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Headlines
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News:
Two ministers resign, PMK threatens to quit NDA coalition
Curfew imposed in Jammu city, Udhampur town
Rail link between Gandhidham and Bhuj restored
Indo-Russian ties not directed against third country: Mishra
Musharraf attacks India over Kashmir
Greece to continue assistance to quake affected
India, Russia to sign aviation safety agreement this month
Salt industry in Gujarat suffers 10 lakh tonne production loss
Rupee steady against US dollar
Economic Growth drops to 6 per cent
Swiss couple sent to Bombay prison for child pornography
Gopichand and Aparna Popat in last eight
Pakistan's Wasim Akram appeals to Indian fans about cricket links
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Markets:
Sensex: 4370 (+18)
Old Economy stocks push up Sensex by 18 points
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Forex, Metals and
Weather below
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News
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Two ministers resign, PMK threatens to quit NDA coalition
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: In a minor jolt to the Vajpayee government, two PMK ministers resigned today and told the Prime Minister that the five-MP group would quit the NDA coalition, in what is seen as muscle-flexing before the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu to be held in the next few months.
Coal Minister N T Shanmugham and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas E Ponnuswamy tendered their resignations after PMK leader S Ramadoss met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and told him of the decision which is unlikely to have any impact on the government.
''I have tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister. We are also quitting NDA'', Shanmugham told reporters about the resignation by the two ministers. He declined to elaborate the reasons behind the party's move saying his leader would go public on the issue in Chennai tomorrow.
Ramadoss, whose PMK wields considerable influence among the backward Vanniar community especially in North Tamil Nadu, kept himself away from newsmen.
Though there was no official word whether the Prime Minister has accepted the resignations or rejected them, but the BJP Vice President Jana Krishnamurthy said Vajpayee has not yet accepted them.
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Curfew imposed in Jammu city, Udhampur town
Jammu,Monday, February 05, 2001: Apprehending violence during Jammu bandh to protest the killings of six members of Sikh community in Srinagar on Saturday, the divisional authorities today imposed curfew in Jammu city and Udhampur town of the division, an official spokesman said here.
The curfew has been imposed in Jammu city and Udhampur town as a "precautionary measure" at these places where bandh call has been given by various organisations, he told PTI.
The spokesman said all educational institutions have been closed and police and paramilitary troops have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Today's bandh call in Jammu division was given by Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), Jammu, and supported by pradesh youth Congress and Jammu Joint Students Federation (JJSF) to protest the killing at Mahjoor Nagar.
Meanwhile, at a meeting convened by Divisional Commissioner Anil Goswami here yesterday, senior citizens representing various religious, trade and political organisations expressed anguish and concern over the killings of innocent people by militants in Kashmir and sought protection.
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Rail link between Gandhidham and Bhuj restored
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: Railway Engineers have completely restored the link between Gandhidham and Bhuj, the two towns severely affected by the devastating earthquake on January 26.
The route was made operational when the engineers repaired the bridge no. 48 between Kukma and Madhupur, which was damaged due to the quake, railway sources told PTI here.
"A trial train was run in the morning on the route and now its has been cleared for the day-time operations. The trains can run at the speed of 30 km per hour," he said.
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Indo-Russian ties not directed against third country: Mishra
Berlin,Monday, February 05, 2001: National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra has said the strategic partnership between India and Russia was not a military alliance or directed against any third country.
He asserted that the close Indo-Russian ties, guided by a "compelling geostrategic logic", were important for a stable Asian security order.
The Indo-Russian strategic partnership is a long term perspective on bilateral relations, based both on geostrategic realities and economic opportunities, Mishra said at the 37th Annual Munich Conference on Security Policy.
Speaking on the theme 'India-Russia Relations', he said close bilateral relations does not mean there are no differences between the two countries.
He noted that New Delhi and Moscow recognise their differences and manage them with mutual understanding and withour rancour.
Citing the example of how the two countries had separate views on nuclear proliferation, Mishra said the Russian approach on refraining from lecturing and posturing on the validity of India's security concerns demonstrated the maturity and depths in their relationship.
