YSR Reddy declared dead in tragic chopper crash

The worst fears have unfortunately come true. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is said to have been killed in a helicopter crash on a hill in the dense Nallamalla forests, some 40 nautical miles (70 kms) east of Kurnool town. It may be recalled that the chopper carrying the AP chief minister, his Principal Secretary P Subramanyam, chief security officer ASC John Wesley and two pilots went off the radar screens since early morning on Wednesday. The helicopter went missing over the Naxal and tiger-infested Nalamalla forests amid bad weather and incessant rains. The AP chief minister left Hyderabad on a six-seater Bell 430 chopper at 8:35 am on Wednesday for Chittoor district. After 9:27 am, radio contact with the chopper was lost. The helicopter was found in a burnt and mangled state and survivors are unlikely. The bodies of all the five people on board the ill-fated helicopter have been found today. "As of now, we have located the helicopter. We are not sure whether it has crashed or not. Our helicopters are there. We are trying to locate whether there are any survivors," Air Commodore Sagar Bharati of the Bangalore Air Command told reporters. K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, Rajya Sabha member and a close aide of the AP chief minister, also confirmed that the chopper has been found. Union Home Secretary, G.K. Pillai said in New Delhi that it seems the helicopter crash landed but there is no confirmation yet. YSR, as he was popularly known, was an influential political leader who propelled the Congress party-led coalition to victory in the assembly cum general elections in May this year.

Gandhi's sandals and spectacles to be sold at auction in New York

Mahatma Gandhi's sandals and distinctive spectacles are to be sold in a unique auction lot also including his pocket watch.

The sandals were given to a British army officer in 1931 prior to the Round Table talks in London that were held to discuss Indian self rule.

Gandhi gave his metal rimmed, circular lensed glasses to an army colonel with the words: "These gave me the vision to free India."

His Zenith pocket watch was given to his grand niece, Abha Gandhi, his assistant of six years, in whose arms he died after being shot in 1948.

As Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma, had few possessions these items are of huge interest and are expected to well exceed the estimate of £30,000.

Gandhi was pictured wearing the pocket watch, made in about 1910, and it is expectted to be the highlight of the lot.

A bowl and plate that were given by the great political and spiritual leader to his grand niece are also for sale.

The items have letters of provenance and were collected by the unnamed vendor who is now selling them.

Michelle Halpern, from Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York, which is staging the auction, said: "This is a truly historic sale of Gandhi's possessions. Of course he didn't have much, so anything of his that comes up for sale is worth that much more.

Baftas 2009: Slumdog Millionaire loved everywhere but India

Slumdog Millionaire has failed to win over moviegoers in the country it celebrates - India - despite sweeping the board at the Baftas and being odds-on for victory at the Oscars. While film fans the world over have fallen for the charms of Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches tale, Indian audiences are less enamoured.

The film opened there on January 23 amid much hype and took $2.2 million its opening weekend - a decent enough figure, but barely a third of the takings of the top-grossing film, a mediocre horror movie called Raaz: The Mystery Continues.

By last week, takings were down by 70 per cent, according to industry magazine Variety, which called it "a respectable accomplishment but well below the performances of Bollywood hits."

Distributor Fox Searchlight professed itself happy with figures for the film, which was initially released on just 350 screens.

Industry watchers blame its lacklustre performance on confusion over its title - the term 'slumdog' is not widely used - the mix of Hindi and English dialogue, and the easy availability of pirated copies.

Malaysian Indians stage protest

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Indians on Friday staged a peaceful protest rally outside the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, demanding New Delhi “intervene on behalf of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.”

The protesting ethnic Indian leaders, drawn from the multiracial opposition parties, a constituent of the ruling national coalition and also a few non-governmental organisations, estimated that several thousands had gathered for the peaceful protest.

P. Ramasamy, Deputy Chief Minister of Penang State and the highest ranking official among the organisers, along with six others, including four parliamentarians, presented a memorandum to India’s High Commissioner Ashok Kantha. The envoy later told The Hindu that he spelt out to the delegates India’s position on the issues at stake.

American Indian museum to put collection online

WASHINGTON -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is putting its 800,000-object collection online.

The museum plans to launch the first phase of the project Monday, beginning with 5,500 items and photographs. The project is part of the museum's regular Web site.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013002472.html