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Headlines
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News:
Hinduja brothers appear in court, granted bail
Shahi Imam hardens stand on Ayodhya issue
Authorities review arrangements for shahi snan
Clinton bids nation farewell, calls for harmony
Wide storage network to help farmers avoid distress sale: PM
Six global oil companies demand level playing field
Abortion Pill Seen As Potential Option in India
Sturua, Bacrot declared joint winners of Linares Chess
Sahara Cup Soccer: Yugoslavia start favourites against Romania
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Markets:
Sensex: 4194.46, +81.25
Equities rally smartly, sensex closes past 4125-resistance
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Forex, Metals and
Weather below
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News
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Hinduja brothers appear in court, granted bail
In a significant event in the Bofors payoff trial, the rich and powerful Europe-based Hinduja brothers today appeared before a Special Court which granted them bail but barred them from leaving India without its permission.
Accompanied by a battery of lawyers, the three brothers -- London-based Group Chairman S P Hinduja and the Group President G P Hinduja as well as Geneva-based P P Hinduja -- drove to the court of Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke this morning for their significant appearance in the case in which they have been charged by CBI with receiving kickbacks in the Rs 1,437-crore Bofors gun deal.
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Shahi Imam hardens stand on Ayodhya issue
With the Dharam Sansad (Religious Parliament) of saints getting underway at Allahabad, Muslims today hardened their stand on the Ayodhya issue with Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid cautioning that if Hindus refused to obey court orders it would be difficult to make Muslims adhere to the same.
"It will be difficult for us to convince Muslims to obey court orders. Even I will not be able to convince them," Imam told a congregation after Friday prayers at sprawling Jama Masjid complex in the walled city.
Charging VHP and other Sangh Parivar outfits with "playing dirty and heinous games and flaring up communal frenzy", he said Muslims have so far kept the Ayodhya issue as confined to a "fight" with the government and avoided any confrontation with Hindus at large. "But if you keep throwing tantrums at us, we also accept the challenee".
All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee (AIBMRC) today staged a demonstration here near the Parliament, to demand the reconstruction of the mosque at the original site.
Addressing the demostrators, speakers including Subhash Chowdhary, who is also Indian Youth Congress General Secretary, asked the government to rebuild the mosque, or refer all the cases related to the Ayodhya issue to the Supreme Court for a time-bound and binding solution.
Meanwhile, President of Aalami Roohani Markaz Maulana M A Rabbani told reporters that his organisation would abide by the court verdict "even if it meant construction of telple at the disputed site".
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Authorities review arrangements for shahi snan
Kumbh Nagar,Friday, January 19, 2001: The Kumbh mela authorities has reviewed arrangements for the holy dip (shahi snan) on the occasion of 'Mauni Amavasha' on January 24 next in which at least three crore pilgrims are likely to take a bath in the sangam.
The Kumbh Mela commissioner Sadakant told reporters here that the mela administration would arrange necessary infrastructure and civil amenities for the pilgrims who arrive for the shahi snan.
Senior civil and police officials would escort each akhara en route to the shahi snan at sangam in wake of the existing disputes between the akharas, Sadakant said.
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Clinton bids nation farewell, calls for harmony
Washington,Friday, January 19, 2001: Dubbing his term in office as a period of "great American renewal," President Bill Clinton bade adieu to the nation making a passionate plea for racial harmony and bridging the gap between world's rich and poor.
In his seven-minute farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office yesterday, two days before he leaves the world's most powerful office, Clinton said America was rapidly changing demographically with the non-White minorities likely to become a majority in the foreseeable future.
The US cannot lead the world "unless at home we weave the threads of our coat of many colours into the fabric of one America. As we become more diverse, we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity," he said at the end of his eight-year presidency.
"In our hearts and in our laws, we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation...when they arrived in our country, always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams," he said in the nationally televised speech.
Cautioning against the widening gap between the rich and poor, he said the chasm is a powder-keg that could explode.
"Hillary, Chelsea and I join all Americans in wishing our very best to the next President, George W Bush, to his family and his administration in meeting these challenges and in leading freedom's march in this new century," the outgoing president said.
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Wide storage network to help farmers avoid distress sale: PM
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said the government has decided to offer a package of incentives, including tax reliefs, to encourage private sector participation to build wide storage network for farmers to avoid distress sales.
The Government wanted to provide storage facility to all that was produced in the country to ensure that farmers were not forced to resort to distress sale and wait for a market situation which would give them remunerative prices, he said.
