,” said Mahut, who won a qualifying match 24-22 last week. “But I was as amazing to play today.

“The crowd was completely fantastic. John served unbelievable, he’s a champion. We played the greatest match ever at the greatest place ever to play tennis.”

Mahut said he didn’t bother to notice that 65 times in the final set he was serving to stay in the match, with Isner always serving first in the final chapter.

“I only thought around winning the point, the game I was in,” said the Frenchman. “I just kept doing that, again and again. It was a tough match but one we both enjoyed.

The final day of play was a mere 65 minutes in a contest which has shattered multiple records including longest time, longest set, most

aces, most games and on and on and on.

The final set alone lasted 8:11 hours, almost two hours longer than the previously longest match ever, 6:33 between between Frenchman Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the 2004 French Open.

Isner now has a day to wait for his delayed second-round match against Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands, who won his own first-rounder on Wednesday 16-14 in the fifth set.

A clinical performance from the bowlers saw India crush Sri Lanka by 81 runs and win the Asia Cup cricket tournament here Friday.

It turned out to be a lopsided contest as the Sri Lankan batsmen, chasing 269 runs for victory, surrendered without much of a fight in the face of some brilliant bowling by India.

Ashish Nehra was the pick of the bowlers, claiming four wickets for 40 runs and single-handedly running through the strong Sri Lankan top order.

Zaheer Khan (2-36) and Praveen Kumar (1-29) proved the ideal foil while spinners Ravindra Jadeja (2-29) and Harbhajan Singh (0-30), too, played their part.

India had lost to Sri Lanka in the last league match Tuesday when the batting misfred, but they picked thmeselves up with a commanding performance Thursday. India, thus became the Asian champions after 1997, when they beat the same opponent in the final.

“We needed to raise the level in the final. It is good to win a final after a long time. We do not really do well in the finals and it is something we talked about,” said Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who took four catches and also stumped Nuwan Kulasekara.

“We were happy putting 268 runs on the board. We wanted to dismiss Tillakaratne Dilshan early. He can score 30-40 runs in just a matter of few overs. Zaheer and Ashish bowled one of the best spells under the condition. The fast bowlers were impressive and they out Sri Lanka under pressure,” he said.

It was an outstanding show from India, who twice lost to Zimbabwe with a young side last month drawing much criticism.

The only time India looked under some pressure was when two quick wickets saw India reduced to 167 for four. Both the set batsmen Dinesh Karthik (66) and Dhoni (38) were out within a space of 21 runs, but Rohit Sharma (41) and Suresh Raina (29) held the fort with a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja later chipped in with 25 runs.

The Indian bowlers never allowed Sri Lankan chase to take off.

The dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan left in the very first over with just five runs on the board when he mistimed a pull shot to give Nehra his first wicket.

Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara batted for five overs, but could not break the shackles.

Tharanga was bowled by a beatiful Zaheer delivery that cut back to shatter his stumps as he shouldered the ball.

The reliable Sri Lankan pair of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene was separated when Nehra had the latter caught behind and then two balls later immediately got rid of Angelo Mathews, who gave Dhoni his second catch.

Nehra removed Sangakkara next to leave Sri Lanka struggling at five for 51.

Thilina Kandamby (31 not out) and Chamara Kapugedera (55 not out) tried to revive the innings with a 53 runs stand, but Indian spinners kept the pressure on the two batsmen.

The partnership was broken when Kandamby was run out and from there on, it was just a matter of time for India to mop up the Sri Lankan tail.

Paraguay drew 0-0 with New Zealand Thursday but reached the last-16 of the World Cup as Group F winners.

The South Americans had the better opportunities to win the game but with New Zealand goalkeeper Mark Paston saving well from Cristian Riveros in the best of the South Americans’ chances, the game ended goalless.

New Zealand go home unbeaten, having finished above defending champions Italy, while Paraguay go on to play the runners-up of Group E in Pretoria Tuesday.

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino brought Denis Caniza into the defence and the captain became the first player to represent the nation at four World Cups. Defender Julio Cesar Caceres and striker Oscar Cardozo also came in.

In their last four matches in the World Cup, Paraguay have become the late-goal specialists scoring at least once in the last six minutes of games.

