The Mumbai Grapevine
Connecting Mumbaikars with Mumbai
(Published by Mumbai-Central.com)
Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and co-workers
who might be interested in it. The instructions to join the Mumbai
Grapevine are at the end of the message.
Security forces reach Lalgarh, partial victory, say police
Saibal Gupta
Lalgarh (WB) Jun 20 (PTI) Security forces today stormed Lalgarh and without much resistance reclaimed the police station under control of Maoists, who had cut off the area in West Midnapore district for eight months.
"It is a partial victory. The hundred per cent operation is yet to be completed. It may take days, even weeks to do this," DIG (Midnapore Range) Praveen Kumar told an impromptu press conference outside the Lalgarh police station.
An anti-landmine vehicle cleared the path for the security personnel who reached the police station to take charge of the building.
Central forces, comprising men from BSF and CRPF, fanned out in the forests for combing operations against the Maoists. The securitymen donning camouflage and bullet-proof vests sanitised the five-km stretch of Jhitka jungle, a Maoist area near here.
AK-47 and Insas rifle-toting securitymen came under intermittent fire from Maoists at the Pingboni-Sarenga road today, Superintendent of Police Burdwan Humayan Kabir said adding two landmines planted on the road were defused.
Lalgarh police station was out of bounds since November last year when tribals under the banner of People's Committee Against Police Atrocities launched a boycott of police to protest raids on their homes following a landmine blast targeting Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee's convoy. PTI
BJP chief puts lid over blame game after Lok Sabha debacle
New Delhi, June 20 (PTI) BJP President Rajnath Singh today sought to put a lid over the blame game and bickerings in the party over the Lok Sabha debacle saying that success and failure are a "collective responsibility", but acknowledged a qualified responsibility on his part.
In the midst of calls from within on the nature of relationship between BJP and RSS and its reliance on Hindutva, he said Hindutva was to BJP what Constitution is to the politics of the country and ruled out severing links with the Sangh.
In his address to the National Executive of the party amid demands for introspection over the debacle and fixing of responsibility, Singh said "success is a collective credit and failure is a collective responsibility.
"Therefore, we must collectively find out the solution. Yes, if anyone feels that any person should take the responsibility, then as the President of the party, I am willing to take this responsibility." Declaring that Hindutva is the "national essence of India" and has been "eternal, liberal and tolerant", he rejected suggestions that the party's policies based on the feelings of staunch nationalism are faulty.
Singh also made it clear that ideology is a constant which is a perpetual guiding force for a party over and above victory or defeat in elections. PTI
Sensex snaps 14-week rally, drops by 716 pts
Mumbai, June 20 (PTI) Last day's gain in share prices following several measures announced by SEBI failed to maintain a 14-week rally as the benchmark Sensex dropped 4.70 per cent as profit-booking emerged at higher levels in view of capital outflow from foreign funds.
Anticipation of a strong push for economic reforms by the newly-elected United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, positive global cues and strong foreign funds inflows had triggered rally in recent weeks.
World stocks fell on Monday after finance ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialised countries last Saturday, said they have begun discussing how to unwind the fiscal and monetary policy measures undertaken in response to the financial and economic crisis that spread last year.
Sectors such as Realty, Oil and Gas and Metal were the worst suffers due to heavy selling pressure.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer ended the week under review lower at 14,521.89, by 716.05 points or 4.70 per cent over its last weekend's close.
The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty also dropped sharply to end the week at 4,313.60, showing a loss of 269.80 points or 5.89 per cent from its previous weekend's close.
The market driver Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned the net sellers of Rs 1,667.60 crore in the last four days of the week as per SEBI's announcement. PTI
Paramount places orders for 10 aircraft
New Delhi, June 19 (PTI) Amid the current turbulent times when most airlines are forced to cut fleet sizes, Chennai- based airline Paramount Airways today placed confirmed orders for 10 Airbus A-321 aircraft, with the option of 10 more, for a total of USD 1.5 billion for overseas operations.
According to the terms agreed upon between Paramount and European aircraft major Airbus, the all-business-class carrier also has an option to place orders for 10 more airplanes in future.
The order has been placed at a list price of USD 90.3 million for each of the confirmed airplane delivery while the optional jets will cost only half of that, taking the total order value to about USD 1.5 billion.
Paramount signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus on the sidelines of the ongoing Paris Airshow at Le Bourget in France.
"We signed an MoU with Paramount Airways for confirmed orders for ten A-321s and ten more on option," Airbus Vice President (Sales) Miranda Mills told PTI from France.
The airline is planning to launch international services from its key hubs and at present "assessing opportunities to fly into the Far East and Middle Eastern countries," airline officials said. PTI
T20 still in early stage : Waugh
Kolkata, June 20 (PTI) Twenty20 may be the biggest entertainer right now but Australia great Steve Waugh feels the shortest format of cricket is still in early stages where coaches and captains are working on "guesswork".