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Musharraf attacks India over Kashmir
islamabad,Monday, February 05, 2001: Two days after he telephoned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to express sympathies for victims of the Gujarat earthquake, Pakistani military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has launched a bitter attack on India accusing it of "oppressive" rule in Kashmir and demanded permission to Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan.
In a strongly-worded statement on the eve of the 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' officially observed here on Sunday , Musharraf also reiterated Pakistan's "moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris' struggle to achieve the right for self-determination".
"The Kashmir dispute is not a territorial dispute between the two countries. It is about the right of the people of Kashmir to decide their future by themselves," he said.
He said Islamabad had "recently taken several steps for the commencement of a Pakistan-India dialogue with the participation of the Huriyat Conference for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute."
"We call upon India to ... take a positive decision on the visit of the Hurriyat delegation to Pakistan without further delay and respond positively to our peace initiatives," the military ruler said.
He said Pakistan was firmly committed to seeking a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
Musharraf's latest attack on India came hardly two days after he spoke to Vajpayee over the phone to express his sympathy with victims of the earthquake in Gujarat.
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Greece to continue assistance to quake affected
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis today said his country will continue to offer assistance to the earthquake victims in Gujarat.
"I want to reiterate my feelings of sympathy to the Indian people and the Government and also to the families of those affected by the earthquake. We have offered aid at the first moment and we will continue to help", Simitis who arrived here on four-day visit told reporters after the ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Simitis, who is heading a high-powered delegation including about 40 corporate executives, was hopeful that his visit would further strengthen relations between the two countries in the economic and political spheres.
During his visit he would be having discussions with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on various subjects.
Besides Vajpayee, several other cabinet ministers were among those who received the Greek leader as also senior officials and diplomats.
Simitis is accompanied by Development Minister Nicos Christodoulakis, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, deputy European affairs minister Elisabeth Papazoi and state finance secretary Yannis Zafiropoulos.
At present trade between the two countries is to the tune of 140 million dollars.
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India, Russia to sign aviation safety agreement this month
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: India and Russia would sign a major agreement on aviation safety standards later this month even as both countries decided to go ahead with joint design and development of a 100-seater passenger plane which should reach the international market in the next six to seven years.
The aviation safety agreement, to be signed during the impending visit of Russian Deputy Premier Iliya Klebanov, is likely to get Cabinet approval within the next two weeks, Civil Aviation Secretary A H Jung told reporters here.
The agreement on airworthiness, maintenance, type-certification of aircraft, approval of flight operations and aviation training establishment, would do away with the "dilatory process" of inspection and checking by authorities of the two countries and lead to harmonisation of standards and procedures, Jung said while speaking at the first-ever presentation of Russian Passenger and Cargo Planes in India.
The agreement would be signed by Klebanov and Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav here, he said.
Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin said his country, which has had long-standing cooperation with India on military aircraft, would now help New Delhi in joint production of civilian planes. "Sky is the limit of our cooperation," he said.
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Salt industry in Gujarat suffers 10 lakh tonne production loss
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: The salt industry in Gujarat has been severly hit by the earthquake on January 26 with loss of salt production estimated at 10 lakh tonnes.
"The Rann of Kutch along with Dachigam, Chirai, Bachau and Jamnagar, which are the major salt producing areas, have been affected by the devastating quake with production coming to a near standstill," official sources told PTI here.
Though official estimates were unavailable, the preliminary figures had put the production losses at around 10 lakh tonnes.
In value terms the losses are around Rs 10 crore, sources said, adding, that it would take at least a month to bring back the panic-stricken workers.
Loss of human life among the 72,000 odd salt workers in the state is minimal as most workers sleep out in the open but the production has been affected as workers are migrating due to continued tremors, they said.
The production season of salt is still on, sources said, and around 200 salt production units are estimated to have suffered the brunt of the quake.
The main salt production season begins in November upto March, often extending upto June.
Sources, however, pointed out that since Gujarat is a salt surplus producing state, despite the stoppage of production, the quake will not affect the country's overall supply of salt.
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Rupee steady against US dollar
Mumbai,Monday, February 05, 2001: The rupee held more or less steady against the US currency early today, maintaining its recent gains in generally quiet and shallow trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market.