But having performed so well in their opening two games they needed just a draw to qualify against group outsiders New Zealand. Rikki Herbert’s team was unchanged from the one that held defending champions Italy to a 1-1 draw Sunday.

Paraguay made a predictably conservative start although not everyone was conserving their energy for a potential last-16 match.

Victor Caceres ran his studs down the back of New Zealand striker Rory Fallon’s ankle and Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura booked him, ruling him out of Paraguay’s next game.

On 29 minutes Paraguay had their first real chance when captain Caniza ran on to a Roque Santa Cruz pass but failed to get his shot on target.

News reached Paraguay fans in the Peter Mokaba Stadium that Italy had gone behind against Slovakia, thus making a draw enough for the South Americans to top the group.

Buoyed by the news from Johannesburg, Paraguay began peppering the New Zealand goal and Kiwis keeper Paston saw efforts from Caniza and Oscar Cardoza over his bar as well as saving a Nelson Valdez shot from distance.

New Zealand’s half-time team talk surely centred on the great chance Italy’s defeat was giving them to progress to the last-16. They responded at the restart with their first chance of the game.

Tony Lochhead crossed from the left and the when the ball was cleared to Simon Elliott he hit a right-foot drive that went narrowly wide.

On 58 minutes Cardoza responded with a free-kick from 30 metres that just cleared Paston’s cross bar. New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen was booked ruling him out of the next round should his team score but that was looking increasingly unlikely.

Paraguay resumed controlled and should have taken the lead on 64 minutes when Caniza crossed and Cristian Riveros saw his header saved by Paston.

With three minutes left New Zealand almost got the winner with Chris Wood a whisker from turning in Shane Smeltz’ header across the face of the Paraguay goal.

Italy’s defeat would have meant New Zealand going through had they won but it was Paraguay who had the better of a poor match and the Kiwis go home with the South Americans topping the group.

Reigning champions Italy were eliminated Thursday with a 2-3 loss to Slovakia, who used their first World Cup victory to advance to the Round of 16.

It was the first time in history that both finalists of the previous World Cup failed to make it past the first round, following France’s departure on Tuesday.

Robert Vittek gave Slovakia a 2-0 lead with goals in the 25th and 73rd minutes at Ellis Park Stadium. Antonio Di Natale pulled one back in the 81st minute before Kamil Kopunek made it 3-1 in the 89th.

Fabio Quagliarella made things interesting with his goal in the 92nd minute to keep Italy within range. But it was not enough as Italy became just the fourth title-holder to fail to advance from the first stage following their own departure in 1950, Brazil’s in 1966 and France’s in 2002.

“It’s a dream I cannot believe that we won,” said Vittek.

“It was so difficult in the end. They are after all the world champions. We scored the 3-1 and then they scored again. But that is a champion.”

The 2006 finalists France were bounced earlier in the tournament from Group A. And Italy failed to make it out of the first round for the first time since 1974.

World Cup debutants Slovakia finished second in Group F with four points behind Paraguay while mighty Italy were last with two points.

In the Round of 16, Slovakia will take on Group E winners – most likely the Netherlands – on Monday. That will mean the Slovakians will have to make new travel plans.

“We just want to see what can happen. We hope to surprise someone. But we had plane tickets for Saturday. So we will have to change them,” joked Vittek.

Slovakian boss Vladmir Weiss swapped four players from the starting line-up which lost 0-2 to Paraguay. Radoslav Zabavnik, Miroslav Stoch, Juraj Kucka and Erik Jendrisek took the place of the coach’s son Vladmir Weiss, Kornel Salata, Jan Kozak and Stanislav Sestak.

Italian coach Marcello Lippi was once again without injured first choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and playmaker Andrea Pirlo. The coach made two changes from the side that drew 0-0 against New Zealand, recalling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso for his first appearance of the tournament in place of Claudio Marchisio and starting up front with Di Natale instead of Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino.

Both sides had chances early on but the reigning champs were stunned in the 25th minute as Slovakia grabbed the lead. Daniele De Rossi’s pass was intercepted by Juraj Kucka, who passed into the path of Vittek, and the Ankaragucu striker beat Italian keeper Federico Marchetti with his shot inside the left post.

Martin Skrtel nearly equalised with an own goal five minutes before the break but his header went just over the crossbar. And Kucka’s hammer from far out hit the side netting three minutes into first half stoppage time.

