Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai get clean chit

     Chandigarh: Film stars Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai have been cleared of their conversation tape case, after the Forensic Science Laboratory at Chandigarh said that the voice samples of the two stars did not match with the voices in the alleged tape, police officials said on Friday. "We received the report two days ago, and it says that the voice samples of the stars do not match with the tape," additional police commissioner (economic offences wing), Mumbai, K L Bishnoi, who was assigned the job to inquire, said. Once the laboratory concluded that voice samples do not match, the probe into the involvement of the two stars was almost complete, the Additional Police Commissioner added. The tape over the alleged conversation between them that took place in 2001, which was exposed in early July this year, showed Salman boasting of links with the underworld and claiming that it was him who was associated with the 1992 bomb blasts in Mumbai and not Sanjay Dutt. In the tape, Khan was heard threatening Rai of dire consequences if she did not perform in a show organised by underworld dons abroad. When the tape was aired in several electronic and print media, the State Government had ordered a probe to check if the voice samples of the stars matched with those in the tapes. Following this, the police had questioned Rai over the issue, and later, the allegedly recorded tape and voice samples of both the actors were sent to Chandigarh for forensic test.

Ganesh Chaturthi festival ends  (Go To Top)
by Susheel Parikh

     Mumbai: The finale of "Ganesh Chaturthi", a festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesh, came to an end on Thursday with the immersion of his statues. Ganesh signifies good omen and prosperity. Hundreds of thousands of people carrying the idols amidst the beating of drums and cymbals reached the city's beaches in processions and immersed them in the sea. People carried idols on their heads and danced on streets before immersing them in rivers. "We always take out the procession on the immersion day. A kind of peaceful feeling fills the air. On this day we pray for all, for the country and for the world in general," said Gajanak Modak, the chief priest of the Siddhivinayak Temple. Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath. Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode. When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods. For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair, celebrated within homes. But at the turn of the century, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from British rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda.

Dissent against Advani grows (Go To Top)

     Chennai: Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman, on Friday raised a voice of dissent against party chief LK Advani. Laxman urged Advani to restructure the party, but accused him of surrounding himself with sycophants. "I don't know in what circumstances he is working, but from what I see is that it is important that he should take everyone along with him. I think of he doesn't do that, it will be very difficult for the organisation," said Laxman in Chennai. Laxman's salvo comes a week after Advani initially suspended senior party leader Madan Lal Khurana, who had kicked up a storm by criticising him in the media. The former Delhi Chief Minister suspension was then taken back after reports of a rift being created in the party when senior members, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that Khurana ought to have been given an opportunity to state his stand. The National executive at Chennai will be the first for the BJP, after the party faced a leadership crisis in the wake of Advani's visit to Pakistan in June. A storm had raged in the BJP over Advani's remarks terming Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as secular. The BJP's key ideological allies and some top leaders came out in open criticism of Advani saying, that he had compromised on the party's principled ideology, creating confusion among party workers and public. Despite clarifications from Advani himself and Vajpayee saying the statements were misconstrued, the fiery row refused to ease. Advani then tendered his resignation but was persuaded by his supporters not to withdraw it. But for all the face saving efforts, the recent events have laid bare dangerous chasms in a party struggling to find its feet since its shocking general election defeat last year. The BJP had won power in the late 1990s, when it had to tone down its "Hindutva" or Hindu nationalist policies to keep the support of its secular coalition allies.

PM concludes visit with a statement of stability (Go To Top)
by I. Ramamohan Rao

     New York: Issuing a statement to mark the end of his visit to Paris and New York, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said, that he was convinced that the strategic partnership between India and France would continue to be a source of stability and creativity in the multi-polar world order. Recalling his two-day visit to the French capital earlier this week, Singh said that his discussions with President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin re-emphasised the view that both countries needed to work intensively together over the next several months to finalize framework agreements in the fields of defence and nuclear energy. Singh also said that during the review of the bilateral co- operation agenda, he was impressed by Premier de Villepin's enthusiastic commitment to promote Indo-French ties. As far as his visit to New York was concerned, the attendance at the plenary meeting of the 60th UN General Assembly apart, there had been a series of fruitful bilateral exchanges with the heads of state and government of US, South Africa, Brazil, China, Russia and Pakistan. There was also the historic launching of the UN Democracy Fund in the presence of President Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to which India has made a significant contribution of 10 million dollars, the statement said. On Indo-Russian ties, the Prime Minister said that both he and President Vladimir Putin were in agreement that the relationship was of deep value to both sides and should be intensified besides acting as a good prelude for Singh's visit to Russia in December. On Sino-Indian relations, Singh said that this was his fourth meeting with President Hu Jintao this year. As far as Indo-Pak ties were concerned, the joint statement issued on September 14 reflected the views of both leaders on the entire bilateral agenda encompassed in the composite dialogue, and a reiteration that discussions would continue with a view to achieving good neighbourly relations.

