Ship strayed to get fuel, escape Phailin, says U.S. company

The U.S. company operating a ship carrying heavily-armed personnel, which was detained by authorities after straying into Indian waters on Friday, has thanked the Indian government for "offering a safe harbour" to the Seaman Guard Ohio vessel, even as the ship was apparently trying to "enter the port both to take on fuel and to escape the effects of Typhoon Phailin." Although AdvanFort cited Phailin as one factor behind its entering Indian territory, the cyclone mainly struck the eastern coast of India, mainly in Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

In a statement, William Watson, president of AdvanFort, said, "I want to personally thank the Indian government for offering a safe harbour during this typhoon to the crew of our good vessel Ohio."

He added that AdvanFort was looking forward to returning the vessel to its duties "as quickly as formalities and resupply operations are concluded," and confirmed that the crew and guards were remaining aboard the ship during its port stay.

Media reports suggested that a multi-agency joint investigation team in Tuticorin had interrogated the armed guards and crew about whether they possessed authorisation for the weapons and ammunition on board and a probe as to whether the vessel was involved in arms trafficking would be undertaken by the coastal police.

Yet Mr. Watson did not directly allude to this in his remarks, only saying that the personnel on board, comprising British, Estonian, Ukranian and Indian nationals "are well and receiving fresh food and water, according to AdvanFort's agents in the port."

The Hindu earlier reported that the personnel on board possessed "sophisticated arms and ammunition, which included semi-automatic weapons and self-loading rifles."

In this regard Mr. Watson said that the ship was an Operator Support Vessel that provided an "accommodations platform for AdvanFort's counter-piracy guards between transits on client commercial vessels transiting the High Risk Area."

The company added that this implied that in addition to normal crew, the Ohio "had a number of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) team members aboard when it entered the Indian port."

Mr. Watson explained that the routine duties of PCASP included providing armed counter-piracy protection and to this end they also had aboard "their uniforms, protective equipment, medical kits, rifles and ammunition - all of which is properly registered and licensed to AdvanFort."

The company said that per routine operating procedure Indian authorities were "auditing the vessel's records during the port stay while supplies, provisions and fuel are being transferred to Ohio."

ஷாங்காய் மாஸ்டர்ஸ் டென்னிஸ்: சாம்பியன் பட்டத்தை தக்கவைத்தார் ஜோகோவிச் Shanghai Masters tennis Championship held Djokovic

ஷாங்காய் மாஸ்டர்ஸ் டென்னிஸ்: சாம்பியன் பட்டத்தை தக்கவைத்தார் ஜோகோவிச் Shanghai Masters tennis Championship held Djokovic

ஷாங்காய், அக். 14-

சீனாவில் நடைபெற்ற ஷாங்காய் மாஸ்டர்ஸ் டென்னிஸ் தொடரில் செர்பியாவின் நட்சத்திர வீரரும், நடப்பு சாம்பியனுமான நோவக் ஜோகோவிச் மீண்டும் சாம்பியன் பட்டம் வென்றார்.

ஒற்றையர் இறுதிச்சுற்று ஆட்டத்தில், அர்ஜென்டினாவின் டெல் போட்ரோவுடன் விளையாடிய ஜோகோவிச், முதல் செட்டை 6-1 என எளிதாக கைப்பற்றினார். இதற்கு பதிலடி கொடுத்த டெல் போட்ரோ, 2-வது செட்டை 6-3 என வசப்படுத்தினார்.

இதனால் வெற்றி தோல்வியை நிர்ணயிக்கும் 3-வது செட் ஆட்டம் விறுவிறுப்பாக இருந்தது. டை-பிரேக்கர் வரை நீடித்த அந்த செட்டை, ஜோகோவிச் 7-6 என கைப்பற்றி வெற்றி பெற்றார்.

டெல்போட்ரோவும், ஜோகோவிச்சும் இதுவரை 12 முறை நேருக்கு நேர் மோதியுள்ளனர். இதில் 9 முறை ஜோகோவிச் வென்றுள்ளார். கடைசியாக மோதிய விம்பிள்டன் அரையிறுதி ஆட்டத்திலும் ஜோகோவிச் வெற்றி பெற்றது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

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Three americans win economics nobel

Americans Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won the Nobel prize for economics on Monday for developing new methods to study trends in asset markets.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three had laid the foundation of the current understanding of asset prices.

