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News:
Censure motion defeated in Lok Sabha
Opposition in UP to boycott swearing-in of Mayawati
Earthquake measuring 2.6 on richter scale rocks Jabalpur
Musharraf heading towards a thumping win
Bush has launched new era in Indo-US relations: Powell
Afroz retracts confession
About 116 illegal Punjabi immigrants arrested in Turkey
Reliance executives get bail, barred from travelling abroad
CR commuters now have 'smart' option
23 pc growth in Indo-Australian bilateral trade in 2001: Envoy
BOB to invest Rs 3 bn on technological upgradation
India turn to Jaffer to solve their opening blues
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Censure motion defeated in Lok Sabha
New Delhi,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: After a bitter nightlong marathon deabte, the NDA government expectedly sailed through a crucial vote on the opposition censure motion on Gujarat in Lok Sabha but cracks in the coalition was visible with some of its key allies insisting on the removal of controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which was turned down once again.
Though the 94-vote victory margin appeared impressive, for the first time the BJP's key ally 28-member TDP did not support the government. Likewise, another important ally, the five-member National Conference abstained from voting.
Two members of the JD(U), including its Parliamentary Party leader Devendra Prasad Yadav did not support the government in defiance of his party whip.
"We were not happy with the Prime Minister's response (to our demands including removal of Modi) and boycotted (voting in the Lok Sabha on the motion)," TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu said in Hyderabad after the Lok Sabha drama ended.
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Opposition in UP to boycott swearing-in of Mayawati
Lucknow,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh, including Samajwadi Party and Congress, have decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the BSP-BJP coalition government in Lucknow on May 3, to protest forging of the alliance "against the mandate of the electorate".
Terming the coalition as an "opportunistic and selfish alliance", SP state General Secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav said the party would stay away from the ceremony as both the coalition partners have "ignored the mandate of the electorate for their selfish interests".
Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari said "his party would start opposing the coalition government from the very first day with the boycott of the oath-taking function".
Stating that the BJP forged the alliance with BSP only to "save" the Union Government and "sacrificed" its interests in the state, he said taking part in the ceremony would be like agreeing to the opportunistic alliance.
Expressing similar views, Rashtriya Kranti Party president Kalyan Singh said he would not take part in the swearing-in ceremony to "uphold the people's wishes who had given their mandate against both the BSP and BJP.
The Nationalist Congress Party said it would observe May three as 'black day' in protest against the swearing in of Mayawati as Chief Minister.
The CPM would also boycott the ceremony.
Meanwhile, BSP leader Mayawati arrived here today and held consultations with her legislators. She would be holding the BSP Legislature Party meeting here tomorrow and was likely to finalise the names of BSP ministers.
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Earthquake measuring 2.6 on richter scale rocks Jabalpur
Jabalpur,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: An earthquake measuring 2.6 on the richter scale rocked Jabalpur and adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh today.
However, there were no reports of either human or material loss, district collector Sanjay Bandhopadhyay told PTI.
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Musharraf heading towards a thumping win
Islamabad,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: With two-third of the votes counted, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was today poised for an overwhelming victory in the one-horse race to keep him in the saddle for the next five years.
Early reports in the official media suggest that Musharraf, who grabbed power dislodging the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999, has won more than 95 per cent votes at most polling stations.
Amidst allegations of rigging and other poll irregularities, political observers say that voter turnout does not appear to be as high as the President would have wished, which could have indicated grassroot support for him.
Independent media termed the victory as low key and supported the opposition claim of a low voter turnout.
"Musharraf heads for a low-key win," 'The Nation' daily said adding the polling was marred by low turnout and irregularities.
Musharraf, who named himself President in June last year days before his visit to India for the Agra Summit, has said he needs extra time and power to ensure the continuity of his economic reforms programme, battle deeply rooted corruption and boost efforts to fight religious extremism.
Pakistan's fourth military ruler since its formation in 1947, wants to use his victory in the referendum to consolidate his hold over power ahead of October general elections.
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Bush has launched new era in Indo-US relations: Powell
Washington,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: US President George W Bush with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has launched a new era in Indo-US relations, Secretary of State Colin Powell has said.
During a speech to the National Academy of Sciences here on Tuesday, Powell said: "President Bush's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee last November launched a new era in our bilateral relationship, and a new pillar of that partnership is a global issues forum, of which science and technology cooperation will be a major component."
Powell said nothing is of greater interest to New Delhi than expanding science and technology (S&T) cooperation, which also figured prominently during recent talks between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Bush.
"And in President Bush's recent meeting with President Musharraf of Pakistan, S&T figured prominently on the agenda. Earlier this month, my Science and Technology Advisor Norm Neureiter and Pakistan's Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Attaur Rehman outlined a programme of coopertion on agriculture, earth sciences, education and health."
"Our staunchest allies" EU and Japan, he said, are also America's closest partners in a vast range of science and technology efforts from biotechnology to fusion energy.
Powell said he will again meet this week with Russia Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to develop a treaty or legally binding agreement that Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin can consider at their upcoming summit in Moscow later this month.
