09 April 2007
Islamabad, April 9 (DPA) The Pakistani Foreign Ministry Monday asked India to exhibit "political will" to make progress on the Siachen Glacier dispute that remained unresolved after high-level talks held last week in Pakistan.
"For conflict resolution we need willingness on both sides," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told journalists at her weekly press briefing here.
The recent parleys in Islamabad's neighbouring city of Rawalpindi, aimed at demilitarising the world's highest battleground, did not result in any breakthrough. While Islamabad remained insistent on the retreat of Indian troops to the position held by them in 1984, New Delhi showed no flexibility in its demand for authentication of the current locations of the soldiers.
Aslam said the Pakistani side tabled some "reasonable proposals" in the two-day discussions and expected that they would help end the Siachen stand-off.
Optimistic of the continuing peace process, she said efforts were being made to address the reservations expressed by the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Lahore, April 9 (IANS) Mukhtar Mai, who survived a gang-rape in 2002 and has become a fervent campaigner for Pakistan's voiceless women, could be killed by feudal lords or even government agencies, the New York Times has said.
Urging Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to protect her, noted American columnist Nicholas Kristoff has said: "So I have a message for President Musharraf: Don't even think about it. Start protecting Mukhtar instead of harassing her."
Referring to her "top aide and soul mate" Naseem Akhtar, he said: "And if any 'accident' happens to Mukhtar or Naseem, you will be held responsible before the world. We are watching."
"Mukhtar is a hero of mine," Kristoff wrote. "But her work has earned her many enemies, particularly among the feudal lords - and even in the government of President Pervez Musharraf, who fears that Mukhtar displays Pakistan's dirty laundry before the world. So the Pakistani authorities are harassing Mukhtar, trying to break her organisation", which helps women and the poor in distress.
"Most of the pressure right now is on Mukhtar's top aide and soul mate, Naseem Akhtar. Lately Naseem's brother was in a mysterious vehicle accident, her father was ordered arrested for no apparent reason and her own house was broken into."
The report says that Farooq Leghari, a police chief, was transferred away from Meerwala because "he tried too hard to protect Mukhtar". He now is police chief in another town and when Kristof visited him, he told him that the "harassment and pressure on them is from very high up, from Islamabad".
St. John's (Antigua), April 9 (IANS-CMC) In a bid to attract more spectators to the remaining World Cup matches, the organisers have launched operation "Ram-de-Dance" and announced a ticket sale incentive.
Organiser Chris Dehring admitted that the World Cup officials should take the blame "for not communicating" as much as they could have with the public, particularly with what is permitted during the matches.
"Here in Antigua I have heard incredible things like music not being played in the stands; musical instruments banned... which clearly are not true because in Jamaica people were bringing musical instruments, there was loud music all over the place. It was a great party."
The organisers of the World Cup had earned negative publicity over ticket prices and tough guidelines for the spectators, which resulted in half-empty stadiums during the first-round matches and early Super Eight matches.
Operation "Ram-de-Dance" is a new campaign launched World Cup organisers "to fill stadiums" for the remaining 12 Super Eight matches in Grenada and Barbados, the semi-finals and the final.
Hyderabad, April 9 (IANS) In the second such shocking incident in a fortnight, 10 girl students were bitten on their hands and legs by a pack of stray dogs at Koti Women's College here Monday.
The pack consisting of 12 dogs attacked the students as they were waiting in the college campus for their degree examinations to begin.
The injured students were taken to a government-run hospital and given anti-rabies injections.
The incident led to panic among the students and the management cancelled the examination and declared it a holiday.
Alerted by the college management, the civic workers rushed to the campus and killed two dogs and caught 10 others.
Several anxious parents rushed to the college to escort their daughters back.
The women's college is located in the busy Koti area. The early 19th century building is surrounded by a sprawling campus.
On March 18, stray dogs killed a six-month old child at Ziaguda on the banks of Musi River when his parents left him alone to wash clothes.
Following the incident, municipal authorities claimed to have launched a special drive to control the dog menace.
After Monday's incident, the civic authorities said they would kill mad dogs and sterilize others.
Last year, the authorities had caught about 22,000 dogs but sterilization was done only on a few. The officials maintain they are not allowed to complete the task of controlling the dog menace due to pressure from animal rights activists.
Caracas, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Twelve countries have already confirmed their participation in the first South American Energy Summit to be held on April 16 and 17 in Margaritas Island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta.
According to Venezuela’s Bolivarian news agency, governmental representatives of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela will take part in the meeting.
Prior to the official opening of the event, the 3rd meeting of Senior Officials of the South American Community of Nations will be held on April 15.
The summit agenda for April 16 morning includes the second meeting of Ministers of Energy of the South American Community of Nations (SACN), while the Foreign Ministers of the SACN will hold talks in the afternoon.
On April 17, the SACN Summit will be established by the heads of state and government attending the event.
With the union in energy, the SACN will consolidate agreements in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, mining, industry, among others.
Tehran, April 9, (IRNA) Over 15,000 university students are to form a human chain around Natanz Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) on Monday to express their support for Iran's peaceful nuclear energy achievements.
The symbolic move is to be carried out on the occasion of National Day of Nuclear Technology.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Reza Aqazadeh and his deputies and several MPs as well as a group of senior officials and foreign ambassadors to Tehran are to take part in a special celebration to be held at Natanz nuclear site, 100km north of central city of Isfahan, within the next few hours to mark the National Day of Nuclear Technology.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) In a bid to bring a semblance of order to the capital's chaotic roads, police Monday prosecuted over 4,500 people and collected a record Rs.1.7 million in fines as it armed itself with stiff new laws against traffic violators.
Delhi Police said at least 1,333 driving licences were punched and 220 vehicles were impounded as part of the drive.
"It's a significant achievement as we could manage to punish a large number of violators on the first day. We will try to keep the momentum going," Joint Commissioner of Police Qamar Ahmed told IANS.
The traffic police cracked the whip on errant drivers committing offences like using mobile phones while driving, speeding, rash driving as well as sporting tinted glasses on windows of four-wheelers, pressure horns and having unauthorised top lights and bonnet lights.
Traffic cops, who could be seen on duty at all leading traffic signals and crossroads under scorching sun, caught every vehicle that jumped the red signal and every car with tinted glasses.
Following the Delhi High Court's directions, the minimum fine for traffic offences has been increased from Rs.100 to Rs.600 by adding Rs.500 as compounding fee.
Drivers were fined an additional sum of Rs.500 for every offence and their licence card was punched. According to the new rules, if a licence is punched five times, it stands cancelled.
According to directions, drivers of private city buses as well as Delhi Transport Corporations (DTC) buses will be required to wear uniforms and badges with their names on them. Barring the driver and a conductor, no other bus staff would be allowed.
"We are specially looking out for offending bus drivers. By afternoon, at least 60 drivers have been prosecuted for not wearing uniforms and for overspeeding," a traffic official told IANS.
Two-wheeler riders were fined for not wearing helmets.
"Since morning, we have removed black films from at least 650 cars at various crossings," a traffic official told IANS.
The capital's drivers, not used to traffic discipline, alleged they were being harassed.
"How can a middle class man pay a penalty of Rs.600?" asked Sonu Kumar who was fined for halting his car beyond the stop line at a traffic signal.
A two-wheeler owner, who was fined for being without a helmet, said: "As the fine has been increased to a minimum of Rs.600, I think people would now prefer to buy helmets that cost only Rs.200 to escape the penalty."
However, pedestrians were happy. "Now motorists will think twice before jumping a red signal or rolling out a vehicle with tinted glasses," said Vinita Singh.
Some Delhiites believe that the traffic laws should have been amended and applied in the strictest sense a long time ago.
"We would like to thank the High Court order to tame the indisciplined motorists in the capital. But what the Court has overlooked is that there are several impediments to ensuring a smooth flow of traffic in Delhi, said Aarti Chaddha, a collegiate.
Meanwhile, the new orders of the court were a fillip to the Delhi Traffic Police.
"It would help us prosecute strictly to stop anyone driving while attending a phone call on cellular phone or while smoking or being drunk. Now they will think twice before violating any rule," said Rajesh Sharma, a traffic constable.
According to Joint Commissioner of Police Qamar Ahmed: "The new rules will bring down the crime rate in the city too as people would themselves peel off the black films."
At least 2,000 traffic cops were deployed at 80 locations to carry out the court's orders.
Beijing, April 9 (Xinhua) China has the world's largest population of hepatitis B patients, said an official of the Chinese Hepatitis Prevention Foundation (HPF) here.
Nearly 500,000 people die of liver damage and hepatocirrhosis triggered by chronic hepatitis B, said HPF head Wang Zhao.
He said about 120 million Chinese test positive to hepatitis, which has become a severe public health problem in the country.
HPF and Novartis pharmaceutical company are working together to push forward an awareness project on hepatitis prevention, including 120 lectures in major cities.
London, April 9 (IANS) India is urging more and more British couples to adopt Indian baby girls.
More than 11 million babies, mainly unwanted girls, live on the streets or lie abandoned in dirty children's homes in India, the Daily Mail reported.
Under current Indian regulations, it takes more than a year for foreign families to adopt an Indian baby, but this will be cut to 45 days.
Under the Indian guidelines, single parents will be considered but not same-sex couples. Couples must be financially secure and have been together for more than five years to be eligible for adopting. Also, social work checks will be carried out to rule out possible child abusers.
The new set of rules is expected to give some hope to British families who have faced increasing problems adopting overseas.
Lucknow, April 9 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart L.K. Advani Monday slammed the Election Commission for filing a criminal complaint against the party national chief over a controversial CD, saying the commission's move to de-recognise the BJP on the issue was "anti-democratic" and "stupid".
Addressing a crowded press conference here Monday afternoon, Advani said: "The act (of filing a First Information Report or FIR with the police) was not only anti-democratic, but it was also stupid to conceive that a national party that has ruled the country for six years could be de-recognised on such flimsy charges."
"I have been closely associated with different elections since 1952 and cannot recall a single case where the Election Commission has gone out of its way to initiate a criminal case against any senior political leader even when their parties were flayed and condemned for committing serious violations of the election code of conduct."
BJP national chief Raj Nath Singh had Monday offered to court arrest after a complaint by the commission was lodged with the police against him over his alleged role in the preparation of the CD containing "objectionable" material aimed at inciting anti-Muslim feelings.
Advani, known as the Hindu hardline face of the BJP, said: "The media is busy saying that we are trying to take political advantage of the situation. Tell me, if someone commits blunders and stupidities, are we, as a political party, expected to sit pretty?" He declared, "anybody in that position is bound to take advantage and so are we."
The former deputy prime minister sought to draw a comparison between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's approach and that of the then Congress regime during 1975-1977 Emergency days. "Just as the then ruling Congress had to suffer and was thrown out of the national scene simply because they chose to hound Jai Prakash Narayan (socialist leader), the present Congress-led UPA government is now targeting the BJP." He added, "perhaps the same fate is in store for the UPA now."
Blaming the Congress for what he termed as an "anti-BJP tirade", Advani said it "simply reflected the Congress party's anxiety about the unstoppable progress being currently made by the BJP".
Raj Nath Singh, talking to the media after the state police refused to arrest him for want of evidence, said: "A high level probe needs to be ordered to find out how and why an FIR was lodged against the BJP president, which simply speaks volumes of the motivated working of the Election Commission."
Asked if he agreed with the contents of the CD, Singh shot back, "Well, we have already taken action against a party functionary whose lapse led to this controversy."
Both Advani and Singh discreetly avoided condemning the highly derogatory and anti-Muslim contents of the CD. They simply went about targeting the poll panel and the Congress while seeking to proclaim themselves as some kind of Hindu nationalist heroes.
In an FIR lodged by the poll panel, Singh and BJP Uttar Pradesh veteran Lalji Tandon had been pointedly held responsible for the circulation of the CD. It had been formally released along with other publicity material at a party function chaired by Tandon here last week.
Kabul, April 9, (IRNA) Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta left here for Tehran Monday at the head of a high-ranking delegation for an official two-day visit.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen told IRNA here Monday the visit is taking place upon an official invitation by Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
He added the visit is aimed at exploring avenues to bolster ties between the two friendly and neighboring states.
He said Spanta is scheduled to hold talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, his counterpart, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi and Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani.
The sides are to exchange views on key regional and international developments, consolidation of bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields, he said.
The official added Iran has played an active role in
reconstruction of Afghanistan, saying Tehran has allocated half of its 560-million-dollar pledge to Kabul to health and agricultural fields and construction of streets.
Baheen said the volume of exchanges between Iran and Afghanistan hit 500 million dollars in the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2007) and added that the figure is scheduled to be doubled during the current Iranian year.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) An Air India flight from Bangkok made an emergency landing at Delhi international airport Monday after its landing gear collapsed, leading to flight disruptions for over six hours. All passengers are safe.
The Shanghai-Bangkok-Delhi flight A310 landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 6.28 a.m. under full emergency conditions after it developed a technical snag in the locking system of the front landing gear. The emergency landing left the main runway blocked.
Flight services resumed at 1.19 p.m.
"The flight operations were allowed after the airport authorities gave security clearance for using the main runway. The secondary runway is also in use," a senior airport official said.
All 191 passengers disembarked safely after the landing, but as the plane was being towed away to a remote bay its front wheel collapsed leaving the aircraft's tail jutting out onto the runway near one end. As a result further flight operations were affected.
At least 10 domestic flights were affected. The runway is given to domestic flights after the international flights, which take place by early morning.
According to the AI officials, the passengers of the plane were to travel to Mumbai from Delhi. Of them, 134 are being accommodated on an Indian Airlines flight and the remaining 57 have been given the option to board the Mumbai-bound Indian Airlines flight along with the other passengers, without their baggage.
Their baggage would be delivered directly at the Mumbai airport, officials said.
Meanwhile, airport authorities are investigating the incident. The aircraft is being towed to a safer place for repair.
Mukesh Yadav, one of the passengers, said: "The flight crew were very helpful and informed us about the emergency landing."
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) A Shanghai-Bangkok-Delhi flight of Air India (AI) made an emergency landing Monday after its landing gear collapsed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
"The AI flight coming from Bangkok landed here at 6.28 a.m. under full emergency. All 169 passengers are safe," a senior airport official told IANS.
The passengers and flight crew are currently being examined by a team of doctors.
All flight operations at the airport have been suspended following the incident.
"The runway is still closed and we are trying to start the flight process as all the security check-ups at the runway are underway," the official added.
Mukesh Yadav, one of the passengers onboard the AI flight, said: "The flight crew was very helpful and they informed us about the emergency landing."
At least 10 domestic flights have been affected by the incident.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has criticised the Indian cricket board's decision to put a cap on players' earnings, saying the move to restrict endorsements was akin to treating senior players "as kids".
"It is a joke the way the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is limiting players from signing endorsements. You can't be treating senior players like Sachin Tendulkar as kids," said Akram.
"If some senior players have advised the board to stop endorsements, then it is wrong...the jealousy factor is very clear."
"As a cricketer, I always looked forward to playing for my country. If you are good enough, endorsements will come. It's not the money but the recognition that matters. Of course, money should not affect your game, but form and endorsements are not related," he said in a press release.
The former Pakistan captain also added that: "Can you tell David Beckham that all your endorsements are being withdrawn because you haven't scored a goal in two years?"
In the wake of the Indian cricket team's poor performance in the World Cup, the BCCI Saturday decided to scrap the players' contract system and restrict cricketers' endorsements to three.
India crashed out in the first round of the World Cup in the West Indies, losing two of the three group matches.
The 40-year-old Akram also said that financial stability of the athletes is very important and that the BCCI should rethink its decision.
"Cricket is a mental game and a player will perform only when he is mentally comfortable that his efforts are being rewarded. The BCCI must rethink its decision," he said.
Akram lauded the BCCI for retaining Rahul Dravid as the captain for the next three tours and the appointment for Ravi Shastri, as the team manager for the Bangladesh tour starting March 10.
"It's a bold decision...The couple of senior players who were dreaming to be captain again in place of Dravid have been put in their places.
"Dravid is a good captain and he is improving. He may be lacking in confidence but he will get better. Under him, India will settle down as a team. It might take a couple of years but eventually the results will be good."
On Shastri's appointment he said: "Players like Ravi should be more actively involved. Ravi is a players' man, likeable and knows what to do with players. Whatever happens, happens for the better and Ravi's coming, even for a short span, will help. May be in future, there is a bigger role for him in Indian cricket."
Akram in the past has been critical of Greg Chappell's role as the coach of the Indian team but gave kudos to the BCCI on their proposal to give the former Australian the directorship of the National Cricket Academy.
"So what if he (Greg) failed as Team India coach? Greg has a lot to offer. He is an organised man and young players will learn Aussie aggression and passion from him. Indian cricket needs the hunger for success and who better than Greg to instil that?"
Chappell, whose contract with the BCCI was till the end of this month, resigned from the post of coach of the national team last week.
Tokyo, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki on Monday started his first official visit to Tokyo where he is expected to affirm the long-term strategic partnership between Japan and Iraq.
Al-Maliki, who arrived here late Sunday for a four-day visit, was granted an audience by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.
He is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day.
Abe is expected to reiterate Japan's support for reconstruction efforts and to offer official development assistance and other economic aid.
He is also likely to urge him to continue making efforts to promote national reconciliation in Iraq.
Al-Maliki, on the other hand, is expected to brief Abe on the current situation surrounding public safety and reconstruction in Iraq.
The Iraqi leader is also set to meet Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma; Foreign Minister Taro Aso; Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari and political party leaders.
Japan withdrew its ground troops from Iraq last July, but the country's air force has expanded its airlift support in transporting UN personnel and supplies between Kuwait and Iraq.
Japan, a key donor to Iraq, has pledged to provide Iraq a total of USD 5 billion in aid for its reconstruction for a four-year period from 2004 to fiscal 2007, which ends this month.
The government intends to keep supporting Iraqi reconstruction, focusing on strengthening the country's economic infrastructure.
Al-Maliki's arrival was delayed for some 10 hours after Iran refused to allow his plane to fly over its air space and forced it to divert to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
This is Al-Maliki's first Asian tour since taking office last May. He will also visit South Korea after Japan.
Algiers, April 9 (DPA) Algerian-based Islamist militants acting under the name "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb" have killed nine Algerian soldiers and injured five more east of Algiers, local media reported Monday.
According to the reports, some 50 members of the terrorist organization, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), lured members of the Algerian military into an ambush and attacked them in the hills near Ain Defla, south-west of the capital.
Reinforcements summoned by the soldiers killed 10 terrorists, reports said about Saturday's clashes.
The Algerian military has been trying for about a month to disable an important base of the organization, which reportedly officially joined the Al-Qaeda terrorist network several months ago.
Algiers, April 9 (NNN-APS) Algeria’s Head of the Government, Abdelaziz Belkhadem, and the Secretary of the Libyan General Popular Committee, El Baghdadi Ali El Mahmoudi, will co-chair on Monday in Tripoli, Libya, the 12th Algerian-Libyan executive commission of cooperation meeting.
The head of government's office said in a statement released here Saturday that during his visit to Libya, Belkhadem will be accompanied by an important ministerial delegation.
This session of the commission was to be preceded by a preparatory meeting of the follow-up committee on Saturday and Sunday, under the joint presidency of the Algerian Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, and the Secretary of the General Popular Committee of Libya in charge of active forces of training and employment, the statement added.
During the session, both parties will assess the co-operation between both countries in all domains and will examine ways to step up such co-operation at the instruction of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the statement said.
Algiers, April 9 (NNN-APS) The Algerian navy is taking part in the “Phoenix Express 2007� multinational naval exercise which also involves units from France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States.
Commander of naval forces General Malek Nessib Saturday inspected the escort vessel Mourad Raïs before it sailed from Algiers to take part in the April 10 to 24 exercise to be held in Spain, naval forces information officer Lieutenant Colonel Deffairi Slimane said.
The exercise, to be conducted for the second year in a row, is being held with the aim of reinforcing operational co-operation between the US Sixth Fleet and the navies of the countries concerned in a bid to co-ordinate efforts and unify the operating procedures, Lt.-Col. Deffairi added.
The objectives of the exercise are the "planning and execution of a complicated exercise, on the maritime interdiction as well as the control and the follow up of the maritime activities through the setting up of a common operational centre in the Spanish base of Rota".
Through this exercise, the aim is also to train assault groups of the participating countries, train crews on struggle for survival as well as to generalize the use of the Automatic Information System (AIS) and information exchange, he added.
Training crews on helicopter landings and mastering search and rescue operations, communication, sailing in groups as well as operations of supply, towing and technical evacuations in offshore areas are also priorities for the exercise.
By Shweta Thakur
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Two recently concluded fashion events - Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) - are indicators of the growth of the Indian fashion industry. But it needs to overcome many pitfalls before it can make a real mark on the international fashion fraternity.
Slackness in marketing strategies is one such problem that is preventing the acknowledgement of Indian designers across the globe.
"Indian designers are hardly known in Kuwait. Nearly 60 percent of the couture market in Kuwait is dominated by Italy and 30 percent by France. Only 3 percent accounts for India and the rest encompasses others," said Mohammed Salah, a buyer from the designer store Modain.
"Moreover, designers do not support buyers as catalogues and brochures are rarely given to us while we are watching the collection on the ramp. Also, the whole range of outfits is not showcased on the ramp," Salah told IANS.
In a bid to woo international buyers, designers are rolling out western lines. But the collections do not appeal to foreign customers as they are over-embellished, do not have perfect cuts and lack originality.
Robin Schulie, a buyer from Paris, agreed.
"Some designers here are living in a make believe world. They are overlooking the splendid local market of India and are looking to Europe for approval. Where is the Indian identity?" asked Schulie of Maria Luisa, an upscale accessory store.
"Designers here overemphasise on embellishments but the cuts of the outfits are not perfect as yet," he added.
Though the turnout of buyers soared appreciably compared to the previous editions of the fashion weeks, the buying system proved a reason for annoyance.
"The buying system is not very efficient and systematic here. It's crazy - designers open their stores at 10:30 a.m. and close by 9 p.m. The time clashes with the show timings, so buyers can't make the most of it. How can a buyer see the collection and buy at the same time?" asks Mickey Kanoh of Saaya, a designer boutique in Japan.
"Designers must either open the stalls early or close them late, so that buyers get more time," added Kanoh.
While the way of presentation impressed the buyers, they did not find the pricing of garments and accessories up to the mark.
"Indian techniques and use of colours is impressive. The fabrics are very comfortable too, but sometimes the use of accessories disappoints. The heels models wear are unreal. No customer will buy such high heels," said Veronique Poles, a French consultant business developer.
"The presentation is extremely impressive, but compared to previous years I've noticed a hike in the price of outfits, which does not always match the quality," said Kanoh.
Talk about hairdos, and celebrity hairstylist Dar looks helplessly dissatisfied.
"Indian designers are so creative but the hairstyles don't go with their collections. The hairdo is overdone and makes the model look like a 'nobody'," confesses Dar.
Regardless of all these lacunae, none can deny that the Indian fashion industry is developing phenomenally when judged against its age. And learning is a part of growing up.
"We are a young organisation and a nascent industry. We will learn and evolve with time," said Ritu Kumar, designer and president Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).
"Despite growing by leaps and bounds season after season, the Indian fashion industry has a long way to go before it can compete with international fashion weeks. But we have lived up to the promise of delivering the 'business of fashion'. Getting government recognition and support for the fashion industry has been one of the most strategic milestones," said Rathi Vinay Jha, director general FDCI.
The buyers were impressed for much the same reasons.
"I am impressed by the level and progress of the whole fashion event. It is so professional and, most importantly, legitimate. I must confess designers like Manish Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna offer us tough competition," said Schulie.
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, April 9 (IANS) With a new government in office in Punjab, politicians and officials Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal despised are on the run - chased by charges of corruption and graft.
Leading the list is the previous chief minister Amarinder Singh. Several officials and others are also at the receiving end of the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation in the state.
But Badal and his MP son Sukhbir Badal, now the working president of the Akali Dal, keep saying that there will be no political vendetta.
Amarinder Singh is getting a Punjab and Haryana High Court stay on any possible arrest by the vigilance wing of the Punjab Police till July 30. He has been named in a corruption scam regarding construction of the Ludhiana City Centre.
Amarinder Singh had himself unleashed similar vigilance cases against the Badals in 2002, accusing them of amassing property worth Rs.35 billion ( ). Both father and son were even arrested and jailed. Amarinder Singh now fears the same treatment.
Former local bodies minister Jagjit Singh has remained "unavailable" since he was named with Amarinder Singh and 16 others in the City Centre corruption scandal.
The police have declared him and Ludhiana Improvement Trust chairman P.S. Sibia as "absconders" - men absconding from law.
Amarinder Singh's chosen Director General of Police S.S. Virk was placed under suspension after a police probe linked him to a land deal worth millions in which a war widow was allegedly duped by property agents.
Virk has been accused of making transactions up to Rs.8.5 million in this deal.
The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana saw its vice chancellor K.S. Aulakh quit last week. Patiala's Punjabi University is witnessing unruly scenes with vice chancellor S.S. Boparai allegedly facing the state's wrath.
The once powerful media adviser to Amarinder Singh, B.I.S. Chahal, left the country within hours of the Badal government taking power. He apparently fears arrest as an informal probe is on regarding his assets.
Over 20 bureaucrats and police officials, who were involved with the probe against the Badals in the previous regime, are being kept on tenterhooks by the government. Six of them have sought anticipatory bail.
"Most of these things are being done at the behest of Sukhbir Badal," the chief minister's son, an official told IANS on conditions of anonymity.
For the record though, there is "no political vendetta" in Punjab.
Ahmedabad, April 9 (IndianMuslims.info newsdesk): To help the environment of communal amity in Gujarat, Anhad opened a resource centre in Ahmedabad today. ANHAD which stands for Act Now for Harmony and Democracy inaugurated its center with the screening of the movie Parzania.
Parzania is about story of a Parsi boy who disappears during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Though officially not banned but all the move theatres have been pressured not to screen the movie. Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD said that “film symbolizes the struggle for freedom of expression in Gujarat.� Anhad is also planning to organize a public screening of the film.
Anhad has actively worked in Gujarat for over five years now. It has organized large number of intensive training camps to counter the hatred. They have been instrumental in organizing major peace cultural programmes, seminars, conventions, rallies, youth initiatives for communal harmony.
Anhad has collaborated with a large number of Gujarat based organizations to raise issues concerning the 2002 victims as well as the continuing discrimination against minorities with the government at the center. “We have been very fortunate to have a wonderful support group in Gujarat and have so far operated from various offices including Prashant, Janvikas, Aman Samudaya and others.� Shabnam Hashmi added.
Over the years Anhad has developed a lot of anti-communal resource material and a need was felt to open office and a resource center. The resource center has hundreds of books, films, documentaries, exhibitions, posters, pamphlets which groups can borrow and use in anti-communal campaigns. Anhad has produced material for distribution and there are books in the reference section where students, research scholars who are working on the questions related to communalism can do research.
Anhad was formed in the aftermath of Gujarat carnage of 2002. After spending over a year in Gujarat and witnessing the brutalities anti-communal forces realised that it was not possible to counter the communal violence without a concerted effort to counter the hate ideology itself.
Anhad was conceived less as an organisation and more as a platform and a very loose absolutely action oriented movement. ANHAD is neither a structured and highly resourced organisation nor a centralised movement capable of large-scale popular mobilisation. It, however, tries to combine the elements of both by collaborating with existing organisations and movements and by undertaking local level activities. The former enables Anhad to develop creative co-operation with people's organisations and social movements working in different areas of social, cultural and political concerns, the latter opens up for secular mobilisation the space hitherto uncolonised by communalism.
Anhad is registered as a trust and has six trustees.
K N Panikkar, historian and social commentator, Founding Trustee
Harsh Mander, activist and writer, Founding Trustee
Shubha Mudgal, musician, Trustee
Kamla Bhasin, activist and writer, Trustee
Saeed Akhtar Mirza, film maker and writer, Trustee
Shabnam Hashmi, social and political activist, Founding and Managing Trustee
Link:
Itanagar, April 9 (IANS) The nearly fortnight-long political drama in Arunachal Pradesh ended as India's longest serving chief minister Gegong Apang stepped down Monday, paving the way for Power Minister Dorjee Khandu to take over.
Apang tendered his resignation to Governor K. Sankaranarayanan at the Raj Bhavan in this capital after a majority of the ruling Congress legislators elected Khandu leader of the Congress legislature party.
"Khandu would be sworn-in as new chief minister Monday night," an official at the Raj Bhavan said.
Earlier in the day, 25 of the 33 ruling Congress legislators in the 60-member legislature voted against Apang and chosen Khandu their leader, forcing the former chief minister to quit office despite putting up a brave front.
Five Congress legislators supported Apang, while two were absent.
"Arunachal Pradesh would be now in the safe hands of Khandu," said Tako Dabi, water resources development minister and one of the pro-change leaders. Central ministers Oscar Fernandes and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi were present as Congress observers during the legislature party meeting.
The 58-year-old Apang, who became chief minister for the fifth term after assembly elections in October 2004, was facing a rebellion from within his party.
Joining the bandwagon of revolt against Apang were two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislators and seven independent MLAs. The Congress legislators were angry over Apang's alleged dictatorial policies and were disgruntled over portfolio distribution in the council of ministers.
A group of about a dozen legislators were earlier camping in New Delhi for more than a week and had met top leaders of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), including party president Sonia Gandhi.
There were murmurs of disaffection soon after the election results were announced in October 2004 with some Congress legislators openly challenging Apang's loyalty to the Congress.
Political instability is the hallmark in Arunachal Pradesh with legislators switching loyalty at the drop of a hat.
Apang engineered a mass defection in the Congress in 2003 and formed a non-Congress government and later merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to install the first saffron party government in the northeast.
But just before the elections, Apang and his BJP ministers made a dramatic switchover back to the Congress before winning the assembly polls.
Cairo, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) The Arab League has proposed a collective Arab perception to resolve the Iraq problem to be submitted to the Sharm El-Sheikh conferences on Iraq early next month.
Director of the Arab Relations Department at the Arab League Ali Al-Jaroushi said in a statement Sunday that the two conferences, one for Iraq's neighbours and the second on Iraq reconstruction, would be a "positive step" aimed at mending the fences in the troubled Iraq.
He said the first conference would also include foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council members and those of the G-8 besides the Arab League.
Al-Jaroushi said that the second conference would also witness attendance of countries concerned over Iraq's reconstruction.
He said the Arab League's proposal that would be submitted to the conferences are derived from resolutions of the recent Arab summit that was held in Riyadh and aimed at finding appropriate means to solving the Iraqi crisis including respecting its sovereignty and preserving its Arab and Islamic identity.
He said that the proposal clarifies that achieving stability in Iraq and overcoming its current crisis demands a parallel security and political solution.
Al-Jaroushi pointed out that this proposal includes an expansion of the political process, confronting confessional feud as well as speeding up the amendment of some articles of the constitution in a way that consolidates efforts of national reconciliation.
Guwahati, April 9 (IANS) Journalists in Assam Monday decided to boycott all state programmes until the government tenders a public apology and takes stern action for police highhandedness on scribes during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit.
Journalists staged a walkout Sunday in the venue of the prime minister's function after being verbally abused by the Guwahati City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) S.N. Singh.
The police official refused to let in scribes despite their having formal security passes.
The Journalist Action Committee (JAC) in an emergency meeting here condemned the unsavoury incident and issued a 72-hour ultimatum seeking a public apology from the government. The ultimatum came into force from 3 p.m. Monday.
"No local newspapers, including outstation journalists of both print and television, would report any government related stories or cover government functions during the period. All Assam based newspapers on Tuesday would leave a blank black space in their front page as a token of protest," a JAC resolution said.
Over 100 journalists and editors of leading dailies attended the meeting and decided to wear black badges Tuesday to protest the incident.
"The meeting also sought exemplary action taken against the Guwahati SSP for his behaviour that forced journalists to boycott the prime minister's function," said Manjit Mahanta, executive editor of Asomiya Pratidin, a mass circulation Assamese daily.
The story of the prime minister laying a Rs.2.38 billion three-lane bridge over river Brahmaputra near Guwahati Sunday was blanked out by all newspapers and local TV channels in Assam.
"News presenters on private TV channels operating out of Assam would wear black badges Tuesday as a mark of protest," the JAC said.
Melbourne, April 9 (NNN-BERNAMA) Australian Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says Australia must not repeat the mistake it made in 2005 by withdrawing troops from Timor Leste as that country prepares for presidential elections next week.
Eight candidates will vie to replace independence leader Xanana Gusmao as president in the elections, the first since Timor Leste gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
Rudd said Sunday the electoral process presented a fresh challenge to the 900 Australian soldiers on the ground in Timor Leste.
He said the Australian government should not withdraw troops as they did in June 2005, following a six-year peacekeeping mission.
The Australia government was forced to send troops back to the region in April 2006 after a wave of rioting, arson and looting that followed the sacking of almost 600 Timorese soldiers for deserting their barracks.
Five people were killed and more than 20,000 people fled their homes in the ensuing violence between the sacked soliders and government forces.
"We've seen earlier the cost which has been borne by the Australian taxpayer of the government's decision, prematurely, to withdraw Australian forces from East Timor (Timor Leste)," Rudd said.
"(The opposition Australian) Labor (Party) has long argued that we need to be there to continue to stabilise East Timor. We pulled out too early last time -- we should not do so again.
"The political process is unfolding, there are real challenges for our men and women on the ground in East Timor in the days ahead and our thoughts and our prayers should be with them as this is going to be a dangerous period."
St.John's (Antigua), April 9 (IANS-CMC) Kevin Pietersen stroked a brilliant century but it proved in vain as Australia eased to a seven-wicket victory over England in their Cricket World Cup (CWC) Super 8 match to virtually book a semi-final spot during the last game at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here Sunday.
Australia's three seamers - Glen McGrath, Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken - evenly shared nine wickets as they combined to bowl out England for 247 off 49.5 overs as hit Pietersen 104 off 122 balls.
Captain Ricky Ponting then hit 86 off 106 balls with seven fours to help steer his side to 248 for three off 47.2 overs as the Aussies completed their sixth win in the tournament and their 25th straight in CWC since 1999.
