Home   Contact Us                                                          Dateline New Delhi, Wednesday, February 12, 2003

          BALASORE: Anti-ship cruise missile Brahmos was on Wednesday successfully flight-tested from INS Rajput in the Bay of Bengal off Orissa coast. Jointly developed by India and Russia, the cruise missile has a range of about 290 km with 200 to 300 kg payload or conventioal warhead mass, defence sources said. Brahmos can be fired from multiple platforms - ship, land, submarine and air, the sources said. It can fly up to a height of 14 km at twice the speed of sound. It can also change the missile's course to strike up to 20 km from the targeted range, the sources added. Brahmos (acronym for Brahmaputra and Moscow) was first test-fired on June 12, 2001 at Chandipur and it was for the first time that the missile was test-fired from a ship, the sources said.

Sena Activists Burn Valentine Cards (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena activists took to the streets in the Capital on Wednesday and burnt Valentine's Day greeting cards to give vent to their anger. "It is only for the past four-five years that these people are trying to mislead our youngsters. Vulgar cards are being given to our sisters on this day. We oppose it and warn them of dire consequences," said Jai Bhagwan Goel, president of the Delhi wing of Shiv Sena.

           Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has condemned Valentine's Day as a "cultural corruption" from the West. The party is a partner in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP-led coalition. For the past few years, the growing popularity of Valentine's Day has sparked national protests, some of which have erupted into violence.

           But despite the opposition, retailers have been selling an increasing number of love souvenirs ranging from red balloons and velvet pillows tailor-made for the occasion. Not to be left behind, flower sellers are stacking up their shops with red roses, to be sold at exorbitant rates on the D-day - February 14.

VHP Ultimatum to Centre (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Wednesday gave an ultimatum to the Central Government to hand over the "undisputed land" at the site of the razed Babri mosque by February 23. The VHP had on Tuesday laid claim to the land in Ayodhya, including the disputed land where the Babri Mosque stood until Hindu zealots demolished it in 1992.

           "If the undisputed land is not handed over to us, before the Dharam Sansad (relgious congregation) is convened, then we will lay claim to the disputed land as well, we have cleared our stance," senior VHP leader Giriraj Kishore told reporters here. The VHP has also threatened to launch a mass campaign if its demands were not met.

           The Hindus want to build a temple on the disputed site that some believe is the birthplace of Lord Ram. The site was acquired under Supreme Court orders by the Central Government after the mosque demolition triggered nation-wide riots, klling at least 3,000 people.

           The Government has since then been consistently trying to broker peace with the VHP. On Wednesday it reiterated its earlier offer to appeal to the apex court to relax restrictions on the undisputed land. "The question right now is only about the undisputed land and the Government in this regard has made an initiative. We are appealing to the Supreme Court that the ban on the undisputed land should be removed. And as far as the disputed land is concerned, the Government will act only according to the court order," human resource development minister Murali Manohar Joshi told reporters hours before the VHP came out with its ultimatum.

           The Government had recently petitioned the apex court for an early disposal of the case and sought relaxation to allow VHP to start building the temple on the undisputed land, also acquired by the court until disposal of the land title deed case. A similar appeal last year to allow Hindus even symbolic prayers at the undisputed land was rejected by the court.

Eid Celebrated With Prayers, Social Greetings (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Amid high security, thousands of Muslim devotees attended special Eid prayers in New Delhi on Wednesday as the festival signifying the feast of sacrifice was celebrated across the world. Eid-ul-Zuha, also known as Bakr-e-Eid, is celebrated to mark the end of pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The devotees assembled at Jama Masjid in old Delhi to offer 'namaz' or prayers. As is customary, Muslims embraced each other and exchanged greetings after the prayers.

          In Jammu and Kashmir, Muslims gathered at the main mosque in Srinagar. The prayers were conducted by Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, a separatist leader. He warned that unless India and Pakistan hold talks, there won't be permanent peace in Kashmir.