Lippi had hoped to save Pirlo for the later stages but with his team lacking offensive punch he could not wait any longer, bringing on the AC Milan ace at the 56-minute mark.

Italy’s next chance came seven minutes later with Mucha diving to save Di Natale’s long-range attempt. And with Mucha beaten in the 67th minute, Skrtel saved Quagliarella’s blast on the goal-line to keep Slovakia in the lead.

Vittek doubled the lead in the 73rd minute, running onto Hamsik’s cross from the right side and beating Marchetti to the near right post for a 2-0 lead.

But Italy pulled a goal back in the 81st minute. Mucha stopped Quagliarella’s attempt but Di Natale slotted the rebound into the empty net for a 2-1 deficit.

Mucha was lucky not to have received a red card in the aftermath of the goal as he appeared to punch Quagliarella, who attempted to retrieve the ball.

Quagliarella found the back of the net in the 85th but was ruled offside, and then watched substitute Kuponek lob the ball over Marchetti to make it 3-1 in the 89th minute.

Quagliarella showed that the Italians would not die without a fight and made it 3-2 in the second minute of stoppage time.

Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj said Thursday that Lok Ayukta head N. Santosh Hegde had told him he would not withdraw his resignation.

“I told him we cannot permit you to go. He said he will not withdraw it,” Bhardwaj told reporters here on the margins of a Bharat Scouts and Guides function.

“It is pending with me,” he said on the resignation Hegde, a retired Supreme Court judge, submitted to him Wednesday frustrated at the government’s indifference to his suggestions on giving more teeth to the anti-corruption panel.

“Justice N. Santosh Hegde is an old friend of mine. I tried to convince him not to resign. But he did not yield to my request,” Bhardwaj, who has often been critical of the government functioning, said.

The governor said “his resignation should not be allowed. The government must show some gesture. People of Karnataka need him to work for the state.”

“Government should persuade him to stay back if they want him to continue. He seems to have resigned in agony and under frustration. I have done whatever I could do,” he said.

On the alleged illegal mining by Reddy brothers, who are ministers, the governor said he had taken it seriously and hence “reported the matter to the Election Commission and the president.”

Bhardwaj has forwarded to the Election Commission a petition by a Congress leader that Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy and his elder brother and Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy should be disqualified as members of the legislature as they had amassed huge wealth by illegal mining.

The Reddy brothers twice ignored Bhardwaj’s summons to meet him in person to give their response to the allegations. They had sent their lawyers both times.

Bhardwaj forwarded the petition to the poll panel on June 3.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s office has won a UN award on improving accountability and responsiveness in public service, an official said Thursday.

The chief minister’s office has been named as the recipient of the “2010 United Nations’ Public Service Award” in the “Improving Transparency, Accountability, and Responsiveness in Public Service” category, the state government spokesperson said here.

The programme termed State Wide Attention on Grievances with Application of Technology (SWAGAT) was selected by the UN for the prestigious award.

The chief minister’s secretary A.K. Sharma received the award on behalf of the state government at a ceremony held at Barcelona in Spain Wednesday on the occasion of the UN Public Service Day.

Modi said people’s voice was the “key driver of a democracy and listening to that voice is the key test of good governance.”

The SWAGAT programme operate on the principle that grievance redressal is an essential part of effective governance.

Every month, the chief minister personally looks into the grievances and considers solutions through multi-video conferencing with all the 26 districts and all the 225 taluka offices and the complaints are redressed on the same day or in a time-bound manner.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday flagged off a special exhibition train to promote the Commonwealth Games across India. The train Friday reaches Amritsar where the Queen’s Baton Relay arrives from Pakistan.

The train has 14 coaches, including five dedicated to sports and Commonwealth Games and six to Information Technology, an official said.

One coach will be converted into a 100-foot-long travelling sports photo exhibition, curated by filmmaker Sunil Yash Kalra, who has donated rare pictures from his collection of over 5,000 photos.

The train will journey to 48 stations across the country. It will follow the Queen’s Baton in places with railway connectivity.

The train is painted with logos of the 19th edition of the Commonwealth Games and the Indian Railways. It will return to New Delhi by Oct 1, ahead of the Oct 3-14 mega event.

The Sri Lankan government Thursday declared that it would refuse visas for UN panel members appointed to investigate alleged human rights abuses during the civil war against Tamil rebels.