Ponting and Michael Clarke, who hit a supportive undefeated 55 off 63 balls with just two boundaries, paced their team to victory in a stand of 112 for the third wicket after they came together at 89 for two, having lost Mathew Hayden for 41 and Adam Gilchrist 27.
However, Pietersen's effort was commendable as he shared in a stand of 140 for the third wicket with Ian Bell who hit 77 that threatened to take England to a bigger total at one stage.
But Bell's dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse in which three wickets fell for 15 runs before Ravi Bopara who hit 21 from 36 balls and Pietersen added a useful 51 for sixth wicket which revived the innings.
Earlier, England had lost two quick wickets in 15 balls after captain Michael Vaughan (5), who won the toss and batted first, was bowled off the inside-edge for five.
He was dislodged by fast bowler Shan Tait, who also accounted for the recalled left-hander Andrew Strauss (7).
They were 24 for two in the sixth over when Bell, who opened in place of the dropped Ed Joyce, was joined by Pietersen as they set about repairing the early damage.
Pietersen, who struck six fours and a six, showed his attacking instinct when he danced into a delivery from veteran Glenn McGrath to on-drive him for a delightful boundary before he lashed 10 off left-arm spinner Brad Hogg's first over.
Bell followed suit by spanking McGrath for three fours in one over as they forced captain Ponting to rotate his bowlers in short spells.
They brought up the 100 partnership off 107 balls before Pietersen was dropped on 63 at mid-off by Hayden off Tait who had returned for his second spell.
But Bell, who looked entrenched although he gave a difficult chance to Ponting at mid-wicket, gave his hand away when he drove a lap-high catch to cover off McGrath in the 30th over to trigger a slide.
The rampaging Tait swung a delivery away from Paul Collingwood which he edged to the wicket-keeper to make it 167 for four before Hogg, switched to the opposite end, lured the out-of-form Andrew Flintoff (4) out of his crease and Adam Gilchrist completed the stumping three runs later.
Pietersen, who continued to bat solidly, found a useful ally in Bopara, the Man-of-the-Match in the two-run loss to Sir Lanka, as they brought England back into the game.
But the return of left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken broke the stand when Bopara flicked a catch to deep mid-wicket in the 47th over as England reached 230 for six.
Pietersen soon followed, lofting a catch to wide long-on where Michael Clarke held a well-judged catch.
It was then 240 for seven before the eighth wicket of Sajid Mahmood (0) fell two balls later at the same score.
Paul Nixon hammered McGrath for a six over wide long-on in the last over before the veteran seamer and CWC's all-time leading wicket-taker had him caught in the deep next ball.
The 37-year-old McGrath then trapped James Anderson (0) with the fifth ball to finish with three for 62 from 9.5 overs.
McGrath has taken 15 wickets so far in the tournament and his overall tally is 60. Bracken bagged three for 33 and Tait captured three for 41.
Gilchrist and Hayden survived confident leg-before-wicket appeals in the first two overs before they put on 57 for first wicket when Gilchrist mis-timed a drive of Flintoff to cover and departed for 27.
Hayden was looking solid for 41 off 50 balls with six fours before he lost his off-stump to Collingwood's first ball.
Ponting, with some trademark fluent drives, and excellent running between the wickets with Clarke, then batted the England bowlers out of the match.
After Ponting's dismissal when he was run out by Collingwood's pick-up and direct hit at point attempting a cheeky single, Andrew Symonds hit 28 off as many balls including four fours and a six in an unbroken stand of 48 with Clarke to secure the victory.
Symonds launched into Collingwood, hitting him for a four and then a six off successive balls before almost being caught on the wide mid-wicket boundary by Pietersen, who took the catch but could not maintain his balance inches from the rope and released the ball before skipping over the rope.
Dubai, April 9 (NNN-PTI) Australia have reclaimed their number one status from South Africa in the ICC ODI rankings in less than two months by maintaining a cent per cent win record in the World Cup so far.
Australia crushed England in their Super Eight cricket World Cup match on Sunday to easily displaced South Africa to regain the top spot with 128 points.
The Proteas had dropped two points to 125 following their defeat at the hands of Bangladesh.
When South Africa went top of the ODI Championship last month, it had been the first time a side had overtaken Australia since the listings began in October 2002.
And South Africa had timed its run to perfection as it managed to pass the cut-off date of April 1 in front thus winning the USD 175,000 prize for being there. Australia was awarded USD 75,000 for being runners-up.
But Australia has dominated this ICC Cricket World Cup so far, boasting a 100 per cent record to date with three games remaining for the team in the Super Eight stage.
A good finish to the Super Eight for the Proteas will keep the pressure on the Australians and if Ponting's team slips up, it could be South Africa that goes into the semi-finals as the number-one ranked team in the world.
Top spot could change hands several times before the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup on April 28.
Meanwhile, towards the other end of the ladder England's defeat means it retains its place at seventh in the ODI Championship, just two points ahead of the West Indies and three behind India.
If results go the way of the West Indies, however, it could overtake Michael Vaughan's team before the end of the Super Eight stage.
St.John's (Antigua), April 9 (IANS-CMC) Kevin Pietersen stroked a brilliant century but in vain as Australia earned a seven-wicket win over England in their Super Eight match of the World Cup Sunday at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
Australia have now virtually booked their entry into the semi-finals.
Australian seamers Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken evenly shared nine wickets as they bowled out England for 247 off 49.5 overs. Pietersen hit 104 off 122 balls.
Batting second, captain Ricky Ponting hit 86 off 106 balls with seven fours to help steer his side to 248 for three off 47.2 overs. It was Australia's sixth win in the tournament and their 25th straight victory since the 1999 World Cup.
Australia were 89 for two, losing Mathew Hayden for 41 and Adam Gilchrist (27), before Ponting and Michael Clarke, who hit an unbeaten 55 off 63 balls, took the team to victory in a stand of 112 for the third wicket.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, England lost two quick wickets in 15 balls after captain Michael Vaughan (5) and left-hander Andrew Strauss (7) were sent to pavilion by Shaun Tait.
Pietersen and Ian Bell then stabilized the English innings.
Pietersen, who struck six fours and a six, showed his attacking instinct when he hit a delivery from veteran McGrath for a delightful boundary before he lashed 10 off left-arm spinner Brad Hogg's first over.
Bell followed suit by spanking McGrath for three fours in one over as they forced captain Ponting to rotate his bowlers in short spells.
They brought up the 140-run partnership for the third wicket before Bell, who hit 77, gave his hand away when he drove a lap-high catch to cover off McGrath in the 30th over
The Pietersen-Bell partnership was taking England to a bigger total at one stage. But Bell's dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse in which three wickets fell for 15 runs.
The rampaging Tait swung a delivery away from Paul Collingwood, edging to the wicketkeeper, to make it 167 for four. That was before Hogg, switched to the opposite end, lured the out-of-form Andrew Flintoff (4) out of his crease and Adam Gilchrist completed the stumping.
Pietersen, who continued to bat solidly, found a useful ally in Ravi Bopara, the Man-of-the-Match in the two-run loss to Sir Lanka, as they brought England back into the game.
But the return of left-arm seamer Bracken broke the stand. Bopara flicked a catch to deep mid-wicket in the 47th over as England reached 230 for six.
Pietersen soon followed, lofting a catch to wide long on where Michael Clarke held a well-judged catch.
It was then 240 for seven before the eighth wicket of Sajid Mahmood (0) fell two balls later at the same score.
Paul Nixon hammered McGrath for a six over wide long on in the last over before the veteran seamer and World Cup's all-time leading wicket-taker had him caught in the deep next ball.
The 37-year-old McGrath then trapped James Anderson (0) with the fifth ball to finish with three for 62 from 9.5 overs.
McGrath has taken 15 wickets so far in the tournament and his overall tally is 60. Bracken bagged three for 33 and Tait captured three for 41.
Gilchrist and Hayden survived confident leg-before-wicket appeals in the first two overs before they put on 57 for the first wicket when Gilchrist miss-timed a drive of Flintoff to cover and departed for 27.
Hayden was looking solid at 41 off 50 balls with six fours before he lost his off stump to Collingwood's first ball.
After Ponting's dismissal, when he was run out by Collingwood while attempting a cheeky single, Andrew Symonds hit 28 off as many balls including four fours and a six in an unbroken stand of 48 with Clarke to secure the victory.
Symonds launched into Collingwood, hitting him for a four and then a six off successive balls before almost being caught on the wide mid-wicket boundary by Pietersen. Pietersen took the catch but could not maintain his balance inches from the rope and released the ball before skipping over the rope.
SCOREBOARD
Match No. 35, Australia vs. England, Super Eight, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua, April 8
England:
Ian Bell c Hussey b McGrath 77
Michael Vaughan b Tait 5
Andrew Strauss b Tait 7
Kevin Pietersen c Clarke b Bracken 104
Paul Collingwood c Gilchrist b Tait 2
Andrew Flintoff st Gilchrist b Hogg 4
Ravi Bopara c Hussey b Bracken 21
Paul Nixon c Hodge b McGrath 8
Sajid Mahmood c Hodge b Bracken 0
Monty Panesar not out 1
James Anderson lbw b McGrath 0
Extras: (b 4, lb 4, w 7, nb 3) 18
Total: (all out in 49.5 overs) 247
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Vaughan, 3.2 overs), 2-24 (Strauss, 5.6), 3-164 (Bell, 29.3), 4-167 (Collingwood, 30.3), 5-179 (Flintoff, 35.3), 6-230 (Bopara, 46.2), 7-240 (Pietersen, 48.4), 8-240 (Mahmood, 48.6), 9-246 (Nixon, 49.2), 10-247 (Anderson, 49.5)
Bowling:
Nathan Bracken 10-1-33-3 (1w)
Shaun Tait 10-0-41-3 (2nb, 3w)
Glenn McGrath 9.5-0-62-3 (1w)
Michael Clarke 4-0-27-0
Brad Hogg 10-0-36-1(1w)
Andrew Symonds 6-0-40-0
Australia:
Adam Gilchrist c Collingwood b Flintoff 27
Matthew Hayden b Collingwood 41
Ricky Ponting run out (Collingwood) 86
Stuart Clarke not out 55
Andrew Symonds not out 28
Extras: (b 1, lb 5, w 5) 11
Total: (for three wickets in 47.2 overs) 248
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Gilchrist, 10.6 overs), 2-89 (Hayden, 19.1), 3-201 (Ponting, 40.1)
Bowling:
James Anderson 10-1-49-0 (3w)
Sajid Mahmood 9.2-1-60-0 (1w)
Andrew Flintoff 10-1-35-1
Monty Panesar 9-0-48-0
Paul Collingwood 9-0-50-1 (1w)
Result: Australia won by seven wickets
Man of the Match: Shaun Tait (Australia)
Umpires: BF Bowden (New Zealand) and RE Koertzen (South Africa)
TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
Match referee: MJ Procter (South Africa)
Antigua, April 9 (IANS) Australia defeated England by seven wickets (with 16 balls remaining) in a Super Eight match of the World Cup at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua (neutral venue) here Sunday.
SCOREBOARD
Match No. 35th, Australia v England, Super Eight, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua (neutral venue), April 8
England:
Ian Bell c Hussey b McGrath 77
Michael Vaughan b Tait 5
Andrew Strauss b Tait 7
Kevin Pietersen c Clarke b Bracken 104
Paul Collingwood c Gilchrist b Tait 2
Andrew Flintoff st Gilchrist b Hogg 4
Ravi Bopara c Hussey b Bracken 21
Paul Nixon c Hodge b McGrath 8
Sajid Mahmood c Hodge b Bracken 0
Monty Panesar not out 1
James Anderson lbw b McGrath 0
Extras: (b 4, lb 4, w 7, nb 3) 18
Total: (all out; 49.5 overs) 247
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Vaughan, 3.2 overs), 2-24 (Strauss, 5.6), 3-164 (Bell, 29.3), 4-167 (Collingwood, 30.3), 5-179 (Flintoff, 35.3), 6-230 (Bopara, 46.2), 7-240 (Pietersen, 48.4), 8-240 (Mahmood, 48.6), 9-246 (Nixon, 49.2), 10-247 (Anderson, 49.5)
Bowling:
Nathan Bracken 10-1-33-3 (1w)
Shaun Tait 10-0-41-3 (2nb, 3w)
Glenn McGrath 9.5-0-62-3 (1w)
Michael Clarke 4-0-27-0
Brad Hogg 10-0-36-1(1w)
Andrew Symonds 6-0-40-0
Australia:
Adam Gilchrist c Collingwood b Flintoff 27
Matthew Hayden b Collingwood 41
Ricky Ponting run out (Collingwood) 86
Stuart Clarke not out 55
Andrew Symonds not out 28
Extras: (b 1, lb 5, w 5) 11
Total: (3 wickets; 47.2 overs) 248
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Gilchrist, 10.6 overs), 2-89 (Hayden, 19.1), 3-201 (Ponting, 40.1)
Bowling:
James Anderson 10-1-49-0 (3w)
Sajid Mahmood 9.2-1-60-0 (1w)
Andrew Flintoff 10-1-35-1
Monty Panesar 9-0-48-0
Paul Collingwood 9-0-50-1 (1w)
Result: Australia won by seven wickets
Man of the Match: Shaun Tait (Australia)
Umpires: BF Bowden (New Zealand) and RE Koertzen (South Africa)
TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
Match referee: MJ Procter (South Africa)
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) B.L. Joshi will be sworn is as Meghalaya's new governor Thursday, April 12.
Stating this at a press conference here Monday, Joshi said he looked forward to the new assignment.
"I love the region, the people, their friendly nature and open-mindedness. Yes, I am looking forward to this new assignment," the 50-year-old, who was lt. governor of Delhi prior to this new posting, said.
Asked about his previous experience in the Northeast, he said he had last been to there in the Seventies when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.
Answering a question how he intended to deal with the political fluidity that in Meghalaya, he said, "The governor's role is well-defined in the Indian democracy. The essential thing is peace in the area. There should be an environment of peace in the political process."
Born in 1957, Joshi, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, worked in the prime minister's office with Lal Bahadur Shastri and then Indira Gandhi for four years.
He was first secretary in the Indian high commission in Islamabad and London and later also served in the Indian embassy in Washington.
Joshi took voluntary retirement from the IPS in 1991 and thereafter worked in an NGO in the US. He returned to India in 2000 and was made a member of the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission.
In June 2004, Joshi was appointed lt governor of Delhi, a post he served till April 8.
Manama, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) The Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt, during the sixth session of the joint committee currently held here, have signed several agreements for cooperation in several fields, according to a statement released by the joint commission.
The agreement were signed by Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al-Kalifa and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmad Abu-Al-Ghait.
The statement Sunday said the two sides signed a number of memorandams of understanding regarding environment protection, wildlife, and joint cooperation in oil, gas, and sports field.
Furthermore, the statement pointed out that both countries signed an executive programme for a memo of understanding on tourism, and a protocol on amending provisions of the Egyptian-Bahraini air navigation accord.
The two sides also agreed on benefiting from facilities offered by the Gulf country as a result of the Bahraini-US accord on the free trade zone and activating an accord with Cairo on establishing the Egyptian commercial mall.
The meeting witnessed other agreements on cooperation in the economy, agriculture, women affairs and housing.
New York, April 9 (DPA) The increasing threats of weapons of mass destruction and daily suffering inflicted by weapons of all types should prompt the international community to review its treaties dealing with disarmament, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
Ban opened a weeklong debate on disarmament at the UN headquarters, which is set against a background of previous failures to advance the agenda to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction. Last year, the UN failed to strengthen measures against small arms and light weapons because of opposition from countries manufacturing those weapons.
"Unfortunately, we seem to be in a rut where setbacks in the field of disarmament have become the norm, not an exception," Ban said, calling the situation "unacceptable".
Ban called for an inclusive review of existing treaties on disarmament and non-proliferation.
"In today's world, only a collective, multilateral approach can effectively eliminate the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or check the spread of conventional weapons," he told the conference organized by the UN disarmament commission.
A high representative on disarmament will be appointed to mobilise the political will "to overcome the current stalemate and re-energise action" on both disarmament and non-proliferation, Ban said.
The disarmament commission will discuss the agenda for a preparatory conference to review the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to be held in 2010.
The NPT regulates and provides safeguards for nuclear power activities by the more than 170 member countries. The NPT is reviewed every five years and the last one had not been successful.
Dhaka, April 9 (NNN-PTI) Bangladesh's Election Commission will launch a pilot project to study the feasibility of preparing an electoral roll with voters photograph and national identity cards before holding the next parliamentary election.
"The Election Commission has decided to launch a pilot project ahead of starting the mega project," the 'Daily Star' quoted Election Commissioner Sahul Hossain as saying.
The election commission had earlier announced that it will require 18 months to prepare the voters list and national ID cards with the help of army.
The pilot project will be launched within a month in a remote rural and an urban area, to assess the time required and the constraints, in implementing the voter list project at an estimated cost of Taka 400 crore, he said adding through this, possible difficulties will be identified to avert it in implementing the voter list preparation project.
Earlier, a delegation of Bangladesh army Saturday made a multimedia presentation to the Election Commission about their plans to implement the voter list preparation project.
The commission officials said, apart from providing technological assistance, the military would also offer its service for building public opinion for the task.
They said committees, comprising of army personnel, chairman, members and their nearest contestants of the local government bodies elections, will be formed. They will visit go to people with cameras and other instruments to prepare the voter list and national identity cards simultaneously.
The identity cards will contain a set of information about the cardholders, they added.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Barak river in Assam will soon be declared National Waterway No. 6, according to Minister for Development of Northeastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar.
"After the Brahmaputra, which is National Waterway 2, the government is going to soon announce the Barak river in southern Assam as National Waterway 6," Aiyar said at a press conference here Monday.
He said that this step would significantly improve connectivity between the Northeast and the rest of India.
"The Kaladan river in Mizoram also has very exciting prospects. It can link the Barak valley through Mizoram to Myanmar till the port of Sittwe (on the Bay of Bengal). Shipping services can thus connect the northeast with places like Chennai and Cochin."
He said that this would end the problems India is facing regarding surface transit via Bangladesh.
The minister also said that inland travel facilities on the Brahmaputra are being improved.
"Infrastructure on the entire stretch from Sadiya to Dhubri in Assam is being improved. In fact, the facilities in Dhubri are being improved in such a way that it can become an international port," he said.
He added that navigational aids for night travel on the Brahmaputra are also being set up.
By Ashis Ray
Not surprisingly, Rahul Dravid, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, has voiced concern about the payment system and restrictions on players' endorsement incomes arbitrarily and unilaterally declared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after its two-day conclave.
Clearly, the emerging theme of the meet was to make the unsuccessful representatives on the field scapegoats for India's unexpected early exit from the World Cup, and raise a red herring of cricketers' remunerations being the cause of it.
Some members of the Indian squad that went to the West Indies are unquestionably responsible for the abysmal failure and must pay for such non-performance. Given the suspicions that have been raised, their commercial contracts also need to be closely scrutinised. But a blanket dilution of fees and restraint on extraneous earnings would be unfair and unjust.
Reading between the lines, the BCCI's working committee attempted to attribute their decision to recommendations received from seven former captains invited to the conference, who have apparently distanced themselves from such advice since. Now BCCI officials seem to be divided on whether to insist on their proposal or listen to the players' point of view.
A productivity-based disbursement structure is propitious. But to dispense with retainers is debatable and may create insecurity. Also, rigid restrictions on cricketers' general proceeds could be unworkable under Indian law, if the players refuse to sign such an agreement with the BCCI. At the end of the day, it's the players' presence on the green that lays the golden egg. A potential biting of the hand that feeds the BCCI is yet another instance of this organisation being incapable of thinking through important decisions.
The wholesale gag on players also militates against freedom of speech as granted by the Indian constitution. It is common sense that if a player makes unacceptable statements, disciplinary action can be taken against him.
As expected, the BCCI's introspection has proved to be essentially an exercise in futility. It failed to address fundamental issues, such as the transfer of executive powers in the board and its affiliated associations to fulltime, caring, knowledgeable and professional persons. Instead, in a typically populist style of fooling the Indian people, it papered over cracks, that, too, clumsily.
Akin to Rip Van Winkle, the officials have woken up to the fact that international players should compulsorily be playing domestic tournaments, that subsidiary associations should "prepare fast and lively wickets" for such competitions and India under-19 and "A" teams should be touring overseas more frequently to gain experience of foreign conditions. That the world's richest cricket board had not been implementing the last mentioned is a tragic reflection of its ineffectiveness.
The BCCI wildly stated that all associated units should start their own academies linked to the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Would it not have been more sensible to initially have zonal institutes, while sourcing talent from the innumerable privately owned coaching camps that exist in most provinces?
It emphasises the medieval state of the BCCI that it will take six months to ratify a change in its constitution before selectors can be appointed on a fulltime, remunerated basis. Besides, it's shocking that the working committee has "directed" the selection committee to send a "young team" for next month's tour of Bangladesh. This is naked interference in the remit of selectors, who are supposed to pick a side purely on merit. Youth for the sake of it is a ludicrous policy. While it's wise to encourage younger players, they must deserve inclusion.
It makes sense to prepare for next year's Champions Trophy tournament with younger legs, but it could unduly jeopardise India's prospects if replacement of senior exponents is not undertaken in a phased manner. The same should also apply in test matches, but even more judiciously.
What's welcome though is the retention of Dravid as captain and the appointment of Ravi Shastri as interim cricket manager, Venkatesh Prasad as bowling coach and Robin Singh as fielding trainer. It will also be a boon for Indian cricket if Greg Chappell is recruited for an authoritative and meaningful role at the NCA. But more critical is the choice of long-term coach and the assistants around him.
(Ashis Ray is the author of the recently launched "One-Day Cricket: The Indian Challenge" - Harper Collins - which can be bought online on www.ians.in)
Tehran, April 9, (IRNA) Bells were rung at all schools throughout the country at 9 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) Monday morning to mark the 'Great National Nuclear Feast'.
In Tehran province, the bell at a girl's elementary school in northern Tehran was rung by Minister of Education Mahmoud Farshidi on the occasion.
The Iranian students celebrated the nuclear success of Iranian scientists in pursuing peaceful nuclear energy.
Chanting slogans such as "Nuclear energy is an inalienable right of the Iranian nation", "No country has the right to deprive Iran of its indisputable right", and "The Iranian nation is in need of nuclear fuel cycle", the students voiced their support for the undeniable right of the Iranian people in pursuance of peaceful nuclear technology.
Bhopal, April 9 (IANS) A special Economic Zone (SEZ) here has run into rough weather since the company that offered to set it up is having second thoughts despite receiving permission from the government.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) major Genpact is dragging its feet to establish the SEZ in village Bawai on the outskirts of the Madhya Pradesh capital.
"Though the company has obtained the central government's permission required for setting up the SEZ erratic power supply and non-availability of skilled man-power have compelled it to give a second thought to set up the project," said a source.
Genpact, in November 2006, had expressed its willingness to set up a SEZ and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Madhya Pradesh government.
Soon it was allotted 200 acres of land and also assured of the completion of all formalities like the provision of requisite permissions and no-objection certificates from various departments in 45 days from the day of its application but to no avail.
"However, the company's unwillingness came to the fore for not responding to an official communication that had asked it to deposit Rs.110 million as the cost of the land allotted to it," say sources in the state industry department.
"Genpact has been issued a letter to deposit the cost of the land. It will be issued another letter, 45 days after the first one was sent. If it still fails to deposit the requisite amount, its application for setting up the project would be rejected," said Anurag Shrivastava, deputy secretary of the information technology department.
Meanwhile, a Rs.200 billion SEZ for aluminium-based products to be set up at Sidhi district is moving at a snail's pace too despite receiving sanction from the central government.
The SEZ will be set up in villages Ogri and Bargavan by the Hindalco industries of Aditya Birla Group on 2,000 hectares of land. It will also produce 3.5 million tonnes of coals annually. Besides, it will also set up a 750-megawatt capacity captive power plant.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to go back to the Supreme Court to restore the 27 percent reservation for other backward classes (OBC) in government aided institutes of higher learning.
The prime minister had called a BJP delegation for consultations on the issue arising out of a ruling of a two-judge bench of the apex court staying the OBC reservation in these institutes last month.
Apart from Manmohan Singh, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, Law and Justice Minister H.R. Bharadwaj and Defence Minister A.K. Antony were present at the meet.
The BJP was represented by party general secretary Arun Jaitley, party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad and deputy parliamentary party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
Prasad said: "We asked the prime minister to ensure that the OBC quota in institutes of higher education is maintained. For this we have suggested that the best course is to approach the Supreme Court again."
Lucknow, April 9 (IndianMuslims.info newsdesk): BJP in a fix by the Election Commission’s FIRs and demands for it’s de-recognition adopted a new posture of aggressiveness. Senior BJP leaders will court arrest today in Lucknow and hope to solidify its vote base.
BJP has not apologized for the CD’s content and so far all they are saying that it was not meant to be released. They claim that it was not distributed and they have put a stop to its release as soon as it was pointed out to them. Senior party leaders have also claimed to be unaware of the content of the CD and suggested that it was the work of overzealous publicity cell of BJP’s UP state unit.
One little known fact is that this CD was first released in Dec of last year. It was part of the press kit during BJP’s meet in Lucknow in December. Times of India among other newspaper reported briefly on the content of the CD. It was clearly indicated that this is released as part of the election strategy for the UP election.
Link to Times of India's story
Those journalists who have seen the CD agree that it is the same CD that was released in December. BJP now can not wash its hands off of the whole CD issue by saying that the senior leaders were not aware of it. The Times of India story clearly mentions Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Arun Jaitley present in the same press conference where the CD was originally released.
The news clip below from IBN also confirms that the CD is same as the one released in December.
This is not all, there are 8 CDs released by BJP for the UP election and all of them have material that can be considered objectionable if not plain communal against Muslims.
BJP is claiming that the communal CD was never distributed but there are reports of it being shown by BJP workers in UP.
It remains to be seen what action Election Commission takes against BJP and its leaders. Election code of conduct in India prohibits all parties to appeal to voters in the name of religion or use hate speech for election campaigning.
While it is a common knowledge what BJP stands for but they have been able to mask their real intentions from the law. It is probably the first time that BJP finds itself in a legal trouble and a serious threat of de-recognition as a political party.
La Paz, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The Bolivian government says the Cabinet is to decide if the country will continue taking part in the different peacekeeping missions of the United Nations.
Defence Minister Walker San Miguel said Saturday that the presence of UN peacekeepers in countries with conflicts should be analyzed, because the problem will be never solved only with military forces in those places.
The El Deber daily quoted the official as saying that hostilities in Haiti and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for instance, were settled with investment, production, and restoring social inequities.
In recent meetings with UN representatives here, Bolivia pointed out a real, integral solution to problems in those countries must be found.
Otherwise, those missions cannot be maintained for years, the minister noted.
Nearly 200 Bolivian soldiers are currently involved in UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and the DRC, as part of commitments by governments prior to President Evo Morales, who intends to encourage a change of attitude among army members.
Tehran, April 9 (NNN-IRNA) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini has said that Britain sent a letter to Tehran declaring that its marines did not intend to breach Iran's territorial waters.
Speaking at his weekly press conference Sunday, Hosseini responded to remarks by British officials who rejected any exchange of letters between Tehran and London over the release of the 15 British marines who were detained recently for violating Iranian territorial waters and were released Thursday.
"Exchange of the letters was done by the two countries' embassies," he said.
"Britain, in a letter sent to Tehran, announced that its naval personnel did not intend to trespass Iran's waters," he added. Fifteen British marines were arrested by Iranian forces in the Arvand River in the northern part of the Persian Gulf on March 23.
Based on information obtained from the British Global Positioning System (GPS), the British forces trespassed into Iran's territorial waters on the Arvand River aboard two navy vessels.
In his Wednesday press conference, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the release of the detained British marines, saying it was a present from the Iranian nation to the British people.
Hosseini said: "In letters exchanged between the two countries, the sides stressed that such cases (violation of territorial waters) will not be repeated in the future."
Basra, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) British forces in southern Iraq handed over a camp, considered its largest military base in Basra, to the Iraqi Army on Monday.
A spokesman of the Iraqi Army told reporters the handover of the Shatt Al Arab Hotel base is considered a big step towards the transfer of security duties to the Iraqi military forces.
The Shatt Al Arab Hotel base is the second camp in Basra to be handed over to Iraqi forces management, he added.
A spokesman of the British forces here meanwhile said the handover is a welcome development for both the Iraqi and British.
London, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) -- British Royal Navy boarding operations in the Gulf will eventually resume despite the recent stand off with Iran, said a British Foreign Office minister.
These operations were suspended after 15 of the navy personnel were held for 13 days by Iran.
Speaking to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Sunday, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Lord David Triesman said the waters must be secured and operations would resume "in the middle or long term."
"I think those waters have got to be kept secure. I don't take it that boarding operations will have to cease in the middle or long term at all," he said.
He explained: "The oil platforms have got to be secured; we have got to make sure that dangerous material is not smuggled into southern Iraq. I don't think the Iranians should be under any doubt that we could not allow that to happen."
While defending his nation's tactics in handling the matter, he said Iran has weakened its position internationally and its claim that the sailors were arrested within its borders was beginning to shatter.
In light of this incident, ties with Iran have entered a different stage because the international community took a firmer stance, noted Triesman.
The soldiers were released on Wednesday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad and Easter as noted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
London, April 9 (DPA) Faye Turney, the only woman among the 15 British naval personnel held captive by Iran, has described her fear of being killed as she believed her captors had been "measuring her up for a coffin."
Turney, 26, mother of a three-year-old girl, gave her account in Monday's edition of the mass-circulation Sun newspaper, but has also negotiated a lucrative television deal.
"I was offered a hell of a lot of money for my story. I've not taken the biggest offer ... I want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through," she is to tell ITV television later Monday.
The controversy over the decision by Britain's Ministry of Defence to allow some of the sailors to "sell" their stories continued Monday.
Former conservative defence secretary Michael Heseltine said he was "shocked" by the decision and called for an inquiry into how and why it was taken.
Major General Patrick Cordingly, who commanded British troops in the first Gulf War of 1991, said he was "depressed" by the move.
The British government seemed to be "manipulating this whole particular process" for propaganda purposes, he suggested.
Strong criticism has also come from families of soldiers who have been killed in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The mother of 19-year-old Eleanor Dlugosz, a medic killed by a roadside bomb near Basra, southern Iraq, only last Thursday, told the Times: "If you are a member of the military, you should do your duty and not expect to make money by selling stories."
Turney, defending her decision, said she was "not interested in making money out of this." A percentage of the six-figure sum she is believed to have negotiated will be given towards helping naval families.
Turney told The Sun her captors asked her how she would feel about "dying" and never seeing her daughter again.
She said a woman measured her from head to toe as she could hear the sound of wood sawing and nails being hammered outside her cell.
"She shouted the measurements to a man outside. I was convinced they were making my coffin," she told The Sun.
Recalling the moment she was separaated from her colleagues, she said she heard one of them shouting: "They're going to execute us."
She was thrown into a "tiny cell" and ordered to strip off. "They took everything apart from my knickers," said Turney.
The youngest of the captives, 20-year-old Arthur Batchelor, also spoke of his ordeal, saying guards had nicknamed him "Mr Bean," in an allusion to comic film star Rowan Atkinson, and that they all feared they would be sexually abused.
He told the Daily Mirror that the Iranians had become "excited" when they realized they had captured a woman, provoking Turney to whisper: "There's going to be a rape involved in this."
When she was asked to write down alleged confessions of trespassing into Iranian waters, she was given just an hour to think what to do, Turney reported.
"When they wanted me to write what was written about the British and American troops (in Iraq) I felt like a traitor to my own country," Turney said in the ITV interview, passages of which were pre-released Monday.
Mechanic Batchelor told the Daily Mirror: "It was beyond terrifying. They seemed to take particular pleasure in mocking me for being young. A guard kept flicking my neck with his index finger and thumb. I thought the worst, we've all seen the videos. I was frozen in terror and just stared into the darkness of my blindfold."
Ilam, April 9, (IRNA) A bloody road accident on Ilam-Chovar road in the western province of Ilam left 30 people killed and 15 others injured Sunday evening.
The accident took place when both, a bus and a lorry, plunged off a bridge into a river.
The injured, some of them said to be in critical condition, had been rushed to Imam Khomeini hospital in the city of Ilam.
Speaking to IRNA, a local police official, Shamsollah Faraji, blamed the accident on high speed and inability of the lorry's driver to control his vehicle.
He added that the bus carried pilgrims from Isfahan province who had entered the country from Iraq via Mehran international border point.
Director-General of Ilam's Coroner Office Mohammad Astaraki told IRNA on Monday that 27 passengers of the bus were killed on the spot, while three others died at the hospital last night.
Toronto, April 9 (IANS) A priest of a local Hindu temple in Ontario was sworn in as the first ever Hindu honorary chaplain for the Durham regional police.
Pandit Damodar Sharma was sworn in on March 25 at a function attended by Pickering city mayor Dave Ryan, deputy chief of police in the Durham region Chuck Mercier, police inspector Jim Douglas, judge David Stone and a large number of people from the Devi Mandir congregation, where he's been a priest for about eight years.
Sharma came here from India 15 years, according to the temple website.
"It is a special day not only for the Devi Mandir but the entire Hindu community in Canada," said Devi Mandir chairman Vishnu Sookar.
"The Devi Mandir is doing a wonderful job and the accomplishments of Pandit Damodar deserve a standing ovation," inspector Jim Douglas told the packed congregation.
The Devi mandir, located in Pickering, Ontario, is dedicated to serving the needs of the Hindu Community settled in the Greater Toronto Area.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Having won the inaugural Asian Formula Renault V6 series last year, Indian driver Karun Chandhok will now take part in Grand Prix (GP) 2 races, which will be a stepping stone to his Formula 1 dreams.
"My career has been on the right-path right from winning the national championship title followed by the Formula Asia Championship, then on to Formula 3 and winning the Renault V6 series last year," Chandhok said in a press statement.
"GP2 is a huge step forward and 2007 will be the first in what should be a two-year programme. I am now just one final step away from Formula 1," said the 23-year-old.
