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Kashmir roadmap finalized, significant headway expected: Kasuri

          Karachi: India and Pakistan have finalised the roadmap on Kashmir and significant headway was expected on the issue during talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries scheduled for July and August, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said Saturday. Stating that this time the two countries seemed serious about pursuing peace and negotiations, Kasuri said: "We believe that this process of peace will not halt anymore." The foreign minister said this while addressing a conference on "Peace and Friendship in South Asia", the Daily Times reported Sunday. Kasuri said that a roadmap on Kashmir did exist and it was jointly prepared by Pakistan and India, but its details could not be revealed yet. He predicted significant developments in this regard in the forthcoming Indo-Pak parleys.

Formula 1 car race held in Coimbatore (Go To Top)

          Coimbatore: Seasoned racers from across the country participated in the second round of National Racing Championship for formula 1 cars in Coimbatore on Saturday. The race, organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) along with a leading tyre company, attracted entries from all over the country. This is for the first time that the two stroke go karting racing championship is being held in India. The organisers said the championship has become a springboard for many racing enthusiasts. "In this particular (race), necessarily, you have to go through a carting progamme or some kind of a training programme with us to become eligible. But at this moment we have participants representing sixteen states from the country and they have come from all over. And they are winners in their own categories," Sanjay Sharma, All India Motor Sports chief of J-K Tyres, said. The Kari Motor Speedway, where the race was held, is spread over 49 acres and has 2.10 kms racing circuit and two go-kart circuits of 1.20 kms. The race track has nine corners, which makes the run more thrilling. Over 3,000 race enthusiasts wintnessed the races. The event was held in three different classes, - Formula Maruti, Saloon Class and the introduction of the all-new Formula LGB cars. The national campionship was aimed at catapulting the young motorists to global motor sports championships. The first round was held in Kolkata earlier this year. The race will now move to Chennai and Goa.

Tarangini sails home after 18-nation odyssey (Go To Top)

          Cochin: Indian Navy's ship Tarangini (Wave Rider) on Sunday reached southern Cochin port after circumnavigating the globe in a fifteen month long voyage. The naval ship was welcomed at a pompous ceremony by President A P J Abdul Kalam, who is also the supreme commander of Indian armed forces, and senior naval officers including the chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Madhavendra Singh. The ship covered 33,000 miles and visited 18 countries across the globe which included Djibouti, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecquador, French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Tarangini is the first sailing ship to circumnavigate the globe in 13 years. "Indian navy, by sending a ship to far corners of the globe, has shown to the world that India's ships have a range and presence to be anywhere in the world. Not only the war ships but also peaceful ships like this sail training ship," said Asthana, Commanding Officer of INS (Indian Naval Ship) Tarangini.

          Tarangini, commissioned into the navy on November 11, 1997, sailed out on a circumnavigation voyage on January 23, 2003. Tarangini was built at the shipyard in western Goa. Tarangini is a tall ship, an old-fashioned three-masted barque, carrying 18 sails and has a permanent crew of 27 sailors and six officers. Tarangini is primarily meant to train sailing cadets. She also conducts sail training capsules for cadets of the National Defence Academy, Naval Academy and INS Shivaji, the training establishment for technical cadets. The ship has been designed by Colin Muddie, a famous naval architect and yacht designer of U.K. INS Tarangini is the Indian Navy's sole Sail Training Ship.