“We will not allow them to enter Sri Lanka,” External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told a news conference.

The three-member panel was appointed to look into the allegations of human rights abuses by both sides during the last months of the 26-year conflict last year. Its members have so far made no request to visit Sri Lanka.

“This exercise is not helpful and the timing is questionable,” Peiris said of the investigation. “We have our own commission. Setting a separate UN panel will only complicate matters for our commission.”

The commission appointed by the government last month is to look into the events and actions in the final months of the conflict before the army defeated the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam last May. It is not mandated to investigate any allegations of human rights violations.

Colombo also slammed the European Union for imposing conditions for Sri Lanka’s continued participation in the Generalised System of Preferences, which gives it preferential tariffs for trade with the EU.

The conditions include repealing sections of its emergency rules and the Prevention of Terrorism Act as well as adopting a national human rights action plan.

They also require that Sri Lanka invite UN teams to the country, including the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, and ensure that journalists can exercise their professional duties without harassment.

Sri Lanka Thursday said it rejected the conditions, even if they had to forego the EU’s trade preferences.

“Some of these conditions are directly dealing with the internal matters of the country,” Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. “We will not lose the country’s sovereignty for money.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the EU office in Colombo said they were awaiting a formal response from Sri Lanka before they could comment.

The country is recovering after nearly three decades of conflict which claimed over 100,000 lives, mainly in the northern and eastern provinces where the LTTE was fighting for a separate state for the Tamil minority.

During the final weeks of the conflict some 7,500 civilians were killed according to UN estimates.

India’s star shuttler Saina Nehwal attained a new peak in her fast-moving career as she shot up three places to World. No 3 in the rankings Thursday.

Saina, who is looking for her third title in three weeks, celebrated her new-found status by making the quarterfinals at the Indonesian Open in Jakarta Thursday. 

Her family in Hyderabad was ecstatic.

“It is a proud moment for entire the family,” Saina’s father Harvir Nehwal told IANS.

“She has given us enough happiness and we just hope that she continues to excel in badminton. We never thought that she will do such extraordinary things. It is her sheer hard work that today she is number three in the world of badminton.” Harvir said.

“She has made the country proud and we are happy about it. We have always supported her in whatever she wanted to do.

“At the moment though, she is focusing on the Indonesian Open. So she does not want to think about it. We will wait for her to come back and then celebrate her success,” said Harvir.

Saina won back-to-back titles — India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series in the last two weeks — and marched ahead of three Chinese players in the women’s singles charts for her career-best ranking.

The fiercely competitive 20-year-old, who has taken on China’s domination in the sport, quite like Prakash Padukone in his heydays, now finds herself amidst a riot of red Chinense flags. Saina is the lone non-Chinese player in the top six list.

China’s Yihan Wang tops the list, followed by Xin Wang. Saina pushed behind Shixian Wang, Wang Lin and Jiang Yanjiao, who all went down by one place.

Saina’s previous best was the fifth position she attained in March after becoming the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the All England Super Series Championships.

Saina is a strong favourite for a third title in three weeks as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesian Open Super Series in Jakarta Thursday, going past Bulgaria’s Petya Nedelcheva 21-9, 21-15.

The Indian, who is the top seed and the defending champion at the Indonesian Open, has many firsts to her name since making a stellar start to her international career by winning the Philipinnes Open in 2006. She is the first Indian woman to reach the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics, besides winning two Super Series events, and also the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2008.

Aditi Mutatkar is the next Indian in the women’s singles rankings, climbing one spot to 32nd place.

In the men’s chart, Chetan Anand is the top-ranked Idian at 16. Parupalli Kashyap, who made it to the semifinal of the Singapore Open Super Series, improved his ranking to 27, jumping five places. Arvind Bhat went up two places to 28 while Gurusaidutt moved to 44, jumping eight places.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, after talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Islamabad Thursday, said dialogue was the only way to improve relations with Pakistan.

“We believe that dialogue is the best way forward,” Rao said at a press conference in Islamabad jointly addressed by her and Bashir.

She said India’s “core concern about terrorism was also articulated” at the discussions and Pakistan reminded about Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s commitment that its soil will not be used for terrorist activities against India. “We believe that is an important commitment,” said Rao.