Chandhok will be representing Italy-based Durango Racing Team and the first race of the series will be held Friday at Sakhir in Bahrain. He will also be having a new sponsor this year in energy drink major Red Bull.
The GP2 series, which is owned and run by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel from Renault is recognised as the best stepping stone to the F1 stage.
"The drivers competing come with a massive pedigree behind them with a lot of them bringing F1 experience, which will undoubtedly be beneficial. My aim for the season is certainly to score the odd points in the first half of the season and then aim to be a regular point scorer by the end," Chandhok said.
If things go well, then the 23-year-old from Chennai will be the second Indian after Narain Karthikeyan, to take part in the F1 circuit. Karthikeyan, who was a race driver with Jordan team in his debut season in 2005-06, is now a test driver with BMW Williams.
Chandhok was the youngest to win the 2001 Asian Formula Championship at the age of 17 and two years later, he was third in the British Formula 3 Championship.
Ecclestone congratulated Chandhok and said: "I have been guiding Karun in his quest to compete in GP2 as he progresses towards Formula 1. This is an exciting time for him and I wish him all the success for the season ahead."
Some of the F1 drivers like Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Heikki Kovaleinnen and Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Scott Speed and Neel Jani (Torro Rosso) have passed out from the GP2 series.
Khartoum, April 9 (NNN-SUNA) Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Ahmed Karti has held talks here with the special envoy of the Chinese President on the progress of political efforts being adopted by the government, the United Nations and the African Union concerning the situation in Darfur.
During their meeting Sunday, they also discussed the progress of relations between Sudan and China and ways to cement them further, apart from reviewing the implementation of the packages of international support to the AU mission in the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur.
Karti thanked the Chinese official for his visit to Sudan and praised the stance of China in supporting Sudan at regional and international forums, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Al-Al-Saddiq said.
He added that the minister briefed the Chinese official on the Darfur issue and the efforts being made since the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which was rejected by Sudan and replaced by the plan of the former UN Secretary General on UN support to the AU forces, which was approved by Sudan, with some reservations on secondary issues.
The minister informed the Chinese envoy on the facilities being provided by the government to the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in delivery of humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Darfur, referring in this regard to the fast-track agreement and the statement which was signed by Sudan and the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy said that he visited Darfur and inspected three displaced people’s0 camps and a number of schools and hospitals there, explaining that he came out with the impression of stability of the situation in Darfur, and that the Sudanese government efforts for the interest of the affected people are fruitful.
The Chinese envoy said that the optimum solution for the Darfur problem was one based on the speeding up of the peace process and enhancement of the humanitarian conditions.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Alarmed at the recent unnatural deaths of lions in the Gir National Park in Gujarat - the only sanctuary of Asiatic lions in the world - the central government Monday formed a committee to devise a strategy to arrest the worrying trend.
According to the composition and the terms of reference of the committee announced by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, it will present an appraisal of protection strategies in vogue vis-à-vis mortality of lions during the last three years.
It will consider the fact that the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is home to the world's last population of the highly endangered Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica), a ministry release said.
It will also study the resource dependency of local people and steps taken towards redressing interface conflicts and fostering co-existence, managerial constraints in this area and possibility of restorative management in crucial corridor linkages around Gir to prevent insularisation of the lion population.
The committee will also recommend measures to improve the situation.
Meeta Banerjee, regional deputy director (wildlife) for the western region, and her northern region counterpart Santosh Tiwari are members of the committee, while Pramod Krishnan, joint director (wildlife) in the ministry is the member convener.
Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, said the committee may co-opt state officials as required and submit its report within 30 days.
The committee formation comes in the backdrop of reports of six lions falling prey to poachers in the past one month.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) A day after Rahul Dravid sought discussion with the board over restriction on players' personal endorsements, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram criticised the move but the confusion persisted.
Top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chose not to respond to calls, though board sources said that even first-class players could be asked to furnish details of their endorsements.
On Saturday, the BCCI came down heavily on players following the World Cup disaster, restricting their income from advertisements.
Following a working committee meeting, it announced a series of measures curtailing players' income from the game, including the decision to scrap their graded payment system, while retaining a basic retainership amount.
"It is a joke the way the board is limiting players from signing endorsements. You can't be treating senior players like Sachin Tendulkar as kids," said Akram in an interview to a sports channel.
"If some senior players have advised the board to stop endorsements, then it is wrong...the jealousy factor is very clear."
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, who was in Noida for a promotional event, said that the issue could be resolved through a balanced approach.
"There has to be a balance when it comes to advertising. Endorsements have never affected my performance, but I guess we will have to live with that (restrictions)," he said.
Rahul Dravid, who will lead India in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh, said the same thing Sunday - that he was for a "healthy dialogue" between the two parties on the issue.
"The interests of the players' and the BCCI are inclusive and not exclusive," he said in a statement.
But no clarification came from the board officials Monday, allowing the speculation to go on unabated.
The BCCI put a tight cap on players' endorsements and snatched away the "exclusivity" tag for signing media contracts. Now, the BCCI will vet commercial contracts before players can sign them.
A player will endorse not more than three products. No sponsor can contract more than two players. Players will not be allowed to do any sponsor-related events 15 days before the tour and also during the tour.
All decisions are largely a result of India's first-round exit from the World Cup in the West Indies, after losing two of the three matches in their group. One repercussion of the debacle was the exit of Greg Chappell, after he decided not to request a renewal of his contract that expired with the World Cup.
The board also did not renew the contract of biochemist Ian Frazer, who doubled up as the bowling coach of the Indian team.
By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Bollywood's well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar is in a nostalgic mood about the city that nurtured his dreams - and he calls it a no-nonsense city.
"I came to Mumbai on Oct 4, 1954. Since then this city has given me everything - from food to fame. I was taken aback when Reader's Digest called it a rude city. Mumbai isn't a rude city. It's a no-nonsense city," Javed told IANS.
He added: "Everyone is busy and has no time for niceties. But when it comes to showing solidarity, we're right on top of the map. Didn't we see how the compassion oozed out during the deluge in July 2005?"
In 2007, Javed is back to being the busiest bee among the bards of Bollywood. Last year he had Karan Johar's "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" and J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan", but neither of the two films was received well.
"I'm glad people liked my work with Karan after 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'. 'Umrao Jaan' was a special challenge. The film had already been done gloriously earlier, and so were the songs. You can't fight history and myth. Anyway, I removed the fear of myth and destiny. For the first time I had to write poetry for mujras. I wrote one whole song in pure Awadhi."
Javed, who enjoys working with new music directors, teamed up with Himesh Reshammiya for the first time in Vipul Shah's "Namastey London".
"Reshammiya has gone back to making music the old way. The tunes are all done in the bandish tradition that the ustads of music used to sing in, in the olden days. Taking the bandish, he has tuned it in a modern way. The songs are so catchy that listeners can't stop humming them. I enjoy working with new composers."
Incidentally, Javed doesn't think much of Rekha as an actress, though he loved her performance in "Krissh".
"I've never been a fan of Rekha. Her performance never touched my heart. But I liked her immensely in 'Krissh'."
Luanda, April 9 (NNN-ANGOP) Cuban Ambassador to Angola Pedro Ross Leal has assured that Havana will co-operate with the Angolan health authorities in order to reduce deaths caused by Malaria, AIDS and Cholera in this country.
ANGOP learnt from the diplomat here Sunday that apart from sending medical specialists, the co-operation could focus on the supply of vaccines or the construction of pharmaceutical production units.
"Referring to malaria and cholera, the use of vaccines was experimented for one year, with success in Mozambique", he added.
Besides this, he stressed that the public health problem should be considered seriously, not only on contamination, but also in the use of preventive measures.
The authorities of this Latin American country foresee sending HIV anti-retroviral drugs to Angola to assist HIV/AIDS positive people.
At the moment, 400 Cuban experts are working in Angola, mainly in the sectors of health and education, in the framework of bilateral relations existing between both governments.
These technicians are distributed in almost the whole country in provincial and municipal health units, and some teach at Agostinho Neto University and in other private institutions of higher learning.
"We consider the co-operation relations between the Angolan and Cuban governments to be excellent, and over 60 physicians who are specialized in public health are expected to arrive in Angola this month," stressed Ambassador Pedro Ross Leal.
The Cuban Ambassador to Angola recently presented his letters of credential to Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Tehran, April 9, (IRNA) Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi here Sunday evening stressed that all Muslims should maintain their unity against US mounting plots.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the 20th International Conference on Islamic Unity, the minister said, "Staying vigilant is an undeniable prerequisite for defusing the old and known conspiracy originally masterminded by Britain to sow discord among Muslim nations."
The three-day confab was inaugurated here Friday with a speech by Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and that of Imam Sadeq (AS), the sixth Imam of the holy prophet's household.
Saffar-Harandi said that the US, in order to preserve its dominance worldwide, has decided to suppress Muslim nations all over the world with the help of its allies.
That was why Washington was trying to sow discord between Islamic governments and their nations, on one hand, and among Muslim states on the other, the minister stressed.
Commenting on anticipations of some of the American strategists and intellectuals who had said the United States was on the verge of collapse, he said the US would likely experience the fate of the former Soviet Union.
By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, April 9 (IANS) Nepal's Maoist guerrillas, who joined the new government this month, have ruled out allowing the Dalai Lama to reopen his office in Kathmandu on grounds that it would jeopardise the country's "good relations" with its "friendly" northern neighbour China.
"It is a delicate issue because we have good relations with China," Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, told IANS. "We don't want our ties to be strained."
"Though we will not repatriate the refugees who have been living in camps in Nepal for some time, we won't allow them to open new organisations (to campaign for a free Tibet) since we consider Tibet an integral part of China," Prachanda said.
The decision had been on the cards since late last year when the Maoists, who profess to follow the teachings of Mao that power can be seized through the barrels of the gun, signed a peace pact with Nepal's seven-party government.
In the pact, they pledged to give up their armed struggle while the ruling alliance agreed to induct them in the government as its eighth partner.
On April 1, the Maoists, once regarded as a terrorist organisation whose top leaders had an Interpol alert for their arrest, joined Nepal's government with five key ministries.
In January 2005, weeks before King Gyanendra staged a coup with the army's help and usurped power, the then government shut the office of the representative of the Dalai Lama in Kathmandu.
The office, also known as the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Centre (TRWC), was a thorn in the flesh of Beijing, which has declared the once independent kingdom of Tibet a part of the Chinese republic and treats allegiance to the Dalai Lama in Tibet a punishable offence.
Soon after King Gyanendra declared himself as head of Nepal's government and received Beijing's support, the royal regime pledged support for the "One China" policy that regards Tibet and Taiwan as "inalienable" part of China.
Though Tibetans living in Nepal have been trying to register an NGO since the closure of TRWO two years ago, a succession of governments has put the application on hold, including the pro-democracy seven-party alliance that came to power last year after the overthrow of the royal regime.
Nepal allows Tibetans, who crossed into the kingdom in the past and are registered with the government, to reside in Nepal. But they are not allowed to own property or businesses.
With the Maoists in the government now, things are not going to improve for the diaspora.
Every year, hundreds of Tibetans, mostly women and young children, risk their lives to flee to India through Nepal.
International Campaign for Tibet, an NGO campaigning for Tibetans' rights, says the crossings are becoming more and more dangerous with Beijing's influence on Kathmandu growing.
New delhi, April 9 (PIB) Delhi Development Authority to go for online computerization to provide efficient services to the citizens of Delhi. The Authority has decided to computerize all the operations and functions of the organization under computerization rpgramme called, Integrated Management System, IMS. The system will automate all functions and operations of the DDA and usher in a new era in the working of the Authority and will be of immense benefit to the citizens of Delhi.
The online computerization will improve the citizen interface, increase transparency in DDA operations, bring out efficiency in processing papers and provide speedy information access. For the DDA, the computerization will provide effective information management system, help decision making, provide seamless information flow between various departments of the Authority, help re-engineer various processes, improve information reliability, and will connect all DDA offices through state of art networking infrastructure.
The Delhi Development Authority awarded the work of complete online computerization to M.S Birlasoft Limited, which is a leading provider of information technology, services in both onshore and offshore organizations. Birlasoft’s services include application development, support and maintenance, enterprise application implementation, integration, infrastructure management and quality assurance and testing.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the land owning agency of the national capital, is all set to go online from Tuesday to provide easy and efficient service to citizens.
"It would improve the citizen interface, increase transparency in DDA operations, bring out efficiency in processing papers and provide speedy information access," an urban development ministry press release said Monday.
"For the DDA, the computerization will provide effective information management system, help decision making, provide seamless information flow between various departments of the authority, help re-engineer various processes, improve information reliability, and will connect all DDA offices through state of art networking infrastructure," it added.
Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy is to launch the project Tuesday that aims to automate all functions and operations of the DDA.
Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) New Delhi girl Puja Gupta was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe, Mumbai's Sarah Jane Dias Miss India World and New Zealand's Pooja Chitgopekar Miss India Earth here amid much razzle-dazzle and suspense.
Millions witnessed the trio's triumphs Sunday night, both as a live audience on the MMRDA grounds here and on TV screens.
Puja dazzled renowned filmmaker and one of the pageant judges Madhur Bhandarkar with her wit and confidence in the semi-final round when he asked:" What matters to you - style or fashion and why?"
Puja answered: "I think they both go hand in hand. Style is created by fashion and fashion makes you comfortable in your own skin."
When the jury asked Sarah Jane, "If you had to convince a rural woman to compete in the Miss India pageant, what would you tell her?" she said: "I would prompt her that she possesses every quality to be Miss India. And if she wins, she would bring numerous improvements in her village that will make her win indispensable."
Singer Adnan Sami's question - 'What is the one invention that has changed the face of the world?" - brought on Pooja's reply: "Electricity, as it has brought the industrial revolution. Today we depend on electricity for everything."
The panel of judges included Rohit Bal, Subhash Ghai, Rathi Vinay Jha, Malvinder Singer, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Ujwala Raut.
The crown designed by Tanishq contained a special spring mechanism to fit any head shape.
Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Delhi girl Puja Gupta was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe, Mumbai's Sarah Jane Dias Miss India World and New Zealand-based Pooja Chitgopekar Miss India Earth here amid much razzle-dazzle and suspense.
Millions witnessed the trio's triumphs Sunday night, both as a live audience on the MMRDA grounds here and on TV screens.
Puja Gupta dazzled renowned filmmaker and one of the pageant judges Madhur Bhandarkar with her wit and confidence in the semi-final round when he asked:" What matters to you - style or fashion and why?"
She answered: "I think they both go hand in hand. Style is created by fashion and fashion makes you comfortable in your own skin."
When the jury asked Sarah Jane, "If you had to convince a rural woman to compete in the Miss India pageant, what would you tell her?" she said: "I would prompt her that she possesses every quality to be Miss India. And if she wins, she would bring numerous improvements in her village that will make her win indispensable."
Singer Adnan Sami's question - 'What is the one invention that has changed the face of the world?" - Pooja Chitgopekar's reply was: "Electricity, as it has brought the industrial revolution. Today we depend on electricity for everything."
The panel of judges included Rohit Bal, Subhash Ghai, Rathi Vinay Jha, Malvinder Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Ujwala Raut.
The crown designed by Tanishq contained a special spring mechanism to fit any head shape.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) A 14-year-old schoolgirl in Delhi allegedly committed suicide Monday after performing poorly in her exams, police said.
Payal, a Class 7 student, allegedly hanged herself in the morning at her home in Sultanpuri in northwest Delhi. However, no suicide note had been found.
According to the police, Payal was suffering from depression after failing the exams twice.
"We rushed the victim to the nearby Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, where she was declared brought dead," a police official told IANS.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Armed with new court directions against violators, the Delhi traffic police Monday decided to bring a semblance of sanity to the city's roads with fines and surprise checks.
The traffic cops, who could be seen at every red light and intersections under the scorching sun, ran after vehicles that jumped the red light or sported tinted glasses.
Drivers were fined an additional sum of Rs.500 for every offence and their licence was punched. According to a new law, if a driver's licence is punched five times, it stands cancelled.
Two-wheeler riders were fined for not wearing helmets while non-removal of tinted glasses meant a fine of Rs.600.
"Since morning, we have removed black films from at least 600 cars at various crossings," a traffic official told IANS.
But the motorists who were charged claimed harassment.
"How can a middleclass man pay a penalty of Rs.600?" asked Sonu Kumar who was fined for halting his car after the crossing line.
A two-wheeler owner, who was fined for not wearing a helmet, said: "As the fine has been increased to a minimum of Rs.600, I think people would now prefer to buy helmets that costs only Rs.200 to escape the penalty."
However, pedestrians had another take.
"Now motorists will think twice before jumping a red light or rolling out a vehicle with tinted glasses," said Vinita Singh.
The Delhi High Court had on March 26 asked the Delhi Police to impose a compounding fee of Rs.500 over and above the normal fine on rogue drivers.
The court has also banned smoking while driving.
"We are taking all measures to ensure that the court order is implemented," Joint Commissioner of Police Qamar Ahmed said.
At least 3,000 sleuths of the traffic police have been deployed in the city to carry out the court's order.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) US multinational Dow Chemicals, facing a criminal suit over the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, has been trying to get the Indian embassy in Washington to persuade the government to clean up the site of the erstwhile Union Carbide plant, according to information acquired after invoking the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The matter came to light last month after the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery and Karmachari Sangh, an association of survivors and activists, made use of the RTI act to seek copies of the letter from the Planning Commission.
The letter dated Nov 8, 2006 from Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris to the Indian Ambassador to US, Ronen Sen, said: "With support of local Indian CEOs and foundations, there is opportunity now for the Government of India to work closely with the state of Madhya Pradesh and the Indian industry to remediate the Bhopal site.
"This should take place expeditiously - beginning immediately with GoI officials and industry leaders meeting with the relevant cabinet secretary (sic) who has executive oversight for the remediation efforts," the letter said.
At least 20,000 people were killed and several thousands were maimed for life due to the leak of poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the Union Carbide plant on Dec 2-3, 1984, termed as the worst industrial disaster in history.
Dow Chemicals took over the Union Carbide factory in 2001 but has since been evading its responsibility to clean up the area around the closed plant where toxic waste has continued to affect the health of the people living in the neighbourhood.
The letter further added that "the GoI and the state government will need to work with the court overseeing site clean-up to assure that this effort will pass legal muster as the site's final remediation plan."
The firm said: "Leaders need to work with all ministries of the central government to ensure that their stated position is reflected in any (sic) and of GoI's statements, legal files, and dealings with the Indian court system.
"...Specifically, the GoI ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers applied to the court in May 2005 to order Dow to pay a deposit of Rs.100 crore (Rs.1 billion) or approximately $22 million against environmental remediation costs.
"The ministry should now withdraw its application for a financial deposit against remediation costs. Certainly a withdrawal of the application would be positive, tangible demonstration that the GoI means," the letter added.
Another letter retrieved using the RTI act finds that Tata group chief Ratan Tata had written to Planning Commission deputy chairman M.S. Ahluwalia supporting the cause of Dow.
"Dear Montek, Andrew Liveris of Dow sent me a copy of a letter that he sent to Ronen Sen, which I enclose for your information. I understand Vipul Shah of Dow India also intends to brief you on this next week," said Tata's letter dated Nov 28, 2006.
"This is obviously a key aspect and I wanted your assessment on whether this is possible," the letter added.
The Tata group has formally offered to take up the responsibility of cleaning up the site and pave the way for Dow's investments in India.
Seoul, April 9 (NNN-VNA) Health ministers from China , Japan and the Republic of Korea have agreed to intensify their efforts in the fight against bird flu.
At a meeting in Seoul on Sunday, the ministers pledged to boost joint cooperation in quarantining, investigating and stamping out the disease. They also agreed to set up a fund to support measures in coping with the bird flu pandemic.
During the meeting, the ministers signed a memorandum of understanding and issued a joint communiqué, stressing that the three countries will share information and carry out exercises to cope with a possible bird flu outbreak in the region.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at a farm near the capital city of Dhaka, officials said.
An official from the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry said that 3,000 chickens have been culled from a farm in Savar, the same area where the H5N1 virus was first detected in six farms on March 22.
Some 75,000 chickens in 27 farms in Bangladesh have been culled so far since the outbreak was originally confirmed last month.
Ranchi, April 9 (IANS) Eight Maoists were killed and six injured in Jharkhand Monday evening following a gun battle between two groups of Leftwing radicals, police said.
The clash took place between Communist Party of India-Maoist supporters and those of a breakaway faction in Latehar district, Additional Director general of Police G.S. Rath said here.
Patna, April 9 (IANS) Many aged prisoners who have been languishing for years in different jails of Bihar can look forward to freedom, thanks to the state's humanitarian concerns and its bid to decongest overcrowded prisons.
At least 700 prisoners over 60 years of age - imprisoned for petty crimes - will be released on Aug 15 or Oct 2 this year.
"Prisoners in the 60-plus to 80-plus category who have been in jail for years due to slow or delayed trials in courts will be freed," said a home department official here.
The department has identified aged prisoners in the district jails of Gopalganj, Bhojpur, Siwan, Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised last year that aged prisoners would be released.
The government has also initiated a move to approach courts to clear the release formalities of such prisoners. "The government will file an appeal for their release," the official added.
Prison authorities said many prisoners were too aged to walk or eat properly and too weak to even do their daily chores.
Sources in the state prison department Monday said there were 300 prisoners over 70 years of age, 400 over 65 years and 900 over 60 years.
There are 56 prisons, including six central ones, in the state in which 44,000 prisoners are lodged against a capacity of 20,000.
Addis Ababa, April 9 (NNN-ENA) The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) says it has obtained a 25 million Euros loan from the European Investment Bank.
The DBE is providing a considerable loan service for foreign trade, manufacturing and agro-processing projects that have been given priority by the government.
The bank has collected 367.1 billion Birr (one USD = about 8.9 Birr) from the loan it provided for the establishment and expansion of various development projects during the past half budget year.
DBE President Wondwossen teshome told the Ethiopian News Agency Saturday that the bank had set aside about 600 million Birr to be given as loans for investors engaged in foreign trade, manufacturing and agro-processing projects.
Based on the development strategy put in place by the government, the bank has been providing a considerable sum as loans for investors engaged in these sectors, he added.
The loans had been given to investors engaged in the agriculture sector, particularly in flower cultivation, live animal exports, meat processing, vegetables and fruits, incense and natural gum production.
Investors engaged in agriculture and industry sectors are enabling the country to obtain hard currency by supplying products to the foreign market, he said.
He urged investors to use the opportunity to be engaged in development works by establishing and expanding small and medium scale development projects.
Dhaka, April 9 (Xinhua) The army-backed Bangladeshi caretaker government Monday filed an extortion case of 30 million taka ($428,571) against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is now in the US.
Tajul Islam Farooq, a businessman, brought the charge of extortion against Hasina who recently made some critical comments from the US against the caretaker government and the election commission for delaying the general elections under different pretexts.
Hasina, president of Awami League (AL) party, will be debarred from contesting the general elections if the court finds her guilty.
The election, originally scheduled for Jan. 22, is now postponed for an indefinite period under the State of Emergency.
The case was filed with Tejgaon police station in the capital under sections 385, 386, 387 and 109 of Bangladesh Penal Code (BPC), which are non-bailable.
The police said while in power as prime minister in 1998, Hasina got the money through one of her close aides in approving a power project in favour of Farooq. The money was allegedly handed over to her at her official residence of Gano Bhaban (People's House).
If the allegation is proved after preliminary investigation, police will issue the arrest order and Hasina could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail if found guilty.
As per the Bangladeshi Constitution, a person will not be eligible for contesting the general elections if he or she is convicted for at least two years on charge of moral turpitude.
The former ruling Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party government headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ended its five-year tenure on Oct. 27, 2006 and handed over power to the caretaker government headed by Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed.
As the two major parties, BNP and AL, could not evolve a consensus on a series of problems, the political crisis deteriorated. Iajuddin Ahmed had to declare a state of emergency, cancelling the election and banning political activities. He resigned from the post of chief advisor of caretaker government on Jan. 11.
Former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed took oath as the new chief advisor of caretaker government on Jan. 12. This government has been saying that it will hold a clean and credible election in the country after preparing a voter list with identity cards and undertaking necessary electoral reforms.
Yangon, April 9 (NNN-MNA) Altogether seven poultry farms in Mayangon, Hlinethaya, North Okkalapa, Mingaladon and Hmawby townships of Yangon Division were struck by an outbreak of H5N1 virus from Feb 28 to March 30.
Regarding this, preventative measures such as monitoring and diagnosing of the virus, early exposing and informing to the public, early addressing it and effective containment, designating the restricted zones, culling, restricting transport and sale of poultry were carried out.
Altogether 27 veterinarians of Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department in cooperation with UNICEF, Care Myanmar and Myanmar Livestock Breeding Federation (Central) conducted a workshop on control of bird flu, bio-security, warding off biodanger and public communication and information on April 7.
The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department are in cooperation with UNICEF, Care Myanmar and Myanmar Livestock Breeding Federation (Central), the Township Development Affairs Committee, the Township Health Department, the Township Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, township authorities, members of the Ward and Village Peace and Development Councils and those engaged in raising and marketing poultry.
They are now conducting field discussions on control of bird flu in the townships, wards and villages of Yangon Division, where there was an outbreak of H5N1 virus.
Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) A massive fire broke out Monday at a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near the West Bengal capital destroying five industrial units of the complex.
Officials said no lives were lost in the blaze that started in the morning in Phalta area in South 24-Parganas, 25 km from here.
"The magnitude of the fire was very high but it is under control now," said state Fire Minister Pratim Chatterjee.
Five industrial units of the SEZ, including a plastic and a leather factory, were gutted and several other factories damaged.
Twenty-five fire tenders were pressed into service to control the flames.
A short circuit is said to have caused the blaze, according to preliminary investigations. It spread to the entire area as highly inflammable petrochemical products were stocked in the factory sheds.
This is the fourth time that a fire broke out in the SEZ complex since its inception in 1984, said factory workers.
Rabat, April 9 (NNN-MAP) Kenya backs every peaceful and acceptable initiative aimed at settling the Sahara conflict, Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said here Friday.
He added that Kenya's recognition of the Polisario movement which is seeking independence for the region from Moroccan rule was not "a sustainable situation".
Tuju told the media this after meeting Moroccan Foreign minister Mohamed Benaïssa on the sidelines of the first African Human Development Conference held here on April 6 and 7.
Kenya had suspended in October 2006 its one-year old diplomatic relations with the so-called Sahrawi Republic (SADR).
Morocco had commended and welcomed the Kenyan decision, which abides by international law and shows the East African country's concern not to anticipate the solution of the Sahara conflict, according to a press release of the Foreign Ministry at that time.
Morocco is currently drawing up a plan to grant substantial autonomy to its southern provinces, the Sahara, which is due to be discussed at the United Nations Security Council later this month, in order to solve the thirty-year-old dispute, which erupted in the mid-70s when the Algeria-backed Polisario claimed the separation of the Sahara from the rest of Morocco.
Asuncio, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Former Paraguayan bishop Fernando Lugo has announced that he will definitely register his presidential candidacy for the Electoral Tribunal in February, 2008.
However, the man called the “bishop of the poor� asserted that the aspiration could be contested by that tribunal and the Supreme Court of Justice, being able to defeat the people’s will with frauds.
The governing Colorado Party insists that the Paraguayan Constitution prohibits a minister of any religion or cult to be the nation’s president.
The former prelate has resigned his ecclesiastic position in order to eliminate the legal barriers preventing him from devoting himself to politics.
Lugo, a possible favourite for the 2008 elections, according to surveys, has asserted that his formal and conscious resignation from the priesthood enables him to perform the duties of president of Paraguay.
He asserted that some 12 social, union, and farmer organizations grouped under the Citizen Resistance Association, supported his candidacy.
If he were elected, Lugo would become the first president who is not a Colorado Party member in 61 years.
Kathmandu, April 9 (IANS) As Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Monday kicked off his party's campaign for the upcoming polls, former Maoist rebels shut down parts of southern Nepal, raising fears that the election exercise may be postponed yet again.
Led by Nagendra Paswan, a former Maoist who broke off from the parent organisation with other rebels in the Terai plains to form the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM), a closure was enforced in Siraha, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa districts.
Paswan, who calls himself Jwala Singh, last month announced his band was calling off its "ceasefire" since the government had shown no interest in beginning talks for a Madhes state.
Though no reason was given for the strike, the Singh faction has been demanding an autonomous state in the Terai for the plains people, withdrawal of all government and security officials from the hill communities and replacing them with local people.
Singh is also demanding compensation for his men killed by the security forces and their former comrades, the Maoists, as well as an end to "attacks" by Maoists.
This is the second shutdown in the plains since this month, after the Maoists joined the government.
The earlier closure was called by another ethnic group from the plains, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, that also has similar demands.
A second faction of the JTMM led by former senior Maoist leader Jaykrishna Goit is also waging war against the government. Last week, it abducted a government official from the plains.
Several other armed groups operating in the plains are demanding more rights for the plains people.
Most of them have threatened to disrupt the election scheduled for June 20 if their demands are not met.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's special representative for Nepal Ian Martin has repeatedly expressed concern that the poll would not be free or fair if the Terai problem was not resolved.
However, Koirala, is under immense pressure from the Maoists to go ahead with the election plan.
After his Nepali Congress party Sunday registered with the Election Commission for taking part in the June polls, Koirala Monday headed for Pokhara city in central Nepal to address a mass meeting - his first public appearance since assuming office last April.
After Pokhara, the Nepali Congress will start its campaign in the Terai.
The last general elections were held in 1999 when the Nepali Congress won. Since then, there has been no election due to the growing Maoist insurgency.
Though the Maoists signed a peace agreement and joined the government this month, it has not been possible to restore peace in the country.
Inspired by the Maoists, different ethnic and armed groups have now begun making demands for autonomy with some of them taking up guns like the Maoists did.
Singapore, April 9 (DPA) A Formula One fan seeking a thrill died after the go-kart she was driving overturned and crashed into a track divider, news reports said Monday.
Singaporean Chen Shu Li, 32, lost control of the vehicle while negotiating the final bend at the USJ Go-Kart Track Saturday in Sepang, Malaysia, The Straits Times said.
She had travelled to Sepang with her husband and three friends to watch Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur contacted Chen's family in the city-state, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was the mother of two children.
Industry sources told the newspaper that Chen may have blacked out because of high G-forces. Referring to gravity's effect on the body, the G-force is multiplied when one accelerates to high speeds.
The four-wheel drive go-kart Chen was using can reach speeds of up to 250 km per hour and is usually reserved for professional racers, said Lee Nian Tjoe, editor of Torque motoring magazine. Novices usually drive "benign" vehicles with a top speed of 60 km per hour, making the sport "quite safe," he was quoted as saying.
By Daniel Waitere
Nairobi, AprIL 9 (NN-KBC) United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer says excessive force was used in the latest fighting in Somalia between Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the union of Islamic Courts (UIC) extremists where scores of civilians were killed.
Frazer, who was briefing the local and international press at the residence of United States Ambassador to Kenya Michael Rannebeger in Nairobi after a visit to Somalia, said the current insecurity in that country was a threat to reconciliation and called for a ceasefire between the warring clans.
The killing of innocent civilians in the latest fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, has been blamed on excessive force by troops fighting the UIC extremists who are attempting to wrest back power from the TFG.
Frazer blamed both sides in the war but said the government had every right to defend itself from the extremists.
Fraser who had earlier toured the town of Baidoa and held talks with Somalia’s President Adullahi Yusuf said the TFG needed to expedite the process of national reconciliation and work on a constitution so as to bring an end to the war.
Frazer's visit to Somalia appears to reinforce a renewed commitment by the United States towards achieving peace in a country that has been at war for over a decade.
Riyadh, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdurrahman Al-Attiyah has condemned the latest aggressions by the Israel army in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement Sunday, Al-Attiyah resented the Israeli army's air strikes, missile attacks and tank incursions into the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, also underlining that such recurring attacks exposed Tel Aviv's aggressive policy, which aimed at dispersing all efforts for a peaceful settlement.
Al-Attiyah urged the international community to swiftly take an affirmative action to halt such violations, stressing at the same time on the necessity of creating an appropriate atmosphere in order for peace and stability to prevail in the region.
Israeli jet fighters executed a raid on the north of the Gaza Strip Saturday at dawn, which resulted in the killing of a Palestinian activist and wounding several others.
Kuwait, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Committee for precautionary measures' officials has kicked off its meeting under the auspices of Kuwaiti Health Minister Massouma Al-Mubarak.
The meeting Sunday, attended by the ministry's undersecretary for supportive medical services Dr Yousif Al-Nisf, would include a number of vital health-related issues on its agenda, mainly bird flu, in the aftermath of discovering a number of cases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, a press release said.
Conferees will discuss a unified working plan on preventive measures taken by the six GCC states in order to tackle the epidemic disease in case a human case was to be diagnosed, the release added.
Also, the committee members will discuss a unified immune programme for children in member states, as to provide the appropriate dosages of vaccinations.
Other issues to be discussed will be the high rate of measles' infection in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and causes of its recent recurrence, in addition to precautionary measures to be taken in order to make sure such contagion will not return in the future.
Itanagar, April 9 (IANS) Gegong Apang resigned as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Monday. Power Minister Dorjee Khandu will take over as new chief minister after being elected leader of the Congress legislature party here.
Bangkok, April 9 (NNN-TNA) Thai Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp has denied reports Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont lost heart and planned to call it quits, saying the premier cancelled his official schedules on Monday because he had personal business to do.
The reports on the planned resignation of the premier came after he cancelled the official schedules for his performance throughout Monday including an opening of a seminar on "Prevailing Justice and Public Participation", meeting of a team of senior executives from Macao, and an exclusive interview with political and military news editors of TV Channel 7.
Capt. Yongyuth said the premier had personal business to do and assigned senior officials to perform on his behalf. Certain schedules had been postponed.
Asked whether the premier got sick, he said:" I don't know in detail. What I know is that he has business to do today (Monday) and will return to perform official duties tomorrow."
Asked about a revelation by Prime Minister's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan that the premier lost heart and might resign in May, Capt. Yongyuth said the prime minister made a clear remark he would never lose heart because he had a clear objective to administer the country until a fair general election is held as scheduled on December 16 or 23.