The Indian unit was quoted at Rs 46.4000/4050 per dollar, little changed from the weekend finish of Rs 46.4000/4075. The Rupee opened at Rs 46.40/41 per dollar.
The FOREX spot trade remained listless and range-bound due to lack of market moving factors.
However, sustained inflows from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Direct Investors (FDI) continued to keep it firmly entrenched against the US currency, a dealer said.
Meanwhile, in cross currency trades, the Euro was quoted at Rs 43.57/59, Pound Sterling at Rs 68.22/24 and Japanese Yen (100) at Rs 40.00/02.
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Economic Growth drops to 6 per cent
New Delhi,Monday, February 05, 2001: Hit by deceleration in the services sector and slowdown in manufacturing, Indian economy is estimated to grow by a meagre six per cent during the current financial year, down from the 6.4 per cent growth recorded in the previous year.
According to official advance estimates of National Income released here today, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost is likely to be Rs 12,21,174 crore against quick estimates of Rs 11,51,991 crore for 1999-2000.
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Swiss couple sent to Bombay prison for child pornography
A middle-aged Swiss couple were remanded in judicial custody Monday in Bombay on child pornography charges, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said.
Wilhelm Marty, 59, and his wife Loshiar Marty, 57, were ordered to be held in prison until February 20 after city court judge Usha Iyer threw out their appeal for bail, saying the offense was too serious.
The Swiss couple, who were in India on tourist visas, were arrested by the Bombay police December 9 after a raid on their hotel room allegedly led to the recovery of offensive material.
The city police said they found a computer and a camera from the hotel room where they arrested the Martys and accused the couple of using the gadgets to photograph children engaging in abnormal sexual acts.
Detectives have handed over the evidence to the Interpol to ascertain whether they were used on the Internet as well, PTI said.
The police claimed the couple lured Bombay slum children with money and gifts and made them perform sexual acts. The pornographic material was then sold to well-heeled overseas buyers.
The prosecution alleged that the couple had been producing child pornography in India and Bangladesh for 10 years.
The Martys, in their petition to magistrate Iyer, denied the charges and said the pornographic pictures were "manipulated" by the police.
The police say they have identified several of their victims and that five children, including two who were found without clothes in the couple's hotel room, had been sent to a special Bombay shelter for abused children.
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Gopichand and Aparna Popat in last eight
Jaipur,Monday, February 05, 2001: Gunning for his fourth straight national crown, World No.6 Pullela Gopichand and women's top seed Aparna Popat stormed into the quarter-finals of the National Badminton Chamionships here today but eighth seeded Anuj Gupta was knocked out by 11th seed Arup Baidya.
Gopichand (PSCB) outplayed Shrikant Bakshi (Rly) 15-1 15-2 in 24 minutes while Popat demolished D Sweta (AI) 11-3 11-1.
Second seed Sachin Ratti of Railways had an easy win over Rutuparna Kulkarni (Mah) 15-6 15-2 and third seed Siddarth Jain (PSCB) got the better of Ravinder Singh (UP) 15-8 15-12, in the men's singles this morning.
In other action, fourth seed and former national runner- up Abhinn Shyam Gupta (PSCB) beat B G Kiran (BSB) 15-2 15-7; seventh seed Abhishek Bakshi (AI) drubbed Thomas Kurian (Ker) 15-5 15-11; fifth seed Chetan Anand (PSCB) defeated Vijay Lancy (PSCB) 15-6 15-3; and unseeded Arvinda Bhatt (Ktk) beat Anup Sridhar (AI) 15-8 15-5 to make it to the quarters.
While Popat beat Sweta, P V V Laxmi (PSCB) edged past Nupura Bhide (Mah) 13-12 11-5 and Divya Ramesh (BAI) defeated Leena Pednekar (LIC) 11-6 11-5.
Young sensation Jwala Gutta of Andhra Pradesh who shocked Popat in the team championship last week, continued with her fine form beating Aditi Mutatkar (Mah) 11-3 11-0.