While it's hard to predict whether stock or bond prices will go up or down in the short term, it's possible to foresee movements over periods of three years or longer, the academy said.

"These findings, which might seem surprising and contradictory, were made and analyzed by this year's laureates," the academy said.

Fama, 74, and Hansen, 60, are associated with the University of Chicago. Shiller, 67, is a professor at Yale University.

American researchers have dominated the economics awards in recent years; the last time there was no American among the winners was in 1999.

The Nobel committees have now announced all six of the annual $1.2 million awards for 2013.

The economics award is not a Nobel Prize in the same sense as the medicine, chemistry, physics, literature and peace prizes, which were created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in 1895. Sweden's central bank added the economics prize in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel.

Robert Shiller: "disbelief" on learning of Nobel win

Nobel economics laureate Robert J Shiller expressed "disbelief" on Monday on learning of his win.

"Disbelief, that is the only way to put it," the Yale University economist said in a conference call from New Haven.

"People have told me that I would win it, but I'm aware that there are so many other worthy people that I would say, 'No, I did not expect it,'" he added.

Mr. Shiller said he was "attracted to economics because it deals with really important problems. It's a vigorous discipline."

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is not one of the original Nobel prizes.

It was created in 1968 by the Swedish Central Bank in memory of Alfred Nobel -- who established the prizes for chemistry, medicine, physics, literature and peace in 1895. The first Economics prize was awarded in 1969.

Because it was set up separately, the award has been controversial in some circles. The Nobel Foundation does not officially recognize it as a Nobel Prize, but as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The award has predominately been given to US economists, a trend that continued this year with the awarding of the prize to Eugene F Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J Shiller. Only one woman has ever won the award.

18 crew members of drowned cargo vessel rescued

18 crew members of drowned cargo vessel rescued

A cargo ship is presumed sunk in rough seas caused by cyclone Phailin off West Bengal but its crew of 17 Chinese and an Indonesian was rescued on Monday, the Coast Guard said

The crew were spotted in a lifeboat by a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft on Sunday and rescued 28 nautical miles northeast of Balasore in Odisha early Monday, Coast Guard Commandant Rajendra Nath told PTI.

"The crew had abandoned the ship after it started sinking 24 miles south of Sagar Island. All of them are safe now and they have been sent to a hospital for check-up," he said.

The Panama registered m.v. Bingo carrying 8,000 tonne of iron ore was sailing to China after it left the Sagar anchorage on Friday. It went missing the day after.

"However, no trace of the ship has been found yet and it is presumed to be sunk," the Coast Guard official said.

The ship was said to have sailed south instead of east with the captain deciding to proceed to China before it might have tried to come back to port after damage in rough seas.

As per international practice, ships are advised to stay in the open sea instead of the harbour to avoid damage.

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MP temple stampede toll climbs to 115

The death toll in the stampede during Navratri festivities near a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district has climbed to 115, with a number of people who had carried away the bodies of their relatives turning them up for autopsy.

The stampede, which also left over 100 injured, was triggered by rumours on Sunday that a river bridge the devotees were crossing was about to collapse.

"So far, we have received reports of 115 deaths in the stampede," Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) D.K. Arya told PTI from Ratangarh.

The DIG said a number of people, who had carried away the bodies of their near and dear ones, are now turning up for autopsy, which is mandatory for taking compensation.

The State government had ordered a judicial inquiry into the mishap which was a shocking rerun of the tragedy at the same site in 2006 when over 56 pilgrims were washed away after water was released in the Sindh river from upstream.

After the 2006 tragedy, the State government had constructed a bridge over the river but mishap took place on it allegedly due to poor mismanagement of the crowd that gathered in lakhs from the nearby districts and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Datia district's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) R.S. Gupta said that autopsies on 111 bodies were conducted till Monday morning.

Police had earlier said that 89 people, including 31 women and 17 children, were killed in the mishap.