Despite a bountiful harvest of crops, the farmers were in distress now, Vajpayee said inaugurating the 'Vidya Soudha' of the BGS International School on the city outskirts.
He said the country witnessed a crisis situation on the food front some years ago, during which it depended upon imports accepting conditionalities set by the exporting nations. However, following strenuous efforts by farmers and scientists, it had not only achieved self-sufficiency in food production, but had also become an exporter now.
The Prime Minister struck a note of caution saying "Today we might be a surplus nation, tomorrow there could be scarcity. We should be in a position to manage the situation by storing the existing surplus."
He squarely blamed the previous governments' lack of foresight for the string of problems faced by the farming community in the country.
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Six global oil companies demand level playing field
Six global energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Caltex, Elf Gas and Mobil have come down heavily on the policy of continued high level of subsidy on LPG and have demanded a level-playing field for private sector vis-a-vis public sector.
Bharat Shell, a joint venture of Shell and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Caltex SPIC India, French energy company Elf Gas, Hindustan Aegis LPG Bottling Co, Mobil Peevees Co Ltd and SHV Energy India Ltd have joined hands to form Indian LPG Industries Association (ILPGIA) to press for a level-playing field in LPG marketing.
"The price subsidy of 68 per cent on LPG cylinders for domestic use is against the declared policy of dismantling the administered pricing mechanism and phasing out the subsidy by 2002 and was harming the interests of private LPG industries," S K Hazra, President, ILPGIA, told reporters here today.
Subsidy of Rs 160 per cylinder was making the private sector, which was selling LPG at import parity price, uncompetitive, he said, adding public sector companies were marketing LPG to bulk and commercialconsumers at subsidised rates against the declared policy.
Of the six million tonne LPG market, 5.4 million tonnes in the domestic segment is subsidised, while national oil companies are dumping subsidised LPG in the remaining bulk and commercial consumer segments, he said, adding "the Rs 650 crore invested by us will go down the drain if we have to compete with subsidised gas suppliers".
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Abortion Pill Seen As Potential Option in India
A medical abortion carried out with the
so-called ``abortion pill''--RU-486 --is considered a safe
alternative to early surgical abortions, and the method has been used
successfully in France and other European countries.
Now, a report published in the January 13th issue of The Lancet documents
a study of the abortion-inducing drug, also known as mifepristone, in both
urban and rural settings in India.
In the study, researchers evaluated 900 women who underwent medical
abortions--600 in urban locations and 300 in rural--between 1995 and 1998.
``At each site, more than 97% of women with successful abortions were
highly satisfied or satisfied with their medical abortions, and 95% would
choose the method again or recommend it to others,'' according to Kurus
Coyaji of KEM Hospital in Prune, India and international colleagues.
``Mifepristone-misoprostol abortion can be delivered safely, effectively, and
acceptably in urban family-planning departments and in a rural health-service
in India,'' Coyaji and colleagues write.
``Consequently, even Indian rural or urban facilities not now offering surgical
abortions could probably provide medical abortions,'' the authors conclude.
RU-486 is designed to be used within the first 9 weeks or 63 days after the
beginning of a woman's last menstrual period. RU-486 blocks the hormone
progesterone, which is required for establishing and maintaining a pregnancy.
When progesterone is blocked, the lining of the uterus breaks down, as in a
heavy menstrual period. Two days after taking the drug, a woman must take
misoprostol to complete the abortion. A follow-up visit to the doctor
confirms whether the pregnancy has indeed been terminated. In some cases,
a woman will still require a surgical abortion if the medical method has not
been successful.
SOURCE: The Lancet 2001;357:120-122.
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Sturua, Bacrot declared joint winners of Linares Chess
Linares,Friday, January 19, 2001: Grandmaster Sturua Zurab (2580 ELO points) of Georgia and GM Etienne Bacrot (2618) of France jointly won the 8th Linares International Open Chess championship, bagging 8.5 points each at the end of the 11th and the final round here.