In other women's singles matches, Parul Priyadarshani (AI) beat Sampada Shetye (Rly) 11-2 11-1; B R Meenakshi (Ktk) defeated Neelima Chowdhary (PSCB) 11-7 11-3; Trupti Murgunde (AI) beat Shruti Kurien (AP) 11-9 11-3; and former national champion Manjusha Kanwar (PSCB) outclassed Tanuja Begam (Rly) 11-0 11-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
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Pakistan's Wasim Akram appeals to Indian fans about cricket links
Famous Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram on Monday urged Indian cricket fans to pressure New Delhi to allow matches between Pakistan and India and to keep the sport above politics.
"I call on the Indian fans to urge their Government to change its anti-cricket stance and revive Pakistan-India cricket, just for the love of the game," Akram told AFP.
The former Pakistani captain was reacting to India's refusal of a cricket series in Sharjah to raise funds for quake victims in the Indian state of Gujarat.
"I know the fans love Pakistan-India ties and get engrossed in them but they are starved due to politics which should not be mingled in the game.
"Even if today you hold a poll 70 per cent of Indians will give thumbs up for Pakistan-India matches, they want this and are being deprived," he said.
"How can I forget the Chennai crowd that gave Pakistan a standing ovation when we won a Test there in 1999," Akram, who led Pakistan to the last Test series between the arch rivals, said.
"I also admire the Calcutta crowd who did show their resentment during that same series but the trouble makers were very few, Indians love cricket like anything and they can change this all."
The Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) proposed the fund raising tri-series later this week in Sharjah but Indian Government turned down the proposal in protest over Islamabad's alleged support to separatist militants in Kashmir.
"I must say cricket should not be affected. Pakistan showed a great gesture by agreeing to raise funds for India victims," Akram said.
"I can safely say this on behalf of all the Pakistani players that they want to play India anywhere in the world."
The cancellation of the series allowed Akram to leave for Ireland where his wife gave birth to their second son last week.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia said Sunday he was worried for another tri-nation series, involving Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, in April.
Zia demanded the Sharjah organis2ers to confirm India's participation in that tournament.
Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam said India should not be allowed to do whatever it chose.
"Indians are doing what they like and it should not be this way. Pakistan is maintaining a positive stance all the time while India is negative," Alam told AFP.
Alam, however, saw no danger for the Sharjah tri-series in April.
"I think since Sharjah event is a regular commitment India will honour it," he said.
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Markets
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Sensex: 4370 (+18)
The sensex closed at 4370, up 18 points
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Old Economy stocks push up Sensex by 18 points
The market displayed some volatility on Monday as the new settlement commenced on BSE. After intra-day movements of nearly 60 points, the BSE 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) settled with a modest gain of 18 points at 4370.
A distinctly divergent trend was visible in the market today. While Old Economy stocks continued to attract buying interest, New Economy stocks lost ground on profit-booking after a 122-point fall in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index on Friday.
Cement shares were firm on hopes of a rise in demand of cement for reconstruction work in the earthquake-hit regions. PSU stocks remained in the limelight on hopes of more decisions coming from the government on the disinvestment front. Selective buying interest was seen on automobile stocks. FMCG shares were subdued on fears of slowing demand.
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Forex
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1 DMark = 22.31280 INR
1 FFranc = 6.652758 INR
1 U.K. Pound = 68.48830 INR
1 US $ = 46.39500 INR
1 Yen = 0.401271 INR
1 Canadian $ = 30.98 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.63 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 12.63 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 12.37 INR
1 Euro = 43.67 INR
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Metals
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05 February
Gold Std. (10g): Rs 4440
Silver (1 Kg) : Rs 7870
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Weather
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Temperature: 73 F / 23 C
HeatIndex: 75 F / 24 C
Humidity: 69%
Dewpoint: 63 F / 17 C
Wind
NW at 7 mph / 11.3 km/h
Pressure: 29.85 in / 1011 hPa
Conditions
Smoke
Clouds
Clear (SKC)
Sunrise : 07:10 AM (IST)
Sunset : 06:31 PM (IST)
Moon Rise : 03:31 PM (IST)
Moon Set : 05:10 AM (IST)
Tonight : Low: 59 F / 15 C Clear
Tuesday : High: 86 F / 30 C Clear
Tuesday Night : Low: 64 F / 18 C Clear
Wednesday : High: 87 F / 31 C Clear
Wednesday Night : Low: 68 F / 20 C Clear
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