She noted that both sides will have to work together against these “dangers, threats and evils”. “Must deny terrorist elements any opportunity to derail prospects to improve the relationship,” said Rao.

“During our discussions, we have accepted the modalities for restoring trust and confidence for comprehensive, sustained and meaningful dialogue,” added Rao.

The Pakistani foreign secretary said “all in all, it was a most useful meeting” and expressed confidence that “good results” will emerge from the meeting next month of the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India.

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan Thursday ended their talks in Islamabad, which will firm up the agenda for the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries next month.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao began delegation-level talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on bilateral issues earlier this morning in the first such meeting in Islamabad since the Mumbai terror attack in a bid to revive the bilateral dialogue.

After the meeting ended, Rao went to call on Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Qureshi are scheduled to meet in Islamabad July 15.

According to media reports, India raised the issue of cross-border terrorism with Pakistani officials during the talks.

The Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram will be travelling to Pakistan to take part in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) home ministers’ conference June 26.

This was the first round of talks since the thaw initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani nearly two months ago, directing their foreign ministers and secretaries to meet and work out modalities of restoring trust between them.

New Delhi has said it was going into these talks in an “exploratory mode” and “not in an accusatory mode” to work out confidence-building steps that could pave the way for a renewed full-fledged bilateral dialogue.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves Friday for the G20 Summit in Toronto June 26-27 where he is also set to hold talks with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper and sign a bilateral nuclear cooperation pact on the lines India has with the US.

On the way to Canada, the prime minister’s special aircraft, Air India One, will make an overnight technical halt in Frankfurt before proceeding onward to a packed itinerary at Toronto, officials said.

In a signal honour, Manmohan Singh will be the only visiting leader at the G20 Summit for whom Harper will host a dinner, soon after their bilateral talks, following the conclusion of the G20 Summit Sunday.

India and Canada are also expected to sign a host of other agreements during the visit, including those covering energy, culture and social security while also holding talks on a host of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, officials said.

The G20 Summit will be no less important as the leaders of rich and emerging economies discuss how to come out of the global financial crises that has sent some countries to the verge of bankruptcy.

The prime minister returns to New Delhi late June 29, again after an overnight technical halt at Frankfurt.

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan Thursday opened talks on a range of issues, including Kashmir, in the first such meeting in Islamabad since the Mumbai terror attack in a bid to revive the bilateral dialogue.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao began delegation-level talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on bilateral issues, including terrorims, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and confidence-building steps.

The talks will firm up the agenda for the crucial meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad July 15.

A day before the foreign secretaries began talks in Islamabad, Krishna struck a realistic note on the talks.

“We don’t expect anything spectacular. The relationship between India and Pakistan is so complex,” he told reporters in New Delhi. The purpose of the talks is to prepare for his visit to Islamabad next month, he said.

This is the first round of talks since the thaw initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani nearly two months ago, directing their foreign ministers and secretaries to meet and work out modalities of restoring trust between them.

Ten terrorists had held Mumbai hostage for 60 hours in November 2008, killing 166 Indians and foreigners. India gave 11 dossiers to Pakistan, linking some Pakistani nationals and groups to the Mumbai carnage.

During the talks, New Delhi is expected to press Islamabad to take stronger action to address its concerns over terrorist activities it says are planned and directed against Indian assets from Pakistan.

Rao is expected to ask Pakistan to speed up the trial of seven 26/11 terror attack suspects in Pakistan, take concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai carnage, and against those groups with declared anti-India agenda.

The spike in cross-border infiltration and ceasefire violations will also figure in the discussions.

New Delhi has said it is going into these talks in an “exploratory mode” and “not in an accusatory mode” to work out confidence-building steps that could pave the way for a renewed full-fledged bilateral dialogue.

India is expected to ask Pakistan to pursue trust-building steps like an early meeting of the judicial committee on prisoners, enhanced commercial and economic ties and cross-border trade.

Pakistan is likely to raise the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and allegations that India was covertly aiding insurgent groups in Balochistan.

Lionel Messi celebrates his 23rd birthday Thursday still waiting for his first goal at the 2010 World Cup tournament and wondering what he has to do to score.

He struck the post against Greece and struck so much fear into the heart of his opponents that they put a man on him throughout the 90 minutes.

