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Terrorism
stems from perverse ideologies: Blair, Manmohan
by Sutirtha Sanyal/Vikram Vishal
New
Delhi: India and Britain on Thursday condemned global
terrorism, saying that this menace stemmed from "perverse
ideology" and had no religion or civilisation. "Terrorism
has no religion, terrorists have no religion and they are
friends of no religion," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said
at a joint press conference with his British counterpart
Tony Blair at the end of the latter's two-day visit to India.
Endorsing this view, Blair said that terrorism grew from
a perversion of the true values of Islam. "Most of the persons
who are dying in Iraq are Muslims, most of those who got
killed in the bomb blasts in Egypt are Muslims," he said.
On being asked as to how he felt about terrorism arising
from this part of the world, given the fact that he was
coming to India for the first time after 7/7, he said that
it would be wrong to judge Islam by the acts of a small
minority. "It's a small minority, who are resorting to terrorism.
It is the need of the hour that all countries in the world,
irrespective of their nationality, race and colour to unite
and fight this small minority that is threatening to destabilise
the civilized world," he said Manmohan Singh said that terrorism
was a global threat that needed to be addressed by all the
countries irrespective of their religion and nationality.
Asserting that Britain was dealing with "the most extreme
fanatical teachings of this kind of perverted Islam", Blair
said there should be no compromise on this global menace.
"A vast majority of Muslims abhor terrorism", he said. Singh
said that India, which has been a victim of terrorism for
more than two decades, and Britain would work together to
evolve an international norm for "zero tolerance" of the
menace.
Besides
terrorism, both Prime Ministers touched on other issues,
including India's candidature in the expanded UN Security
Council, energy security and bilateral trade relations.
Singh said the two countries had set up a Joint Economic
Commission to promote mutual trade and investment, besides
a Science and Innovation Commission to explore new high
technology areas. Blair described his one-to-one talk with
Manomohan Singh at Udaipur as completely open, which would
strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Referring to the issues discussed with Dr Singh, Blair said
that transforming the words into action would be a big challenge
for the sides. The UK Premier also said that both India
and Britain had enormous business potential, but it was
necessary for New Delhi and London to develop them further
by working together. He said that in the last few years
a lot of entrepreneurs from the Asian economies had bought
sick industrial units in Britain and turned them round,
something unthinkable previously. But, all that was changing
and this was possible only because of more trade and opening
between EU and the Asian countries. Dr Singh said that todays
trade demanded the management of global interdependence
and it was important for economies to control the trade
regime to effectively bring down tariffs. Bringing down
the tariffs, he said was the key to increase trade between
nations, adding that India and the UK was also eager to
expand on their already increasing trade ties. Dr Singh
also welcomed Blairs initiatives to further improve the
standard of education in India, saying Indian universities
and schools would be benefited by his initiatives.
Tony
Blair concludes India visit (Go
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New
Delhi: UK Prime Minister and EU President Tony Blair
on Thursday evening left for London, after a two day visit
to India. During his visit, Blair held wide-ranging talks
with the Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and addressed the sixth EU-India Business summit in
the Capital. He also called on President APJ Abdul Kalam,
and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Blair and his wife
Cherie also visited an orphanage in the Capital yesterday.
The UK Premier also had one-on-one and delegation level
talks with Dr. Singh at the Udai Vilas Palace Hotel at Udaipur.
The two leaders held talks on issues like terrorism, trade
and commerce, global environment and UN Reforms. Later the
two leaders addressed a joint press conference at Hyderabad
House in New Delhi.
Two
bar girls commit suicide (Go
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Mumbai:
When Maharashtra Government put a ban on dance bars
in Mumbai, there were fears of the uncertain future of the
bar girls, but probably no one had thought that the act
would have fatal repercussions. Less than a month after
the ban, two bar girls from Thane and Goregaon committed
suicides on Wednesday. The bar girls, who had lost their
livelihood on August 15, when millions woke up to celebrate
the Independence Day, took the decision to end their lives.
According to relatives of the Thane girl, she was the sole
bread- winner for her family and a ban on dance bars highly
disturbed her. Therefore, in utter depression, she hanged
herself to death. However, there are differences of opinion
regarding the death of the bar girl in Goregaon, with police
not ruling out a case of murder. Meanwhile, Bar Girls Union
and various other social organisations have expressed shock
at the incidents and are planning to meet the State Home
Minister R R Patil over the issue. The dance bar bill prohibits
staging of a dance of any type in an eating-house, (liquor)
permit room or beer bar throughout the state. Any violation
of the law is punishable with imprisonment up to three years
and fine up to Rs 2 lakh.
12-hour
ULFA shutdown in Assam (Go
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Guwahati:
A 12-hour-long shutdown across Assam engineered by the
banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has begun.