"The premier has a clear determination and assertion that he will perform duties continuously as the head of the government for the sake of the country. As a former military officer, he will do a mission he had go to the utmost of his ability," Capt Yongyuth said.
Asked he had sought a clarification with Mr. Thirapat on his remarks, the government spokesman said he did not know in detail what the minister talked.
However, he said he believed the premier clearly intends to fulfill his duties and that he will carry out his tasks to the utmost of his ability.
Interior Minister Aree Wong-araya also affirmed Monday that Surayud has no plan to resign, and appealed for an end to such rumours.
"The prime minister did not accept the premiership for himself, but for the nation. He definitely will not resign. Please stop this sort of rumour," he said.
The interior minister said a person like Gen. Surayud will never feel so discouraged that he decides to bow out, and the premier had never spoken of any planned resignation to the cabinet.
Wellington, April 9(DPA) It was a grim Easter for rabbits in New Zealand's Otago province, where nearly 400 hunters shot 16,121 bunnies in an annual hunt organized to put a smile on farmers' faces, news reports said Monday.
Rabbits thrive on the wide-open spaces of South Island ranches, where the fuzzy mammals are detested by farmers for chewing up grass that could be forage for sheep and cattle.
Hunters from all over New Zealand met on Good Friday at Alexandra, where they were assigned to farms and sheep stations within a 100-km radius from the town and given 24 hours to shoot as many rabbits as they could.
Organizer Martin McPherson told the Southland Times that the total cull was down from last year, when about 22,000 were shot.
Brought to New Zealand by British colonial settlers to provide hunting sport and remind them of home, rabbits are among farmers' worst enemies in drought-prone Otago, where grass is scarce.
Beirut, April 9 (DPA) The secretary general of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah movement, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has warned against any attack on Iran.
"If anyone in Lebanon is building hopes that Iran will be attacked I tell them if this happens the whole region will not stay the same and counting on such calculations will prove to be wrong," Nasrallah told a group of his followers Sunday during a ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Nasrallah, whose group is leading the opposition against Lebanon's Western-backed government headed by Premier Fouad Seniora, accused some members of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority of deluding themselves by counting on major regional changes to change the current situation in Lebanon.
The Hezbollah chief said in reference to the internal Lebanese political crisis that the dialogue between the Lebanese factions has failed and he proposed a referendum to resolve the deadlock between the pro-and anti-Syrian camps.
"The two camps have reached a deadlock. It is best to hold a referendum and early elections, where the people can decide who will rule the country," Nasrallah said.
Lebanon has been locked in a political crisis since six pro-Syrian ministers resigned from the Seniora government in November.
The opposition have been calling on the cabinet to resign and form a national unity government by granting the pro-Syrian opposition veto power.
Nasrallah reasserted that "Hezbollah would not allow itself to be dragged into a civil war ... we will continue all our useful, democratic and civil means" of protest against the cabinet.
New York, April 9 (IANS) An empty energy-drink bottle found in the back of Paris Hilton's car is to be auctioned off on eBay, a website that provides free online auctions.
The price has been pushed up to $103.50 after seven people bid for it, reports pagesix.com.
The seller said: "You, too, can say you were with Paris Hilton and her friends. I got this from my boss, whose son does club-promoting in Miami. He was at the club when Hilton and all her friends came in and this was the beverage of choice."
The bottle label says it is imported from Austria and is sugar-free.
Bhopal, April 9 (IANS) Hindu rightwing organisations here Monday demanded that a Muslim boy who had reportedly run away with a Hindu girl and married her be arrested and the girl handed over to her parents.
The organisations threatened to launch an agitation if authorities failed to arrest the boy.
Omar, 22, had Thursday reportedly run away with Priyanka, 21, and the two got married after the boy converted to Hinduism.
However, the girl's parents are not prepared to accept the relationship and have lodged a First Information Report (FIR) charging the boy with kidnapping their daughter.
Describing it as a case of 'religion transformation', the activists of several Hindu outfits including the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swung into action soon after getting the information and protested against the police for being lax in taking action against the boy's family.
"In Bhopal, Hindu girls are being lured by Muslim boys of and on and this has become a routine. We will not tolerate it anymore," said Bhagwandas Sabnani, former BJP district president.
Meanwhile, the girl is said to have told some of her relatives over phone that she was not kidnapped or lured by anyone but had gone with Omar of her own accord and married him.
She also said that she had not been forced to convert to Islam. "Instead, my husband (Omar) has adopted Hinduism before marrying me. But my parents and relatives are making it an issue because our relationship is not acceptable to them."
Speaking to a local news channel from some unknown destination, Priyanka has also accused her family members of taking advantage of their political connections and harassing her in-laws in Bhopal.
"Omar's elder brother Sabir has been detained in a Bhopal police station for the past four days, which is not fair," she said.
Earlier, the activists had surrounded the SP's office and demanded that a case of religion transformation be registered, instead of kidnapping.
They have also threatened to intensify the agitation if their demand was not met.
Meanwhile, the police have dispatched a team to locate the couple after registering a case of abduction.
Islamabad, April 9 (IANS) A section of Pakistan's clergy is asking the government to sack Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar for hugging her French male coach after taking part in a paragliding show in Paris.
The self-styled Lal Masjid Qazi court here issued a 'fatwa', or an Islamic decree, Sunday saying Bakhtiar had committed an "un-Islamic act", for which she must be removed from the federal cabinet, the Daily Times reported Monday.
The decree was issued at the request of an Islamabad resident who sought the court's views on the issue.
Several Pakistani newspapers recently published pictures of the woman minister hugging the Frenchman.
The Qazi court quoted various verses from the Quran and Hadith about the role of Muslim women in society and the importance of wearing the veil.
The decree said a Muslim woman should not indulge in "objectionable activities". "Islam enjoins Muslim women to avoid leaving their homes unnecessarily," it said.
In February, Zile Huma, a woman minister in Punjab province and a vocal supporter of President Pervez Musharraf's liberal policies towards women, was shot dead at a public meeting by a man.
A woman director who staged folk theatre in New Delhi some years ago was severely criticized for hugging then Indian prime minister I.K. Gujral.
The clergy has repeatedly passed decrees declaring as "un-Islamic" Benazir Bhutto becoming the prime minister, interpreting scriptures to hold that Islam did not allow women a role outside her home.
La Paz, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The president of the Permanent Human Rights Assembly of Bolivia, Guillermo Vilela, has refuted a recent report of the United States Department of State questioning the situation of human rights in Bolivia.
The Bolivarian news agency quoted the activist as saying that little mistakes do not mar the progress in human rights reached during the 14 months of the President Evo Morales administartion.
Vilela said Sunday the US report does not show the real human rights reality that prevails in the South American country.
The activist also denied that ex-Bolivian presidents are being subjected to political persecution in the country.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Indian Air Force (IAF), already the world's fourth largest, aims to acquire a global status "as fast as" it can, even as it boasts of a strategic reach that can take its aircraft "anywhere" in the world, its new chief declared Monday.
Air Chief Marshal Fali Major also foresaw greater integration of operations with the Indian Army and the Indian Navy, an increased role for the IAF in counter-insurgency operations and creation of a tri-services aerospace command in which the air force would play a "lead role"
All this in an environment in which the IAF had achieved its lowest accident rate of 0.36 percent in its 75-year history, Major proudly declared at his first media interaction after assuming office March 31.
Speaking about the delays in acquiring 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA), he couldn't put a date when the order would be placed, adding that the induction of a fifth generation combat jet that is being jointly developed with Russia was more than a decade away.
Admitting to gaps in the radar coverage over peninsular India, Major said this was being plugged with new acquisitions and by integrating military and civilian systems.
He also spoke of greater cohesiveness with the civil aviation sector by opening up more and more IAF airfields to domestic flights and by releasing some 15-20 pilots at regular intervals to enable them begin a "second career" with flag carrier Air India.
Responding to a question on last month's Tamil Tiger's air strike on a military base near Sri Lanka capital Colombo, Major did not view this as a "threat" as it regarded the rebel group as an "irritant rather than a threat".
He promised a "fair, just and transparent" administrative system in which "merit, seniority and effort" would play an "important part" in the upward progress of the men and women serving in the IAF.
"We are already a regional air force to reckon with. My aim is to acquire a global status as fast as we can," a confident Major said, as he fielded questions with alacrity from a large media contingent.
"A credible, more meaner and more potent air force shall be our endeavour," he added.
At the same time, the transformation from a low-end to a high-end technology force "would take time" Major stated, even as he maintained that "force structuring and equipment profiling and what we would need to do to take the IAF far beyond where it now is would be my aim.
"I have been handed a fine air force and I aim to take it further. In the next couple of years, I envisage an air force that is fully integrated into all facets of national growth."
Speaking about the strategic reach of the air force, he pointed out that the induction of the IL-78 midair refuelling aircraft had given the IAF's fighter aircraft the capability to "fly anywhere around the globe".
The IAF, which currently flies six midair refuelling aircraft, is set to order another six. The IL-78 is used in tandem with the IAF's Sukhoi Su-30, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft.
On the question of interoperability, Major said: "I will ensure that there is absolute synergy with the other two arms (of the defence forces) as also with the other agencies dealing with national security."
In this context, he pointed out that he would "vigorously pursue" the move to create an aerospace command that his predecessor, Air Chief Marshal (retd) S.P. Tyagi had mooted three years ago.
"There is urgent need for such a command, which will be a tri-services entity with the air force playing a lead role. As to its form and shape and when it will come about is an issue that is being debated. It will definitely be a reality sooner rather than later," Major maintained.
On the increased IAF role in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast and possibly in Maoist dominated areas, the air chief said: "We have the capability to use air power in every spectrum of conflict. The use of this depends on the government."
Here, the planned acquisition of a squadron (six aircraft) of Hercules C-130J heavy transports and a similar number of Mi-17 1V medium-lift helicopters would add tremendous punch to the IAF's current assets that can be deployed against rebel groups, Major pointed out.
Answering a question on the IAF's safety record, he attributed the lowest ever accident rate to "one hell of a lot of effort" by the people involved.
"I will blow my trumpet to say that the people involved (the directorate general of air safety at air headquarters) did a magnificent job, given the varied and vintage inventory of the IAF fleet.
The air force currently flies over 20 models of combat jets, transports and trainers, some of them of Soviet-era vintage.
Dubai, April 9 (IANS) A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kuwait and India on labour, employment and manpower development have reached the final stage, Minister for Overseas Indian Affair Vayalar Ravi said.
Ravi, who arrived in Kuwait Saturday on a four-day visit, met the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah.
"The talks have been very fruitful. A framework on the MoU has already been established. But certain finer points have to be discussed in detail before signing the agreement," Ravi told the Kuwait Times.
Kuwait is home to around 500,000 Indian expatriates, many of who work as contract labourers.
Once implemented, the labour agreement promises to streamline the Indian labour force in Kuwait and safeguard the rights of the Indian workers. The MoU is likely to include a clause to bring the Indian workers under the purview of Kuwait's ministry of social affairs and labour, which is governed by the immigration rules of the interior ministry.
"Recruitment agencies will be closely monitored and illegal agents will be prosecuted. A performance report will be made and accountability will be fixed. Heavy penalties will also be imposed on the erring agents in addition to the compulsory punishments," Ravi said.
India had signed a similar labour agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Agreements with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman are also expected to be reached shortly.
Chennai, April 9 (IANS) Indian scientists Monday said that in 2007 uranium production in the country would double.
According to the officials of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), only four imported reactors - two at Tarapore in Maharashtra and two in Rajasthan - are actually under inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"As for the other reactors, there is a proposal to classify them as civilian, but until an agreement takes place we are continuing as usual," Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) director S. Banerjee said here Monday.
Asked to clarify, he said: "We in India have never looked at reactors as military or civilian. We are not going to do any classification until there is a specific agreement and will continue operating them as we have been doing" for the last two decades.
The country is preparing to set up 12 new reactors for nuclear power in the next two years, so that by 2012 India could get at least 10,000 MW.
Banerjee, along with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) chairman S.K. Jain, was speaking to the media here on the sidelines of an international steel conference.
India's own mines at Jaduguda (Jharkhand) have 1,000 MTPD (metric tonne per day) processing capacity and India owns only 0.8 percent of the world's uranium reserve.
"The plan is to step up power production by next year, starting with eight 700-MW PHWR (pressurised heavy water reactors) rea," said S.K. Jain, chairman and MD, NPCIL and BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd).
India is also looking at setting up one light water reactor and three fast breeder reactors, he said.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India is operating 14 (two boiling water reactors and 12 PHWRs) reactors, with a total capacity of 2,720 MWe and the eight reactors it is building will up its power production by another 5,600 MWe (totalling more than 8,000 MWe).
It also has two test reactors and the first indigenous fast breeder reactor is expected to start production by next year.
"The sites for four PHWRs has already been found, we are now looking among our basket of sites to find the most suitable, for the other four," Jain said. The first four are to be at Rajasthan and at Kakrapara (Gujarat).
Of the three fast breeder reactors, two 500 MW ones will be at DAE's Kalpakkam campus.
Designing for one advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) too has begun, Jain said. This will be a thorium reactor of about 300 MWe. The safety appraisal for this is over, officials said.
"We do not want to begin setting up all the reactors at the same time. Our uranium production will double next year and we want to link the reactors to uranium availability," Jain said.
Therefore, NPCIL is going to set up the reactors in a phased manner over the next two years, the first four new PHWRs and then the next ones after 10 months or so.
He said that NPCIL has been constructing its power plants on a commercial basis "without any foreign investment" so far.
India is planning its reactors to work for at least 60 to a hundred years, officials here said.
"The prototype fast breeder reactor has a life time of 40 years, the FBRs have 60 year life, we want to ensure that they give us power for the next 100 years," BARC director S. Banerjee said.
He said India is looking for deep-seated uranium reserves now.
Islamabad, April 9 (IANS) Unfazed by bomb blasts on the Samjhauta Express in February, India and Pakistan Monday renewed for three years their agreement on running the cross-border train that has come to symbolise people-to-people contacts.
The agreement for running the train, launched over three decades ago to connect divided families across the border, was singed by Pakistan Railways general manager (freight) Gulrez Hashmi and India's Railway Board advisor (traffic) S.R Thakur.
The Samjhauta Express runs between Wagah in Pakistan and Attari in India. A link train takes passengers from Wagah to Lahore and from Attari to Delhi.
Pakistan's Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and India's Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad Manpreet Vohra were also present at the signing ceremony held at the ministry of railways here.
The agreement would remain effective till Jan 19, 2010.
Both sides also agreed to add two coaches each to the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express that connects Munabao in Rajasthan and Khokhrapar in Sindh.
The deadly bomb blasts that ripped through two coaches of the link train of the Samjhauta Express near Panipat in Haryana on the night of Feb 19 killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, and left several others injured.
India is conducting an inquiry into the train blasts that could be the handiwork of terrorists who wanted to derail its peace process with Pakistan and has agreed to share the findings of the probe with Islamabad.
By Arun Kumar
Phoenix (Arizona), April 9 (IANS) As India witnesses an aviation boom, several rapidly growing airlines are sending young students halfway across the world to Sabena Airline Training Centre (SATC) in the US to become professional pilots.
A batch of 26 Indian students, including three women, sponsored by SpiceJet and Kingfisher, are already training at a brand new SATC facility spread over 24,000 sq feet at Falcon Field, 30 km east of Phoenix. Their number may grow to 140 by yearend.
From this facility, giving access to the many uncontrolled airports in the southern part of Arizona - ideal for basic training, SATC plans to fly 48,000 flight hours with 310 international students training in 2007, said managing director Kris Van den Bergh at its formal opening.
"In the last 12 months the need for pilots went up dramatically, mainly driven by the birth and expansion of the new and existing Middle Eastern and Asian airlines," he said, adding, "For India, the numbers are already significant. Today about 2,900 pilots are employed in India versus a requirement of 3,100."
The additional 500 airplane orders for the next five years will yield an additional requirement of 5,000 pilots, meaning that the pilot population in India will virtually triple over the next five years, Van den Bergh told IANS.
For the Indian programme, the airlines concerned pick up 19 to 29-year-old science/engineering graduates or those with physics and mathematics background who can communicate well in English.
The 32-week programme in Arizona involves 100 hours of theory and 225 hours of flying. Once they obtain their pilot's license for general aviation aircraft, the students are qualified to go on for training in specific Boeing or Airbus aircraft in Brussels or in their own airlines' training programmes, said business development director Laurence Adam.
Students pay a course fee of $38,000 and another $7,000 towards shared accommodation. However, Kingfisher-sponsored candidates get a refund of $10,000 and an assured job on completion of training, she said.
Sharing a two-bedroom furnished apartment, three SpiceJet girls from diverse backgrounds have already moved from classroom to a couple of solos and are eagerly looking forward to an exciting career in flying back home.
The daughter of a businessman, Tanvitha, 21, from Bangalore is a BE in mechanical engineering. Shiv Priya Kapur, 23, escaped from dreary hotel management once flying opened up as a profession for women rather than just a thrilling hobby.
Delhiite Kanika Mehra, 21, an electrical engineering graduate from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, always wanted to fly and only found words of encouragement from her chartered accountant father and office administrator mother.
Apart from India, "the numbers are equally impressive for China, and to a lesser extent for Europe. In addition to the required volume going up, we also observe more genuine interest of the airline in basic flight training," Van den Bergh said.
To meet this demand, SATC plans to expand its fleet of 27 aircraft to 34 aircraft making 170 flights, logging over 250 flight hours and 500 landings every day or a landing every three minutes!
Before moving into Falcon Field, SATC operated from Scottsdale Airport, just 11 miles northwest, to train more than 700 pilots over 16 years. "We could not grow at Scottsdale because of the single runway and jet traffic. We have two runways here and less business jet traffic," Van den Bergh said.
For the expansion, SATC has chosen a new family of airplanes, the Diamond, going from the smaller two-seater DA20, over the four-seater DA40 and the twin, the DA42.
"This range of airplanes provides us with a reliable and efficient training platform, and a uniform state-of-the-art training tool for the students, including a glass digital cockpit layout, which we consider a must for future airline pilots. They will receive the basics of working in a modern cockpit from the very start," Van den Bergh said.
Earlier serving onetime Belgian national carrier, Sabena Airline, SATC opened its door to other airlines after Sabena went bankrupt two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.
Besides two simulators at Falcon Field, SATC operates six more at the Brussels Airport that mimic Boeing 737 and Airbus A320/330/340 aircraft. Those simulators continue to be used by numerous European airlines to train their pilots.
In Arizona, apart from the Indians, SATC's prime customer is KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, for which it trains at least 150 pilots a year. Pilots are also trained for Air Malta and SN Brussels Airlines, the Belgian successor to Sabena Airlines.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) An Indian trade delegation leaves for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan Tuesday on a six-day visit to strengthen economic bilateral ties, especially in oil and gas and in cotton textiles.
The delegation, led by Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, will go to Baku, Tashkent and other cities.
It aims to sign a first of its kind agreement with Azerbaijan for establishing the India-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, and also explore opportunities for investment in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector.
"ONGC Videsh has identified some promising prospects which it would like to develop, with Azerbaijan having re-emerged as a major oil-rich country with the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that links Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and is the world's second longest oil pipeline connecting rich Caspian Sea oil reserves with the Mediterranean Sea," an official statement said.
Senior officials of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and MMTC Ltd., who will be part of the delegation, will explore opportunities in Azerbaijan's mineral sector.
In Azerbaijan, Indian conglomerates like Bharat Heavy Electronics Ltd. (BHEL) have installed power generators and several other Indian pharma companies have a presence.
Ranesh also plans to review the status of implementation of the MOU signed in November 2006 between the Uzbekistan government and The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India (TEXPROCIL) for enhancing cooperation in the cotton textile sector, the statement said.
The State Trading Corporation plans to invest $10 million in the cottonseed processing industry of Uzbekistan.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Major investment in the northeast is the best answer to the problem of insurgency in that region, according to Minister for Development of Northeastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Addressing a press conference here Monday on the eve of the two-day Third Northeast Business Summit here, Aiyar said, "Any significant investment will reduce security problems in the northeast. Major investment is the best answer to the problems of insurgency in that region."
Inviting the private sector to invest, he said that a very substantial part of the region is free of security problems.
The business summit, to be held here April 10-11 and being organised by the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) and the Kolkata-based trade body Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), will showcase the strengths of the northeastern region and present significant business opportunities.
Two such business summits were earlier held in Mumbai in July 2002 and New Delhi in January 2004.
The third is being organised with the prime objective of exposing the rich potential of the region to prospective investors in India and abroad.
Several union ministers, chief ministers of northeastern states and other stakeholders are expected to participate. The summit will be inaugurated by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Elaborating on the investment opportunities in the northeast, Aiyar said the infrastructure sector has the best potential.
"The infrastructure sector holds the highest capacity for corporate participation. Road construction is a major area. In the next five years, around Rs. 50,000 crores will be invested for road construction in the northeast," he said.
Aiyar added, "Thai companies successfully constructed roads in that country in terrain similar to the northeast. Those companies have now become major global companies. In the same way, Indian companies and even small companies in the northeast can grow by investing in road construction in the northeast."
The minister said that air connectivity with the northeast had improved significantly with as many as 226 flights operating in a week.
"However, intra-northeast air travel remains a problem. We are awaiting a report from a committee that went through this problem and action will be taken on the basis of that report."
As for rail connectivity, Aiyar said that the railway ministry was paying special attention to the region.
About other sectors, he said the power sector in the region holds a lot of potential for investment.
"In the last Five-Year Plan, there was practically no addition to the hydropower capacity in the northeast. However, we are working on more than doubling the hydropower capacity in the northeast in the next few years.
"Power generation companies should invest in the northeast rather than any other region of the country," Aiyar said, expressing confidence that the region will become power surplus in the coming years.
The minister also projected the agriculture sector as having potential for investment.
"Investment possibilities in the agriculture sector in the northeast are perhaps unparalleled compared to the rest of India," he said.
Aiyar especially mentioned horticulture and floriculture as areas having tremendous potential for growth.
In the services sector, he referred to tourism and hospitality and information technology as prime investment areas.
"In IT, especially the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector, investors should make use of the huge pool of English-speaking university graduates in the northeast," Aiyar said.
To a question as to why a business summit on the northeast is being held in New Delhi, he said the next summit would definitely be held in the region itself.
"I deeply regret having to hold this summit here in Delhi. We thought of holding it in Guwahati (in Assam) but had to give up the idea because of problems like shortage of hotels there.
"Hopefully these problems will be sorted out soon and we will be able to hold the next summit in the northeast," Aiyar said.
Natanz (Iran), April 9 (Xinhua) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Monday announced that his country had developed the capability to produce nuclear fuel at an industrial level, underlining that Western powers could not stop Iran's nuclear progress.
"Enemies have used the UN Security Council as a tool to block Iran's progress ... from today, Iran is among the producers of nuclear fuel at industrial level in the world," Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony at the Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran.
"Fossil fuel is going to be finished and cannot be cheap. The safe and cheap fuel is nuclear fuel ...," he added.
The president's announcement clearly suggested that Iran had been operating a large number of centrifuges at its nuclear sites, but failed to elaborate how many centrifuges were already operational.
Natanz (Iran), April 9 (Xinhua) Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani Monday warned that Tehran could withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if the international community imposes further pressure over its nuclear programme and confirmed that his country had started injecting gas into 3,000 centrifuges.
"If they give us further pressure, we will have no other choice but reconsider Iran's membership of the NPT as parliament has ruled," Larijani told reporters at the sensitive nuclear facilities in central city of Natanz.
The UN Security Council passed two resolutions last December and this March, urging Iran to halt all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
The Iranian parliament has demanded the government reduce cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since the UN Security Council slapped sanctions on Tehran last December.
Answering a question that if Iran had begun injecting gas into 3,000 centrifuges, Larijani said: "Yes, we have injected gas." But he did not explicitly say whether all the 3,000 machines had been installed.
However, Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, said Monday that it would not announce how many centrifuges have been installed at its Natanz nuclear plant.
Saeedi asked reporters to wait for the UN nuclear watchdog's answer on this issue, saying: "you can wait for the agency inspectors to report in 20 days." Inspectors from the IAEA are still regularly checking Iran's nuclear sites at the moment.
Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to install 3,000 centrifuges, but up to now Tehran was only known to have two cascades of 328 centrifuges running.
Just a few minutes before Larijani's comments, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Iran had become one of the few countries that could produce nuclear fuel at "industrial level", which runs counter to the UN demand of halting enrichment activities.
Observers have predicted that such move would further stretch the tension between Iran and the West, just five days after the end of sailors' detention crisis with Britain.
An hour after Iranian leader's speech, a US State Department spokesman responded to Ahmadinejad's announcement, saying the declaration illustrates that UN sanctions against Tehran were "justified."
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1747 in late March, urging Iran to suspend uranium enrichment work "without further delay".
Tehran, April 9, (IRNA) Vice-President and head of the Department of the Environment Fatemeh Vaez-Javadi said here Sunday that Iran and Pakistan would expand cooperation on various natural tourism fields.
Vaez-Javadi made the remark while talking to reporters prior to a meeting with the visiting Pakistani Minister of Environment Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, currently in Tehran for a three-day visit.
"Based on a memorandum of understanding scheduled to be signed, the two sides will cooperate on pollution in the joint marine border line," she added.
Tehran, April 9 (DPA) Officials of the Iranian Atomic Organization and Russian contractor Atomstroiexport resumed talks Monday at the Bushehr power plant in southern Iran, the news network Khabar reported.
The two sides discussed their differences and were eager to find ways to settle them but gave no further details, the TV report said.
Atomstroiexport, which is building the nuclear power plant in the Persian Gulf port Bushehr, had announced earlier this year that there would be a delay in the completion of the plant due to a financial dispute with Tehran.
Iran has rejected the claims and said all payments had been effected in time.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini Sunday voiced confidence that the differences would be settled during the talks in Iran.
The Iran-Russia joint project was originally supposed to be completed at the beginning of the millennium but has been delayed several times for various reasons.
The most recent agreement between the two sides signed last September in Moscow envisioned the supply of nuclear fuel in March 2007, the physical launch of the plant in September and energy launch in November of the same year.
Iran had warned Russia not to link the project with the international dispute over Iran's nuclear programme and in doing so "politicize" the Bushehr plant.
Moscow has however said the Bushehr stoppage was a purely financial problem.
Tehran, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) The psychological and health conditions of the Iranian diplomats detained by the American forces in Iraq are good, according to Representative of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Tehran, Andreas Schweitzer.
Schweitzer, in a meeting with families of the detained diplomats Sunday, said an ICRC delegation had last week met with the detainees and they were in good psychological and health condition, news reports said.
He said the ICRC was ready to convey messages to the detainees from their families.
The families requested the publication of pictures of detainees or allowing them to contact them by telephone, but Schweitzer said the ICRC mission was restricted to visiting the detainees and conveying letters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini explained that ICRC representatives have met the Iranian diplomats twice so far.
The US forces have arrested five diplomats from the Iranian consulate in Irbil, northern Iraq.
Baghdad, April 9 (Xinhua) Four years after a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad's Firdous Square, Iraqis bear with daily bombings and sectarian violence as well as decapitated or tortured bodies.
Layla al-Saigh, a housewife in her 30s, said: "I was happy when I saw the fall of the Saddam statue four years ago, but now I realise it was the start of security deterioration."
On April 9, 2003, the US forces broke into central Baghdad and pulled down a large statue of the former Iraqi leader - in Firdous (paradise) Square - who was executed in December.
Four years on, Iraqi people are disappointed, as their hopes for prosperity have become castles in the air.
Abu Samir, a 50-year-old teacher in Baghdad, said he was happy when Saddam's statue was toppled but was now filled with nothing but regret.
"At that moment, I saw the statue as a symbol of dictatorship and tyranny. Now I want to say the Americans and those who came with them are much worse than Saddam," Samir said.
Firdous Square is no longer a symbol for the dictator of Iraq. It is now nothing but a square surrounded by police and army checkpoints, said Muhammad Dafir who worked at a nearby Sheraton Hotel.
A monument symbolising freedom was set up in the statue's place. But Dafir said most of Baghdad residents know nothing about its meaning except for some US soldiers who come to take pictures.
"I am really disappointed because I know there is no freedom without security," he added.
A 24-hour vehicle curfew will be imposed on Baghdad on Monday, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, to avoid attacks in a capital that witnesses persistent violence despite the presence of tens of thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers in a major security crackdown.
On Sunday, thousands of Iraqis came to the holy city of Najaf to demonstrate against the US presence in Iraq.
Said lawyer Salam al-Ani, 60, "Iraqis are much more eager for security and stability than ever." He complained that there was no water, no electricity, no jobs and no future in Iraq.
"From the beginning, I realised that those who celebrated the occupation will not enjoy their happiness forever because I know the US' promise of building a new Iraq was only an illusion and even a deception that some Iraqis believed," he added.
More and more Iraqis chose to flee the violence-plagued country amid miserable living conditions and deteriorating security situation.
Two million Iraqis have left Iraq to nearby Arab countries and Europe since the bombing of the revered Shia Askariya mosque in the town of Samarra in February 2006, sparking a wave a sectarian bloodshed that engulfed the country.
Some Iraqis believed that the fall of Saddam's statue was the beginning of a long way of building democracy in Iraq.
"Despite the hardships after four years of the fall of Saddam's regime, I feel grateful to the Americans who helped us get rid of the dictatorship that ruled Iraq brutally for 35 years," said Haider Saadoun, a college student.
"I believe that building a free nation is a hard task and needs sacrifices," the 23-year-old added.
Melbourne, April 9 (NNN-BERNAMA) Iraqi citizens have received compensation payments totalling more than A$260,000 since Australian Defence Forces began operations in the country four years ago.
The Australian Defence Department has described the handouts as necessary part of dealing in an ``eye-for-eye culture’’.
According to Sydney 's The Daily Telegraph, at least 45 amounts have been given by the Australian Government to Iraqis who were deemed to have suffered personal harm or hardship as a results of action taken by Australian soldiers.
Among the A$266,681 paid to civilians, the biggest single payout was A$89,100.
The reason for it has not yet been explained, but it was reported that the sum is most likely to have been paid to the family of the slain bodyguard of Iraqi Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudani. He was mistakenly killed last year when Australian troops opened fire on the minister's car.
Among the other so-called act of grace payments, 37 were made to individuals who claimed damage and injuries resulting from car accidents, with the amounts ranging from A$69 to A$3,930.
A payment of A$53,128 went to the widow of an Iraqi shot dead in a 2005 incident involving a security detachment in Baghdad . Another Iraqi received A$6,618 after having his arm amputated. He was shot when he failed to slow down upon approaching a roadblock.
The Defence Department justified the payments when seeking approval from the Finance Department by highlighting the "operational benefits" of the handouts: it was important for Australian forces to be seen to be observing Iraq 's "eye-for-an-eye culture".
Baghdad, April 9 (Xinhua) Thousands of Shia Muslims Monday held demonstrations against the US in the southern cities of Kufa and Najaf on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
Men, women and children holding flags and placards with anti-US slogans, gathered in Najaf City and nearby town of Kufa.
The road to the north between Baghdad and Najaf was packed with hundreds of vehicles crammed with protestors waving Iraqi flags and chanting religious and anti-US slogans.
"No, no, no to America," and followed by "Muqtada, yes, yes, yes" they chanted.
Iraqi flags were seen fluttering from rooftops, shops and vehicles in Baghdad's Shia bastion of Sadr City, while police escorted convoys of pickup trucks carrying youths waving flags.
Sunday, Sadr office issued a statement urging Iraqis to come out in full force Monday to mark the day when US forces took Baghdad in 2003.
"The faithful should participate in a demonstration in Najaf on April 9, demanding that the occupiers withdraw form our lands," Shia radical leader Muqtada Sadr said in his statement. "They should carry or wear Iraqi flags."
The government announced a 24-hour vehicle ban, which took effect in Baghdad at 5 a.m. (local time) Monday, Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, a US-Iraqi security operation spokesman, said.
"There will be protests marking the fourth anniversary. We don't want to give the terrorists a chance to use this opportunity," he said.
Sadr is said to be in the neighbouring Iran, which is denied by his aides who say their leader is in Iraq and has not fled for fear of security crackdown.
St. John's (Antigua), April 9 (IANS) Australia's seven-wicket win over England might have looked an easy victory but according to captain Ricky Ponting it was a "tight game".
"It was a pretty tight game right the way through - Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell played beautifully after we got a couple of early breakthroughs," Ponting said after the win at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium here Sunday.
"But I think the difference today was our intensity when the game wasn't going for us in the middle of their innings. And our fielding was great. We kept the pressure on and our bowlers did a terrific job at the end," BBC quoted the Australian captain as saying.
Ponting also stood by his decision to delay the third power play and said: "We kept it back as Kevin and Ian were going pretty well at that stage, and when you take a power play early on with set batsmen, it's pretty hard work for bowlers.
"I decided to hold it off to see if we could get the ball to reverse, and Shaun Tait was terrific in that spell.
"I think when the power plays first came in, captains were trying to get them out of the way right at the start.
"But with varying conditions around the world, there are going to be times when it's going to be in your favour to take them later in the innings, and today was one of those days."
Ponting, who scored a match winning 86, said: "Today wasn't very pretty, but we're getting a few runs.
"Our openers have got us off to good starts throughout the tournament, Michael Clarke looked terrific and Andrew Symonds got a bit of time out in the middle.
Hopefully we can keep improving as the tournament goes on."
Tait, who scalped three for 41, added: "I was quite happy with the way I bowled with the new ball, which was a change from the previous games.
"Today I bashed them in a bit more, and I feel I'm a bit smarter about my bowling."
Ranchi, April 9 (IANS) In a move to make medicines cheaper, chemists in Jharkhand have floated a company to purchase drugs in bulk from multinational companies and distribute them to retailers.
The company, called Jharkhand Chemists and Druggists Association (JCDA) Ltd., will become operational first in state capital Ranchi and later in the 22 districts in a phased manner.
"The company will be assigned the job of bulk purchase of medicines from MNCs. It will bargain and try to buy the medicines at cheaper rates. It will then distribute them to retailers," said A.N. Mohan, national president of All India Organisation of Druggists and Chemists. He had launched the company here Sunday.