To no avail. Messi again conjured up some magic to set off on a mazy run and shot which led to veteran Martin Palermo – 13 years his senior – completing a 2-0 victory.

Messi had shone in the 1-0 win over Nigeria, was again influential in his side’s 4-1 defeat of South Korea when he was involved in two of hat-trick man Gonzalo Higuain’s goals and also took the free-kick which led to a Korean own goal.

His performance against Greece earned him the man-of-the-match award, but again he drew blank in front of the goal.

In fact, Messi’s last goal for Argentina was a penalty in a 1-2 defeat in Madrid against Spain last November.

His record of 13 goals in 47 games for his country is in marked contrast to his record for Barcelona where last season he tied Ronaldo’s club record of 34 goals in a single league season, set in 1996-97.

Messi scored at the 2006 World Cup during a 6-0 rout of Serbia-Montenegro when in Germany he became the youngest Argentinian to play at a World Cup.

But he was not a first-choice at that tournament and was also absent from the side that went out to Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals.

On Wednesday, he became Argentina’s youngest World Cup captain when he stood in for the rested Javier Mascherano, and would have loved a goal to cap his first game as skipper, although he played that down afterwards.

“I am not worried about not scoring,” he said.

“Of course, I want the ball to go in but I don’t care. I always try to find the best solution for my team-mates.

“I had a man clinging to me for 90 minutes. I tried to get the man out of the centre in order to create a one-on-one. It’s not important how they cover me, it’s important to make chances for others.”

Messi’s team-mates believe it is only a matter of time before he breaks his duck, and are hoping that comes when the side will need his inspiration in the last 16 against Mexico in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Keeper Sergio Romero said: “The little guy is a crack. The only thing he did not do again was score a goal but again he had all the chances.

“Even the post didn’t help him, but in the last 16 he will score all the goals he didn’t score up until now.

“He is a very calm guy. He knows how to play and he is out of this world. He won’t be anxious to score a goal, he knows that it will come.”

Messi will at least be able to enjoy his birthday, perhaps celebrating with a few hits from Oasis.

If British media reports are to be a believed, Messi has become a big fan of the group and would like them to reform if Argentina go on to win the World Cup.

According to the Daily Mail, Messi was reportedly persuaded to listen to the music of the band from Manchester by team-mate Carlos Tevez, now with Manchester City and formerly of Manchester United.

Messi was quoted as saying he found the music “absolutely amazing” and says he has been listening to it on his iPod dock in the hotel room, on the way to the matches and in the dressing room.

“I showed the rest of the boys in the Argentina squad their stuff and I promise you, everybody absolutely loves it. A few knew a couple of their songs but for most of them it was their first listen,” he was quoted as saying.

“We have agreed that if we win the World Cup we want to fly them over to Argentina for our celebration party. We just need them to name their price.”

Otto Rehhagel has quit as Greece’s national team coach after nine years at the helm following the team’s exit from the World Cup, according to reports out of Athens Wednesday.

NovaSport FM said the 71-year-old German informed his players of his plans to resign as their coach following Greece’s 0-2 defeat to Argentina in Group B Tuesday.

Greece’s football federation was expected to formally announce Rehhagel’s resignation and successor when the team returns from South Africa on Thursday.

Former PAOK coach Fernando Santos is reportedly lined up for the top job. The 55-year-old Portuguese quit the northern Greek club in May despite earning a spot in next season’s Champions League.

Rehhagel’s long-time assistant, Giannis Topalidis, also resigned.

“For me it is the last night as part of the national team. I am happy for everything I experienced these past nine years. I had no idea that I would get to experience so much,” Topalidis said.

“My decision is definite, even if Rehhagel ends up staying on,” he said.

Greece were eliminated from the World Cup on Tuesday after losing their final group game to Argentina. South Korea joined Argentina in the Round of 16 after holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw.

Greece’s exit from the World Cup means the end of an era not only for the 71-year-old German coach, but for many of his senior players – including Kostas Katsaouranis and Giourkas Seitaridis – who took part in the surprise win at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Greece were considered outsiders to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup. But many Greeks had hoped that the team could have sprung a surprise as they did in Portugal six years ago.

“We leave the World Cup with out heads held high,” read the headline of the daily newspaper Eleftheros Typos.

The World Bank said Wednesday its total loan support to India will reach $9.3 billion by the end of the bank’s financial year in June.

