Main Page                                                                 Archives

Dharam, Jayalalithaa congratulate STF for killing Veerappan

         Chennai: The Chief Ministers of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have applauded the Special Task Force (STF) headed by Addl Director General Vijay Kumar and Superintendent of Police, Senthumari Kannan, for killing dreaded forest brigand Veerappan in an encounter. "I congratulate each man and officer for this sterling achievement of scaling the very heights of a risky mission, in ridding our society of the murderous menace," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was quoted as saying. Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh who is currently in Delhi while acknowledging the help and co-operation extended by Tamil Nadu and Kerala, said that Veerappan's elusive run from law despite taking time had finally reached its end. Incidentally, Singh as the Karnataka Home Minister in 1991, had urged the then state government headed by S Bangarappa to constitute a STF to deal with Veerappan.

Advani assumes charge as BJP chief (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani today took over as the new BJP president. This is the third time Advani has taken over reins of the party. As Advani assumed the charge, he was accorded a grand reception at the party headquarters in New Delhi by hundreds of party workers. The Leader of Opposition was accompanied by his predecessor M. Venkaiah Naidu on the occasion. The party workers burst crackers and beat drums to welcome the new incumbent. Later, Advani offered floral tributes at the statue of Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyay.

Economic ties impact political ties, says Manmohan (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said that trade and economy are the key determining factors in defining political ties among nations. He said this in his inaugural address to a joint business summit of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Capital today. "Today economic and commercial contact increasingly determine the nature of state to state interactions. The movement of people, capital, goods and service is playing an increasingly important role in establishing a framework for government to define relations. Therefore it is fair to say economic engagements has an impact on political relations," Singh said. Singh's comments come a day after an industry report said that Indian exports to ASEAN countries were much below the potential, and that Asia's third largest economy could triple exports to South Asia within two years if it focused on key sectors including medicine, auto parts, leather, processed food and jewellery. India had last year signed a framework trade agreement with ASEAN, which will eventually lead to a free trade area in goods, services and investment. AEAN comprises of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Uttaranchal Chief Minister opposes move to shift state capital (Go To Top)

        Dehradun: The issue of setting up a new capital for Uttaranchal at Gairsain has blown into a bigger controversy, with one of Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari's ministers coming out in the open against the move. State Health Minister Tilak Raj Behar is of the opinion that Gairsain is not suitable to be Uttaranchal's state capital. He added he has written to the Prime Minister, the Uttaranchal Chief Minister and the Congress President in this regard. According to Behar, there are several better options to choose from. "The issue of making Gairsain the capital of Uttaranchal is a politically motivated issue. We are not anti-Gairsain, but our feelings are somewhere else. We have given the alternative of Kalagarh and many a times we have requested to make Dehradun the permanent capital. We have other options too like Rishikesh," said Behar. Behar's anti-Gairsain statements are refuted by his own partymen. His move has been branded anti-party and anti-Uttranchal. "The state government has made a Committee. If a Minister raises his voice against the orders of the Committee or the Committee itself, then he is refuting his own government and the policies of the government," said Pradeep Tamta, a Congress MLA.

        Activists who are demanding that the state capital be shifted from Dehradun to Gairsain are agitated at Behar's move. They insist that the decision for the capital's shift was entirely dependent upon the state's people and not a minister's wish. "The decision about state's capital does not depend upon the Minister. It should be left entirely on the discretion of the people of the state. And it has already been decided that the capital would be shifted to Gairsain. We would take the capital to Gairsain in the same way as we carved out a state for us," said Sushma Bhaigina, an activist. A one-member Capital Identification Commission was set up to solve the issue. Justice Virendra Dixit has been working on this for two years but no concrete solution has come up so far. Justice Dixit's tenure ends on 31st October 2004 but the Commission has requested two more years to come up with a solution for the shift of capital. "Everything depends upon feasibility and many technicalities. The subject specialists only can suggest something on this and even my inferences would also be based upon their suggestions," said Justice Dixit, Chairman of Capital Identification Commission.

First anniversary of Mother Teresa's beatification observed (Go To Top)

       Kolkata: Thanksgiving prayers and celebrations marked the first anniversary of the beatification of the late Mother Teresa here on Tuesday. Sisters of her Missionaries Of Charity (MOC) gathered together for the special mass at 6 a.m.at Mother House . On the occasion they recalled the beautiful memories of last year when the Pope John Paul II declared Mother Teresa beatified . Sister Nirmala Maria, a spokesperson of the MOC, said that the message of the day was the message of love. "Today we have the first anniversary and we just finished with the mass upstairs. We are just recalling again the beautiful graces we received last year at the Beatification of the Mother. The message of the day is always the message of love. We are carrying this message in our hearts and in our actions, to love God and to love one another," said Sister Maria. St. Peter's Square a year ago.