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Afroz retracts confession
(Express News Service)
Mumbai, April 30: In another blow to the Mumbai police’s case against alleged international terrorist Mohammed Afroz, the man accused of being a member of the Al Qaeda, filed an application to retract his confession, at the Registrar’s office on Tuesday. The application will be heard by MCOCA judge A P Bhangale on Friday before the court closes for vacation.
Afroz had filed the application on Friday in the court of V P Tawre, where the in-camera confession had been recorded on December 18. However, the magistrate directed them to the special court where the case is being currently heard.
The application says Afroz was forced to give the confession in which is supposed to have mentioned a connection with the Al-Qaeda and a conspiracy to blow up the UK House of Commons. He has said in the application that not only was he coerced into making the confession, but he was also threatened that his brother would be killed in a fake encounter if he did not do so. Further, he has stated that the police told him they would arrest his entire family and charge them under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, if he did not do what he was asked to. He was also warned not to engage a lawyer, he has said, offering explanations for having made the confession.
Afroz came to Sessions Court at 4 pm, just before the Registrar’s office closes. He sported a cap, sunglasses and a band-aid on his cheek and refused to speak to the press. He left immediately after he signed the application. None of his family members was present.
He had offered to give the ‘voluntary’ confession on December 11, 2001. On December 14, he was brought to the 3rd Court in the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, where the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, had given him four days to reconsider the decision. On December 18, he gave his in-camera confession, the details of which are still not known.
The Mumbai police relied heavily on the confession, the main evidence they have against Afroz.
The police had first applied and then dropped charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). They are considering the possibility of MCOCA. However, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had told the court they would not apply MCOCA until they gathered enough evidence. With the retraction of the confession, the police will have to now not only prove their charges, but also that the confession was voluntary, with corroborative evidence.
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About 116 illegal Punjabi immigrants arrested in Turkey
Jalandhar,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: About 116 illegal Punjabi immigrants are reported to have been arrested by Turkey police which sought confirmation from the Indian passport authorities.
Amarjit Singh, passport officer of regional passport office here said on Tuesday he has received a list of 116 arrested illegal Punjabi immigrants from Istanbul Consulate in Turkey.
Out of that 101 passports were stated to be made from Jalandhar passport office and 15 were made from Chandigarh passport office, he added.
"Till now we have sent confirmation of 39 passports, which were made from our office and verification of 62 passports were still on", he said.
Meanwhile, the mystery on alleged missing of several Punjabi illegal immigrants, who were allegedly feared drowned on their way from Turkey to Greece on April 16, remained same as Ministry of External Affairs authorities has declined that there were any Indian on the ill-fated boat, but reports of more and more missing Punjabi youths were coming from family members.
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Reliance executives get bail, barred from travelling abroad
New Delhi,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: A Delhi Court today granted bail to two senior officials of the Reliance group who had been remanded to 14 days judicial custody for alleged violations of the Official Secrets Act, following recovery of some classified documents from Reliance corporate office here in 1998.
The Reliance group Vice-President A N Sethuraman and Corporate Affairs General Manager Shaker Adawal had been remanded to judicial custody on April 29.
Hearing the bail application that was moved minutes after the two were remanded to judicial custody, Additional Sessions Judge R K Gauba said the two accused would furnish a personal bond of Rs one million each with two sureties each for an equal amount.
The Judge said the two accused would not tamper with the evidence or try to influence the witnesses by contacting them.
The court barred the two from travelling abroad and directed them to surrender their passport and said that the bail bond would be executed to the satisfaction of the trial court.
Earlier, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sangita Dhingra Sehgal had remanded them to judicial custody till May 13 and also issued a non-bailable warrant against the Reliance Group President V Balasubramaniam, the third accused in the CBI complaint filed on March 16.
However, the NBW was stayed yesterday till May 13 after his counsel gave an undertaking that he would surrender before the court on the same day.
Balasubramaniam, Sethuraman and Adawal have been charged under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of Official Secrets Act.
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CR commuters now have 'smart' option
Railway commuters who are often hard-pressed for time or find themselves not carrying enough cash for a ticket now have a smart solution provided by Central Railway. From Wednesday, they can buy ‘Smart Cards’ from a Card Ticket Vending Machine, which will work as railway debit cards.
Passengers can buy cards of the desired amount in multiples of Rs 50, with the minimum value being Rs 50 and the maximum Rs 10,000 and pay the entire amount in advance at the counter. They can then buy tickets by merely inserting the Smart Card into the ticket vending machines, which will deduct the amount of the current ticket and also show the balance available in the Smart Card. When the balance reaches Rs 20, the card will have to be recharged. Passengers can also buy season tickets using the Smart Card.
n the first phase, two Card Ticket Vending Machines each have been provided at CSTM, Dadar, Ghatkopar, Thane and Kalyan stations. At every station, one counter has been nominated for issuing these cards.