The World Bank follows the July-June financial year.

“The total lending this year included $2.6 billion as interest-free credits from the International Development Association (IDA) and $6.7 billion in the form of long term, low interest loans from International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),” said a Bank statement.

About $3 billion of the financial aid was used in the government’s response to the global financial crisis, including capital infusion of public sector banks.

Help for infrastructure development accounted for about 21 percent of the Bank’s total commitments to India this year.

“While our annual lending this year represents a significant contribution for the Bank Group, it accounts for less than one percent of India’s gross domestic product, and is a modest sum given India’s vast needs,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank country director in India.

About 11 percent was directed at helping the government improve the quality of public services like schooling, irrigation, drinking water and sanitation.

The government’s flagship primary education programme, the Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan, was given $750 million in assistance taking the total lending to the project at $1.1 billion over the years.

Andhra Pradesh is targeting the third place in Information Technology exports in the country, a state government official said Wednesday.

K. Ratna Prabha, principal secretary, IT, said the state, though started late in IT exports, has reached the fourth position.

“Next year the state will reach third position,” she told a programme organised to announce that Hyderabad will host eINDIA 2010, India’s largest event on Information and Communication Technology.

Karnataka tops in the IT exports in the country followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

She said the state, which started IT exports a decade ago, recorded Rs.32,000 crore IT exports during 2008-09. “The figures for 2009-10 are yet to be announced officially but the IT exports during the year reportedly stood at Rs.36,000 crore. The state has done well despite recession,” she said.

The official said the state’s contribution to total IT exports from the country was 15 percent. “Karnataka is contributing 30 percent. We will work hard to touch that figure,” she said.

Ratna Prabha also noted that the IT sector in Andhra Pradesh created 2.5 lakh direct and 10 lakh indirect jobs.

P. Venugopal, Director, STPI (software technology parks of India), Hyderabad, said it would not be impossible to catch up with Karnataka in IT exports. “The cumulative exports from the state during last five years are higher than Karnataka. This shows we can compete with them,” he said.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said there was no likelihood of privatizing Indian Railways, even as she admitted that several projects are not being implemented for want of funds.

The minister was speaking at the meeting of the consultative committee of members of parliament for the railway ministry on “Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways”.

A press release said the minister “reiterated that there will be no privatization of Indian Railways”.

She told the committee members that there were “many socially desirable railway projects which are not being implemented because of the shortage of funds”.

Describing PPP as an instrument of mobilizing revenue, Banerjee said there was a need to adlop new vision and new thinking for the development of the railways and these have been outlined in the ‘Indian Railways Vision 2020′.

She suggested that railway land, not required for immediate operations, could be used for setting up manufacturing facilities as well as for hospitals, medical colleges and training institutions.

Further, the minister also noted that the interests of railway employees and users were being “fully protected” and also “substantially advanced” through the new initiatives.

Vivek Sahai, chairman of the railway board, made a presentation on PPP proposals received by the railways.

The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy did not cast a shadow on the deliberations of the India-US CEOs Forum to enhance India-US business ties, according to Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma.

“The subject never came up,” he told reporters Wednesday. “It’s a matter which is sub judice back home. And it’s not a subject to come up at these forums.”

When reminded that a Group of Ministers (GoM) in India had discussed the issue, Sharma said: “The GoM is not meant for this country. We don’t discuss it outside when we have not discussed it within our own system.”

Sharma, who was part of the official delegation to the CEOs forum, also asserted that issues surrounding the liability of Union Carbide, which owned the Bhopal plant, would affect the civil nuclear liability legislation to facilitate India-US nuclear trade.

“They are two different issues,” he said. “There are defined laws. The criminal, corporate and civil liabilities are very much defined in the laws of both countries.”

Asked how come an issue that had caused so much furore in India and led to demands for revisiting the nuclear liability bill did not come up either at the forum or in his meetings with US officials, Sharma repeated: “It never came up. In none of my interactions, I didn’t raise it. Nor did my interlocutors.”

In a historic step on the 25th anniversary of the Air India bombing Wednesday, Canada formally accepted blame for the tragedy and apologised to the victim families.

“We are sorry… your pain is our pain… as you grieve so we grieve,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the victim families at a memorial service here.

