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Vajpayee visits Santiniketan

          Shantiniketan (West Bengal): Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Santiniketan today, where he was briefed about the investigations into the robbery of poet Rabindranth Tagore's Nobel medal and other memorabilia. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhatarcharya and other dignitaries received Vajpayee, who arrived here by an airforce helicopter. He was then taken in a convoy of cars to the Vishwa Bharati University of which he is a Chancellor. Talking to reporters after his briefing, an anguished Vajpayee said that the university authorities had erred in not providing adequate security for a national treasure. Describing it as no ordinary theft, he said that the stealing of Tagore's Nobel medal and other items was a matter of shame for the country, and that every effort should be made to nab those involved in the robbery. He said that he had been told that the investigation into the theft was progressing with the help of the CBI. This was Vajpayee's second visit to Santiniketan after taking over as its Chancellor in January 2001. Vajpayee also visited the Rabindra Bhavan museum, the scene of the crime.

First Tibetan film to be released this month (Go To Top)

          Dharamshala: The first ever movie of the Tibetans- in-exile will be released by the middle of this month. According to the film's director Pema Dhondup, the flick titled "We Are No Monks", carries a grim message for China: "Negotiate or Tibet could flare up." The movie depicts the story of four friends living in Mcloed Ganj, the headquarters of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in Dharamshala. One of them chooses the path of terrorism, which goes against the non-violent teachings of the Dalai Lama. The story of the film is caught between the expectations of a traditional society and the realities of the present day. "The basic objective of this film for me is to convey to the West that in future, chances are there that Tibetans might take to violence as a means of freedom struggle. If it happens, then it will be a sad thing for the community. So in order to prevent this, if necessary, let us take some measures to solve the issue," Dhondup said.

         Chinese troops imposed Communist rule on Tibet in 1950. The Dalai Lama fled nine years later after a failed uprising. Around 130,000 Tibetans live in India, and 4,000 of them are residing in New Delhi. China claims Tibet as part of its territory and accuses the Dalai Lama of separatist activities. The Dalai Lama's envoys have visited China recently as part of a contact-building process that began in 2002. Analysts say the re-establishment of contacts between China and the Dalai Lama's representatives reflects a slight softening in Beijing's position as it tests the waters for some kind of political solution. The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, reiterated he was not seeking independence for Tibet, but greater autonomy for the region.

Enrique Iglesias to wow Mumbai, Bangalore fans (Go To Top)

          Bangalore: Music lovers are thronging music shops here to buy CDs and audio tapes of Latin-American singing sensation Enrique Iglesias, who will be giving his first-ever live performance in India on April 11 and 13 in Mumbai and Bangalore, respectively. Iglesias's concerts in Mumbai and Bangalore are part of his seven-nation tour that will also take him to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The tour is meant to promote his latest album Seven, released in India by Universal Music. The album features the popular number "Addicted", which comes in four versions. "We are very lucky to be here in Bangalore DNA networks has brought in so many stars and we have enjoyed so many concerts. Now, Enrique Iglesias is coming to Bangalore, so we are really looking forward to it," said Fabius, a fan. "The unique feature of the concert is theatrical. His performance is going to be very theatrical, flying with 22,000 kilos of equipments. Young audience is going to enjoy it immensely," said T. Venkat Vardhan of DNA Networks, the organiser. Enrique is known for some of his award winning hit songs like "Escape", "Hero", "Bailamos", "Be With You" and "Rhythm Divine".

Polling ends in Sri Lanka, 75 pc turnout (Go To Top)

          Colombo: Polling in Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections ended on Friday evening with an estimated 75 percent voter turnout. International news agency reports said that most of the island- nation's 12.89 million electorate exercised their franchise in spite of fears of violence.

          Sri Lanka has been in crisis since a bitter dispute erupted between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. Neither of the two main parties- Kumaratunga's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPF) or Wickremesinghe's United National Alliance (UNP) are expected to win a majority in these snap polls that has been called four years in advance. Polling stations have now closed and early results are expected soon after midnight local time. "Polling so far has been very peaceful. People seem very keen to exercise their franchise," an official was quoted, as saying, adding that over half of the registered voters had cast their ballots by noon local time. Wickramesinghe voted early at a polling station in central Colombo and was upbeat about victory.