No Takers for 'Allah' Goat in Gwalior (Go To Top)

          GWALIOR: The star attraction of Id-ul-Zuha, or Bakr-Id, was a so-called holy goat which had 'Allah' inscribed on its back. Hundreds of Muslims gathered at the local goat mandi (market) to watch this goat, which they say has been sent by Allah. The inscription is in Urdu. And, interestingly the owner of the goat is a Hindu. The one-year-eight-month old wonder goat could not be sold in the market for the second consecutive year. The highest bid made was Rs 60,000 whereas the owner demanded a whopping Rs 1,80,000.

           The highest price a goat has been sold for in the goat mandi till date is Rs 11,000. President of the goat mandi Kalla Pehalwan said, "That goat is invaluable. We made a Rs 60,000 bid, but they (owners) are demanding Rs 1,80,000. It is priceless because it has got Allah inscribed on it. It could not be sold this year too and its owners took it back." Goat-sellers generally make good business around the time of Id-ul-Zuha, but this year the business has not been as good as it was in the past. The disappointed owners of this strange goat have now decided to go to Mumbai with hopes of getting the right price.

Osama Tape Tells Iraqis To Kill Americans (Go To Top)

          NICOSIA: A tape purported to carry the voice of Osama bin Laden has urged Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and defend themselves against a US attack, a foreign news agency reports from Amman. The tape was broadcast on an Arab satellite station on the first day of Eid-ul-Azha urging Iraqis to dig trenches and engage in urban warfare to fend off US troops. The News quoted the speaker as saying: "We stress the importance of martyrdom operations against the enemy, these attacks that have spited Americans and Israelis like never before."

           Yasser Thabet, a broadcast editor at al-Jazeera, said the voice on the tape sounded like bin Laden's and they assumed it was authentic because they got it through the same means as previous bin Laden statements. He did not elaborate. Bin Laden said the United States was waging a psychological war against Iraq and warned Iraqis to expect massive bombardment. "Don't worry about the American lies and their smart bombs and laser ones, they look for only the clear obvious targets," he said in the tape. He urged the Iraqis to stay strong in case of a strike against them from the United States.

Justice Anand Appointed NHRC Chief (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Justice AS Anand, former Chief Justice of India, has been appointed chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), official sources said on Wednesday. The decision was taken recently at a high-level meeting presided over by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. President APJ Abdul Kalam cleared his appointment on Tuesday, the sources said.

Work on New Kalpakkam Nuclear Reactor to Start in April (Go To Top)

          CHENNAI: In a major boost to the Indian nuclear programme, scientists on Wednesday announced that the work on the country's first commercially viable Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) would start in April. The Rs 340 million project will mark the beginning of India's second phase of nuclear development, where plutonium would be generated using breeder reactors.

           The FBR will be used for power generation and the entire set-up is being developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR). The move came after the indigenously-built FBTR (Fast Breeder Test Reactor) recently achieved a milestone by reaching a 'fuel burn-up' of 1,00,000 megawatts per tonne. The FBTR has been able to produce more energy out of a gram of fuel (uranium carbide), than was ever expected by scientists.

           "This is the first time that such high complex technology has been developed within this country, mainly at the IGCAR. We are going to start the construction by, say, April this year. The estimated cost of this project is about 280 million rupees but the overnight cost i.e cost at completion will be something like Rs 340 million," IGCAR director SB Bhoje told reporters in Kalpakam town, where the reactor will be developed.

           The Central Government would contribute 80 per cent of the project cost and the rest would be raised through issue of bonds. With the test-run being highly-successful, scientists are confident of the technical and commercial viability of the FBR. The expected unit energy cost from the FBR would work out to Rs 3.20, as against six rupees per unit for coal and gas. Bhoje said that the FBR will not only reduce costs but provide the much needed energy security. "The fast breeder reactor contributes a very large energy resource and we can depend on this source. It will provide energy security to the country during this century. This is a very important part of it. Secondly, it gives energy diversity. We should not depend on only one source like say oil or gas. It gives price stability over a long terminal and is also very economic and cost competitive as compared to the other sources like oil or gas," Bhoje said.