Mohan said: "The single purchase system will be helpful for drug retailers and reduce the prices of medicines."
Such companies are already functional in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The prices of 654 medicines are cheaper in these two states as compared to Jharkhand.
There are nearly 16,000 drug retailers in the state.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court collegium has cleared the elevation of Justice Jagdish Bhalla of the Allahabad High Court to Chhattisgarh High Court chief justice, despite the president's objection earlier against his appointment as Kerala High court chief justice.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan cleared the appointment of Justice Bhalla as the chief justice of Chhattisgarh High Court at Raipur, court sources said.
It is for the third time in the recent times that a file proposing elevation of a high court judge as chief justice was cleared even after it was returned from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to the Prime Minister's Office for reconsideration.
Earlier the apex court collegium headed by then chief justice Y.K. Sabharwal had proposed the promotion of Justice Bhalla as the chief justice of the Kerala High court.
After the president returned the file for reconsideration, Justice Sabharwal defended his decision, saying that lawyers from the Allahabad High Court bar vouched for Justice Bhalla's integrity.
Justice Bhalla courted controversy over his wife's purchase of property in Noida, near Delhi.
On his last day in office, Justice Sabharwal had told media that Justice Bhalla's wife was alleged to have bought property worth tens of millions of rupees for merely Rs.200,000.
"I was shown several documents and papers pointing a higher value so that people can get more compensation, so here I was faced with a Bar talking in one voice about Justice Bhalla and a few lawyers in Delhi against him," Sabharwal had said.
"No Bar would favour a corrupt judge so the best barometer is the local Bar," Justice Sabharwal said.
In the last week of December 2006, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Lok Speaker Somnath Chatterjee too had received representations made by apex court lawyer and former law minister Shanti Bhushan against Justice Bhalla.
Shekhawat forwarded the note to Justice Sabharwal asking him to "take note" of the issue and left it to him to initiate "appropriate action".
Chatterjee, in his letter to Law and Justice Minister H.R. Bhardwaj, sought an "early response" to the allegations so that he could decide whether to discuss the issue with political parties.
The other appointment and promotion files returned by the president in recent past pertain to the appointment of Justice Virender Jain as a Punjab and Haryana High Court judge and that of Justice S.L. Bhayana of the Delhi High Court for his confirmation as the high court judge.
In fact, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on March 23 asked the law ministry to make public the file related to elevation of Justice Jain.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir plans to develop new tourist spots, even as it has set up 19 high powered panels to provide an integrated and focused thrust to the tourism sector in all three regions of the state.
Speaking at an exposition and conference on "Kashmir Initiative: Tourism" here, Kashmir Tourism Minister Dilawar Mir said that areas like the Bungus Gurez and Tulel valleys, Baderwah, and Kishtwar, as also a Mughal Trail would be developed.
A new tourism strategy is being formulated under which new areas would be identified and opened up for tourism, he said at the event, organised by the industry lobby PHDCCI.
The state had prepared master plans for transfer of land and sites for resorts on lease to private parties.
The high-powered panels, termed development authorities, have also been mandated to facilitate and regulate the overall development of an area, set strict building regulations, ensure environmental concerns are addressed, and involve and encourage local communities to offer accommodation and services to tourists.
According to Dilawar, the state is also promoting golf tourism in a major way, for which an action plan has been formulated to upgrade all existing golf courses to international standards, develop new golf courses and host national and international golf events.
With substantial potential for adventure tourism, the state government is also setting up clubs for this purpose at all major resorts, the minister pointed out.
Special focus is being laid on Gulmarg to develop it is an international ski resort. The highest gondola lift had been commissioned there and more ski lifts were being installed to make available a greater area of for skiing.
Besides, aerial ropeways had been planned for Shankaracharya, Hari Parbat Fort, Mubarak Mandi and Patnitop, the minister stated.
Cultural resource mapping of heritage structures in Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar was being undertaken with the assistance of INTACH and NGO Centre for Heritage. INTACH has also been commissioned for drawing conservation programmes for the Mughal monuments of Achabal, Nishant and Shalimar, Dilawar pointed out.
Restoration of the ancient Mughal city of Srinagar was being planned through the conservation of ancient monuments and the creation of tourist facilities, he added.
Kashmir Tourism Director Farooq Shah made a detailed presentation on the new initiatives being undertaken by the state government and highlighted the capacity building measures being undertaken to enhance the skill levels of people connected with the tourism sector.
Speaking on the occasion, V.N. Dalmia, chairman of the PHDCCI tourism committee, pointed out that the state's three regions faced acute infrastructure shortage of at least 21,000 rooms in hotels, lodges, rest houses and houseboats.
While there are 18,000 beds available, almost a third of them need to be upgraded. The present accommodation at Jammu and Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine, had only 15,000 bedded accommodation that also need to be upgraded. In Ladakh, at lest 2,000 additional beds were required, Dalmia pointed out.
Ram Sahai, chairman of the PHDCCI Jammu & Kashmir committee, suggested the opening of land routes to Tibet across Demchock that would make travel to the Hindu holy spot of Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet a weeklong trip by luxury coaches and cars.
There was also significant potential to develop tourism from Leh to Tibet capital Lhasa and vice versa, Sahai pointed out.
Itanagar, April 9 (IANS) Arunachal Pradesh Power Minister Dorjee Khandu Monday was sworn in chief minister after Gegong Apang stepped down having been voted out by the ruling Congress party legislators as leader of the legislature party.
Khandu, 52, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor K. Sankaranarayanan at the Raj Bhavan here late Monday.
"My priority is to provide a stable government and speed up development work in the state," Khandu told IANS soon after the swearing-in ceremony.
The swearing-in of the new chief minister ended nearly a fortnight-long political drama in the state. Apang tendered his resignation after a majority of the Congress legislators elected Khandu as leader of the Congress legislature party.
Earlier in the day, 25 of the 33 Congress legislators in the 60-member house voted against Apang and chose Khandu as their new leader.
"Arunachal Pradesh is now in the safe hands of Khandu," said Tako Dabi, water resources development minister and one of the pro-change leaders.
Central ministers Oscar Fernandes and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi were present as Congress observers during the legislature party meeting.
The 58-year-old Apang, who became chief minister for the fifth term after assembly elections in October 2004, was a facing a rebellion from within his party.
Joining the bandwagon of revolt against Apang were two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and seven independent legislators. Congress legislators were angry over Apang's alleged dictatorial policies and were disgruntled over portfolio distribution in the council of ministers.
A group of about a dozen MLAs had earlier camped in New Delhi for more than a week and met top leaders of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), including party president Sonia Gandhi.
There were murmurs of revolt soon after the election results were announced in October 2004 with some Congress legislators openly challenging Apang's loyalty to the Congress.
Political instability in Arunachal Pradesh is well known with legislators switching loyalties at the drop of a hat.
Apang engineered a mass defection of the Congress in 2003 and formed a non-Congress government and later merged his faction with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to install the first saffron party ruled government in the northeast.
But just before the elections, Apang and his BJP ministers made a dramatic switchover back to the Congress before winning the assembly polls.
Ranchi, April 9 (IANS) A special CBI court Monday awarded death sentence to a former servant of a Jharkhand government officer for killing the officer's wife, their son and three other minor children three years ago.
Special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) judge Noman Ali ordered death penalty for Ajay Kumar Pal, a domestic aide of Jharkhand Industry director Dhirendra Kumar, ruling that this case of multiple murders was a "rarest of the rare one warranting nothing less than the death penalty."
Pal had killed Kumar's wife Amita Sinha, his son Harshit, besides two minor children of a relative of Kumar who had come to stay with the family in June 2003, when the office was posted as Ranchi's divisional forest officer. Kumar is originally an Indian Forest Service cadre.
The third child killed by Pal was brought by Kumar from Delhi, where he was posted for sometime.
According to the CBI, Pal committed the multiple murders in a rage after he was scolded by Kumar's wife for not discharging his duties properly.
The day he was scolded, an upset Pal laced the supper of the family with poison and when they fell unconscious, he battered them to death with an iron rod.
Not yet satisfied with his horrendous act, Pal set the house on fire in which the bodies were charred to death, the CBI said.
After committing the crime, Pal jumped into a dry well in the compound of the official bungalow to make it look like the house was attacked by outsiders.
Kumar's reputation as an honest forest officer in the state triggered suspicions that some timber mafia was behind the sensational killings. When the incident took place Kumar was away from home.
The suspicion had prompted the Jharkhand government to entrust the investigation to the CBI.
Later Pal confessed to his crime to the CBI which also recovered the iron rod from the well.
Kuwait, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) Kuwait's tennis champions defeated their Indonesian counterparts by four wins to one within the Asian/Oceania Davis Cup Group II, enabling the team to reach the playoffs of the prestigious tournament.
In the match held at the Bassam Al-Motowa Tennis Centre in Meshref area, Kuwait's Mohammad Ghareeb achieved the third win for the team, winning in the individual match against counterpart Elbert Sie by three sets 6-1, 6-1, and 6-3.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Mohammad won the fourth match by beating Indonesia's Prima Simpatiaji by two sets to one 3-6, 6-4, and 6-4.
The matches between both teams began on Friday with Ghareeb winning over Simpatiaji by three sets 7-6, 7-5, and 7-5 while Mohammad lost his match against Sie by three sets 3-6, 1-6, and 0-6.
In the teams' competition match, Kuwaiti pair Ghareeb and Mohammad Siddiq won their match against Indonesia's duo Suwandi Suwandi and Bonit Wiryawan by three sets to two.
With the win Kuwait would meet the Philippine team in a match to decide group II's leader next September.
By Sujeet Kumar
Raipur, April 9 (IANS) The Chhattisgarh government has been forced to slow down its industrialisation process with farmers refusing to give up their land to Tata Steel and Essar Steel for their plants in the Maoist stronghold of Bastar.
While Tata Steel had signed up with the state government in June 2005 for a five million tonne per annum (mta) steel plant in Bastar with Rs.100 billion investment, Essar Steel had a Rs.70 billion deal for a 3.2 mta plant in Bastar region's Dantewada district.
But they could well come unstuck with land acquisition becoming a thorny issue.
"Farmers of Lohandiguda area where the Tata plant was to come up had agreed late last year to hand over their land. Earlier this year, farmers in two tribal villages, Dhurli and Bhansi in Dantewada, also agreed to surrender their land for Essar," a top official said.
"But land transfers will now be delayed with some vested locals stoking up protests and a majority of farmers have refused to pass give up their land to the companies for financial compensation," he disclosed.
The farmers' refusal has come as a "bolt from the blue" for the government, which has been forced to slow down the pace of industrialisation in the state, said government sources.
Tata has sought 4,000 hectares land for the plant and township while Essar wants 600 hectares.
"Both the companies were willing to begin ground work latest by June this year. But the farmers revolt will mean a massive delay in the actual start of both the projects," said an industry department source.
"The government had made all efforts to ensure smooth land handover to the steel makers, but a few local politicians messed up things. Now the transfer issue has become a volatile one with Maoist militants stepping into the controversy," he added.
Maoists even killed two farmers this month for agreeing to transfer their land to Essar, the official said.
The issue of land transfers from farmers to the government or private industrialists has become a massive bone of contention all over the country - be it West Bengal's Singur for the Tata Motors plant, Nandigram for special economic zones (SEZs) or Orissa's Kalinganagar where protesting tribals were shot dead.
Bangalore, April 9 (IANS) Ashok Leyland, the leading commercial vehicles manufacturer, has bagged a major order for 600 truck chassis from VRL Logistics Ltd, the country's largest private sector transport operator in cargo and passenger segments.
In the current calendar year (CY 2007), the Chennai-based flagship firm of the Hinduja group will execute the order for 600 trucks valued at Rs.840 million to VRL. In the first three months (Jan-March), 250 custom designed 2516H multi-axle vehicles were delivered to the Hubli-based transport operator.
"This is the largest single order we got from a customer in the private sector. Once we deliver the remaining 350 vehicles, VRL is expected to place a fresh order for 200 chassis to expand its fleet," Ashok Leyland Managing Director R. Seshasayee told reporters here late Monday.
VRL Chairman Vijay Sankeshwar said the logistics firm would spend Rs.2 billion to build the truck body for the 600 chassis at its in-house facility near Hubli in north Karnataka, about 480 km from here.
"We plan to add 1,000 vehicles in the next 12-15 months, including 200 units from other manufacturers to our present fleet of 2,400 vehicles, including 250 buses. Of the 200 Leyland chassis to be ordered soon, about 100 will be made into buses.
"Due to capacity constraints and shortage of truck drivers, we are outsourcing about 30 percent of our fleet requirement from other operators. With 25-30 percent growth in a burgeoning economy, we hope to meet the demand with the fleet expansion," said Sankeshwar.
Besides supplying customised vehicles, Leyland provides VRL driver training, maintenance support and stocking facility at the latter's Hubli facility.
With a paid-up capital of Rs.700 million, the privately held VRL's unaudited revenue is about Rs.4.5 billion for the just-concluded fiscal year (2006-07). Operating across the country, the firm employs about 10,000 people to run its massive fleet of trucks and buses through an extensive network of 900 branches and 39 hubs across the country.
Parcel segment accounted for 72 percent (Rs.2.62 billion) of VRL's FY 2006 top-line business.
The logistics firm plans to induct heavy-duty trucks to ferry higher tonnage and bigger containers. It has also asked Leyland to build vehicles with the global positioning system (GPS) to monitor vehicle movement and deploy the fleet effectively.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas are not a threat to India even though they posses an air wing but only an irritant, the new Indian Air Force (IAF) chief said Monday.
At his first media meet after taking charge March 31, journalists asked Air Chief Marshal Fali Major if he considered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a threat to India following the March 26 air attack on Sri Lanka's main air force base near Colombo.
"It is not a threat. The LTTE has never been a threat to us. They are more an irritant rather than a threat," Major said here.
Two light aircraft of LTTE flew all the way from the rebel-held north to Colombo, bombed the air base causing unspecified damage and flew back, covering a distance of about 600 km - that too at night.
The development is worrying security experts in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. It was the first instance of any insurgent group in the world using aircraft.
Kuala Lumpur, April 9 (NNN-Bernama) Malaysian police arrested 32 people, among them several chemists, and seized RM14 million worth of drugs, RM5.8 million in cash and several luxury cars valued at more than RM1 million when they busted a drug trafficking syndicate on Saturday, it was revealed Monday. (rm1=0.2898usd)
Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department Director, Datuk Abang Abdul Wahab Abang Julai, said the syndicate, regarded by police as big, was suspected to have been active in the Klang Valley, Johor and Kedah, and the drugs produced were of fine quality, he said.
"This syndicate had a wide international network and the drugs it processed were for the Southeast Asian market," he said.
He said the police found two drug processing laboratories during their raids and seized 80.6 kg of syabu.
Police also seized RM3,650,100, apart from S$327,000, US$220,000 and 300 yuan, and cash cheques for RM391,350 as well as bank accounts of RM338,383. They also seized eight luxury cars.
Abang Abdul Wahab said those arrested were aged between 20 and 63 years, and they included nine Indonesians. He said some of them were people who had garnered experience as chemists overseas.
"We have yet to arrest the mastermind of the syndicate, and believe remnants of the gang are still at large," he said.
Abang Abdul Wahab said the successful raids were the result of information given by the public and due to police surveillance.
He said the first raid was conducted on a house in Klang, Selangor, where 16 people, one of them a woman, was arrested and 67.48 kg of syabu in crystal form valued at RM12 million were seized.
In follow-up raids, three men were held in Taman Mesra, Klang, and 1.13 kg of drugs valued at RM205,000 were seized. In a raid at Kulai, Johor, a man was detained along with 12 kg of syabu valued at RM2 million.
Following the man's arrest, Johor and Selangor police conducted a joint operation in Johor and arrested 12 people.
"Several barrels containing a dangerous chemical were seized, along with equipment to produce syabu," Abang Abdul Wahab said.
He said the syndicate used interior areas such as oil palm estates and houses in sparsely populated new housing estates to prevent detection of their activity.
Such isolated areas could also prevent the odour emitted during the processing of drugs from causing any suspicion, he added.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. April 9 (IndianMuslims.info newsdesk) A study published in this week’s online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives reports that during the past thirty years, the number of male births has decreased each year in the U.S. and Japan. In a review of all births in both countries, the University of Pittsburgh-led study found significantly fewer boys being born relative to girls in the U.S. and Japan, and that an increasing proportion of fetuses that die are male. They note that the decline in births is equivalent to 135,000 fewer white males in the U.S. and 127,000 fewer males in Japan over the past three decades and suggest that environmental factors are one explanation for these trends.
“The pattern of decline in the ratio of male to female births remains largely unexplained,� said Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., lead investigator of the study, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Center for Environmental Oncology and professor of epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. “We know that men who work with some solvents, metals and pesticides father fewer baby boys. We also know that nutritional factors, physical health and chemical exposures of pregnant women affect their ability to have children and the health of their offspring. We suspect that some combination of these factors, along with older age of parents, may account for decreasing male births.�
Dr. Davis explained that environmental factors, such as prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants that affect hormones production. This may impact the SRY gene – a gene on the Y chromosome that determines the sex of a fertilized egg. Other environmental factors that also may affect the viability of a male fetus include the parents’ weight, nutrition and the use of alcohol and drugs.
In the study, Dr. Davis and her colleagues reported an overall decline of 17 males per 10,000 births in the U.S. and a decline of 37 males per 10,000 births in Japan since 1970. They also found that while fetal death rates have generally decreased, the proportion of male fetuses that die has continued to increase. In Japan, among the fetuses that die, two-thirds are male, up from just over half in 1970.
The study also examined the ratio of African-American male to female births to that of whites in the U.S. The researchers found that while the number of African-American male births has increased modestly over time, the ratio of male to female births for African-Americans remains lower than that of whites. In addition, they noted that African-Americans have a higher fetal mortality rate overall and a higher proportion of male fetuses that die.
“These results are not surprising since the black-white ratio in terms of infant mortality has remained the same for almost 100 years,� said Lovell A. Jones, Ph.D., study co-investigator and professor and director, Center for Research on Minority Health, department of health disparities research, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. “Given the higher mortality rates for African-American males in the United States, these results reemphasize the need to determine all factors, including environmental contaminants, which are responsible for this continuing health disparity.�
“Given the importance of reproduction for the health of any species, the trends we observed in the U.S. and Japan merit concern,� added Dr. Davis. “In light of our findings, more detailed studies should be carried out that examine sex ratio in smaller groups with defined exposures as a potential indicator of environmental contamination.�
The study was supported by a grant from the Heinz Endowments, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, DSF Charitable Trust, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the W. Alton Jones Foundation. In addition to Dr. Lovell, co-investigators of the study include Pamela Smith Webster, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; Hillary Stainthorpe, Northwestern University; Janice Chilton, Dr. P.H., University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Rikuo Doi, M.D., Ph.D., Yokohama City University, Japan.
By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, April 9 (IANS) Two young women were "jailed" by Maoist guerrillas in southern Nepal for being lesbians, Nepal's sole gay rights group has said.
Dukhani Choudhary, 16, and Sarita Choudhury, 20, were "arrested" in Pakali village in Sunsari district March 2 after the Maoists, who do not condone same sex relationships, came to know the two were lesbians, the Blue Diamond Society, a Kathmandu-based organization for sexual minorities, told IANS.
The two were going to the office of an NGO working in the HIV/AIDS sector in Itahari to take part in Holi when they were detained by the Maoists and forced to go to the rebel camp in Singiya village for questioning.
The girls, who are virtually illiterate and work as labourers, were asked about their relationship.
A Maoist cadre at their initial six-hour interrogation reportedly told them they would have to "undergo a blood test to check if they were lesbians".
Sunil Pant, president of BDS, said he was disturbed by the fact that when they informed the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Biratnagar, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's hometown, the office's main concern was that Dukhani was a minor.
Soon after the incident, the two girls simply vanished.
However, Monday morning, they landed up at the BDS office here where they told Pant they had been detained in the Maoist camp for a month.
Pant said the girls complained they were thrashed and forced to lead a "straight life" by becoming Maoist cadres.
They were reportedly made to carry weapons and take part in Maoist activities against their will. However, they managed to give their captors the slip.
Last month, alarmed by an anti-gay drive by Maoists, BDS organised an interaction programme attended by influential Maoist women's leader Hisila Yami, who was named the physical planning and infrastructure minister April 1.
Yami reportedly said" "We don't punish homosexuals but we also don't encourage homosexual behaviour."
However, Pant says contrary to the avowed party policy, the Maoist cadres were widely abusing and violating the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.
BDS has called a two-day convention here Wednesday to discuss the new constitution and the rights it gives to Nepal's sexual minorities.
Ranchi, April 9 (IANS) Maoist rebels have threatened Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto with dire consequences unless he stops his anti-Maoist speeches.
The letter by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) reached Mahto Sunday.
It says: "Stop spreading wrong information about us otherwise you will face the music. Your aim and motive are clear to people. However, we feel it is right to challenge your statements and warn you against letting loose a barrage of lies cooked up on the diktats of corporate houses, native and foreign, and the landed gentry in order to cover the failures of your government."
It goes on to say: "How can you justify the wealth amassed by the slain Lok Sabha MP Sunil Mahto. Sunil took birth in a poor family and became a millionaire."
The Maoists also warned the minister to stop supporting village defence committees, or be ready to face the ire of the CPI-Maoist.
"The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders have become dalals (middle men). You (JMM) claim to be a party for the common people which is a big lie and you are involved in making money and nothing else."
The deputy chief minister retorted: "Only if anyone loves a person, should one write a letter."
"There is no question of initiating talks with Maoist rebels. If they are ready to join the mainstream of society then the government will respond in a positive way," said the JMM leader.
Meanwhile, village defence committee members held a meeting at Jamshedpur on Sunday to pay homage to slain JMM MP Sunil Mahto. They reiterated their stand to do "sendra" (kill) Maoists. The meeting was held in spite of the threat by Maoist rebels.
Shimla, April 9 (IANS) US fast food giant McDonald's has opened its first restaurant in Himachal Pradesh.
Savoy Resorts at the scenic Jabli, 70 km from here, attracts holidaymakers heading from the plains to the popular resort towns of Shimla, Kasauli, Chail and beyond. It is this segment on the busy Kalka-Shimla national highway that the company aims to capture.
"Once the entire complex is complete, the building will have a 23-room luxurious hotel, a food court and a mono-cable tram along with the restaurant already opened," said Vikram Bakshi, the managing director of McDonald's northern region, at the outlet's weekend opening.
"With this, the total number of McDonald's restaurants has gone up to 110 in the country," he added.
Dubai, April 9 (IANS) A minimum speed limit of 60 km per hour is being introduced on a string of major highways in Dubai. The minimum speed limit will apply on highways where the existing speed limit is 100 km per hour or more, the WAM news agency said.
Motorists who fail to comply with the new rule will risk fines, although the exact penalties have not been decided yet.
"The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority [RTA] will soon start installing signs to educate motorists on the minimum speed limit on highways," said a senior official.
Speed governors will also be installed in vehicles conducting desert safaris. The announcement comes just days after a fatal crash involving a safari vehicle.
Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) spokesman Mohammad Abdul Mannan said the move follows other measures aimed at improving safety standards, such as the requirement that vehicles have GPS equipment and a first aid kit.
Islamabad, April 9 (NNN-PTI) Rejecting the imposition of 'Sharia' and a parallel judicial system by militant clerics of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has said the people will fully support any crackdown on religious extremists in Pakistan.
"No stick-or Kalashnikov-wielding mullah has the right to tell us what is Islam. I want to tell those imposing Sharia that we are Muslims and fully prepared to resist them if they reach other cities of the country," Hussain, whose party was part of the government, said in a telephonic address from his exile in London.
"We do not want to fight, and we are against violence, terrorism and extremism and believe in religious tolerance. We respect all seminaries, but I want to tell those fanning hatred that people are not afraid of them and not wearing bangles," he told a public meeting held at Karachi Sunday.
Hussain said that in the presence of the Supreme Court, High Courts and other courts, the setting up of Sharia court by the religious extremists was tantamount to running a state within the state.
"Whatever is going on in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad in the name of Sharia is an open conspiracy against President Pervez Musharraf, the prime minister, the government and the 150 million people of this country," the MQM chief said.
Hussain said that he did not know if President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the federal cabinet were aware of the facts behind the imposition of the Kalashnikov-and stick-wielding Sharia in Lal Masjid.
"In Pakistan, the establishment has been using Islam as a shield for its vested interests and once again a nefarious game is being played by unknown elements in the establishment, who are directly or indirectly involved in it to serve their vested interests and the interests of foreign powers," Hussain said.
Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Mumbai has heaved a sigh of relief as the bulk power suppliers in the metropolis have been given time till next Monday to procure extra power to ensure that India's financial capital avoids outages, though the move comes at the expense of the rest of the state.
The Mumbai utilities - Tata Power Company (TPC), Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) and state-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) - Monday said they have enough electricity to avoid outages in the city and its suburbs, even as the state distribution utility Mahavitaran recorded a statewide shortfall of 5,500 MW - the highest in recent times.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd or Mahavitaran has however warned that the situation in the state would worsen as the summer peaks.
An official said that although TPC, the bulk power supplier to Mumbai and its suburbs, is only drawing 30-40 MW power from the state power grid, the scenario would change once the summer demand grew.
Earlier TPC was "overdrawing" 250-300 MW from the state grid to save the megapolis from power cuts.
Mumbai needs 2,600 MW of power daily, while the present supply is only 2,270 MW. TPC supplies 1,770 MW and REL pitches in with another 500 MW for the city.
Maharashtra's daily demand of power is 15,000 MW. With a daily shortfall now reaching to over 5,500 MW, it is presently drawing 700 MW of power from outside the state.
To keep Mumbai shining, the state utility has increased load shedding by another 30 minutes.
"This will affect the suburbs of Bhandup and Mulund, who will now face outages of four-and-a-half hours. Areas like Thane and the satellite city of Navi Mumbai which are already facing outages of four-and-half to 12 hours will feel the additional burden of load shedding," said a senior Mahavitaran official.
"Areas like Dombivili and Kalyan will have load shedding up to eight hours. In rural Maharashtra, outages would go beyond 14 hours daily," the official told IANS Monday.
But consumers in Navi Mumbai are not amused.
"Why should we suffer for Mumbai? We are already reeling under six to eight hours of load shedding daily and now it has been increased by another 30 minutes. How does one justify this?" said exasperated housewife Krishna Pol from Panvel in Navi Mumbai.
"In the Vashi-Virar western suburban region, the official time for power cuts is eight hours, but lights often go out for up to nine to 10 hours," complained Seema Bose, a housewife in Vasai.
"The power goes off at 6.30 a.m. And comes back at 10 a.m. before shutting off again at 2 p.m. only to return at 8 p.m. And with summer yet to peak, I just don't know who we will cope with the situation," she said.
Caught in the power muddle, Mahavitarn has taken to sending SMSes to consumers extorting them to economise.
"Save Power, Save Money. Save Power for Our Better Future" say SMSes sent by the Mahavitaran executive engineer to consumers in Panvel Urban Division.
"The use of compact fluorescent (CFL) tube lights as against tube lights and bulbs, reduced use of TV, AC, washing machine, etc, will help reduce the use of power and eventually save money on electricity bills," the SMSes advise consumers.
With the threat of an imminent power cuts now looming large, desperate Mumbaikars are also looking for ways to economise power.
"There is a vulgar wastage of power in luxury hotels and city malls. Why on earth do they need elevators for one or two floors?" asked Satish Mahajan of Dadar in central Mumbai.
"Power-guzzling malls should be asked to arrange for their own power supply. No new malls should be allowed in the city till the power situation in the state stabilises."
Islamabad, April 9 (NNN-PTI) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has yet again refuted reports that he was thinking about replacing Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz holding him responsible for the crisis generated over the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry.
Regretting that such reports continued to be circulated despite clear denials from various levels of the government, a spokesman for the President denied all speculation regarding change in the government and a deal with an opposition party.
The President has categorically and repeatedly stated that the government was functioning successfully and noticeable progress had been achieved on many fronts, an official statement issued here Sunday said.
This government will face the electorate with confidence in the coming elections, he said and advised every one including the opposition to concentrate on the forthcoming elections which would be manifestly fair and transparent.
Anybody creating confusion at this stage was clearly doing a disservice to the democratic process, he said.
Responding to reports on a deal with an opposition party, the spokesman clarified that all political parties had an equal opportunity to contest the elections freely under the law and no concession or deal was offered to any, state-run APP news agency reported.
Natanz,Isfahan Prov, April 9, (IRNA) A special celebration will be held at Natanz nuclear site, 100km north of the central city of Isfahan, within the next few hours to mark the National Day of Nuclear Technology.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Reza Aqazadeh and his deputies, a number of MPs, senior officials and ambassadors will take part in the event.
Over 100 reporters and photographers from domestic and foreign media will cover the event.
During his last week inspection of Bushehr power plant, in southern Iran, the AEOI head had said good news would be announced on Iran's peaceful nuclear activities in the current week.
Besides ceremonies in Natanz, people will form human chains around nuclear facilities in other cities to mark the occasion.
On this day last year, Iranian scientists produced uranium enriched to 3.5 percent in its Natanz facility and the country became self-sufficient on production of nuclear fuel thanks to the efforts of its young talented experts.
Following this scientific and technical achievement, the Islamic Republic of Iran along with Brazil was recorded as the 8th country possessing nuclear fuel cycle in the world.
Earlier, only the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States -- plus Germany and Japan had monopoly of nuclear fuel cycle.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Leading TV news organisation NDTV Monday announced plans to launch an entertainment division, NDTV Imagine, headed by Sameer Nair, one of the most creative brains in the industry, in association with noted filmmaker Karan Johar.
"It is a big challenge for me. It's like a new beginning for me," Nair told media at a press conference here.
"We are going to start with one channel which we are planning to launch either at the end of this year or early next year. We are still in the process of assembling the team. It is just time now to make change in the business and I hope along with the team we are ready to spearhead that change," he said.
Nair, the former CEO of STAR India, is credited with making STAR Plus a market leader with hit shows such as "Kaun Banega Crorepati" and "Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi".
"This is one of the most exciting presser I have ever attended. I am thrilled to be here flanked by two amazingly talented with people - Sameer and Karan Johar. It's always been a dream for last 20 years to start a full-fledged mass entertainment channel. But we wanted to do it properly and in the right manner," said Roy.
"We didn't want just to clone. We hear a bit about how (Indian) cinema has transformed in last five years. We hope it is time for entertainment and television also to transform itself.
"When we say we wanted to do it right we really wanted to have the best team. I have known Sameer for last 10 years and we are confident that he is the best person to create something that we all are going to be proud of. As I know him for so long, I can say how brilliant he is. We really look forward to him to turn a dream into reality," said Roy.
Crediting Johar for "probably single-handedly transforming Indian cinema," Roy said: "He will be ideating the whole venture as the creative head."
Talking about his role, Johar said: "I am a filmmaker and the two reasons for which we filmmakers exist are imagination and entertainment. We all are here to imagine and entertain so I feel my presence on this platform is justified. With films we touch the lives and with television we are ready to enter lives."
Johar, who has made superhit films like "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", said this partnership with Nair and Roy is not a co-incidence. "We were destined to work together and that is why we are here today."
In its first phase NDTV Imagine will launch a general Hindi entertainment channel and later add two channels.
They, however, were not ready to talk financial details of the new venture.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) NDTV Monday announced plans to launch an entertainment division, headed by Sameer Nair, who had earlier spearheaded STAR Entertainment India, in association with well-known filmmaker Karan Johar as it sought to tap the booming entertainment industry in India worth Rs.437 billion.
"It is a big challenge for me. It's like a new beginning for me," Nair told the media at a press conference here.
"We are going to start with one channel which we are planning to launch either at the end of this year or early next year. We are still in the process of assembling the team. It is just time now to make change in the business and I hope along with the team we are ready to spearhead that change," he said.
Nair is credited with making STAR Plus a market leader with hit shows such as "Kaun Banega Crorepati" and "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi".
"This is one of the most exciting presser I have ever attended. I am thrilled to be here flanked by two amazingly talented with people - Sameer and Karan Johar. It's always been a dream for last 20 years to start a full-fledged mass entertainment channel. But we wanted to do it properly and in the right manner," said Prannoy Roy, chairman of NDTV.
"We didn't want just to clone. We hear a bit about how (Indian) cinema has transformed in last five years. We hope it is time for entertainment and television also to transform itself.
"When we say we wanted to do it right we really wanted to have the best team. I have known Sameer for last 10 years and we are confident that he is the best person to create something that we all are going to be proud of. As I know him for so long, I can say how brilliant he is. We really look forward to him to turn a dream into reality," said Roy.
Crediting Johar for "probably single-handedly transforming Indian cinema," Roy said: "He will be ideating the whole venture as the creative head."
Talking about his role, Johar said: "I am a filmmaker and the two reasons for which we filmmakers exist are imagination and entertainment. We all are here to imagine and entertain so I feel my presence on this platform is justified. With films we touch the lives and with television we are ready to enter lives."
Johar, who has made superhit films like "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", said this partnership with Nair and Roy is not a coincidence. "We were destined to work together and that is why we are here today."
In its first phase NDTV Imagine will launch a general Hindi entertainment channel and later add two more channels.
They, however, were not ready to talk financial details of the new venture.
Kathmandu, April 9 (NNN-PTI) The top UN official for Nepal has said that it was not "technically and politically feasible" to hold the June 20 polls for the Constituent Assembly that would frame a new constitution for the Himalayan nation.
The chief of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), Ian Martin, told Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koiralas advisor on Foreign Affairs Suresh Chalise that it is not "technically and politically feasible" to hold the Constituent Assembly polls on June 20.
"It will take little time to address the Terai and ethnic issues, and we don't have much time (if the polls are to be held on June 20)," Martin said citing the political turmoil in the Terai plains bordering India over greater political and economic rights for the community of the region.
"Martin told me that it was not feasible to hold elections on the said date if the issues of Terai and ethnic minorities remain unresolved," Chalise was quoted as saying in the media Monday.
Martin-headed UNMIN was mandated to assist Nepal in holding the free and fair constituent assembly elections.
Martin is also learnt to have raised the difficulty in holding the polls on its schedule in his meeting last week with Maoist chief Prachanda, whose party is a major constituent in the interim government.