The shutdown call was given to protest against the recent
death of one of it's leader in judicial custody. Security
has been tightened across the state in the wake of the shutdown
to prevent untoward incidents. Patrolling of major thoroughfares
and sensitive spots in the state has been also intensified.
Vehicles have remained off the road, and some business and
shopping establishments have downed shutters to avoid a
rebel backlash. The state government has given instructions
to all divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and
sub-divisional officers to ensure normal functioning of
all government offices and services during the shutdown.
Robin Handique, 68, who was captured along with top ULFA
leaders during 'Operation All Clear' by Royal Bhutan Army
in December 2003, died on August 31 at Kanaklata Civil Hospital
in Tezpur following an illness. According to jail officials,
Handique died of renal failure.
Policeman,
militant killed in Srinagar gunbattle (Go
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Srinagar:
A fierce firefight between militants and troops on Thursday
near a highly guarded government building which houses the
offices of the Kashmir chief minister killed one policeman
and one militant, police said. The gun battle came a day
after a militant was killed and another took refuge in a
neighbouring house in the same area near Kashmir's administrative
headquarters. A police official said one militant hid in
a house, lobbing grenades and firing with automatic rifles
before he was killed. "The militant has been eliminated.
As you know the operation started yesterday in which we
killed one militant. We had cordoned off the area and today
morning there was a contact where we got to know a militant
was in a house. And the operation took long because many
civilians were in the house and our aim was to rescue the
civilians," said Muneer Khan, Senior Superintendent of Police,
Srinagar.
Sania
Mirza returns home after successful US tourney (Go
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Hyderabad:
India's Sania Mirza, savouring a superb U.S. Open debut
despite her 6-2 6-1 fourth round drubbing at the hands of
top seed Maria Sharapova, arrived back home in Hyderabad
on Wednesday. Mirza is the first Indian woman to reach the
fourth round of a grand slam tournament. Sharapova, the
18-year-old 2004 Wimbledon champion, complimented Mirza
by saying that she is very young and has a great future
ahead of her. Mirza, who will play next in Bali and Kolkata,
has said she wants to improve her fitness and her serve.
Mirza, who began the year ranked 169, has climbed to number
42 and became the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour event
when she triumphed before her home crowd in Hyderabad.
French
team studying Homo Erectus fossil find (Go
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by Ajitha Menon
Kolkata:
A French paleontology team is currently in Kolkata to
study the only homo erectus skull found in India to find
new insights into the over half million year old fossil,
which has baffled Indian scientists for over 21 years. The
team joined by their Indian counterparts took a CT scan
of the skull here, where it has been housed since it was
first discovered by geologist Arun Sonakia in the village
of Hathnora, near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh in December 1982.
The scientists hope the CT scan data will allow then to
complete the severely damaged and delicate skull by using
advanced compute simulation. Having gotten valuable insights
into brain formation and structures like inner ear and sinuses,
scientists could even be able to make complete 3D image
of the specimen, which initially was mistaken for years
as of a man known as the "Narmada Man". "For the past 20
years we have been studying it externally but we are here
so that we can study its internal structure, its physical
composition and development as to which lobe of the brain
developed and to which extent, how was the vision...things
like that. Now we can find all that out," said Arun Sonakia,
a former director of the Geological Survey of India.
Scientists now know this sample of the Homo Erectus, which
they say is the missing link in our evolutionary history
coming between the four-legged mammals and the present day
Homo sapiens, is actually a young woman, possibly a pigmy.
Researches say the closest link in the modern day would
be of the Andamanese or Onges in India's far-flung archipelago.
It is amongst the only 20 Homo erectus fossils in the world
and the only one ever found between Africa and Java and
detailed comparisons of each are underway in laboratories
across the world. India's bone collectors in the early 1990s
again found - two collar bones and a lower rib belonging
to a woman, embedded in a dry riverbed minutes away from
where Sonakia made the find. But no definite link has yet
been established between the two as detailed analysis by
some paleontologists pegs it to be of the Homo Sapiens.
Widely disbursed in the time frame of 1.8 - 1 million years
ago, Homo Erectus, was the first species to migrate from
Africa during the Pleistocene glacial period. They inhabited
the regions of southeastern and eastern Asia until approximately
300 000 years ago and are believed to have been able to
make tools, such as hand axes and occupied caves. Europe,
India, China and Indonesia have all yielded evidence of
Homo Erectus.
Sensex
hits 8,000 mark (Go
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Mumbai:
Bull runs continued unabated in the Indian stock market
as India's key stock market index, sensex scaled yet another
milestone and surged past the 8,000 mark. Market opened
firm in the morning trading and the benchmark index, crossed
the 8,000 mark in the early morning deals. Meanwhile, Finance
Minister P Chidambaram advised the investors to take informed
decision. However, he said that the sensex crossing 8000
level was not a cause for worry or concern. "The Sensex
rise is not a cause for worry or concern. Stock market movement
is orderly," he said.