           In the second stage, India is focussing on breeder technology and aims to build at least five more breeder reactors, apart from the one at Kalpakkam. These reactors start with uranium as fuel but generate much larger quantities of plutonium and then use the plutonium to produce energy. In simple terms they 'breed' their own fuel. The technology is particularly important in India, where uranium resources are scarce. Currently 14 nuclear power reactors, commissioned under the first phase, are operating across the country, accounting for around 3.3 per cent of India's total energy generation.

India, France Begin Joint Air Manoeuvring (Go To Top)

          GWALIOR: India and France began joint air force exercises on Wednesday in Gwalior in a sign of growing defence ties between the two countries. This is the first time that an exercise involving fighter aircraft from friendly foreign air forces is taking place in the country. Code named 'Garuda', the five-day exercise aims to enhance understanding of fighter aircraft between the two countries. Pilots on both sides described the exercises as a mutually enriching experience.

           "It's an exchange visit for them. Both are learning from each other's experience in aviation tactical maintenance learning. How pilots do tactics in air, all that. So we are learning from each other and taking advantage of each other's plus point," said V Samyal, an Indian Air Force pilot.

           "We are training air force on this side. We are developing different tactics, maybe from different points of view, different ideas and once these different ideas and tactics are meeting you discover something that you don't even think before," a French pilot said. Officials said the exercises would set the tone for future cooperation. "It's too early today, I think we first have to draw the results of this first exercise which I tell you so far goes very well. So let this exercise go to the end and we envisage some tempo. I insist again, I would like this to continue," Chief of Air Staff of French Air Force D'Armee Aerienne Richard Wolsztynski told reporters.

           "With the French Air Force this (exercises) is the first of its kind. But we have been having cooperation with the French air force. We have had exchanges of officers, theirs coming here and we had a very fine mutual exchange which resulted in a very good understanding of each other. After this exercise is over we have to decide how beneficial it is for us," A Bhavnani, senior Indian Air Staff officer, said. France is India's major defence ally and has lent its Mirage series of fighter aircraft to New Delhi.

`Tale of Jude' Might Hold Up Oscar for Kidman (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Oscar nominee Nicole Kidman fears that rumours about her link-up with married Jude Law could endanger her chances of picking up her first Oscar. The Aussie star was nominated for the Best Actress Award for her role in 'The Hours', according to a report in the Sun. However, Nicole and father-of-three Jude have denied they are having an affair in the wake of the collapse of his five-year marriage to Dracula star Sadie Frost.

           "There's always so much emotion and politics involved in voting for Oscar winners. Nicole fears she has been made to look like a man-eater and a home wrecker. We are not sure how well that will go down with the mostly older voters in the Academy, even though she strongly denies the allegations", a source close to Nicole was qoted by the Sun as saying. "She will need to lobby very hard in the coming weeks", the source added. Speaking at her London hotel an hour after the nominations were announced in LA, Nicole said of the affair rumours, "I hope it's not overshadowed by that".

           Off-screen behaviour can influence the Academy's voting. Nicole's friend Russell Crowe lost out on a Best Actor Award last year following his bust-up at the Baftas. He had been short-listed for his role in 'A Beautiful Mind', the report added.

           A report from Sydney said Kidman attributes her success to her choice of varied and challenging roles, along with dedication to work. Money was never the driving force, according to her. The 35-year-old Kidman has already scored a Golden Globe for her portrayal of tormented writer Virginia Wolf in 'The Hours'.

          "I suppose the thing that I love to do is play a whole range of women. I've never made choices based on money. I make them on how I feel about a project and about a director," she was quoted as saying by ABC Radio on Wednesday. "To go from something like Moulin Rouge to the Others and then to the Hours, they're so distinct in the types of characters, they are all so different. That is the very exciting thing about being an actor for me - just the chance to do so many different things." But the actress said she was by no means blase about the attention she had received.

 -ANI

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