Martin told Prachanda that the date of any election should be announced 90 days ahead of schedule and the date for the polls proposed by the eight political parties was not feasible.
Martin advised Prachanda to resolve the issues raised by the ethnic communities including, Madhesis and Janajatis, so that a peaceful, free and fair elections could be held.
Kathmandu, April 9 (IANS) With less than three months to go before the election, the Nepal government Monday moved to quell mounting turbulence in the Terai region by forming a ministerial team to begin negotiations with protesting groups and reconstituted a commission to probe a massacre in which 29 people were killed.
The move comes even as an armed group of former Maoists called a closure in the Terai Monday. Led by Nagendra Paswan, a former Maoist who broke off from the parent organisation with other rebels from the Terai plains to form the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, a closure was enforced in Siraha, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa district.
Announcing the formation of a three-member ministerial team to begin dialogue with dissenters in Terai, newly appointed Information and Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara made the leap from being the spokesman of his Maoist party to becoming the spokesman of the eight-party government.
Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, who is also Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's deputy in the 22-member cabinet, heads the team that includes Minister of State for Water Resources Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and General Administration Minister Ram Chandra Yadav.
It will begin parleys with the various protesting communities, Mahara said.
The government also decided to reconstitute a commission headed by judge Hari Prasad Ghimire formed last month to probe the violence in Gaur town in southern Nepal. A total of 29 people were killed following clashes between the Maoists and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, a dissenting group from the Terai plains.
The commission could not begin work due to opposition by the Maoists, who said it had been formed without consulting them.
The government has also formed another group of five ministers headed by Poudel to oversee management of Maoists' guerrilla army.
Over 31,000 soldiers of the rebels' People's Liberation Army have been living in 28 camps supervised by the UN since they signed a peace pact with the government.
A section of the guerrillas are to be integrated with the Nepal Army once the election is over.
The cabinet meeting also decided to amend the newly enforced constitution to allow for the removal of the prime minister through a no-trust motion.
It will add a new clause that will allow parliament to abolish monarchy if the parties feel King Gyanendra or his followers are trying to sabotage the June 20 election.
Meanwhile, Nagendra Paswan, who calls himself Jwala Singh, did not give any reason for Monday's strike. He had last month announced his band was calling off its "ceasefire" since the government had shown no interest in beginning talks on a Madhes state.
The Singh faction has been demanding an autonomous state in Terai for the plains people and withdrawal of all government and security officials belonging to hill communities.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 9 (IANS) Nearly one million workers of Kerala's unorganised sector, including employees of shops, hospitals and fuel pumps, are to benefit from a new welfare fund being launched Wednesday, state Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan said here Monday.
Gurudasan said a bill to this effect, passed in the assembly last year, has become a law and is called the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Labour Welfare Fund.
"This welfare fund is basically meant for workers in the unorganised sector and includes employees working in shops, hospitals, medical stores, fuel pumps, meat stalls, hotels, telephone booths and those working in similar establishments," the minister said.
All employees aged between 18 and 50 years are eligible for the fund and the contribution details include Rs.20 every month from both the employees and employers.
The state government would contribute 25 percent of the employees' share as a guarantee. The scheme is also open for self-employed people.
"The benefits include a pension from age 60 onwards for all those who have contributed a minimum term of 10 years. Those who have contributed for a minimum 15 years would be eligible for family pension after the employee's death. And women going on maternity leave will get maternity benefits till they return to work," said Gurudasan.
"We have constituted a working group comprising all stakeholders who would look after the fund once it is launched by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan," he added.
There are similar welfare schemes currently for those working in the coir, cashew, construction, fisheries and toddy industries.
Guyana, April 9 (IANS) New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to bat against Ireland in a Super Eight match of the World Cup at the Providence Stadium here Monday.
TEAMS:
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendan McCullum (wicketkeeper), Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond and Jeetan Patel
Ireland: Trent Johnston (captain), Jeremy Bray, William Porterfield, Eoin Morgan, Niall O'Brien (wicketkeeper), Andrew White, Peter Gillespie, Kevin O'Brien, Kyle McCallan, David Langford-Smith and Boyd Rankin
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Simon Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire: Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, April 9 (IANS) The "consensus and conciliatory tone across the social and political spectrum in Punjab" set out by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal after his swearing-in March 2 has taken a backseat just a month later with political opponents to officials taking to their heels.
Starting with his bete noire and previous chief minister Amarinder Singh - who arrives in India from Britain Monday morning after a post-assembly defeat medical check-up there - scores of politicians, officials and others are at the receiving end of the new Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation in the state.
All this, even after Badal and his MP son Sukhbir Badal, now the working president of the ruling Akali Dal, have publicly stated there will be no political vendetta.
Amarinder Singh will be touching Indian soil only after getting a stay on any possible arrest by the vigilance wing of the Punjab police till July 30 from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He has been named in a corruption scam regarding the construction of the Ludhiana City Centre.
Amarinder Singh had himself unleashed similar vigilance against the Badals in 2002, accusing them of amassing property worth Rs.35 billion. Both father and son were even arrested and sent to jail. Amarinder Singh now fears the reverse.
Former local bodies minister Jagjit Singh has remained 'unavailable" ever since he was named with Amarinder Singh and 16 others in the same City Centre scam. The police have declared him and Ludhiana improvement trust chairman P.S. Sibia as 'absconders'.
The former chief minister's chosen state police chief (director general of police) S.S. Virk was placed under suspension by the Badal government after a police probe found him involved in a land deal worth millions in which a war widow was allegedly duped by property agents.
Virk has been accused of making transactions up to Rs.8.5 million in this deal without informing the government.
Premier agricultural institute Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana saw its vice chancellor K.S. Aulakh resigning last week and Patiala's Punjabi University is also witnessing unruly scenes with incumbent vice chancellor S.S. Boparai allegedly facing state wrath.
The once-powerful media adviser to Amarinder Singh, B.I.S. Chahal, left the country within hours of the Badal government coming to power. He is said to fear arrest as an informal probe is on regarding his assets worth Rs.10 billion.
Two dozen bureaucrats and top police officials, who were directly involved with the probe against the Badals in the previous regime, are being kept on tenterhooks by the government. Six of them have already sought anticipatory bail.
"Most of these things are being done to hound us at the behest of Sukhbir Badal," an official told IANS on conditions of anonymity.
For the record though, there is "no political vendetta" in the state.
Kuala Lumpur, April 9 (NNN-Bernama) Malaysia has not nominated a candidate for the post of Commonwealth secretary-general so far because none of those approached is interested, the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) was told Monday.
Foreign Minister Seri Syed Hamid Albar said that among the candidates approached was former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam who turned down the offer because he had too many commitments in the country.
"Several candidates have been identified but all were not interested. That's why for the time being we are not submitting a nomination or looking for other candidates," he said.
However, he added, if there was an interested candidate, Malaysia would negotiate with the other Asian nations not to submit their nominations to ensure that the Malaysian candidate won unopposed.
Syed Hamid said the new secretary-general would be elected at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on Nov 23-25.
"According to normal practice accepted by the Commonwealth countries, it's the turn of Asian countries to hold the post of Commonwealth secretary-general this time. In this context, Malaysia has been asked whether it has a candidate or is interested in submitting a candidate for the post.
"But so far, no candidate had expressed interest to contest the post. I've also been given to understand that till now no other Asian country has nominated a candidate," he said.
The term of the current secretary-general, Donald C.McKinnon, ends in March next year.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The delay in acquiring upwards of 100 combat jets would not have a "negative" impact on the Indian Air Force (IAF), its new chief declared Monday, even as he would not hazard a guess on when the order would be placed.
"There are many elements that have to be factored in (after a new defence procurement policy was pronounced last year). Therefore, it is taking time," Air Chief Marshal Fali Major maintained during his first media interaction after assuming office March 31.
"Does this have a negative impact? I don't think so. This is because it's already been factored (into the IAF's perspective plans)," added Major, the first helicopter pilot to command the 75-year-old air force.
"Any credible air force has to learn to fight with what it has," he said.
As for when the global tender for the 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) would be floated - an issue that has been hanging fire since 2001 - he said: "Even I don't know when it will be issued. As and when all the (concerned) issues are resolved, it will be issued."
Major's predecessor, Air Chief Marshal (retd) S.P. Tyagi had stated throughout his three-year tenure that the tender would be issued "soon". On his last day in office, Tyagi had modified that to say he was "not aware" when the order would come through.
The IAF, which has a sanctioned strength of 45 fighter squadrons of 18 aircraft each, had peaked at 39 1/2 and is now down to 30 squadrons. This is because of crashes and the retirement of aircraft of Soviet-era vintage. Added to this are the delays in the development of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) that is currently undergoing flight tests and is scheduled for induction only around 2012.
The IAF had projected its requirement in 2001. In 2004, a request for information (RFI) was sent out for four jets - the US F-16, the Russian MiG-29M/M2, the French Mirage 2000-5 and the Swedish Gripen. In addition, the manufacturers of the US F-18, the French Rafale and the four-nation European Typhoon also sent in their proposals. Early this year, the Russians offered the MiG-35, essentially the MiG-29 with an upgraded engine.
The request for proposal (RFP), the next stage in the acquisition process after which price negotiations were to be held, was to have been sent to the shortlisted manufacturers in 2005 but is nowhere in sight.
The Defence Procurement Policy (DPP-2006) enunciated last year contains elements like technology transfer, lifecycle costs, an integrity clause and an offsets clause under which 30 percent of any deal worth over Rs.3 billion has to be reinvested in the country that have to be addressed before any order for military hardware is placed.
Defence ministry officials admit that unfamiliarity with the concepts is holding up a slew of military deals, including some big-ticket purchases of guns and other armaments by the Indian Army.
The DPP-2006 was enacted after allegations of corruption in past defence deals. The aim was to follow global best practices in this sphere.
New Delhi, April 9 (Indianmuslims.info) Newly elected Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Maulana Sayyid Jalaluddin Umari nominated Nusrat Ali here Monday as secretary general of the organisation for the next 4-year term 2007-2011. Mr Ali succeeds Mr Muhammad Jafar, who had been rendering his services to the Jamaat as secretary general since 1990.
Mr Ali, 50, had been at JIH headquarters as assistant secretary general since 2003. Earlier, he served the JIH as area organiser of Lucknow from 1990 to 1995, and as president of its Uttar Pradesh zone from 1995 to 2003. He was also state secretary of Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity during his stay at Lucknow.
Hailing from a village in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Ali did his M.A. in Political Science and B.Ed. from Meerut University.
Mr Ali was granted JIH membership in 1983 and rendered invaluable services to Muslim educational institutions and teachers training programmes under Falah-e-Aam Society Uttar Pradesh ever since.
Nakhon Si Thammarat, April 9 (NNN-TNA) A woman died in a stampede when more than 10,000 people flocked to put their names on the list to own a special edition of the much sought after Jatukam Ramathep amulets in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday.
The turmoil occurred at Nakhonsithammarat Technical College when more than 10,000 prospective buyers crowded into the college Sunday night.
Puean Kongpetch, 51, fainted and died. More than other 100 people lost consciousness in the melee of would-be patrons attempting to reach the head of the queue.
After the casualties occurred, the event was cancelled to prevent further untoward incidents.
The much sought after Jatukam amulets were introduced in Nakhon Si Thammarat 20 years ago and gained popularity nationwide after the death of Region 8 police chief, Khun Phantharak Rajadej, creator of the original Jatukam amulets.
He died of natural causes at the age of 108 in Nakhon Si Thammarat last year.
Known as a tough crime buster in the South over several decades years ago, he was respected for his renowned performance in crime suppression, and was also well-known for his reputed knowledge
of magical power and the occult.
New Delhi, April 9 (NNN-PTI) All the 183 passengers, including 14 crew members, of Air India's Bangkok-Delhi flight had a miraculous escape Monday morning when the aircraft developed problems in its under-carriage and landed in full emergency conditions here.
Just before landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, the pilot of the Airbus A-310 received an "unsafe warning" about the problems in its under-carriage and the landing gear, sources said.
The pilot then alerted the Air Traffic Control which asked him to land on the main runway in full emergency conditions.
After it landed on the main runway, it could not move on to the taxi way to clear the main runway.
The passengers and the baggage were offloaded on the main runway itself.
As soon as the tractor tried to tow it away, the nose-wheel collapsed and the plane got stuck on the main runway.
The Air India is now flying in heavy lift equipment from Mumbai and the main runway is likely to be closed till 1500 hours. The secondary runway is being used for flight operations.
"In fact, when the aircraft landed, it was an emergency landing but thanks to the pilot, he did an absolutely safe landing," Venkat, Air India's Public Relations chief, said.
"The passengers were brought down through stairs and when the aircraft was towed to a hanger through the taxi track the land gear collapsed," he said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India will enquiry into the incident.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Home Minister Shivraj Patil Monday lauded the police and paramilitary forces for their efforts in fighting insurgency, terrorism and Maoist violence in the country.
"The job of policemen is one of the toughest in the country as they have to fight terrorists and at the same time protect the lives of civilians. I think they are facing more challenges in comparison to the army," Patil said while addressing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on the occasion of its Valour Day.
He suggested that short films or documentaries be made to highlight the heroic deeds of the security forces.
"It is very necessary that civilians know about the acts of bravery of our paramilitary personnel in warding off dangers to the civil society," Patil said recalling the terrorist attack on parliament in 2001, where six policemen lost their lives.
The minister presented the president's police medal to 11 CRPF personnel for their distinguished service.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Petrol pump owners have called for a nationwide strike on April 13, demanding that dealer commission on petrol sale be hiked and fines on evaporation losses be done away with.
The strike, which has been called by the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT), will be effective from April 12 midnight.
"Currently, we get a commission of one percent per litre. This rate has been fixed since the last 10 years," FAIPT secretary Ajay Bansal told IANS.
"Petrol prices have been touching the sky, but we never benefited from that. We want this to be hiked to five percent of the total invoice value," Bansal added.
According to FAIPT, the government must also stop imposing fines on losses due to evaporation of petrol.
The dealers have asked for the appointment of an appellate authority to which dealers can direct their demands and issues. FAIPT has also threatened to go on an indefinite strike from April 27 midnight if the petroleum ministry did not meet their demands.
According to Bansal, all issues pertaining to dealers have been submitted to the ministry, but no action has yet been taken.
Manila, April 9 (NNN-PNA) The Philippines government has set aside P33.15 billion for the payment of pension of Filipino World War II veterans. (p1=0.02086usd)
In her text of speech read by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita at the 61st observance of "Araw ng Kagitingan" at Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan on Monday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said P19.57 billion had been released for 2006 and 2007 for the regular pension.
Another P1.6 billion had been released representing pension arrears for the veterans who are now in the twilight years of their lives.
The President said that for the remaining months for this year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will release P9 billion for regular pension of the veterans.
"I am instructing the Department of Budget to release another P1.8 billion for pension arrears," she said.
This brings to P33.15 billion the total pension for the veterans who fought during the last war to preserve freedom and democracy.
Arroyo expressed her deepest regrets for not attending the annual celebration because she had to attend to the medical needs of her husband, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo who was brought to the hospital in Baguio City due to severe abdominal pain.
The President and members of the First Family are in Baguio to spend their summer vacation.
The surviving veterans are now between 85 to 90 years old. Several of them wearing their uniforms and medals attended Monday's ceremonies at Mt. Samat where a 19-meter cross marker stands.
It may be recalled that it was in Bataan and Corregidor where Filipino and American soldiers made their last stand against the invading Japanese forces during the Pacific War 65 years ago.
The US-Filipino troops were forced to surrender when they ran out of bullets, food and medicines.
After the fall of Bataan, thousands of prisoners of war marched from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac, in what is now known as the infamous "Death March" that lasted for one week.
Many died along the way due to exhaustion, shot or bayoneted by the Japanese.
There are about 20,000 surviving Filipino veterans of the Second World War. Of this number 13,000 are living in the Philippines and 7,000 are in the United States.
The President's announcement for the payment of pension came at a crucial time when the US Equity Bill is pending before the US Senate to give equal benefits for Filipino veterans who fought side by side with American soldiers during World War II.
The hearing will be conducted on Wednesday at the US Senate.
LEGAZPI CITY, April 9 (NNN-PNA) -- Scientists are paying closer attention to Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon aside from Mayon Volcano and the relatively waking up of Taal in Batangas, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Monday.
In Sorsogon, after Sunday's 5:45 am ash explosion, another explosion type earthquake occurred at around 6:11 a.m. Monday, a smaller one compared to previous activities which does not yet guarantee a waning of the restive attitude of the volcano, prompting Phivolcs to re-deploy one of the instruments in Mayon Volcano Observatory in Albay to Sorsogon station for Mt. Bulusan watch.
The institute said latest seismic event was recorded by the seismographs around Bulusan Volcano for about 20 minutes and, during the event, nearby residents reported rumbling sounds coming from the volcano.
But the Phivolcs explained that there was no visual observation due to thick rain clouds covering the summit area of the volcano. During the past observation period, the seismic network recorded a total of nine high frequency and one explosion type volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours.
Alert Level 1 has remained in effect over Bulusan Volcano and the public is thereby reminded not to venture into the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) because the area is at risk of sudden steam or ash explosions.
The Phivolcs warned that the residents of areas beyond the PDZ that are downwind of the crater are likely to be affected by ash falls during explosions.
The residents near river channels were advised against life-threatening lahar flows as ash and other loose volcanic materials might be remobilized during bad weather conditions or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.
In Albay, the Upper Anoling (Camalig town) seismograph recorded 11 low frequency volcanic quakes, one high frequency quake and two high frequency short duration harmonic tremors.
A dim crater glow is still observed on Mayon's crater during nighttime and is visible through naked eye. Mayon continuously showed moderate steaming activity with an average of 760 tons per day of sulfur dioxide flux.
Dhaka, April 9 (Xinhua) A training aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force crashed in Jessore district of western Bangladesh Monday, leaving a cadet pilot dead, official sources said.
An official of the Inter-Service Pubic Relation confirmed the accident but could not give details.
Dhaka, April 9 (Xinhua) A training aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force crashed in Jessore district of western Bangladesh Monday, leaving a cadet pilot killed.
A release of the Inter-Service Pubic Relation said the pilot started flying a PT-6 (Primary Trainer-6) aircraft from Jessore Airport at 12 noon (local time) Monday.
"After flying nearly half an hour, the plane suddenly caught fire" and plunged into a bamboo cluster near the police outpost in the area at about 12:40 p.m. (local time), the release said.
An eyewitness account said, "The lone pilot on board, who failed to come out of the plane in tailspin, died instantly in the accident."
On hearing about the plane crash, a "search and rescue" helicopter of the Air Force, carrying medical and technical crew, flew in to the spot.
The killed pilot was identified as flight cadet Faisal Mahmud, 30.
Later Air Chief Air Vice-Marshal Shah M Ziur Rahman visited the scene and directed the concerned authorities to take necessary measures.
A three-member high-level committee has been formed to ascertain the cause of the tragic accident.
Lepetkata (Assam) April 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday pledged New Delhi's support for rapid industrialisation of the northeast, saying the region requires investments to help ease its spiralling unemployment problem.
"Rapid industrialisation and development of the northeast has been the topmost priority and unshakeable commitment of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government," the prime minister said here.
Manmohan Singh was speaking at a massive public rally at Lepetkata, 520 km east of Assam's main city Guwahati, after laying the foundation stone for a Rs.54 billion gas cracker project - the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd.
"This is a historic day for not only Assam but also for the entire northeast. This project would herald an era of economic growth, peace and prosperity for the region.
"This gas cracker project would open up new productive employment for the youth of Assam. I am told some 100,000 people would get direct or indirect employment opportunities," he said.
He added that the northeast could become a potential investment zone with the central government announcing a new industrial policy for the region.
"We have raised capital investment subsidy to 30 percent in the new northeast industrial policy. India is marching ahead and we want the northeast to prosper in terms of economic growth and industrialisation," Manmohan Singh said.
The gas cracker project is to be implemented by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) with 70 percent equity participation in five years time. The remaining 30 percent equity would be shared equally among Oil India Ltd (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and the Assam government.
The mega project is being set up at Lepetkata.
"Some 8,500 people would get direct employment while some 100,000 people would get employment opportunities as a result of investments in downstream plastic processing industries and allied activities," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
According to preliminary estimates, at least 500 plastic processing industries are likely to come up in the region when this project becomes operational.
"There would be plastic parks in the area as part of the project and would surely benefit the people of Assam in a big way," Gogoi said. The petrochemical complex would comprise a cracker unit, downstream polymer and integrated off-site utilities plants.
The products from the proposed project would be 220,000 tonnes of polythene, 60,000 tonnes of polypropylene, 55,000 tonnes of raw pyrolysis gasoline and 12,500 tonnes of fuel oil per year.
As part of Assam's aggressive policy to give a fillip to industrial activities, it was agreed to grant exemption from entry tax on capital goods, works contract tax during construction period, sales tax and VAT (value-added tax) on feedstock for 15 years from the date of commencement of production.
The project was proposed as a part of the historic Assam Accord of 1985. The project was gathering dust since 1991 when New Delhi issued a letter of intent (LoI) to the Assam Industrial Development Corp, a government undertaking.
In February 1997, the LoI was transferred to the Reliance Assam Petrochemicals Ltd (RAPL) - a joint venture company of Assam Industrial Development Corp and Reliance Industries Ltd.
RAPL was granted various concessions to implement the project. But the deal with RAPL was shelved in 2005, with Reliance virtually backing out of the project citing technical reasons like non-availability of sufficient feedstock.
The prime minister, during his two-day visit, also laid the foundation stone for a second bridge over the Brahmaputra near Guwahati Sunday. He will leave for New Delhi later Monday.
Lepetkata (Assam), April 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone of a Rs.54-billion integrated petrochemical project in Assam Monday.
The project, planned in Lepetkata in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh district, 520 km from Guwahati, is likely to provide employment opportunities to 100,000 people.
"The much awaited project is going to turn around Assam's economy with the state all set to enter India's industrial map," Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
The project, popularly referred to as the Assam gas cracker project but christened the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd, is to be implemented by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) with 70 percent equity participation in five years' time.
The remaining 30 percent equity would be shared equally among the Oil India Ltd (OIL), the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and the state government.
"Some 8,500 people would get direct employment, while some 100,000 people would get employment opportunities as a result of investments in downstream plastic processing industries and allied activities," the chief minister said.
According to preliminary estimates, at least 500 plastic processing industries are likely to come up in the region when this project becomes operational.
"Plastic parks will be set up in the area as a part of the project and would surely benefit the people of Assam in a big way," added Gogoi.
The petrochemical complex would comprise a cracker unit, downstream polymer and integrated off-site utilities plants.
The products from the proposed project would be 2,20,000 tonnes of polythene, 60,000 tonnes of polypropylene, 55,000 tonnes of raw pyrolysis gasoline and 12,500 tonnes of fuel oil per year.
As part of the government's aggressive policy to give a fillip to industrial activities, the state has agreed to grant exemption from entry tax on capital goods, works contract tax during the construction period, sales tax and VAT (value-added tax) on feedstock for 15 years from the date of commencement of production.
The gas cracker project was proposed as a part of the implementation of the historic Assam accord signed in 1985. The project was gathering dust since 1991 when the central government issued a letter of intent (LoI) to the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), an Assam government undertaking.
In February 1997, the LoI was transferred to the Reliance Assam Petrochemicals Limited (RAPL) - a joint venture company of AIDC and Reliance Industries Limited.
RAPL was granted various concessions by the government for implementation of the project. But the deal with RAPL was shelved in 2005 with Reliance virtually backing out of the project, citing technical reasons like non-availability of sufficient feedstock.
Lucknow, April 9 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Monday offered to court arrest here in response to a complaint on his alleged role in preparing a controversial CD, but the police refused to arrest him saying they were still investigating.
Singh went to the Hazratganj police station along with hundreds of his supporters and two former BJP presidents, Murli Manohar Joshi and Venkaiah Naidu, over his alleged role in preparing the CD containing "objectionable" material aimed at inciting anti-Muslim feelings.
Singh and senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Lalji Tandon were pointedly accused in the complaint lodged by the Election Commission with the police in Lucknow on April 6.
However, district magistrate Ramendra Tripathi and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jyoti Narayan, who were present at the police station, told Singh that they were not prepared to arrest him for want of evidence against him.
"We told Mr. Rajnath Singh that we were still in the process of making preliminary inquiries on the FIR (First Information Report) lodged against him and Mr. Tandon. So far, we have not gathered any evidence to arrest him," Jyoti Narayan told reporters.
"We made it clear to him that unless preliminary findings were completed and we were able to collect sufficient evidence against him, we could not proceed against him."
Singh left the police station together with his supporters. The large number of supporters led to disruption of city traffic for several hours.
Raipur, April 9 (IANS) Police late Monday regained control of a jail, situated in a Chhattisgarh town, that was taken over briefly by a group of prisoners who had assaulted security personnel, officials said.
As many as 139 prisoners lodged in a sub-jail in Katghora town in Korba district, 180 km north of capital Raipur, had taken control of the prison after injuring at least six security personnel and snapping power and communication lines.
The incident took place when jail officials were making searches for mobile phones with prisoners.
More forces, sent soon after the incident, raided the jail and overpowered the prisoners in an operation lasting about half an hour.
"We had information that some mafia-type prisoners lodged in Katghora sub-jail were in touch with criminals through mobile sets and a police team raided the jail Monday and recovered two mobile sets," Deputy Inspector General (Jail) P.D. Verma told IANS over telephone.
He added that some prisoners created a scene and tried to terrorise policemen but soon they were controlled.
"The situation is under control. Korba district superintendent of police Himanshu Gupta has reached the spot and controlled the situation," Verma added.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Election Commission Monday adjourned its hearing on a controversial compact disc row in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accused of inciting sectarian passions against Muslims.
The issue will be taken up Wednesday, said poll panel sources.
BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mukthar Abbas Naqvi were present before the panel to convey the party's views over the CD.
The controversial CD, allegedly released last week by Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Lalji Tandon in Lucknow during a campaign for the state assembly elections, has drawn severe criticism for its inflammatory contents.
Taking strong exception to the contents, the ruling Congress party sought a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into it while former prime minister V.P. Singh demanded that the BJP be de-recognised.
In its reply to the Election Commission, the BJP has disowned all responsibility for the disc. BJP leaders admitted the CD was prepared as campaign material and they would have sought the poll panel's clearance if it had not been released inadvertently.
The BJP argued that the party "has not produced, prepared, displayed or distributed the impugned CD. The CD does not form a part of official campaign material of BJP; the CD has not been seen or approved by the leadership of the BJP; the party cannot be held responsible for an unauthorised act of an individual".
The BJP leaders have also launched 'Jan Akrosh Divas' (public anger day) Monday against the cases filed against its leaders over the CD. BJP chief Rajnath Singh and senior leaders organised a protest march in Lucknow.
Dili, April 9 (NNN-ANTARA) Polling opened Monday morning in an election to replace the former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president of troubled East Timor.
"The vote is now open," Carlos Barbosa, head of a polling station, was quoted by AFP as saying in Meti Aut, a district of the capital, Dili.
Polls opened at 7:00 am (2200 GMT Sunday) and were to close at 4:00 pm.
Meanwhile in Jakarta, the Indonesian government is ready to cooperate with whoever is elected president in East Timor which is now conducting a first presidential election since its independence in 2002.
Presidential Spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said at the Presidential Office here on Monday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono closely followed the on-going general elections in Timor Leste.
"The Indonesian government is ready to cooperate with however is elected in the on-going presidential election in Timor Leste," Dino said.
He said that Yudhoyono hoped the elections in Timor Leste would proceed peacefully and in an orderly manner.
So far, he said, the two nations had maintained good relations and President Yudhoyono would continue to maintain the relations with President Xanana Gusmao, though he was no longer elected president.
The Indonesian government, Dino went on, hoped that Timor Leste`s government and the international forces in Timor Leste would guarantee conducive situation for peaceful and orderly elections.
Thousands of police personnel under the United Nations and their local counterpart supported by the international peacekeeping forces, have been ready since last Saturday to safeguard the implemetation of the presidential elections on Monday.
There had been an incident of clashes between supporters of presidential nominees contesting for the presidential post.
There are eight presidential condidates, including Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, who are contesting in the presidential race to replace President Xanana Gusmao who no longer nominated himself.
Atul Khare, who lead the United Nations Mission in Timor Leste said that 1,655 international police and about 2,800 local counterparts would be supported by about 1,000 soldiers under the international peacekeeping force led by Australia.
Berlin, April 9 (DPA) Online advertising is a growth industry right, which Internet users generally encounter in the form of graphics, animation or even mini ad films. For many companies, online advertising is of interest because its effect on consumers can be measured in terms of click rates.
Consumers in theory also benefit through cost-free or affordable Internet offerings. Many surfers nevertheless do not have good things to say about online advertising. After all, not all of those funny little films or animations actually originate from reputable companies.
Roughly $480 million were invested in internet advertising last year, reports the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media e.V. (BITKOM) from its Berlin headquarters an increase of 45 percent over 2005. The German Association of the Digital Economy (BVDW) calculated an even higher figure of $903 million for 2006.
Pop-ups - windows that pop up suddenly during surfing and generally show advertisements - have a long history of annoying users. This compelled the makers of browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera to react. The latest version of those programs come equipped with a pop-up blocker pre-installed. The blockers are usually turned on by default.
This has largely resolved the problem of pop-ups for many. But new technologies that are not so easy to block have started appearing instead of them. Examples of this are so-called "hover ads." They simulate a separate window through graphical tricks. They hover above the portion of the screen that the Internet user most likely intends to view. The Internet user's mouse pointer often activates them. Because they cover the content of the page being viewed, they oblige many website visitors to click on them.
Another new nuisance are the so-called layer ads. These are also impervious to pop-up blockers, working by covering a website being viewed for a pre-set duration. After several seconds the user can then access the desired content.
"These technologies are ripe for exploitation by criminals," warns Thomas Caspers from the German Federal Department of Security in Information Technology (BSI). Alongside reputable website providers, from whom Internet users generally have little to fear, there are also numerous fraudulent Internet sites. Using messages that are crafted to look like messages from the operating system or from virus scanners, such scammers attempt to lure users into downloading malicious software or viruses from specially prepared websites. In some cases they simulate input windows from Internet banks.
Before any such animations will work in a browser, JavaScript must be activated. Yet deactivating JavaScript is not a simple decision - many legitimate functions like online spell checking or drag-and-drop functionality on websites are also controlled via JavaScript. There are tools to get a handle on scripts, however. One free option is the "NoScript" add-on, which can be downloaded for the Firefox browser.
Users are then informed whether a page uses scripts, allowing for individual functions to be permitted or blocked, says BSI Expert Caspers.
"The function should really be integrated into the browser," he notes. There is no other effective way for browsers to temporarily limit Javascript and to block or allow scripts on websites.
Pop-up blockers have changed the nature of online marketing. "Pop-ups are hardly booked at all any longer," says Paul Mudter, executive director of the online marketing firm InteractiveMedia. He sees a trend away from intrusive formats toward ad forms that provide a service to the user alongside the actual content. This may include thematic ads, sweepstakes, surveys or blogs.
Whether intrusive or entertaining, Internet surfers should get used to the idea of more Internet ads. "Online advertising will continue to increase strongly," says Florian Koch, division head for digital media at BITKOM.
Compared with the overall advertising market, the share of classical online marketing amounts to only three percent currently. That's likely to change significantly in the coming years, he claims.
Online marketing will grow out of its role as a niche market and compete more strongly with print, radio, and television advertising.
Jaipur, April 9 (Indianmuslims.info) Muslims should have positive thinking; they will have to believe in action rather than reaction. If they learn this art of living, it would prove to be the first step towards removing their backwardness, observed Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha K Rahman Khan while addressing a national seminar on “The Government and the community’s lapses as well as responsibilities in the light of Sachar Committee Report� organised at Jamia Al-Hidaya here Sunday.
He agreed to the view that Muslims have been neglected; however he said that in a multi-religious country this is not unexpected. He added that other sections of the society have also been neglected either by the government or the respective communities themselves.
“But the removal of backwardness lies in positive thinking and not in mere criticism and reaction,� he stressed.
Mr Khan traced the solution of Muslims’ backwardness in the Constitution of India; for the Constitution, he said, not only pleads for the development of a backward community but has the provision for reservation as well to achieve the desired result. “In the eyes of the Constitution every citizen of the country is equal,� he said.
He added that the biggest cause of backwardness of Muslims is the “ego syndrome� prevailing in the political as well as religious leadership of the community. “It has caused the greatest damage to the Muslim community and what is needed to overcome it is self-introspection and accountability,� he said.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has not allowed a potentially fatal road accident to dim his zest for work with doctors finding him "cheerful and active" and saying that he may be discharged from the Army Hospital as early as Tuesday.
A team of top specialists Monday reviewed the minister's health in the morning and were satisfied with the fast pace at which Mukherjee was recovering from head injuries caused by a road accident near Kolkata Saturday night.
"He is able to walk around and is progressing well. He is expected to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow," a medical bulletin issued by the Army Research and Referral Hospital said in the afternoon.
A fresh round of investigations and scans on Mukherjee, including CT and MRI head, and CT chest, were done Monday. "These tests ruled out any bony or internal injuries," the bulletin added.
"His vital parameters continue to be within normal limits. He has a lacerated wound scalp, which is clean and has nine sutures. Apart from this, there are no other bony or soft tissue injuries," it added.
Chief of Army Staff Gen J.J. Singh was one of those to visit the minister in the hospital. Senior Political leaders cutting across the ideological divide also visited the minister, widely seen as the number two in the government.
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Congress stalwarts like Digvijay Singh and Gurudas Kamat and Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat came to see Mukherjee and wished him quick recovery.
The 72-year-old Congress leader, who heads a number of crucial inter-ministerial committees, sustained severe head injuries when a truck hit his car at Bethuadahari, about 130 km from Kolkata Saturday night.
The truck swerved out of control after one of its tyres punctured and overturned on Mukherjee's car. He was on his way to Kolkata from Murshidabad, where he had gone to inaugurate a book fair.