Commenting on the shock exits of World champions Australia and World Twenty20 champions India, the 1999 World Cup winning Australia captain said, "Right now, it's very much guesswork.
"I think it's still in the early phase where players and coaches are working out hard on how to play the game at its best. In another couple of years, there will be specific plan and separate teams for this format of the game," Waugh, who had led Australia in 15 of their world-record 16 successive Test victories, said.
The iconic Australian was in the city last night to launch the India chapter of his Steve Waugh Global Foundation, a voluntary organisation that intends to help children suffering from rare diseases.
Talking to the media, Waugh admitted that presently no team was dominating in Test cricket presently and he did not see any side scoring 16 successive victories in another two years.
"It's very hard to dominate whether in sports, business or any endeavour. It takes a lot of skill and innovation to stay ahead. We have done very well and I think Australia are still pretty close to the best Test side in the World, though India and South Africa are there." PTI
Pakistan look to upset Lanka to win T20 World Cup
Ashish Shukla
London, Jun 20 (PTI) An unpredictable Pakistan will be desperate to shed their runners-up tag by pulling off a win against a rampaging Sri Lanka when the two teams meet in the Twenty20 World Cup final at the Lord's tomorrow.
Pakistan, who lost the Cup by a whisker to India in the inaugural edition in South Africa, have played little international cricket since then because of political turmoil back home and would be eager to win the honour in a bid to bring the sport back on track in their country.
But captain Younis Khan is aware that the job at hand is not at all an easy one as primarily his team has not been a consistent side in the tournament so far and secondly Sri Lanka go into the final with a clean slate.
The ease with which Kumara Sangakkara's men thrashed the West Indies in yesterday's semi-final at the Oval should also be a matter of concern for Younis Khan.
Pakistan have called up ex-ICL player Abdul Razzaq as a replacement for an injured Yasir Arafat and his presence, strengthens the side as the all rounder is a hard-hitting batsman and a bowler with decent pace.
Return of another all rounder Shahid Afridi to form just at the right time with a 34-ball 51 in their semifinal against South Africa is also a good news for Pakistan, who would not want to be on the losing side for third time in a World Cup. PTI
Pak yet to finalise appeal to challenge HC order freeing Saeed
M Zulqernain
Lahore, Jun 20 (PTI) Inspite of repeated announcements that they intend to challenge the setting free of JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, linked to the Mumbai terror attack, the Pakistani authorities are yet to finalise a proposed appeal against the High Court order.
The delay in approaching the Supreme Court appears to be due to differences on the issue between the federal and provincial governments, sources said.
Shortly after Lahore High Court freed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Saeed and a close aide on June 2, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Pakistan's Attorney General Latif Khosa had said an appeal would be filed within "a matter of days".
Though the Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit had said an appeal would be filed by the government of Punjab province, the federal government and the provincial government appear to be waiting on who would take the initiative.
The federal government is distancing itself from an earlier plan to file a joint appeal with the provincial government, sources said.
"The federal government has asked Punjab to file an appeal on its own without involving it. The federal government wants its role to be confined to the appearance of the Attorney General during the hearing of the case," an officer of the Punjab government said. PTI
Jolie ready to adopt more children
London, June 20 (PTI) Hollywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt plan to add more members to their rainbow family by adopting more children.
The 'Tomb Raider' actress has confirmed the speculations by saying that they would never say 'no' to adopting more children, Daily Mail reported.
"We love children, we want a big family, so we never, you know, never say no," Jolie said in an interview to CNN.
The 34-year-old actress, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Refugee Agency, fought back tears as she spoke about her experience with the displaced children in war-torn Afghanistan and how it changed her life forever.
Jolie welled up as she recounted her meeting with an inspiring 15-year-old orphan paralysed by a gunshot wound in a refugee camp.
"He had this really remarkable, unbreakable spirit, a spirit beyond anything I can imagine. He had lost everything and he was just so full of laughter and kindness. He passed away a few months after I was there.
"I always wonder about him and young people that you meet and you just think, in any other situation, if this person had been given a chance, what an extraordinary adult he would have been," the star said.
Alba follows apology with donation
London, June 20 (PTI) Hollywood beauty Jessica Alba has donated money to a charity organisation in Oklahoma after defacing one of its billboards with posters.
The 'Fantastic Four' actress had earlier issued an apology for indiscriminately plastering posters drawing attention to the declining number of white sharks on a billboard for the charity United Way and has now donated an undisclosed amount of money to them, reported Mirror online.
A spokeswoman for the organisation deemed the amount "generous" while adding that Alba's lawyer asked the charity not to disclose the amount.
The 28-year-old-star had been in Oklahoma filming for the movie 'The Killer Inside Me', when the controversy began.
A video showing the actress pasting the huge posters on public property was made public online and Alba had also faced a police investigation for the same though the police later said that she will not face criminal charges. PTI
Digest of domestic news for the week June 13- 19, 2009
Saturday Kaiga: Six days after he went missing, Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant scientist N Mahalingam's body is fished out by naval divers from the Kali river.