Ahmedabad celebrates Navratri with gusto (Go To Top)

       Ahmedabad: While the onset of the festival season has brought cheer for all, the people of Ahmedabad have an added reason for happiness. Clad in colourful dresses of their native state, they head every evening for the Dandiya and Garba dance, an essential part of the Navratri celebrations. Navratri, literally translating to nine nights, is held during the first nine days of the Ashwin month of the Gujarati calendar. Given the uniqueness of the festival, the state government has organised four theme pavilions at the University grounds here under the banner of "Vibrant Gujarat". The state government has invited Gujaratis settled abroad to visit the state and participate in the festivities. The festival dedicated to Goddess Durga combines the traditional with the modern in a seamless blend as the young and old gather to dance the 'garba' and the 'raas' to age old songs and trendy chartbusters. As bed time gets extended to the early hours, the dances are performed through the night at open grounds across the state, be it in local clubs or a professionally organized event. Ratna Shah, a garba dancer said the trend has changed in recent times with the younger generation attracted towards modern dance steps. "The trends have changed now.

        The younger generation has become more brand conscious. They go for the modern dance steps, which they pick up from dance classes. But the tradition is still alive," said Shah. Appearance matters, of course, and people make a beeline to shop for traditional costumes with elaborate embroidery and mirror work for women and the colourful 'kedia' costume for men. Besides, crash courses in dancing are a hot favourite with youngsters who also visit weight reduction clinics and beauty salons to look good during the nine days of partying. "There are people who don't know a single step of garba come to dance because they can afford to buy dresses and pay the entry fees in clubs, but people who really know the dance do so at their houses," said Kumar Shah, a garba dancer. The rampant commercialisation, with the increasing popularity of the festival, comes with its share of problems.

         Not everybody looks forward to Navratri revelry and citizens groups have opposed the high decibel song-and-dance routine that goes on through the night. "It's true that people has been attracted towards modern music and dance, but we should not rely on them. We have so much of rhythm and melody in our music only need is to follow it in a proper way," said Shyamal Munshi, music organiser. Police in Ahmedabad have allowed garba programmes to go on till 1.30 a.m. after failed attempts last year to silence public address systems by midnight. The police have also made extra arrangements to avert any untoward incidents, particularly sexual harassment, during the festival.

Panchayat issues fatwa to confirm secret marriage  (Go To Top)

        Meerut: A Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Tandu village has asked for a fatwa to confirm the legality of a secret marriage of a Muslim couple. Nearly a fortnight back Naseem and Khursheeda had fled from the village carrying money and jewellery with them and reportedly tied the knot. The panchayat members had then pressurized Nassem's family to call him back. Khursheeda also came back with all her jewellery a few days back. Although Khursheeda told the village Panchayat upon her return that she had secretly tied the knot with Naseem, the panchayat however, grew suspicious of the couples intention and asked for a fatwa to be issued to check the legality of the marriage. "Khursheeda told us that she has secretly married Naseem, so a Fatwa was issued, to check whether their marriage was legal or not. Once their marriage is announced legal, then they can decide whether to live together or not," said Dr Irfaan, Sarpanch of the village. Though Khursheeda's family has decided to wait for the mufti's decision on the issue, Naseem's family on the other hand has categorically blamed the villagers and the panchayat for complicating the issue. "I will only speak after the mufti's (religious leader's) decision," said Aamir Ahmed, father of Khursheeda. "The villagers are responsible for the fatwa," said Imran, younger brother of Naseem.

Plans to set up an LNG plant in TN (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest refiner, has decided to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. IOC has to this effect also floated an international tender to source LNG and subsequently supply it to the prospective industries in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka who are willing to switch over from liquid fuel to natural gas. "We have called for bids seeking 2.5 million tonnes per annum (130 trillion British thermal units) LNG for 20 years with a possibility of doubling the quantity," a top company official was quoted as saying. IOC has also reportedly entered into agreements with some power companies in the state to for sale of regasified LNG. "Discussions are also in progress with Tata Group which has evinced keen interest for setting up an integrated power plant with LNG import terminal," the official added.