After being given initial treatment near Kolkata, the minister was flown to New Delhi Sunday in a special military aircraft. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a special gesture, was present at the military airport to receive him and kept in touch with the hospital authorities about his health.
If the accident had not come in the way, Mukherjee would have been in Riyadh Monday. The minister was scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia on a three-day visit to further intensify ties between India and Saudi Arabia.
Mukherjee is not expecting any high-profile visitor from abroad this week, official sources told IANS. Going by the rate of his recovery, Mukherjee gets busy again next week when Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is likely to be in India.
By Soudhriti Bhabani
Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's accident has set off alarm bells in the VIP security system in West Bengal.
The incident has embarrassed the state administration since the provision of Z category security must guard against road mishaps. All vehicular movement on the road is generally taken brought control 15 to 20 minutes before the VIP passes through a particular stretch, said senior police officials.
"Officials of respective police stations and the district headquarters are also put on alert about the movement of a VIP convoy. Police constables are deployed along the road to cordon off the route," a police officer said.
It is also a district administration's responsibility to provide emergency medical arrangements when a VIP enters their territory.
"It's quite impossible for any vehicle to break the Z category security breech and hit the VIP car," the officer said.
The Saturday accident, which caused head injuries to Mukherjee, has made the West Bengal administration sit up.
"The (truck) driver has been arrested. We have taken his statement," West Bengal Inspector General (law and order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
"Generally, we arrange road lining and in some cases we do stop the road traffic. But since it was a highway stretch (National Highway-34), we could not stop the traffic movement," Kanojia said.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: "There was no security arrangement on the road when the minister was passing through NH-34. After the accident, he was taken to the nearest block hospital by a rickshaw. What could be more shameful than this?"
The accident occurred Saturday night in Nadia district when a stone chip-laden lorry swerved out of control after a tyre puncture and overturned on the bulletproof car in which Mukherjee was travelling with party leaders.
The accident also hurt Congress leader Manas Bhunya, who was with Mukherjee.
A few months ago, a car entered Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's convoy near Park Circus in central Kolkata.
The incident sparked a serious re-look at the chief minister's security arrangements.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was injured in a road accident in West Bengal Saturday, is recovering, said hospital sources here Monday.
Mukherjee, 72, will be kept under observation for another 48 hours, said a doctor at the Army Research and Referral Hospital. The hospital will issue a bulletin on the minister's condition Monday afternoon.
Following the accident, Mukherjee was given initial treatment near Kolkata and was then flown to New Delhi Sunday where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present at the airport to receive him.
After examining the minister, the army hospital said Sunday that his condition was stable but he would be under observation till Tuesday.
A bulletin issued by the hospital Monday said: "A CT scan was performed on him which found everything normal. He is quite well and cheerful. His vital parameters are normal and there is no cause for any concern. He will be kept under observation for next 48 hours."
It said that Mukherjee "suffered an injury to his scalp. The wound was sutured at the Primary Health Care Centre at Bethuadahari (near the accident spot)."
Mukherjee received head injuries when a truck hit his car at Bethuadahari, about 130 km from Kolkata.
The truck swerved out of control after a tyre puncture and overturned on Mukherjee's car. He was on way to Kolkata from Murshidabad, where he had gone to inaugurate a book fair.
Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was badly injured in a highway accident after a truck rammed into his car, had to be taken to a nearby hospital in a rickshaw as no medical help was immediately available.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: "There was no security arrangement on the road when the minister was passing through NH-34. After the accident, he was taken to the nearest block hospital by a rickshaw. What could be more shameful than this?"
The accident occurred Saturday night in Nadia district when a stone chip-laden lorry swerved out of control after a tyre puncture and overturned on the bulletproof car in which Mukherjee was travelling with party leaders.
The accident also hurt Congress leader Manas Bhunya who was with Mukherjee.
The incident has embarrassed the Communist government in West Bengal since the provision of Z category security for VIPs must guard against such road mishaps. All vehicular movement on the road is generally brought under control 15 to 20 minutes before the VIP passes through a particular stretch, said senior police officials.
"Officials of respective police stations and the district headquarters are also put on alert about the movement of a VIP convoy. Police constables are deployed along the road to cordon off the route," a police officer said.
It is also a district administration's responsibility to provide emergency medical arrangements when a VIP enters their territory.
"It's quite impossible for any vehicle to break the Z category security breach and hit the VIP car," the officer said.
The Saturday accident, which caused head injuries to Mukherjee, has made the West Bengal administration sit up.
"The (truck) driver has been arrested. We have taken his statement," West Bengal Inspector General (law and order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
"Generally, we arrange road lining and in some cases we do stop the road traffic. But since it was a highway stretch (National Highway-34), we could not stop the traffic movement," Kanojia said.
A few months ago, a car strayed into Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's convoy near Park Circus in central Kolkata. The incident sparked a re-look at the chief minister's security arrangements.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who suffered head injuries in a road accident in West Bengal Saturday, is recovering fast and is likely to be discharged Tuesday, said doctors attending on the minister at the Army Hospital here.
A team of top-notch specialists reviewed the minister's health in the morning and found him "active and cheerful".
"He is able to walk around and is progressing well. He is expected to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow," a medical bulletin issued by the Army Research and Referral Hospital said Monday afternoon.
A fresh round of investigations and scans on Mukherjee, including CT and MRI head, and CT chest, were done Monday. "These tests ruled out any bony or internal injuries," the bulletin added.
"His vital parameters continue to be within normal limits. He has a lacerated wound scalp, which is clean and has nine sutures. Apart from this, there are no other bony or soft tissue injuries," the bulletin added.
Chief of Army Staff Gen J.J. Singh also met the minister in hospital and inquired about his health.
The 72-year-old Congress leader, who heads a number of crucial inter-ministerial committees and is seen as the number two in the government, sustained severe head injuries when a truck hit his car at Bethuadahari, about 130 km from Kolkata Saturday night.
The truck swerved out of control after one of its tyres punctured and overturned on Mukherjee's car. He was on his way to Kolkata from Murshidabad, where he had gone to inaugurate a book fair.
After being given initial treatment near Kolkata, the minister was flown to New Delhi Sunday in a special military aircraft. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a special gesture, was present at the military airport to receive him and kept in touch with the hospital authorities on the minister's health.
In a personal message from the hospital, Mukherjee, known as a workaholic, Sunday said confidently that he would be back to work within 48 hours and thanked all those wishing him good health and speedy recovery.
If the accident had not come in the way, Mukherjee would have been in Riyadh Monday. The minister was scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia on a three-day visit to further intensify ties between India and Saudi Arabia - home to over 1.6 million members of the Indian Diaspora.
Mukherjee's visit was seen as a precursor to a trip by Manmohan Singh to the Arab country sometime in May-June.
Mukherjee is not expecting any high-profile visitor from foreign shores this week, official sources told IANS. But by next week - and going by the rate of his recovery - Mukherjee gets busy again. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is likely to be in India next week, the source said.
Quito, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) President Rafael Correa has called on the Ecuadorian people going to the polls on April 15 to support the establishment of a full power Constituent Assembly.
“We have to make our decision at the polls,� said Correa in emphasizing the need for a change in Ecuador through the establishment of a Constituent Assembly.
In his weekly Saturday address to the nation, the president warned that those in charge of his campaign were not linked to ex-President Jamil Mahuad.
Those who decide to vote against the establishment of a Constituent Assembly will not do it because they want Mahuad’s cronies to return power, taking into account that the 1999 bank embezzlement took place during the ex-president's administration.
“If the people vote in favour of the Constituent Assembly it means that they want a change and will put aside all those persons who stole our funds, lives, and future,� stressed Correa.
The president stressed that with the Assembly, Ecuador will be able to overcome the economic, political, and social obstacles that have been imposed by traditional parties.
Raipur, April 9 (IANS) A group of prisoners Monday took control of a sub-jail in Chhattisgarh after injuring at least six security personnel, officials said.
The inmates of the sub-jail in Katghora in Korba district, about 180 km north of here, assaulted security personnel and also snapped power and communication lines, the officials said, adding that more forces were rushed to the place.
Further details were awaited, they said.
Beijing, April 9 (NNN-Bernama) The sounds of digging and clashing spades came from a barren hillock as workers dug out trenches and bore drum size pits in the hard ground.
All around, similar bare mounds and a dry brown landscape sweep away as far as the eye can see in Wanquan county in Zhangjiakou about 200km northwest of Beijing.
Sandy dry and wind-prone Zhangjiakou is in northern Hebei province and lies at the centre of a major green buffer project to reduce sandstorms and dust from hitting Beijing and the port municipality of Tianjin.
The battle is far from won, but forestry officials, tasked with stopping drought and sand from turning the land into dusty waste, believe they are making significant strides.
"In the past two years, we have replanted 11,000 mu with 1.1 million trees that can survive the dry and harsh conditions. Over here, we only have one wind and it blows year-round," Kang Cheng Fu, Zhangjiakou Forestry Bureau vice-chief, told a group of foreign journalists.
A mu is equivalent to 1/15 of a hectare or about 667sq metres.
A fifth of China's territory is affected by desertification but there are signs that counter measures are showing results. Official data indicate that the sand encroachment has dropped by nearly two thirds since the turn of the century.
To create a green belt to shelter Beijing and Tianjin, replanting projects were started in 75 counties in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia and 180,000 farmers and their families were relocated.
Efforts to "green" Zhangjiakou started in 2000 but that didn't stop 330,000 tonnes of sand from being dumped overnight on Beijing in April last year. April and May are the season for sandstorms.
In Wanquan, dozens of workers, mostly ex-farmers who had sold their land back to the government for reforestation, are engaged in planting rows of coniferous firs and mountain almond trees.
A short drive away in Zhangbei county, Kang plucked some orange-red seeds from a leafless spiky shrub that dotted the wind-swept flat land that receives very little rain.
"These are as valuable as gold, they are used in medicine," he said, adding that the hardy seabuckthorn shrub was chosen because it can survive even in drought conditions.
Kang said farmers who gave up their land were paid the equivalent of their earnings of 140 yuan per mu with an additional 20 yuan allowance every year until 2011 by the central government. (RM1=2.2 yuan)
"Most of them were growing oats and potatoes and their biggest lots were about 10 mu. The yields weren't high because the land is not fertile," he said.
He added that the central government allocated 50 yuan to rehabilitate per mu of land but more funds are needed because the cost of maintenance per mu was about 300 yuan.
Jaipur, April 9 (IANS) Speculation is rife that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje could go in for a cabinet reshuffle after the Uttar Pradesh polls to stem growing factionalism in her Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The chief minister had made up her mind for a reshuffle in February before the start of the budget session. As her government was passing through a difficult time, it was postponed, said party sources.
She is reported to have held preliminary talks with the party's central leaders in Delhi on the issue and is waiting to hold another round after the Uttar Pradesh polls.
A couple of ministers are likely to lose their jobs while some new faces could be inducted, said party sources, adding that some ministers of state might get independent charge.
Some ministers reportedly are angry with Raje's style of functioning and have even thought of resigning.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) A day after winning the inaugural AIS Golf Open title, ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa moved to the second spot in the Professional Golf Tour of India's (PGTI) Order of Merit for the 2006-07 season.
Randhawa bagged the winner's purse of Rs. 9,72,000 with the victory at the Delhi Golf Club Sunday and took his total earnings to Rs. 2,106,000.
"I am looking forward to playing some more golf on the PGTI Tour before I head out to play the European Tour. It is good to see Indian professionals card record earnings and I am sure the fight for the title will heat up before the season ends," Randhawa said.
Ashok Kumar who finished second to win a cheque of Rs. 6,72,000 is still in lead in the Order of Merit list, according to a press release by the PGTI. Kumar has a total earning of Rs. 2,718,000.
"I am working hard on my game and hope to continue playing the way I have been playing for the last few months. With a few more big prize money events still left to play I will need to be on top of my game to ensure that I win the Order of merit crown," said Kumar.
Kolkata boy S.S.P. Chowrasia is currently placed third, having earned Rs. 1,943,000, while Harmeet Kahlon is fourth with earnings of Rs. 1,321,800.
Digvijay Singh, who has earned Rs. 11,35,420 complete the top five rankings on the PGTI Order of Merit.
"I am putting in a lot of hard work as we still have important tournaments to play. I have been starting each week well and would like to be able to play more consistently," said Chowrasia.
PGTI Order of Merit:
1.Ashok Kumar Rs.27, 18,000
2.Jyoti Randhawa Rs.21, 06,000
3.S.S.P Chowrasia Rs.19, 43,000
4.Harmeet Kahlon Rs.13, 21,800
5.Digvijay Singh Rs.11, 35,420
6.Lam Chih Bing Rs.9, 84,400
7.C. Muniyappa Rs.8, 36,900
8.Vivek Bhandari Rs.8, 13,600
9.Rahul Ganapathy Rs.6, 01,500
10.Arjun Singh Rs.5, 53,670
Manila, April 9 (NNN-PNA) A band of communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels raided the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) in Dujali town in Davao del Norte at dawn on Sunday, carting away over a 100 assorted firearms, a police official said.
Chief Superintendent Andres Caro, director of the Caraga regional police office, said the police and military elements are conducting pursuit operations against the rebels said to be numbering around 30 men.
Caro said in the 1.30am raid, a group of rebels, who were wearing camouflage uniforms with patches of the Task Force Davao, overpowered a soldier guarding the camp main gate before disarming other guards of their weapons.
He said the rebels also took from the armoury 45 carbine rifles; three M16 rifles; five revolvers; 46 shotguns; unspecified number of vintage and unserviceable firearms; five handcuffs; and assorted ammunition.
“The Davao Norte PPO (provincial police office) and the 73rd IB (Infantry Battalion) are conducting pursuit operations while investigation on the Dapecol (incident) is ongoing,� Caro said.
It was the first time the rebels were able to cart away such a big number of firearms this year. As of December last year, the military said the NPAs had at least 7,200 fighters throughout the country, many of them unarmed.
The military has vowed to score a “strategic victory� against the NPA before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term ends in 2010. The President has released P1 billion additional counter-insurgency funds to the military and the police last year.
Yala, April 9 (NNN-TNA) Two separate incidents occurred in less than half an hour Monday morning in this insurgency-torn province, with one soldier on patrol duty wounded in a roadside bombing, while a rubber tapper was shot dead.
Police in Than To district rushed to inspect the crime scene after an unknown number of suspected insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as a military patrol passed through the area. The explosion injured Private Ranachai Charoensuk, 23, who was rushed to a local hospital.
Ten minutes later, a Muslim villager identified as Salae Kaniseng, 32 was found dead after being shot in the head and chest in a local plantation. Police investigators reported that his assailants fired at him while he was at work tapping latex.
The death toll continues to rise in the restive predominantly Muslim south, which has seen more than 2,100 people killed in an insurgency since an arms raid at an Army camp in Narathiwat in early 2004 when the attackers made off with a large number of weapons.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Russia Monday offered to help India in persuading the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to lift curbs restricting civil nuclear trade with New Delhi.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov held talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on a wide array of bilateral and regional issues, including civil nuclear cooperation, the Iranian nuclear crisis and the situation in Afghanistan.
The Russian side reiterated its offer to help India in the NSG, official sources told IANS.
Denisov is here for annual foreign office consultations between India and Russia.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit here in January, Moscow offered to build four additional nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and enhance cooperation with India in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Moscow, however, clarified that it will do so only after the NSG approves the India-US civil nuclear deal and amends its guidelines in favour of nuclear commerce with New Delhi.
The NSG will decide on civil nuclear cooperation with India after New Delhi and Washington conclude the bilateral civil nuclear agreement and the former finalises a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In an interview to Itar-Tass news agency ahead of the talks, Denisov described India-Russia ties being bound by "strategic interests and responsibility for international security and stability".
By Sanjoy Hazarika
The recent summit of the heads of state and government of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) appears to have gone well although the large television screen above the heads of the heads of government in Vigyan Bhavan caught a few Indian cabinet ministers dozing while the leaders droned on.
India's now the chairman. What else is new? Perhaps for the first time, government leaders spoke of the need to have time frames for their suggestions for cooperation and collaboration. One of the observers at the meeting, the American State Department official Richard Boucher, remarked after listening to the high-sounding opening declarations that the nations of SAARC hardly conducted any trade worth the name among themselves! That is one place to start and the prime minister's announcement on a trade policy favourable to goods from neighbours, which are Least Developed Countries (LDCs) - read Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal - will help kick-start the process.
Impromptu remarks by a few leaders provided a window to their real thinking.
Thus, when President Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives declared to a sprinkling of applause that he was the only leader of a SAARC country to have attended all 14 summits, he illuminated a major problem: all other countries of South Asia have democracy in some form or the other, the Maldives does not.
Gayoom is not just president; he is also the head of the army and the courts there. Not a frond of a coconut tree moves in his beautiful land of many islands and coral reefs without his nod. His land of 19 atolls and 340,000 population has a fine HDI (human development index), good literacy and health figures, and an average life expectancy of 64 years. He is both president and head of government - and has been in office since 1978! That is quite a record for energetic South Asia, which believes in political change - mostly peaceful, at times violent (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are examples).
The official website for the Maldives says that "while political parties are not banned, none exist". That should tell us something about the political situation there. There is no free media; human rights activists and peaceful protesters, as we heard at a separate forum a few days earlier, are brutally targeted and held without trial.
But I recall from a visit, some years back, a different nation.
This was in 1988, when a group of mercenaries from Sri Lanka tried to overthrow President Gayoom and the Indian Air Force and crack commandos were airlifted and rushed to his help (this was during Rajiv Gandhi's time). Some of us flew in with the troops; the co-called coup was quashed. At the time, we noted, that that the Maldives government had a very gentle way of dealing with crime - they had no jails since violence was virtually unknown.
In one well-known case, a German national was shipped off to a deserted island for killing his woman companion. He was provided food, water and other provisions to live in isolation until the next shipload came, at regular intervals. This man got so used to living alone in solitary splendour that when the German ambassador flew down from New Delhi to ask him if he wanted to "return to civilisation", his answer was an emphatic "No!"
Politics has developed differently in the region, and the Maldives would do well to take note of the case of Bhutan, once a kingdom where the king's word was absolute. The former king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, initiated his kingdom's steady move toward multi-party democracy and then handed over his throne to his son, when he was at the peak of his popularity. His view was simple: democracy, however flawed, is the best form of government. And that it was better to move towards a democracy then live in isolated majesty, despite an individual's personal popularity.
There is another matter that begs for attention - visas. Despite the apparent bonhomie at SAARC and the resolve to have simplified travelling for certain category of people, including journalists, I was not issued a visa to visit Bangladesh to participate in a Track II dialogue between India, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar, called BICIM, to encourage better relations but also develop a policy framework for cooperation, which could be given to all governments.
One possible reason for the non-acceptance of papers (let me clarify that I was not officially denied a visa, my application was not accepted) was the hanging of the Islamic extremist Bangla bhai and several others on the day I was supposed to land in Dhaka. I guess the interim caretaker government must have anticipated wide scale protests or violence, but neither happened. And even this explanation does not make sense because four other Indian participants to the meeting were issued visas! Perhaps, because I am a writer and columnist.
I have pointed out to friends in Bangladesh and here that the non-issuance of a visa was an act of foolishness because I am among the few voices in the northeast who advocate a balanced approach and better relations with our neighbour. I think that this is the only way to engage with them and get them to understand our views on illegal migration, the armed gangs that are based there and other concerns. In fact, I have even invited and organised visits by leading Bangladeshi scholars and others, such as the former foreign secretary Farooq Sobhan, to the northeast, which proved an eye opener for them and for those who listened to them.
I'm not the only one singled out for such treatment: three journalists were refused visas in February. But we can't give up - I'll try for a visa later this summer and continue to bring scholars and professionals from there to the northeast (officially, of course!) to crack mindsets and change policies.
Not to continue this process would mean admitting failure and giving in to the hardliners. That we cannot countenance.
(Sanjoy Hazarika is a commentator on South Asian affairs and can be reached at sanjoyha@gmail.com)
Baghdad, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) Thousands of supporters of the Shiite religious leader Moqtada Al-Sadr started, in Najaf city Monday, demonstrations against the US presence in Iraq.
On the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's former regime, Al-Sadr's supporters rallied from Al-Kofa mosque in Kofa town towards Najaf, carrying Iraqi flags and chanting anti-US slogans.
The demonstrators came from different Iraqi cities, mainly in the south, after Al-Sadr called on them to rally.
Masses rallied from Al-Sadr city in Baghdad to Kofa, passing through Latifiya and Mahmudiya towns, that both witness sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis.
The demonstrators are expected to head to Al-Sadr Square in Najaf, amid strong police and military security procedures that include a ban of automobile traffic into and within the city.
Al-Sadr asked his followers to wave Iraqi flags only, demanding respect and restoration of the country's sovereignty, and urged them to demonstrate peacefully.
He also asked his supporters and Iraqi forces in Diwaniya to stop fighting, saying the clashes are planned by the "invader".
Iraqi forces imposed curfew in the city following the clashes, and banned auto traffic in Baghdad in fear of attacks that might target the demonstrators.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) A week after 'Trees for Delhi', a forum of citizens and environmentalists, took out a silent protest march to express their concern over the disappearing green cover of Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has invited them for a meeting Wednesday.
The forum, which is only six-months-old, has been raising alarm by initiating several campaigns, taking out peace protests, distributing flyers and staging plays, in a bid to sensitise people about the huge amount of deforestation that has been taking place in the capital.
The forum initiated a signature campaign about a month and a half back, which is still going on, and submitted a petition to Dikshit with the signatures of a 1,000 people.
The forum's main concern is the rampant destruction of trees for various constructions without any re-plantation.
"We are not against construction of roads, highways and buildings. But what we are asking is that does development always have to be so anti-greenery?" asks Nanni Singh, executive director of Trees for Delhi.
In the run-up to the meeting with the chief minister, the forum has carried out surveys of specific stretches of roads in south Delhi where the construction of the High Capacity Bus Service (HCBS) corridor is underway.
The broad purpose of these audits is to uncover possible inaccuracy of the official tree count, whether some of these trees can be saved from the axe and what is the status of the re-plantation claims being made by officials.
Only 10.2 percent of Delhi's area comes under the green cover - way below the National Forest Policy's recommendation of 33 percent.
"One of the suggestions that we are putting forth to the chief minister is the inclusion of dedicated tree lanes in the road constructions. If there can be dedicated pedestrian lanes, then why not tree lanes? This problem has to be dealt at the root - at the planning stage of all constructions," Singh told IANS.
Some of the other suggestions that the forum will put forth are stopping further felling of trees in the first phase of the HCBS route. An estimated 2,100 trees will be lost for this phase covering 14 km.
Demand for a complete detailed report of the number of trees lost over the last three years, the areas where they have been reforested, their species and their yearly survival rate, is also on the agenda. The body also wants an assurance that all future infrastructure development integrates existing trees and preferably enhances the number.
"The first phase of the metro had resulted in the removal of nearly 27,000 trees. Hence we also demand accountability and transparent processes in designing and executing projects like the metro, HCBS and flyovers. Citizen participation must be integrated into the decision-making process from the project's inception," said Ravi Aggarwal of Toxics Link, an NGO working for the environment and a part of the forum.
From housewives to students and from NGOs like WWF-India and Toxics Link to experts in the field, Trees for Delhi has a wide variety of concerned citizens under its umbrella.
"We hope something positive comes out of Tuesday's meeting," Singh said.
Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Buoyed by firming Asian markets, Indian shares rose 2.5 percent Monday with a key index gaining 321.66 points.
The benchmark 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 2.50 percent or 321.66 points at 13,177.74, with all but one of its components trading in the green.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty gained 2.44 percent or 91.5 points at 3,843.50.
Leading the BSE index or Sensex gainers were top steel producer Tata Steel, up 6.04 percent at Rs.493.30, followed by cigarette major ITC Ltd, up 4.90 percent at Rs.155.35 and leading carmaker, state-run Maruti Udyog, that was up 4.57 percent at Rs.790.25.
Banking shares continued their recovery from the previous session before the long weekend, with leading top lender state-owned State Bank of India up 4.30 percent at Rs.988.75 and second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank Ltd., up 3.04 percent at Rs.971.90.
IT major Infosys Technologies Ltd., last traded at Rs.2,044.00, was up 2.59 percent ahead of its quarterly results this week.
Other gainers included index heavyweight and telecom major Reliance Communications Ltd., second largest cement producer Grasim Industries Ltd, top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd., aluminium major Hindalco Industries, state-owned heavy electrical equipment producer BHEL.
Top two-wheeler and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Autos was the only share that traded in the red. It was down 0.47 percent at Rs.2,296.85.
Chennai, April 9 (IndianMuslims.info newsdesk) The zonal unit of the Students Islamic Organization has demanded that the Tamil Nadu government should immediately repeal the sex education programme from schools across the state, arguing that it would have an adverse impact on individuals and society.
"Sex education in the name of Adolescence Education Programnme under the guise of AIDS awareness and prevention would certainly promote free and safe sex and have adverse impact on individuals and society," SIO zonal president Foiz Ahamed said here today.
"The programme had been introduced in the schools under pressure from western condom and contraceptive manufacturing multi-national companies, which view India as its potential market" he alleged.
He argued that sex education syllabus prepared by UNICEF and other UN entities had been designed keeping in view the needs and conditions of western society and said "it was totally irrelevant in our country."
SIO has alleged that the curriculum does not give any moral teaching nor teaches anything regarding legitimate sex but reiterates that sex is safe with condom use. This in their opinion is going to create a social atmosphere of sexual anarchism in the new generation and thus increase the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
"If the government did not withdraw the programme the SIO would launch a mass movement against it" , Ahamed said strongly opposing the introduction of sex education in CBSE schools and those run by state governments.
Ottawa, April 9 (Xinhua) Six Canadian soldiers were killed and two injured in roadside explosions in southern Afghanistan.
Confirming the death of Canadian troops, defence sources in Ottawa said the blasts took place Sunday afternoon in the west of Kandahar City, a former stronghold of Taliban militia.
The troops were serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Helmand province, where the multinational force recently launched a major offensive against the Taliban.
It was the single largest death toll suffered by Canadian troops since 2002, when the campaign began.
Since 2002, 51 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan. There are 2,500 Canadian troops serving in the country, the majority of them stationed in the volatile southern regions.
Baghdad, April 9 (Xinhua) Six US soldiers were killed and four wounded in insurgent attacks here, defence sources said Monday.
Three soldiers were killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb hit their patrol in south of Baghdad Sunday, a defence statement said.
One more soldier was killed and three wounded by "indirect fire" in a separate incident in south of the Iraqi capital, the statement added.
The indirect fire often refers to mortar or rocket attacks in US military statements.
Two more US soldiers succumbed to injuries Sunday after they were wounded during separate combat operations in Diyala and Salahudin provinces in north of Baghdad.
More than 3,275 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.
By Jorge Luna
Santiago De Chile, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Although there is consensus to democratize the Chilean Congress, opening it to sectors that were excluded during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship and subsequent governments, there are still many hindrances to achieve full electoral reform.
Local media recently highlighted the phrase "as far as possible", which describes the steps that can really make political initiatives progress, in spite of the willingness of those who play a leading role.
Thus, President Michelle Bachelet, who promised to change the so-called binominal system, inherited from Pinochet, recognized when she signed the bill for reform last week that it is not the ideal reform, “but an important correction".
Chilean Communist Party President Guillermo Teillier mentioned several conditions to support the partial reform of the system, as elimination of hindrances for union and social leaders to be parliamentary candidates.
She demanded that Chileans residing abroad should have the right to vote, to reduce voting age to 18 years and for school level academic qualification to be elected a deputy, as well as reforms to the regional adviser electoral system.
She also called for a study to be carried out on incorporation to the Chilean legislation of plebiscites and concepts, as citizenship consultation and people initiative to laws, and revocation of legislations.
Presidential General Secretary Jose Antonio Viera-Gallo said the bill, with unanimous support by the government coalition and conservative opposition sectors, seeks to end a difficulty, a distortion, a problem.
Government Spokesman Minister Ricardo Lagos Weber called on all sectors of Chilean society to improve democracy and, referring to those who do not participate in the effort, he said "they will have to explain their reasons to Chileans".
By Parveen Chopra
New York, April 9 (IANS) Fareisa Joemmanbaks of Suriname was crowned Miss India Worldwide 2007 at a dazzling beauty pageant held in New Jersey. While the first runner up was South Africa's Nadia Vorajee, Sapna Sehravat of Canada was adjudged second runner up.
There were 19 contestants from as many countries, including India and the US at the contest organised by the India Festival Committee (IFC) Sunday. The show is in its 16th year.
Fareisa, 17, is a student of tourism and lives in Suriname's capital Paramaribo. In the pageant's crucial talent round, the petite beauty had opted to perform a belly dance, in contrast to most other contestants who had opted for some form of fusion of Indian classical and the more modern dance movements.
In the question round, South African Vorajee's response may have sealed her position as the first runner up. Asked whom she would like as her dinner partner, she named Mahatma Gandhi, whose epoch changing ideas were first honed in South Africa.
The show at a banquet hall in Fords, New Jersey, was co-hosted by Shweta Kwaatra, TV actress and anchor from Mumbai, and New York based actress Pooja Kumar. Filmy TV channel of the Sahara group was the main sponsor.
The evening gown, Indian dress (sari), talent and question-answer rounds were interspersed with regular song and dance entertainment showcasing local talent. The show banked heavily on current popular Bollywood numbers like "Bidi", "Kajra re" and "Crazy kiya re".
IFC was founded by New Yorker Dharmatma Saran in 1974 to conduct Indian beauty pageants and fashion shows. It has also been organising the Miss India USA and Miss India New York annually since 1980.
IFC has its affiliates in 20 countries of the Indian diaspora, as far away as Malaysia and Trinidad & Tobago, where the affiliates hold their own beauty pageants and send representatives for Miss India Worldwide.
The participating girls have to be of Indian origin, regardless of their place of birth, and should be between 17 years and 27 years of age. She should be unmarried and not have had a child. She further must be a resident, citizen or born in the country she wants to represent.
Mumbai was the venue for Miss India Worldwide on the last two occasions. Trina Chakravarty of the US, the 2006 winner, crowned Fareisa Miss India Worldwide 2007.
By Abdullah Al-Harbi and Muhammad Al-Enezi
Kuwait, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) Visiting Syrian Minister of Tourism Sadallah Agha al-Qala has called for enhancing Syrian-Kuwaiti tourism ties.
After his meeting with Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Abdul-Aziz Al-Khaldi Sunday, he told KUNA the meeting dealt with ways to activate the agreement on tourist cooperation signed in 1994.
The document includes four aspects namely, activation of joint investment in tourism, coordination and cooperation in tourist promotion and marketing, exchange of training experiences, and mutual scholarships and visit exchanges of students and teachers of both sides, he noted.
Al-Qala also called for more discussion and exchanges of views on tourism issues and for exploration of opportunities of tourist investment in the two countries and a third country.
Hailing the opening of the Aleppo Sheraton Hotel in his country by Kuwait's Kharafi Group, the Syrian minister said the event would open the door for more tourist movement in the northern Syrian city.
Twenty-four tourism projects are offered for investment in 12 Syrian cities as part of the Syrian government's efforts to promote foreign investment, he revealed.
Under the new investment-friendly legislation, a foreign investor is able to own land to develop it for up to 99 years.
Foreign investors can enjoy a tax relief during the period of construction of their projects, Al-Qala pointed out.
Out of the estimated three million tourists coming to Syria annually, the Arabs -- mainly from the Arabian Gulf area -- account for 75 per cent, he added.
For his part, Al-Khaledi hailed the long-standing friendly ties between Kuwait and Syria and welcomed Al-Qala in Kuwait.
In its endeavour to develop the tourism sector in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry is keen on making use of Syria's long experience in the field of tourism, he added.
Al-Khaledi agreed with Al-Qala's remarks on the necessity of further developing bilateral economic and trade ties and called for pushing their levels to those of the political and people-to-people relations.
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai: Those who are lowering the coffins of the composite culture in India and writing obituaries about it, please wait, Tamil scholar Soundara Kailasam has proved all such pundits wrong, publishing her latest book `Yellai Illa Arulalaa,' on the teachings of Allah.
"It all started with my contributions to the `Samarasam' a Tamil magazine. I wrote poems on Allah and his teachings. Friends appreciated my poems and publishers wanted to bring out a book of my poems,� Soundara Kailasam a popular Tamil poet told IndianMuslims.info
“I was reluctant to give it to a non-Muslim publisher. When the Islamic foundation Trust, Chennai, came forward to publish the book, I was happy,� the eighty year old poetess said with a spark in her eyes becoming the first non-Muslim woman poet to have her work published by the Foundation.
The Islamic Foundation Trust so far has published 185 books. `Yellai Illa Arulalaa,' on the teachings of Allah, is the first book on poetry written by a non-Muslim woman that the Trust has brought out.
“I also wanted a Muslim poet to write the foreword and I am glad that poet Mu. Metha wrote the foreword,� she added.
Soundara Kailasam is a popular poet in Tamil language and her literary works include essays and short stories. Till date, she has brought out 13 poetry collections and three books. For the past few years, she has confined herself to attending literary meetings.
"I am eighty years old but I still feel the urge to write, for me, poems are a way of expressing myself," the poetess said.
Soundara Kailasam comes from a family of socially conscious people. She is the granddaughter of Rathnasabapathi Gounder, the main person behind the Thiruchengode Gandhi Ashram, founded by Rajagopalacharya and formally opened by Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker. She is the wife of former Supreme Court judge P.S. Kailasam and has three daughters and a son.
Ms. Kailasam has held various positions in several government as well as non-governmental organizations. She held the post of senatorship of the Madras, Annamalai and Tanjore Tamil Universities. She was awarded the Asan Prize for poetry in 1989. She was also awarded Rs.10,000 by the Islamic literary conference at Kilakkarai, Tamil Nadu in 1990.
By writing poetry on the teachings of Allah, Soundara Kailasam has proved that there is no dearth of practitioners’ religious and cultural harmony in India.
Link:
Islamic Foundation Trust: Chennai.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Tejendra Khanna Monday became the lieutenant governor of Delhi for the second time with the expectation that he will heal wounds caused by the recent sealing drive and prepare the city for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Khanna was previously Delhi's lieutenant governor from January 1997 to April 1998.