Putin meets Manmohan, welcomes Indo-US nuke pact  (Go To Top)
by I.Ramamohan Rao

     New York: Russian President Vladimir Putin who met Dr Manmohan Singh here on Thursday was all praise for the Indo- U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation agreement concluded in July this year. During the bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the 60th U.N.General Assembly session, Dr. Singh apprised President Putin of the details of the agreement, particularly those relating to the removal of restrictions on access to civilian nuclear energy. During the meeting, Putin also conveyed Moscow's support for India's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Putin endorsed India's demand for reform of the United Nations, but cautioned against a confrontation. Dr. Singh also met U.S.Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and reviewed bilateral issues, including the India's position on the Iran nuclear issue. The Prime Minister said that diplomatic efforts should be made to find a solution to the issue before taking the matter to the U.N.Security Council.

Industrialist sued for assaulting Indian envoy's wife in Dhaka (Go To Top)
by Nazrul Islam

     Dhaka: An employee of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Friday sued a leading Bangladeshi industrialist and his associates for misbehaving with the wife of an Indian diplomat in the city's Basundhara area. Based on the case, police arrested Hedayet Ullah, 35, the bodyguard of Shah Alam, the chairman of Basundhara Group of Industries, who was the prime accused in the case, police said. According to the complaint, Shah Alam and several others assaulted Rupa Chakrabarti, the wife of the deputy high commissioner Sarbajit Chakrabarti on Thursday afternoon. They halted the car that was carrying Rupa and pulled her out of the car. Then she was detained for nearly an hour at the area before the high commission officials along with police reached the spot on being informed. Rupa, also a teacher at the International School, Dhaka, was on her way to home from the school. Vinod Kumar alleged that Basundhara Group Chairman Shah Alam and three to four of his associates had misbehaved with him and Rupa Chakrabarti in front of the Apollo Hospital when they were returning home at about 3.45 p.m. They also kept them confined for an hour and pulled out them from their vehicle forcibly. They also hurled abuses on them, the case statement reads. Later, policemen and members of the Indian High Commission rushed to the spot and rescued them, Vinod Kumar mentioned. The matter has been forwarded to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry for further action.

Inflation moves up marginally to 3.16 percent (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Recent hike in fuel prices and subsequent spurt in the prices of essential food and non-food commodities, has pushed the inflation marginally higher at 3.16. After declining for six consecutive weeks inflation has risen by 0.15 percent to 3.16 percent in the week ended September 3 as compared to 3.01 per cent in the previous week. Till August end, despite spiralling international oil prices inflation remained low at around three to 3.5 percent as against around eight percent during the same period last year. The experts now, however, feel that this marginal rise in inflation is just the beginning and it might go up sharply in view of the September 6 hike of petroleum prices. The government raised price of petrol by three rupees per litre and diesel price by two rupees per litre. However, the prices of kerosene and cooking gas were left unchanged due to pressure from the left parties. In the reporting week point-to-point wholesale price index (WPI) moved up 0.4 percent to 195.7 points. The index was at 189.7 during the same period last year. The government revised upward, the inflation figure to 4.46 per cent for the week ended July 9 from the provisional 4.14 per cent, while the WPI stood corrected at 194.5 points as against the earlier estimate of 193.9 points.

India beats Zimbabwe comprehensively (Go To Top)

     Bulawayo: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wrapped up the Zimbabwe tail in less than two hours to register a comprehensive win for India by an innings and 90 runs, and take 1-0 lead in the two-match series on Friday. Resuming the day at 67-6, the hosts were bowled out for 185 in their second innings with "Turbanator" Harbhajan taking three of the four wickets, while leg-spinner Anil Kumble got rid of Zimbabwe skipper Tatenda Taibu, who was Zimbabwe's top scorer in both innings. Earlier, the day began on a positive note for the hosts as allrounder Andy Blignaut and wicketkeeper-captain Taibu played some beautiful shots in their 43-run stand for the seventh wicket. With Indian pace attack failed to get any success on the fourth morning, Sourav Ganguly chose to bowl Harbhajan and Kumble in tandem. His decision soon proved to be a correct one as Harbhajan bowled Blignaut with a well-flighted delivery. Taibu was caught behind of Kumble after completing his second half-century of the match. However, Zimbabwes last wicket partnership between Gavin Ewing and Blessing Mahwire proved to be the most frustrating one for the Indians as the pair went on to add 47 before Harbhajan eventually trapped Ewing leg-before on the back foot. Southpaw Irfan Pathan was declared Man of the Match for his allround performance in the match. Pathan ended up with a match haul of nine for one-hundred-eleven runs besides a contribution of 52 runs with the bat. The second and the last Test will begin on November 20 at Harare.