60 Indian fishermen sent to 14-day judicial custody in Pak (Go To Top)

        Karachi: As many as 60 Indian fishermen, who were arrested in October 16 on charges of violating international frontiers, were sent to 14-day judicial custody yesterday. Quoting Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency, the Dawn today reported that ten Indian fishing boats were apprehended along with the 60 persons while they were allegedly fishing illegally in Pakistani waters. The paper said that an MSA ship was on a routine patrol in the Eastern Maritime region when it found these boats illegally fishing in 52 kilometres inside Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone. According to the paper, a total of 562 Indian fishermen are currently in Pakistan custody, besides 101 boats.

Jihadis in Pak cannot collect Zakat for Ramzan (Go To Top)

        Karachi: Even though jihadis may claim they are sacrificing their all for the sake of Islam, the Pakistan government it seems, does not take it too seriously. Pakistan has in an unprecedented manner directed all its provincial governments to take special measures for curbing the collection of Zakat, Fitrana or kind of donations by any Jihadi outfit during the Holy month of Ramazan. According to The News, the Interior Ministry has apparently asked all the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies to keep vigil on the activities carried out by these outfits and specifically ensure that no donation is being collected by them. As per the report, the ban pertains to all the jihadi outfits with special emphasis on the Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan (erstwhile Sipah-e-Sahaba), Islami Tehrik Pakistan (erstwhile Tehrik-e- Jaffria), Khuddamul Islam (erstwhile Jaish-e-Muhammad) and the Jama'atul Furqaan. The government has as part of its directive also advised the provincial governments to direct district and city governments to issue permission to welfare organisations for collection of Zakat, Fitrana and other donations only after a through scrutiny of their applications, and hinted at strict action being taken against any charity that tries to collect donations on behalf of the jihadis or Mujahideen. "We will take strict action against any individual or party, which would collect Zakat, Fitrana or other kind of donations in the name of Jihad or for any of the proscribe party," The News quoted a senior Interior Ministry official as saying.

BOTTOMLINES

Kylie announces tour: London's phone exchange crashes (Go To Top)

        Washington: Pop diva Kylie Minogue's announcement of her upcoming 'Showgirl' world tour led to the crash of London's main telephone exchange. Fans of the 'Slow' star rushed to the nearest phone after hearing the confirmed 'Showgirl' tour dates, and the number of calls to ticket agents took its toll on the telephone exchange located in the Bishopsgate area of London, according to ratethemusic.com Interestingly, a Birmingham website also went offline at the same time because of the excessive pressure by Kylie's fans, who were frantically trying to buy tickets for her shows in the British capital. Kylie's eagerly awaited world tour, which will kick off next year in March, sold out in just two hours.

Beckhams hire Spanish Royal Family's doctor for child's birth (Go To Top)

        London: When it comes to the Beckhams, whatever they do, they do it in style and now they have hired the Spanish Royal family's doctor to supervise the birth of their third child. Posh, who is expecting her third baby in March next year, wants only the best, and has therefore, called in Royal Gynaecologist Esteban Carracedo for the job. Carracedo has reportedly signed a contract guaranteeing private consultations at specific dates throughout Posh's pregnancy, as well as promising to be on stand- by to carry out a caesarean if Victoria goes into early labour. Victoria is said to be taking extra precautions as she is afraid that the stress she is in over her hubby David's alleged sexual affairs, might harm their child. "She is extremely concerned that all the stress surrounding David could have an effect on her baby. She is determined to have the best possible care," a friend was quoted by femalefirst, as saying.

Brandon Routh will play Superman (Go To Top)

         London: If rumours are to be believed then X-Men director Bryan Singer has signed on Brandon Routh of the MTV soap Undressed fame, to play Superman in his new movie 'Superman Returns' According to The Sun, the relatively low profile actor was chosen over others like James Caviezel who played Jesus in 'The Passion Of The Christ.' However Warner Bros., the studio behind the Superman movies, did not comment upon it.

Stalkers force Paris Hilton to abandon her house (Go To Top)

       London: Thanks to her stalkers, Paris Hilton has been now forced to buy a new house as her Hollywood Hills home is being regularly targeted by her 'admirers'. The hotel heiress, was recently left terrified when a wild fan spent seven hours knocking on her front door.She has also reportedly been receiving letters written in blood, hate mail and marriage proposals through her mail box after a local publication revealed her home address. "That's why I just bought a new house," she was quoted by femalefirst as saying.