Among the Indians, International Master R.B.Ramesh (2467) figured in the prize list with 6.5 points from amongst a field of 43 grandmasters and 70 international masters. GM Bacrot showed his class with a crushing victory over GM Sulskis in style to finish the event in a positive note. Playing White, Bacrot employed the Nimzo-Indian defence and brought Sulskis' King out in the open early and won the game comfortably. GM Sturua was declared the winner on the basis of a better tie-break record. Ramesh had an easy time against GM Garcia Silvino (2371) of Cuba from the White side of the Sicilian Najdorf opening. Silvino misplayed in the opening and allowed Ramesh to get a huge opening advantage and a King side attack. Ramesh penetrated with his Rook on the 8th rank and won the game in just 18 moves to finish with 6.5 points. Young I M Sandipan Chanda (2431) blundered a pawn in the opening of Sicilian Paulsen variation and lost tragically to IM Vokarev (2492) of Russia. Chanda overlooked a simple tactic from Vokarev and lost a pawn on the 10th move itself. He managed to put up some stiff resistance but Vokarev showed good technique to win the game in 49 moves.
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Sahara Cup Soccer: Yugoslavia start favourites against Romania
Margao,Friday, January 19, 2001: A volatile contest is on the cards when ninth ranked Yugoslavia take on neighbour and 13th ranked Romania in the third quater-finals of the Sahara Cup Millennium Soccer Tournament at Nehru Stadium here tomorrow.
Yugoslavia, who topped Group-1, drew their first match against Bosnia 1-1 and later subdued lowly Bangladesh 4-1, looks to be in good form and start as favourites. Romania, who put up a mediocre performance against Jordan to whom they lost 0-1, quickly settled down to the climatic condition to outwit Hong Kong 4-2 to finish runner-up behind Jordan in Group-3. Both teams from Europe have the same style of play. Yugoslavia team consists of players mostly from the first division club while Romania players are from the second division clubs. However, Romania have played both their matches here and have rested for six days. They will be fresh and should give a tough fight to Yugoslavia tomorrow. Romania have been impressive with quick-short passes and possession play. Their main strength is their midfield where medio Sanmantean Lucian has played a pivotal role to fashion most of their moves. He is well supported by Luca Loan and captain Zlati Aurelian. Striker!
s Zahriue Liviu and Sasu Marius will have to play their best and convert the half chances that come their way if Romania are to win tomorrow.
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Sensex: 4194.46, +81.25
The sensex closed at 4194.46, up 81.25
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Equities rally smartly, sensex closes past 4125-resistance
Equities rallied smartly, pushing the sensex sharply up by about 81 points at close in brisk activity on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today in the wake of hectic short-covering as also fresh buying by speculators on the back of sustained purchases by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).
Reflecting the bullish trend, the BSE Sensitive index opened past the 4125-resistance at 4149.25 and accelerated its pace of speed to hit 4200-mark before closing at 4194.46 as against yesterday's close of 4113.21, netting a sharp gain of 81.25 points or 1.98 per cent. The BSE-100 Index shot up by 69.29 to 2182.09 from previous close of 2112.80.
Operators looked optimistic with the slowly picking up net investments of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in the new year.
Speculators were also enthused by an upbeat earnings forecast from technology bellwether, IBM on New York Stock market followed by announcements of excellent third quarter performance by Digital Equipment and Wipro.
Dealers said operators not only covered short positions but also made fresh commitments at the last day of the current settlement in response to another sharp rise by about 86 points in the Nasdaq Composite Index, futures rate of which was reportedly quoted up by about 65 points this afternoon.
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Forex
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1 DMark = 22.29333 INR
1 FFranc = 6.646964 INR
1 U.K. Pound = 68.23019 INR
1 US $ = 46.33000 INR
1 Yen = 0.392860 INR
1 Canadian $ = 30.65 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.68 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 12.61 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 12.35 INR
1 Euro = 43.62 INR
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Metals
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18 January
Gold Std. (10g): Rs 4420
Silver (1 Kg) : Rs 7765
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Weather
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Temperature: 82 F / 28 C
HeatIndex: 82 F / 28 C
Humidity: 45%
Dewpoint: 59 F / 15 C
Wind
Calm
Pressure: 29.88 in / 1012 hPa
Conditions
Smoke
Clouds
Clear (SKC)
Sunrise : 07:14 AM (IST)
Sunset : 06:23 PM (IST)
Moon Rise : 03:42 AM (IST)
Moon Set : 02:23 PM (IST)
Tonight : Low: 71 F / 22 C Scattered Clouds
Saturday : High: 89 F / 32 C Clear
Saturday Night : Low: 71 F / 22 C Clear
Sunday : High: 89 F / 32 C Clear
Sunday Night : Low: 69 F / 21 C Clear
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