He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Mukundakam Sharma.
Dressed in a smart black bandhgala suit, Khanna couldn't stop beaming after the ceremony at the Raj Niwas here. Holding his granddaughter's hand, he interacted with the guests, a lot of them familiar faces, and obliged them by posing for innumerable photographs.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her cabinet ministers, Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul and many newly elected corporators were among those who attended the ceremony.
Khanna, who earlier held the same post from January 1997, immediately after his retirement as commerce secretary during the regime of the United Front, remarked that a wonderful opportunity had been bestowed on him.
In his last major public assignment in 2006, he headed the central government-appointed committee to study the problem of unlawful constructions in the capital.
Many of the committee's recommendations have been incorporated in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.
Chairperson of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd since 1999, Khanna is the second person after Jagmohan to get a second stint as lieutenant governor of Delhi.
Replying to media queries after the ceremony, Khanna reiterated his faith in the administration and Delhi Police and said: "I believe that all problems can be solved with better coordination and commitment."
The formal announcement of his appointment came April 5. He succeeds B.L. Joshi, who will take over as the governor of Meghalaya.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) An elegant ceremony Monday morning saw former union commerce secretary Tejendra Khanna being sworn in as lieutenant governor of Delhi for the second time.
He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Mukundakam Sharma.
Dressed in a smart black Nehru collared suit, Khanna couldn't stop beaming after the ceremony at the Raj Niwas here. Holding his granddaughter's hand, he interacted with the guests, most hovering around him with folded hands, and obliged them by posing for innumerable photographs.
Khanna, who earlier held the same post from January 1997, immediately after his retirement as commerce secretary during the regime of the United Front, remarked that this was a wonderful opportunity bestowed on him.
In his last major public assignment in 2006, he headed the central government-appointed committee to study the problem of unauthorised constructions in the capital.
Many of the committee's recommendations have been incorporated in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.
Chairperson of leading pharma firm Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd since 1999, Khanna is the second person after Jagmohan to get a second stint as lieutenant governor of Delhi.
Replying to media queries after the ceremony, Khanna reiterated his faith on the Delhi Police and said: "I believe that all problems can be solved with better coordination and commitment."
The formal announcement of his appointment came April 5. He succeeds B.L. Joshi, who will take over as the governor of Meghalaya.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet ministers were among the many who attended the ceremony.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Critics from all quarters may have called for Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from cricket but Australian fast bowler Brett Lee came to the batsman's aid Monday saying that the cricketer should not bow to any pressure.
"A lot has been said about this but I think Sachin should not retire. He should play till the age of 50. On a more serious note, I think that this is something which only he can decide," he said.
"I can only say that I love watching him play and want him to continue as long as possible," said Lee, who was in the capital to inaugurate a watch showroom.
After India exited from the World Cup in the first round, former players, including Ian Chappell, had asked Tendulkar to call it a day.
Lee, who missed the World Cup after injuring his ankle, promised that he would be back in action in the next two months.
"It's very frustrating to sit out...I feel like jumping into the TV when I see the matches. But my rehabilitation is going very well. I have a minor operation this week, which will take care of whatever healing that is left," he said.
"Comeback should be very soon ... in a couple of months to be precise."
On Australia's chances in the World Cup, Lee said: "Aussies are playing some fantastic cricket in the World Cup and I am hoping that they continue to do so. But New Zealand are a potential threat as they have been in awesome form," he said.
Jaipur, April 9 (IANS) Once you make up your mind to live a life of dignity, nothing can stop you. A community of beggars in the tribal-dominated Dungarpur district here is proving this true.
For the Vadi community living in the Kuwadiyafala village of Dungarpur, around 500 km from here, begging was the main source of income for a very long time. But thanks to the employment guarantee scheme, they have realised the value of hard work and self-esteem.
Over 40 families are now working under various projects under the scheme. They comprise young men of 25 years to older women aged 65.
"We will never beg in our life again. We hope the government runs this project forever so that we can earn our bread throughout our lives. It will also help us to educate our children. All this could never have been possible through begging," said Lalchand Vadi, 40.
Zoriya Kachru Vadi, the 40-year-old leader of these families, says the standard of living of the people in her area has changed after getting work.
"Earlier we had to struggle to earn bread for our families but now people have even started thinking of educating their children. They feel more secure," claimed Zoriya Kachru Vadi.
People love to go out for work early in the morning and return in the evening. A few are even accompanied by their wives.
Nattu Lal Vadi, 30, has four children. He has admitted all of them to a nearby school. He feels that at least the kids should stay out of the family business of begging.
"We are earning on our own now and are not dependent on others," said a proud Nattu Lal Vadi.
"Initially, my entire family participated in the employment guarantee scheme. But now two of my sons are employed at another place and my daughter-in-law and I are engaged in the scheme programmes," said Dhuli, 65.
"I pray that the scheme continues like this," she added.
Srinagar, April 9 (IANS) The third Kashmir roundtable conference would be held within a month, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Monday.
The chief minister said he had recommended to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the third roundtable be held so that people holding different views and perceptions sit together and discuss peace possibilities.
"I am confident the third Kashmir roundtable conference would be held within a month," Azad said at a rally in Badgam district's Raithan village, 35 km from here.
He said that the key to permanent peace in the state lay in the hands of India and Pakistan.
"India-Pakistan peace talks are progressing satisfactorily. I am sure these would lead to the permanent peace in Jammu and Kashmir state, but it is my duty to ensure that the wheels of development keep moving."
The chief minister spelt out the developmental priorities of his government and said better road connectivity was on the top of his agenda.
He also spoke about National Conference president Omar Abdullah's demand for inclusion of Syed Salahuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander, in the dialogue process.
"Those are the views of Omar Abdullah and his party. I am not making that an issue," he said.
The prime minister had last year convened two roundtables on Kashmir, one in Srinagar and the other in Delhi.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Continuing their fine performance, India's Jitender Kumar (51 kg category), Narjit Singh (54 kg) and Vijender (81 kg) sailed into the finals of the 29th King's Cup boxing championships in Bangkok Monday.
Jitender defeated Kim Dae Sung of South Korea when the referee stopped the contest (RSC) in the third round. He now meets 2006 Asian Games silver medallist Somjit Jongjor of Thailand 'A' in the final, according to an Indian Amateur Boxing Federation press release.
Narjit defeated Dorimyambuu Otgondalia of Mongolia 30:12 points. He now clashes with Abutalipov Kanat of Kazakhstan in the finals.
Vijender defeated Kim Jae Ki of South Korea 19:14 points and meets the 2006 Asian Games gold medallist Rasulov Elshod of Uzbekistan in the finals.
Dinesh Kumar, however, lost to Abdurrahmanov Sherzod of Uzbekistan (RSC in the second round) in the 81 kg category.
Hyderabad, April 9 (IANS) Twelve legislators of the opposition Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) were Monday suspended from the Andhra Pradesh assembly for a day for stalling proceedings of the house.
They were demanding a debate on the fluorosis problem that has crippled thousands of people in Nalgonda district of the backward Telangana region.
When Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy turned down their demand, the TRS members rushed to his podium and shouted slogans against the government. They ignored the speaker's appeal to allow the house to go ahead with the listed agenda, prompting minister for legislative affairs K. Rosaiah to move a resolution for their suspension.
The TRS, which also raised the issue in legislative council, alleged that successive governments had failed to solve the acute fluorosis problem in Nalgonda district. Legislator Vijayrama Rao alleged that people with paralysing bone diseases, stooped backs, crooked hands and legs, deformed teeth, blindness and other handicaps were a common sight in the district.
The government claims to be taking all steps to overcome the problem. In 2004, it had announced Rs.6 billion for the affected areas.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also raised the issue of corruption in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme aimed at providing infrastructure for education in rural areas. The speaker, however, said they could raise the issue during the debate on the motion of thanks to the governor's address.
Two people have already been arrested in connection with misappropriation of Rs.100 million under the scheme. The TDP alleged that officials of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) were involved in the scam.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) An Air India flight from Dubai made an emergency landing at the Delhi international airport Monday afternoon, hours after another jet of the airlines from Bangkok made a similar landing following technical snags. All passengers were safe.
The Air India flight A-736 from Dubai made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 3.30 p.m. after the plane developed technical snags.
The plane had 65 people onboard.
"All passengers are safe," said a senior airport official.
Earlier in the day, an Air India Shanghai-Bangkok-Delhi flight A310 landed at the airport at around 6.28 a.m. after it developed a technical snag in the locking system of the front landing gear. All 191 passengers were reported safe.
The emergency landing left the main runway blocked and disrupted flights for over six hours.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Two Air India flights made emergency landings at Delhi international airport Monday after both developed technical snags while landing, leading to flight disruptions for several hours. Passengers of both planes were safe.
In the first case, a Shanghai-Bangkok-Delhi flight A310 made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) at around 6.28 a.m. after it developed a technical snag in the locking system of its front landing gear. The emergency landing left the main runway blocked, leading to flight disruptions for over six hours.
All 169 passengers disembarked safely, but as the plane was being towed away to a remote bay its front wheel collapsed leaving the aircraft's tail jutting out onto the runway near one end. As a result further flight operations were affected till 1.19 p.m.
In the second case, an Air India flight A-736 from Dubai made an emergency landing at 3.30 p.m. after it developed technical snags. All 65 passengers onboard were safe.
The pilot of the Boeing-767 Dubai-Delhi flight had informed the air traffic control here about a hydraulic problem in the craft.
The plane has been sent for repair.
At least 10 domestic flights were affected after the Bangkok flight's emergency landing. The runway is given to domestic flights after the international flights, which take place by early morning.
According to the AI officials, the passengers of the plane were to travel to Mumbai from Delhi. Of them, 134 were accommodated on an Indian Airlines flight and the remaining 57 given the option to board the Mumbai-bound flight along with the other passengers, without their baggage.
Their baggage would be delivered directly at the Mumbai airport, officials said.
Meanwhile, airport authorities are investigating both cases. The Air India plane from Bangkok has been towed to a safer place for repair.
Manila, April 9 (Xinhua) Two top leaders of terror groups, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Abu Sayyaf, escaped a raid launched by government forces in Sulu, 900 km south of Manila, a top Philippine military official said Monday.
Armed Forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the troopers of the US-trained 3rd Light Reaction Company and Military Intelligence Group-Western Mindanao acting on a specific intelligence input raided the hideout in Sulu Sunday.
JI bomber Omar Patek and Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon managed to flee but three Abu Sayyaf members were arrested and two M16 rifles seized from the hideout.
Patek, along with another JI bomber Dulmatin fled Indonesia to southern Philippines after they were linked to the Bali bombings in 2002 killing 202 people, most of them Western tourists.
Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) Two suspected Manipuri militants were arrested from West Bengal late Sunday night.
The arrests were made in a secret operation carried out by the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) with the help of Army Intelligence.
"Acting on a tip-off, we arrested two fighting cadres of PREPAK (Shanti Faction) - Captain Leishmba alias Rakesh Singh and Lieutenant R.K. Dhaneswar alias Changlamba - from the Regent Park area in central Kolkata," Rajiv Kumar, deputy inspector-general of CID told IANS.
Both these militants were said to be senior functionaries of the banned insurgent group of Manipur - PREPAK (Shanti Faction).
Kumar said the CID has also seized some CDs, a computer, a few documents and Chinese currency from their Regent Park hideout.
CID sources said it has also come to light that Captain Rakesh is a hardcore terrorist and had undergone training in Myanmar. The two had been living in Kolkata since 2003.
"The Army Intelligence Unit of Eastern Command (EC) was keeping a close watch on their activities for the past few days. Since the Army cannot arrest them we informed the state CID and jointly carried out the operation last night," Wing Commander R.K. Das, spokesperson of EC, told IANS.
Das said the state CID is looking into the matter to find out their real motive. They are also investigating whether or not the two were planning any terrorist activities in Kolkata.
The Manipur police have also been informed about the arrests and a team is coming to take the militants back to Manipur.
Baghdad, April 9 (NNN-KUNA) American army reinforcement will be completed in Iraq by May 2007, said spokesperson on the Multi-National Force, Maj-Gen William Caduel.
However, some US Army officials said earlier Sunday that the military reinforcement will be completed by June.
Total number of military divisions, deployed in Baghdad, has so far reached five, three of them operating, Maj-Gen Cadeul said at a news conference, held in this Iraqi capital.
Maj-Gen Cadeul said in a statement that the US troops would work along with the Iraqi forces, will work on enhancing capacities of the military positions and shoulder addition responsibilities in combat zones.
Regarding lawlessness prevailing in Dialah Province, Maj-Gen Cadeul said that some of the Multi-National Forces were being deployed there, indicating that the MNF would send additional troops to this region whenever the situation needed reinforcements.
Tehran, April 9 (NNN-IRNA) Head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation (ICRO) Mahmoud Mohammadi Araqi has said that the US strategy in the region is based on creating discord among Muslims.
Mohammadi Araqi made the remarks while addressing heads of Iran's political missions in East Asia and the Pacific here Sunday.
"Under present circumstances, Islamic unity is a principle for us," he said.
He called for making more efforts to materialise and reinforce national unity and Islamic solidarity throughout the globe.
Events that Iran was faced with during the past two months were aimed at imposing psychological pressures upon the country, the ICRO head added.
He called on Iran's political and cultural missions abroad to make use of the existing opportunities to help materialise Iran's objectives.
Iran is interested in expansion of activities in East Asia and the Pacific region, he said, lauding appropriate measures already taken in the region including setting up courses in Persian language and Iranology.
Washington, April 9 (DPA) The United States plans to file two complaints against China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over market access for cultural products and copyright protection, the Financial Times reported Monday.
A spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative's Office, Gretchen Hamel, declined to comment on the report. But US Trade Representative Susan Schwab planned a news conference in Washington at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) Monday, fuelling speculation of an announcement.
The cases are aimed at prying open China's market for foreign media such as CDs, books and software, and to boost protection of intellectual property rights, the Financial Times quoted unnamed sources as saying.
Under pressure from US lawmakers worried about job losses in the US, President George W. Bush's administration has taken a tougher trade approach toward China in recent weeks.
US moves included a WTO complaint accusing China of illegal export subsidies and duties on China's shipment of glossy paper to the US, a warning signal that other Chinese exports could also face levies in future.
The challenges have heightened trade tension between China and the US, the largest overseas market for Chinese goods. Americans' appetite for Chinese goods lifted the US trade deficit with China to a record $233 billion.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Whether in three months or two years, the US will have to pull out from Iraq, and when that happens civil war in the war-ravaged country will spill out in the open, says Aparisim 'Bobby' Ghosh, the India-born Baghdad bureau chief of Time magazine.
"Indeed, the US will have to pull out from Iraq," Ghosh, currently in India from perhaps the most hazardous of journalistic assignments, told IANS.
Asked what is the best way out of Iraq for the US, the senior international correspondent of Time said; "I don't know what is the best way out for the US. The political winds in the US are changing. I don't know when the pullout will happen... three months, six months, one year, two years down the line. But it will happen," he said.
He added that once the Americans move out of Iraq, "the civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites is going to come out in the open".
Ghosh said he wants to go back to Iraq, as there is a story in there. "But am still scared of that flight."
Talking about his hazardous assignment, Ghosh said: "You don't follow up one story at a time. You follow up at least five stories. You don't know which one you will manage to do. You don't know whether the contacts you have today will be alive tomorrow. Of the five stories you try to do, you might end up doing two. Or even one."
And any positive stories? After all, Ghosh had told CNN last year that there are little or no positive stories coming out from Iraq. Is the scenario the same today?
"Well, even if there are positive stories, they get overtaken by the negative ones. For example, in Baghdad, the situation has relatively calmed down after more US troops came in. That is a good story. But at the same time, the violence has gone up in other places. So that overshadows the situation in Baghdad."
When asked whether being an Indian put him at an advantage or disadvantage in Iraq, Ghosh said; "Iraqis are positively disposed towards Indians."
"Many of the older Iraqis, in the 40-45 age group, grew up watching Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh movies. They fondly recall these movies," the 39-year-old journalist said, adding that Indian consumer products like those of Dabur and Fair & Lovely cream are a hit with the Iraqis.
He said there were "quite a few" Indians in Iraq. Thousands, I would say, most of them working as contract labourers."
Asked how his family takes towards him taking a posting in Baghdad since 2002, Ghosh answered: "Well, my wife, who is based in Singapore, watches the TV channels whenever she hears of a suicide bomber attack or an explosion in Iraq. I, on my part, call her up whenever I hear an explosion or am told that an incident has happened, to assure her that everything is okay."
Ghosh's much-acclaimed cover story "Life in Hell: a Baghdad diary" in August 2006 has put him in line for a National Magazine award, the magazine equivalent of the Pulitzers in newspaper journalism in the US. The story has been shortlisted under the General Excellence category.
He is also a recipient of Time's four Luce awards in recognition of his stories on the siege of Jenin in the West bank, the 2003 Madrid bombings and two other stories from Iraq.
Jammu, April 9 (IANS) The Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir is attracting a high of 40,000 pilgrims per day and the authorities hope their would surpass last year's peak season record.
According to Arun Kumar, CEO Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the daily number of visitors to the shrine varies between 38,000 to 44,000 in the peak season. The figure is expected to go up in the coming years.
He hoped Monday the number of pilgrims this year would exceed last year's record of seven million.
The shrine, situated at a height of 5,200 ft, nestles in Trikuta hills in the Himalayan foothills and is about 60 km north of Jammu.
The shrine board is making efforts to tackle the rush of pilgrims and devise a mechanism to cut down the waiting period, he said.
"The shrine board has already started Internet bookings and registration of pilgrims at designated outlets to ensure hassle-free pilgrimage," Kumar said.
He said adequate infrastructure had been created en-route the 13-km track to meet the growing pilgrim rush. "We are in touch with the Border Roads Organisation to have the Rs.200 million double laning Domail-Katra road project completed by March 2008," Kumar said.
Caracas, April 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Venezuela has asserted that the world needs regulations in gas production and stressed that it is in favour of the creation of an Organization of Gas Exporting Countries along the lines of the petroleum exporting cartel, OPEC.
Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Oil Rafael Ramirez said Sunday that the creation of a South American gas organization had been supported by countries of the region.
Remirez was also confident that the five countries with the world's largest gas reserve would join the proposed Organization of Gas Exporting Countries in Qatar.
The minister said that the organization could be formed initially by Venezuela, Algeria, Qatar, Iran, and Russia, which jointly have 70 per cent of the world's natural gas reserves, according to the International Energy Agency.
In an interview with the daily, Panorama, Remirez said Venezuela supported the proposal of creating an Organization of Gas Exporting Countries because it is a non-renewable natural resource and can be exhausted if it is extracted indiscriminately.
He added that gas production needed to be regulated in order to defend its prices in the international market.
Ramirez recalled that Venezuela, Argentina, and Bolivia had already signed an agreement for the creation of a South American gas organization, which Peru and Trinidad and Tobago are also expected to join.
Ha Noi, April 9 (NNN-VNA) -- National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife are on an eight-day official visit to China beginning Sunday at the invitation of Chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee Wu Bangguo.
This is Trong's first official visit to a foreign country as chief of the legislative body.
Following a visit to China in August 2006 by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and a Viet Nam visit by Chinese Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao last November, NA Chairman Trong's visit is expected to contribute to intensifying and developing the bilateral friendship and comprehensive cooperation.
The visit is also seen as an opportunity for the two legislatures to share experiences in law making and supervision activities.
In recent years, Viet Nam-China relations have been constantly promoted in all spheres based on the motto of "friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and looking towards the future" and in the spirit of "good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners" as agreed upon by senior leaders of the two nations.
The two sides have exchanged more than 100 visits at central and local levels each year.
Along their fine political relationship, Viet Nam and China have also worked hard to boost bilateral ties in economics, trade, investment, tourism, culture and education. China has become Viet Nam's leading trade partner.
Two-way trade value reached nearly 10 billion USD last year. The two sides also agreed to raise bilateral trade turnover to 15 billion USD in 2010.
Viet Nam has since 2001 seen trade deficit in import-export balance with China with a remarkable growth. To reduce Viet Nam's trade deficit, the two countries have discussed a number of measures, including facilitating Vietnamese goods' entry into the Chinese market and increasing Chinese investment in Viet Nam.
China currently ranks 15th among 74 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam with 377 projects worth 795.5 million USD.
The two countries have so far signed 49 agreements and 25 cooperation documents at State-level, laying a legal foundation for their long-term cooperative ties.
They also opened many air, sea, road and railway routes to facilitate the flow of commodities and passengers.
Viet Nam and China have also made great efforts and reached important agreements on border issues. The two sides have actively implemented the demarcation and planting of landmarks along their common border, striving to complete the work by the end of 2008 and sign new documents on the management of border lines.
The two countries have seen positive steps in the implementation of the Tonkin Gulf Delimitation Agreement and the Tonkin Gulf Fishing Cooperation Agreement, which both became effective on June 30, 2004.
Phnom Penh, April 9 (NNN-VNA) Viet Nam and Cambodia have agreed to start the planting of landmarks on their common border line in May with 100 landmarks to be planted by the end of the year.
The agreement was reached at a chairman-level meeting of the Viet Nam-Cambodia Joint Committee for Land Border Demarcation and Landmark Planting held here on April 4-7.
The Vietnamese side was represented by the committee's chairman Vu Dung, Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the Border Department, and the Cambodian side was led by chairman Var Kimhong, Senior Minister in charge of border affairs.
The two sides also agreed to discuss with Laos on the landmark planting of the T-junction border line of the three countries.
With their unanimity, the two sides confirmed to complete the border demarcation and landmark plantation before the end of 2008.
Ha Noi, April 9 (NNN-VNA) Thousands of Hanoians, mainly young, flocked to the first Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Matsuri) held in the city on Sunday.
With the support from the associations for cultural exchange of Viet Nam and Japan, three real cherry trees and hundreds of cherry branches made from silk were sent from Japan for the festival.
A Yosakoi procession paraded with the Omikoshi palanquin, which is used for worship festivals of Japan, along several streets, drawing great crowds.
Visitors were also regaled with dancing art, tea ceremony, origami (paper folding art) and gastronomy of Japan.
On the occasion, the Dong publishing house organised a cultural exchange programme with a performance of kamishibai (art of storytelling through pictures), an exhibition of the Doremon series, the first Japanese comic introduced to Vietnamese young readers, and screening of animated cartoons. The publishing house also presented 500 comic books to young readers.
The same day in Ho Chi Minh City, the Japanese General Consulate opened a photo exhibition on Japan's architecture, the first of its kind in Viet Nam.
The exhibition introduced architectural works in Japan's southern Kumamoto province built under the Kumamoto Artpolis project. The project, started in 1988, has resulted in a series of architecture masterpieces combining historical and natural characters such as parks, bridges and museums.
The exhibition will last until April 22.
New York, April 9 (IANS) Taking vitamin supplements may no longer be a mantra to stay fit. New research suggests that certain vitamins can have adverse effects on human lifespan.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen reviewed more than 815 clinical trials into the benefits of commonly used vitamin supplements, including vitamins A, E and C besides beta-carotene and selenium.
They found that vitamin supplements appeared to raise, not lower, the risk of early death, reported online edition of BBC News.
Millions worldwide use antioxidant supplements, including vitamins A and E, believing it improves health. Nutritionists suggest a balanced diet instead.
Food contains a complex matrix of different components, which could not be replicated by supplements, British Dietetic Association nutritionist Frankie Phillips said.
"Our advice is to eat a wide range of foods in a balanced diet that can provide all of the nutrients the body needs to protect itself and combat diseases."
St. John's (Antigua), April 9 (IANS) England captain Michael Vaughan admitted that his team failed to take the chances that came their way resulting in the seven-wicket loss to Australia in a Super Eight match of the World Cup here Sunday.
"Kevin Pietersen's 100 was a fantastic knock, but the rest of us didn't play well enough around him for us to get to the 280 we needed. We're certainly making it difficult for ourselves - we need to win our last three games now to get into the semis," said Vaughan, after the defeat at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here.
Australia cruised to 248 for three after England had been dismissed for 247.
Vaughan himself was dismissed for just five and England's batsmen failed to build on a third-wicket partnership of 140 between Pietersen (104) and Ian Bell (77).
"There aren't that many of us playing that well at the moment. Personally I'll keep fighting, and hopefully I'll get some runs against Bangladesh on Wednesday," Vaughan was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"Around the 30th over we were 160 for two, and at that stage we looked like we could post 280 or 290. That would have been a really competitive total on this pitch.
"We were squeezing them quite effectively around the 20th over of their innings, and that was the area of the game where we could have won. But Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke played great innings - all credit to them," he said.
The England captain went on to add: "We're a squeezing attack, and we usually get opportunities to get wickets at the top when the ball swings, but it didn't happen for us today."
Vaughan played down an incident when Kevin Pietersen caught Andrew Symonds on the boundary edge in the 42nd over, and took five paces before throwing the ball away as he stumbled over the rope.
England queried the decision to declare Symonds not out, but Vaughan said: "Being honest, it wasn't an option to give him out. We were clutching at straws at that stage."
England must now regroup quickly for a game against Bangladesh after suffering back-to-back defeats by Sri Lanka and Australia.
"It's very frustrating. We got to bed the other night, thinking we should have won that game and we know we were in a great position to put Australia under more pressure today.
"We are very, very close to being a really good one-day team. We are just not winning critical periods and doing enough during the whole match," Vaughan added.
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, April 9 (IANS) Bangalore has become Bengaluru, Pondicherry is now Puducherry. Bombay, Calcutta and Madras have all done it with a change in names. But a couple of villages in Punjab are unable to get new names.
Call it a new low of centre-state relations or just the red tape that still binds this country. Kuttianwali and Jhotianwali, two villages in Punjab's Muktsar district, are unable to get their names changed in revenue records despite the stigma attached with them.
The problem with the names of these villages, and many more across Punjab with names that do not sound decent in Punjabi lingo, is that "Kuttianwali" would mean a 'village of bitches' in Punjabi and Hindi.
Similarly, "Jhotianwali", meaning a village of oxen, and not referred to decently in Punjabi, is another problem name.
That the villages fall in the assembly constituency of four-time chief minister and present incumbent Parkash Singh Badal and yet are unable to do much to get their names changed shows how cumbersome official procedures are to get simple names changed in revenue records.
"The residents of these two villages in my constituency came to me and asked me to get the names of these villages changed as they had to face embarrassment whenever they sought matrimonial alliance for their children or had to mention the name of the villages," Badal said recently.
The chief minister, thinking that it was a small a problem to be solved, asked the state's revenue secretary to do the needful.
However, Badal was told that changing the names of these villages was not easy as it was not under the jurisdiction of the state government.
"I was told that only the central government had the power to change the name. There should be more autonomy to states to at least take care of such issues," Badal said.
For the moment though, both these villages will have to stay put with the 'embarrassing' names till the central government actually intervenes.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Election Commission has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to explain by Wednesday why it should not be de-recognized as a national party and its election symbol lotus frozen on charges of producing a communally inflammatory compact disc.
The missive follows an all-party meeting held at the poll panel's office Monday where most parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Jan Morcha and the Left, demanded that BJP be de-recognized and its election symbol frozen.
Representing the BJP at the meeting were its vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, general secretary Arun Jaitely and spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Initially, they sought more time to reply to the charges. But when other parties pressed for an early decision by the Election Commission, the BJP leaders questioned the objectivity of the three-member panel.
They argued that since they had gone to court against the appointment of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, he should not sit in any hearing against the BJP.
BJP president Rajnath Singh went to Lucknow Monday to offer himself for arrest as part of nationwide protests against the Election Commission's move to proceed against the party. But the authorities refused to arrest him, saying no case had been registered against him so far.
The Election Commission wants a complaint registered against senior BJP leaders for releasing the CD at a press conference in Lucknow April 4.
The BJP is denying any role in the production of the said CD. It was released last week by Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Lalji Tandon in Lucknow who has since said that he was not aware of its contents.
The BJP says it "has not produced, prepared, displayed or distributed the impugned CD. The CD does not form a part of official campaign material of BJP; the CD has not been seen or approved by the leadership of the BJP; the party cannot be held responsible for an unauthorised act of an individual".
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Aluminium maker NALCO has moved the Supreme Court, challenging an Orissa High Court order to absorb as its employees the staff of primary schools set up by it in collaboration with three trusts.
The case pertains to primary schools in Orissa's Anugul and Damajodi that were set up by the government-owned company in collaboration with the Central Chinmoy Mission Trust (CCMT), Mumbai; Saraswati Vidya Mandir (SVM); and Sikhya Vikas Samiti (SVS).
The teaching and non-teaching staff at these schools is demanding that they be labelled as employees of NALCO that will entitle them to the benefits of working for a government undertaking.
But NALCO counsel Ashok Kumar Gupta said in the petition that the staff of the schools was recruited by the trusts and not by the company.
He said if the order of the Orissa High Court was implemented it would have wider repercussions for all public sector organisations by forcing them to take over all the schools run with their financial aid.
He said even the Delhi Public Schools established by NALCO at Anugul and Damanjodi in collaboration with the DPS Society would have to be taken over by the company.
The teaching and non-teaching staff at all these schools is about 6,500 and would be a financial burden on the company, Gupta said in the petition.
About 107 teaching and non-teaching staff of SVM at Anugul and Damanjodi had filed petitions in the high court seeking directions to NALCO to absorb them as its employees since the schools were established by the company and also run with financial aid from a committee headed by its general manager.
While pronouncing its judgement on Dec 21, 2006, a division bench of Justice B.P. Das and Justice A.K. Samantarya of the high court said, "It is crystal clear that the ownership and overall management of the schools are retained by NALCO while the CCMT, SVM and SVS, as the case may be, have taken up the responsibility of running the schools at different points of time because they have expertise and experience in the field of teaching.
"From the voluminous documents as referred to above, there can be no second opinion in regard to the fact that the schools were established by NALCO, funded by the NALCO authorities and it has deep and pervasive control over the schools."
But NALCO said in its petition to the apex court, "The high court of Orissa has mainly gone on sentiments by presuming a state of high and dry rather than any law under which the employees of SVM (schools) need to be regularised as employees of NALCO."
SVM is the first respondent in the case.
The company has a factory site in Anugul and a mining site in Damanjodi and had set up the schools to facilitate better education for the children of its employees.
In 1985, the company entered into two separate agreements for the setting up of Chinmaya Vidyalayas with the CCMT. It also signed agreements with SVM and SVS for the establishment of primary schools.
Brussels, April 9, (IRNA) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned Monday the "cynical and sickening brutality" of Taliban extremists who murdered a local journalist and interpreter.
The murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi, said the IFJ in a statement, confirms that Afghanistan is fast-becoming a "no-go" area for news media. Naqshbandi was kidnapped with Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo and their driver Sayed Agha on March 6.
The driver was beheaded by his captors and a deal was struck involving Italian and Afghan authorities that secured the release of Mastrogiacomo who works for the Italian daily La Repubblica.
But when the Kabul government refused to meet new demands to free Naqshbandi, he was killed. His death was announced on Sunday.
"The inhumanity and unspeakable brutality of this group cannot be overstated," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
"If deals are done which free foreigners, while locals are butchered it puts a price on the head of any media person from abroad working in Afghanistan.
"The cynical and sickening brutality of the killing of Sayed Agha and now Ajmal Naqshbandi emphasise more than ever our message that Afghanistan is becoming a no-go area for media staff and particularly for foreign news teams," he said.
The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries worldwide.
By Xu Bo
Beijing, April 9 (Xinhua) Just two days after Robert Greifeld, CEO Nasdaq, announced the introduction of a China equities index in Beijing, Noreen Culhane, NYSE executive vice-president, also arrived in the Chinese capital hunting for potential listings.
"Global stock exchanges are stepping up efforts to recruit Chinese companies," said Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist with Galaxy Securities.
"To survive and make profits stock exchanges have to list more companies," said Xiaolei.
Greifeld visited China late in 2005 soon after becoming Nasdaq president. Nine Chinese companies listed on Nasdaq in 2006 and six more have listed in the past three months.
"China is our fastest-growing market outside the United States. We are optimistic about the number of Chinese companies that can list on Nasdaq," said Xu Guangxun, Nasdaq's chief representative in China.
Eighty-one Chinese firms raised $20.5 billion from overseas initial public offerings (IPO) in 2005.
In 2006, 86 Chinese firms raised $44 billion from overseas IPOs and accounted for 19 percent of the 2006 world total.
These statistics explain why New York, Nasdaq, Toronto, London, Singapore, Tokyo and other giant stock exchanges are flocking into China.
"Chinese firms have become a new power in the world capital markets," said Yuan Gangming, a well-known economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"China must speed up the development of its domestic capital markets," he said.
Gangming's warning echoed a report released by the Research Center for China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
Too many high-grade Chinese enterprises listing overseas will slow the development of the domestic capital market and prevent Chinese people from benefiting from the companies' growth.
Meanwhile, listing overseas could be risky because it will expose companies to the risk of a takeover, the report said.
The CSRC is encouraging big state-owned enterprises to list domestically or in both overseas and domestic markets. It has called on Chinese companies that have listed overseas to come back and issue shares on the mainland.
China Mobile and Bank of Communication have filed "return" applications and PetroChina is also making preparations.
In 2006, as the Chinese stock market swung out of a four-year bearish ordeal, 65 companies listed, raising some $17.1 billion.
"China's stock markets have done well recently," said a senior official with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, "although there are certain problems."
For instance, China has almost 20 million enterprises and about 10,000 of them qualify for listing. However, complicated and time-consuming red tape has kept most of them outside the stock market.
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Nearly 30,000 youths from across the country will participate in a five-day National Youth Rally in May to commemorate the 150th year of India's first war of independence in 1857.
The rally, which will be held May 7-11, symbolises the march of the sepoys of Bengal Native Infantry which revolted against British imperialism in May 1857. Starting from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, the rally will culminate in Delhi after covering around 80 km.
The event is being organised by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and participants will halt at Modi Nagar, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Delhi.
Various programmes will be organised in all these places with special events at Meerut and Red Fort in Delhi.
A series of village-level programmes like meetings, competitions, film shows, exhibitions and plays will also be held by youth organisations across the country to mark the occasion.
A large number of intellectuals, writers and historians will also be part of the celebrations.