While buying a Smart Card, passengers have to furnish particulars of their name, age and address in the requisition form. The Smart Card has a micro-processor in which the particulars will be fed. A security deposit of Rs 100 will be charged at the time of issuing, which is refundable after a deduction of Rs 20.
Chief Public Relations Officer of CR Mukul Marwah says, ‘‘For season tickets, the process is a little different. Passengers must go to the season ticket counter, where the clerk will insert the Smart Card into the debit machine and then issue the season ticket. This is not a regular season ticket, the particulars of the passenger and route will be fed into the card, which will double up as the season ticket.’’ He explains that ticket checkers will have a machine looking like a key-ring, into which Smart Cards will be inserted to display the particulars of the season ticket. Separate queues for Smart Card holders will be formed at season ticket counters too.
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23 pc growth in Indo-Australian bilateral trade in 2001: Envoy
Gangtok,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: Bilateral trade between India and Australia in 2001 has been of the order of 3.2 billion Australian dollar registering a growth of 23 per cent over the previous calender year, country's High Commissioner Penny Wensley AO has said.
Of that, exports from Australia to India were 2.4 bn Aus dollars, up 30 per cent - and exports from India to that country were 0.8 bn Aus dollars - a growth of 10 per cent, Wensley said here wrapping up her four-day maiden official visit here on Tuesday.
Addressing Sikkim Chamber of Commerce and Confederation of Industries of Sikkim here on Tuesday, she said although bilateral trade between the two countries has grown rapidly since India began its reform process in early 1990s, the trade balance was weighed heavily in Australia's favour and the statistics were the 'best annual trade' figure in the last decade.
It represented an increase in trade over the last decade of over 300 per cent making it one of the 'fastest growing trade relationships' for Australia with any country in the world, Wensley said adding New Delhi is now ranked as Canberra's 13 largest export market.
India's exports to Australia, she said, have been in traditional areas such as textiles, clothing, spices, pearls and gems, travel goods and handbags etc. Delhi's investment in Canberra has also been expanding in IT sector while that of Australia to India has grown up to around one bn Aus dollars.
Wensley said over 10,000 Indian students were now studying in Australian education institutions with potential for further significant growth as her country was in the top three destinations for Indian students.
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BOB to invest Rs 3 bn on technological upgradation
London,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: Bank of Baroda will invest 60 million dollars (about Rs 3 bn) on technological upgradation in the next two years in a bid to emerge as one of the leading banks of the world, its Chairman and Managing Director, P S Shenoy said today.
Under the technological upgradation scheme, about 1000 of the 2,670 branches of the bank will have real time on-line facilities - core banking platform - by 2004, Shenoy said.
Shenoy, who was here to launch the Bank of Baroda Debit Card, told PTI in an interview that the Bank, which earned a net profit of 100 million dollars on a turn over of 14.5 billion dollars in 2001 is expected to register a 30 per cent growth in its profit this year.
Stating that all the efforts were being made to maintain its status as the No.1 nationalised bank in the country, Shenoy said it had opened global syndication centres and received 460 million dollars this year from 30 transactions. He said that about 7,000 employees had availed the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and the total staff of the bank had diminished from 46,000 to 39,000.
Under the VRS the Bank had spent Rs 8.5 bn over a period of five years, Shenoy added.
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India turn to Jaffer to solve their opening blues
Bridgetown,Wednesday, May 01, 2002: India appear to have zeroed in on young Wasim Jaffer as their second opener as they go into the third Test against West Indies here tomorrow determined not to lose their 1-0 advantage at a historically troublesome venue for them.
Skipper Sourav Ganguly today said Jaffer was the front- runner for partnering Shiv Sunder Das in the opening slot. "Jaffer is likely to be the opener for the third Test. He batted well in the game against Busta XI, looked secure and we would like to give him a chance," Ganguly said. Jaffer has twice opened for India against South Africa in a home series in 2000-01 and had a modest showing with 23 as his highest. Picked as a specialist opener for this tour, Jaffer was ignored for the first two Tests before his 62 in the second innings of the three-day match against Busta XI brought him back into contention. Jaffer is being preferred over wicketkeeper batsman Deep Dasgupta who has had a reasonable success as an opener but his performance behind the stumps has left much to be desired. Dasgupta too struck a half-century against Busta XI but his rival Ajay Ratra's better wicketkeeping would see him being retained in the team. "Ratra was impressive in his work behind the stumps in the second Test," Ganguly said. "He needs to get another chance in this Test.
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Sensex: 3338.16, +36.95
The sensex closed at 3338.16, up 36.95
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Forex
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1 U.S. $ = 48.94 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.38 INR
1 British Pound = 71.31 INR
1 Canadian $ = 31.22 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.98 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.32 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.03 INR
1 Euro = 44.03 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.42 INR
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Temperature: 81 F / 27 C
HeatIndex: 85 F / 30 C
Humidity: 74%
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Pressure: 29.65 in / 1004 hPa
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Sunrise : 06:08 AM (IST)
Sunset : 06:57 PM (IST)
Moonrise : 11:29 PM (IST)
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