Mumbai: Hasan Gafoor, who is believed to have been indicted by a high-level committee for the way he handled the 26/11 terror attacks, is removed as Mumbai Police Commissioner to which post intelligence chief D Sivanandan was appointed.
New Delhi: Yashwant Sinha quitting as Vice President and other posts and attacks the BJP leadership for not taking responsibility for electoral debacle in what was seen as carping criticism of L K Advani and Rajnath Singh.
Sunday New Delhi: In a race to capture the dalit votebank in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress and BSP braces for a public show of strength on Rahul Gandhi's birthday on June 19, with the two parties announcing political programmes in the areas dominated by the community.
Bangalore: A mother-child duo from Bangalore and a school student from Jalandhar, who returns from the US, have tested positive for swine flu, taking the total number of cases in the country to 20 while three persons were quarantined in Hyderabad with suspected symptoms.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja is detained for questioning by the police on the charge of raping his domestic help and is likely to be put under arrest.
Monday New Delhi: Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium, who articulated the previous UPA government's view in several crucial legal battles including the one on controversial Sethusamudram project, is appointed as the Solicitor General.
New Delhi: The budget session of Parliament will commence from July two and the General Budget for 2009-10 will be presented to the Lok Sabha on July six. The Railway Budget will be presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on July three.
Midnapore: After forcing the police out, agitating tribals of Lalgarh and Salboni in West Midnapore district prevent para-military personnel from entering the area even as the state government brings in CRPF reinforcement in a bid to break the siege.
Tuesday New Delhi: Rumblings continued in the BJP in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha election debacle with Arun Jaitley, the target of several party leaders, resigning as General Secretary but questions were raised over its timing.
New Delhi: A joint probe by India and Russia into the crash of IAF's Sukhoi aircraft over Jaisalmer in April is given a clearance to the quality of the fighter plane, indicating that the mishap took place due to human error.
New Delhi: India announces a slew of restrictions on imports of certain mobile phones, dairy products and toys which will mainly hit China. Wednesday Lalgarh: Flaunting AK-47 rifles, Maoists roam Lalgarh and formed a human shield comprising women and children vowing to stop security forces from storming the area as three CPI-M activists were killed in fresh outbreak of violence, after which West Bengal decided to launch an operation against the naxals without saying when.
New Delhi: Nine more persons, including five from Delhi, test positive for swine flu taking the total number of cases to 44 in the country even as Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad claims the presence of disease was "very negligible" and under control.
Thursday Dibrugarh: A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashes near Chabua in Assam, badly hitting the IAF, which has already suffered six crashes this year and faces a depleting fighter squadron strength.
New Delhi: Inflation turns negative for the first time in 30 years at minus 1.61 per cent, causing a flutter among industry and economists, but the common man continues to pay more for pulses, cereals and vegetables than in the previous year.
Friday New Delhi: Political controversy breaks out after the Centre decides to return the controversial anti-terror Bill sponsored by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, suggesting three changes without which, it said, it would not be sent for Presidential assent.
Mumbai: A military cargo aircraft AN-124 of Russian origin carrying ammunitions and five persons on board intrudes into Indian airspace and landed at the international airport here. PTI
Bappida now in commercials, acting and even film direction
Nikhil Agarwal
Mumbai, Jun 19 (PTI) After composing music for many evergreen numbers and lending his voice to numerous soulful songs, Bappi Lahiri is all geared up to change tracks and present himself as an actor and a film director.
This year Lahiri would be seen acting in at least two Hindi films, one of them a big-budget. He also has plans to direct a film next year.
"I have always been experimenting in Bollywood. I started off the disco culture in the country. Many people are now bringing international artistes like Kylie Minogue to India, but I brought Samantha Fox years ago.
So why is the man popularly known as 'Bappida' exploring new grounds after tasting success as a musician? "Previously, I had also produced a Bengali film, 'Lal Dorja', which won a Golden Lotus Award. Since I have stayed in the industry since the seventies, I want to experiment further," he says.
In the upcoming romantic comedy 'Main aur Mrs Khanna', he plays an NRI tycoon, who happens to be a music lover.
"You have already seen a glimpse of my acting in a cold drink advertisement, which is a huge hit. Now you will soon see me in a full-fledged role in 'Main aur Mrs Khanna', where I am cast alongside Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor," Lahiri, told PTI in an interview. PTI
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Market_______
To get regularly updated NIFTY (NSE) quotes by email, join the NSEData
mailing list by sending an email to NSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To get regularly updated BSE quotes by email, join the BSEData mailing
list by sending an email to BSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Sensex: 14521.89, +256.36
The sensex closed at 14521.89, up 256.36
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = INR
1 Japanese Yen = INR
1 British Pound = INR
1 Canadian $ = INR
1 Singapore $ = INR
1 UAE Dirham = INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = INR
1 Euro = INR
1 Qatar Rial = INR
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________