“This was not act of foreign violence. This atrocity was conceived in Canada, executed in Canada by Canadian citizens and its victims were themselves mostly citizens of Canada,” the prime minister admitted.

Blamed on pro-Khalistan elements on Canada, the Air India flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi was blown off mid-air near Ireland June 23, 1985, killing all 329 passengers aboard.

“It was evil, perpetrated by cowards, despicable, senseless and vicious,” he said.

“It should not have happened. It should have not happened,” Harper said, drawing upon the conclusions of last week’s inquiry which blamed the Air India bombing on “a cascading series of errors” by Canada.

“I stand before you to offer on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, an apology for the institutional failings of 25 years ago and the treatment of the victims’ families,” the prime minister said.

Since almost all victims were Indo-Canadians and Canadian governments till now have been reluctant to embrace it as a Canadian tragedy, Harper added, “Canadians who sadly didn’t at first accept that the outrage was made in Canada accept it now. (But) we wish this realisation had gained common acceptance earlier.”

In a blunt warning to pro-Khalistan militant elements blamed for the tragedy, the prime minister said, “It is incumbent upon us all not to reach out to, but marginalize those extremists who seek to import the battles of India’s past here and then to export them back to that great and forward-looking nation (India). We must have none of it.”

US President Barack Obama Wednesday removed Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top NATO commander in Afghanistan over a magazine article that portrayed him as dismissive of senior US officials for their concerns about the ongoing war effort.

McChrystal was summoned to Washington for a meeting with Obama that lasted less than 30 minutes Wednesday morning.

Obama tapped General David Petraeus, currently the head of Central Command and the former commander of US forces in Iraq, to replace McChrystal.

“War is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or a president. And as difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe that it is the right decision for our national security,” Obama said.

The president said he regretted the loss of McChrystal, but believed it was the “right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, for our military, and for our country”.

Obama said the decision to replace McChrystal reaffirmed the chain of command, with civilian control of the military.

In a profile by Rolling Stone magazine, McChrystal is portrayed as critical of top US officials including Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, for their doubts about his war strategy.

On Tuesday, McChrystal issued an apology, saying the article “was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened”.

“Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honour and professional integrity,” McChrystal said. “What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”

If Govinda thinks that he got a raw deal in Mani Ratnam’s “Raavan”, then he can seek solace in the savage butchering that Tejaswini Kolhapure’s role suffered.

Padmini Kolhapure’s pretty baby sister was signed on for a prominent role as Ravi Kissan’s wife in the movie. She spent two-and-half gruelling months away from home and husband (filmmaker-actor Pankaj Saraswat) in the jungles shooting for “Raavan”.

The end-result – one passing shot, lasting no more than five seconds in a wedding song. Surely this must rank as the most abbreviated role in the history of Hindi cinema!

One of Tejaswini’s co-stars in “Raavan” says: “At least Tejaswini is visible in one shot. Poor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, at his age, he was on location in the jungles for 90 days. He doesn’t even have one scene in the film. And what about poor Sachin Khedekar, who is there for just one scene as Abhishek’s father? He also played Aishwarya’s father in Guru and had his role chopped off because Mani wanted to focus on the Abhishek-Aishwarya story.”

Incidentally, Madhavan and Vidya Balan also had their roles severely chopped off in Guru.

Surprisingly, Tejaswini doesn’t try to dodge the savage editing of her part with sugar-coated words.

When asked about her blink-and-miss appearance in the movie, she said: “Mani sir and the entire crew knew what my role was. I shot for a good 75 days. The role in the film is what you saw. Nevertheless, it was a treat working with a director like Mani Ratnam. Anyone would give their right hand to work with him. All I had to suffer were some minor bruises. It’s crazy to say this after what I’ve gone through. But I’d love to work with him again.”

Tejaswini has been unlucky in her career from the very beginning. Her first film, as leading lady in Anurag Kashyap’s “Paanch” was never released.

But she’s hopeful about the future. “I’ve finished Happi with Pankaj Kapoor-ji which is directed by Bhavna Talwar. I’ve also done a short film called “Salt & Pepper” about farmers’ suicides directed by Mohinder Pratap Singh and Shashank Ghosh’s segment in “Mumbai Cutting” (a film with short stories on Mumbai). Ironically in Shashank’s film I play an actress trying to find a foothold in the film industry,” she adds.