          About 10,400 polling booths were open across the country. The voters are to elect 225 members of Parliament from a record 6,024 candidates representing 24 political parties and nearly 200 other groups. Queues formed outside polling stations even before they opened, officials said. Heavy security was in place for the vote with soldiers fanning out across the island nation. For the first time there were election monitors at every polling station in the country. Turnout in north of the island was reported to be particularly heavy as the Tamils there took the opportunity to vote for the first time in a decade. Thousands were allowed to travel along the infamous A9 - dubbed the Highway of Death because of the heavy fighting it has seen - to vote in heavily guarded polling stations.

         Although there were few reports of violence, Tamil parties opposing the Tamil National Alliance accused the Tigers of intimidation and malpractice. Last month, the LTTE's Eastern Commander, Colonel Karuna, broke away from the main faction, saying he wanted to form his own administration in the east to prevent discrimination by northern Tamils. The east is in turmoil as a result of the division. If there is a hung parliament the Tamil National Alliance, backed by the Tamil Tigers, may hold the balance of power.

Nepal's Maoists abduct 1000 people (Go To Top)

          Kathmandu: Maoist rebels in western Nepal have reportedly abducted over 1,000 people from the country's southern Bajura district. Delayed media reports reaching the Nepalese Capital said that the rebels had abducted teachers, students, employees and the local villagers, aged 18 to 45. According to a report in the Kathmandu Post over 500 people have been abducted from the Kailashmandu area alone. Another 150 have been kidnapped from the Kuldevmandu area. This is the largest mass abduction in the country since the insurgency began in 1996. The Maoists have been struggling to establish a communist style republic in the Himalayan Kingdom since then. In the process, over 9,000 people have been killed.

Public pressure may see Pak screening Indian films soon (Go To Top)

          Lahore: Though Pakistan's Ministry of Culture is not considering a proposal to screen Indian films in local cinemas, pressure from the public may force it change its stance. Disclosing this, the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Raees Munir Ahmed told the Daily Times that "We will adopt a policy keeping in view the mutual interests of both countries and the aspirations of our people." "People have been talking about opening the (Indian) Star television channel because the government has opened business with the neighboring country. They are asking us to run Indian films. It is the public whose opinion will ultimately prevail," Ahmed added.

Michael Grade appointed new BBC chairman (Go To Top)

         London: Former BBC One and Channel 4 boss Michael Grade has been appointed as the new chairman of the BBC. The former BBC executive takes on a role vacated by Gavyn Davies, who resigned in the wake of criticism in the Hutton Report in January. Grade, 61, has immense media experience, having headed Channel 4, and was among the favorites to get the job despite his maverick reputation. He will now take the lead role in appointing a new director general.

          Grade comes from a show business family, having television mogul Lord Grade, a pioneer of ITV, as his uncle. As well as being the director of programs at London Weekend Television and BBC Television, he went on to head the merged Pinewood and Shepperton film studios. As BBC One controller in the 1980s, he launched top-rating soap EastEnders - but axed sci-fi favourite Doctor Who. The Hutton Report was set up following the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly. Dr. Kelly was the source of information for a Today news item in which reporter Andrew Gilligan said the government had "sexed up" an intelligence dossier on Iraq. Hutton criticized the BBC saying its editorial system was defective in allowing Gilligan's report to go to air without editors seeing a script. Its publication prompted the resignations of both Chairman Gavyn Davies and director general Greg Dyke. Grade will replace acting chairman Lord Ryder, who will retire from the board of governors later in the year. The post offers 81,320 pounds for a four-day week. The other candidates in the running for the job were BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby and former Panorama presenter Lord Watson.

Shoaib asked to perform or get out (Go To Top)

          Lahore: Pakistan's star fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been warned to perform, failing which, he may be dropped from the squad. Informed sources told the News that Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Coach Javed Miandad gave a dressing down to Shoaib and Pakistan's other bowlers before the start of play on the final day of the first Test against India in Multan, which Pakistan lost. "Shoaib in particular was told in clear terms that stardom only remains with performance and unless he started performing the team management would have to consider other options as well," a team source was quoted by the paper, as saying. "Inzamam and Miandad were very curt and hard on the bowlers and told them in clear terms they had let the team down with their listless bowling so far in the series," he added. Inzamam, he said, had been very upset from the first day of the match and was shattered after the defeat.