Mr. Arya, while noting that the death toll could go up, said that over 100 people were also injured.

The festivities turned into a tragedy as devotees from Datia and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh thronged the Durga temple to offer prayers on the occasion of Navratri at Ratangarh, about 60 km from the district headquarters and around 320 km away from the State capital Bhopal.

Unconfirmed reports said that the stampede took place as some people were trying to jump the queue and police used batons to control them.

The State government, with the approval of the State Election Commission in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 1.5 lakh to the kin of those killed in the stampede.

The government also announced an assistance of Rs. 50,000 each to the seriously injured and Rs. 25,000 each for those who suffered minor injuries in the mishap.

BJP vice-president Uma Bharti and Union Minister of State for Power (Independent Charge) Jyotiraditya Scindia would be visiting the area on Monday.

குப்பைப்படக் காலத்தை மாற்றுமா ஆரம்பம் ajith aarambam movie review

குப்பைப்படக் காலத்தை மாற்றுமா ஆரம்பம்

தமிழில் கடந்த இரண்டு மாதங்களாக வெறும் குப்பைப்படங்களே வெளிவந்துள்ளதாக பலர் கவலை தெரிவிக்கிறார்கள்.

பட்டத்து யானையில் ஆரம்பித்த வீழ்ச்சி மீட்க முடியாத வீழ்ச்சியாக இருக்கிறது.

பொய்யான விமர்சனங்களை செய்து மூன்று நாட்கள் ஓட்டி கோடி கோடியாக வசூல் என்று போலி பாக்ஸ் றிப்போட் விட்டு இவர்கள் சீவிக்கிறார்கள்.

யாதொரு பொறுப்பும் இல்லாமல் வெளியான விஜய்யின் தலைவா முதல் விஜய்சேதுபதியின் இதுக்குத்தானா ஆசைப்பட்டாய் பாலகுமாரா, தேசிங்குராஜா, யாயா.. என்று தொடர் சறுக்கலாக இருக்கிறது.

இதில் அஜித்தும் அடங்கப்போகிறாரா இல்லையா என்பது ஆரம்பத்தில் தங்கியுள்ளது.

அதற்கு உதாரணம் போல தீபாவளிக்கு விட்டால் மோதலில் தோற்றுவிடும் என்ற அச்சமோ என்னவோ இரண்டு நாட்கள் முன்னதாக விடுகிறார்கள்.

அஜித்தும் கவிழ்ந்தால் தற்போதைக்கு எஞ்சியுள்ளது கோச்சடையானே.

அஜீத், நயன்தாரா, ஆர்யா, டாப்ஸி ஆகியோர் நடித்து விஷ்ணுவர்த்தன் டைரக்ட் செய்துள்ள படம் ஆரம்பம். இந்தப் படம் தீபாவளிக்கு ரிலீஸ் ஆவதாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

இதோடு தீபாவளிக்கு விஷாலின் பாண்டியநாடு, கார்த்தியின் ஆல் இன் ஆல் அழகுராஜா, ஆகிய படங்களும் ரிலீசாவதாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது. ஆல் இன் ஆல் அழகுராஜாவின் தியேட்டர் புக்கிங் முடிந்து விட்டது.

இந்த நிலையில் அஜீத்தின் ஆரம்பம் தீபாளிக்கு இரண்டு நாட்கள் முன்னதாக அதாவது வருகிற 31ந் தேதி ரிலீசாவதாக அறிவித்திருக்கிறார்கள்.

"ரசிகர்களின் வேண்டுகோளுக்கு இணங்க" என்று வழக்கம்போல காரணம் சொன்னாலும், தீபாவளி சனிக்கிழமை வருவதால் வியாழன், வெள்ளி கலெக்ஷனை விட வேண்டாம் என்று கருதியே முன்னதாகவே படத்தை ரிலீஸ் செய்கிறார்கள்.

தீபாவளிக்கு ரிலீஸ் செய்தால் ஆரம்பம் படத்திற்கு டிக்கெட் கிடைக்காதவர்கள் மற்ற படத்திற்கு செல்ல வாய்ப்பு இருப்பதும் இதற்கு இன்னொரு முக்கிய காரணம்.

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