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Headlines
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News:
Army combat ready, dig new positions along border
Kashmir tensions ease as India softens war rhetoric
"Very delicate" situation due to cross-border terrorism: Congress
Queen's first visit to UK Hindu temple
US asks Pak to stop infiltration in Kashmir
US promises to "persuade" Pak to stop crossborder terrorism
Seven Singaporean turtles rescued from 2 Andheri shops
100 feared trapped in Agra fire
IOC to sell stake in ONGC, GAIL
Iraq orders 13,000 tonne Indian sugar at 255 dollars/tonne
Rupee rallies smartly against US dollar in early trade
Rains threaten first two one-day internationals
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Markets:
Sensex: 3255.62, +141.57
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Forex, Metals and
Weather below
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News
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Army combat ready, dig new positions along border
R S Pura (Jammu),Friday, May 24, 2002: Dodging Pakistani mortar shelling and heavy firing, Indian soldiers dug new positions along the vital Jammu-Poonch sector in preparation for ground operation.
"The digging work is on all along the Indo-Pak border for defensive purpose of setting up new positions," Army officials told a visiting PTI correspondent during a tour of Line of Control (LOC) and International Border (IB) here today.
New bunkers, defence lines and trenches are coming up in order to save troops from the increased mortar shelling, rocket attacks and heavy firing on Indian positions all along the border, the officials said.
"Not only did Pakistani troops target our border outposts (BOPs), bunkers, observation towers and Listening Posts (LPs), but also shelled civilian villages and destroyed them, the officials said.
So far, 23 villages with a population of nearly 40 thousand, have been destroyed by Pakistani gun forcing people to shift to safer areas, they added.
Troops, in war fatigue perform duty of patrolling along the border with Pakistan round the clock and have set up multiple nakas and ambushes for the infiltrating armed militants from across the line during night period, the officials said.
"We are combat ready along IB, LOC and await orders for war. Not only we will go for a war, but we will also win it," the jawans at forward line said.
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Kashmir tensions ease as India softens war rhetoric
Tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir appeared to have eased today after signs that the Indian prime minister had softened his rhetoric on the disputed territory.
India's influential Hindustan Times said this morning that the Indian government would give Pakistan two months to cut back "cross-border terrorism" before deciding on possible military action.
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"Very delicate" situation due to cross-border terrorism: Congress
New Delhi,Friday, May 24, 2002: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said a "very delicate" situation has arisen in the wake of stepped up cross-border terrorism but cautioned the Goverment against any such steps which will "not lead to positive results" as both India and Pakistan were now nuclear powers.
"Still much more needs to be done. Our view should reach all countries in the world through diplomatic channels. We should do it in such a way that the world listens to our voice and understands our difficulties in the proper perspective," Gandhi said addressing the AICC meeting at the Talkatora Stadium renamed as 'Sadbhavana Nagar' here.
The political resolution debated at the day-long session also called upon the Government to "explore all avenues for peaceful settlement of issues in regard to Jammu and Kashmir".
It also charged that vigilance at the borders has been "so lax" that the domestic problems of the sensitive state have been "hugely compounded and magnified" by the external dimension of cross-border terrorism and even invasion across the Line of Conrol.
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Queen's first visit to UK Hindu temple
ighgatehill Murugan Temple is to become the first Hindu temple in Britain to be visited by the Queen in her 50-year reign.
The temple was picked to welcome the Queen as part of her bid to recognise each of Britain's many faiths during her Golden Jubilee tour of the country.
The visit, by the Queen and Prince Philip on 6 June, will come on their first day of formal engagements after the four-day celebrations of the Golden Jubilee at the beginning of June.
Alongside worshippers at the temple will be representatives from the wider Hindu community in Britain, which has grown from just a handful of followers 50 years ago to an estimated 1.5 million today.
The unprepossessing two-storey building is an unlikely setting for royal history to be made. But work on installing new decorations to the walls and ceiling, and completing a series of shrines, will transform the hall into a suitable setting for the Queen's recognition of the Hindu faith's contribution to modern Britain.
The small temple was chosen because it is like many of the growing number of Hindu places of worship across Britain: relatively small and adapted from an existing building.
When the Queen arrives, she will show respect for Hindu practice by taking off her shoes before walking into the temple. It follows a gesture six years ago in the Pakistani city of Lahore, where she swapped shoes for British Airways flight socks as she toured a mosque.
And after taking off her shoes, the Queen will be given a traditional ceremonial garland, to show her status as an honoured guest, before she is led round the temple's shrines.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen will obviously follow all the customs of the temple and the Hindu faith."
Downstairs, in the temple's community hall, local children will entertain the royal visitors with classical Indian music and dance, while they get a chance to chat with worshippers and Hindu community leaders.
Royal aides have attempted to recognise every one of Britain's faith groups during the Golden Jubilee tour, culminating in a reception for leaders of every religious group at Buckingham Palace on 10 June.
Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Jews and Buddhists, as well as members of smaller faiths, will be welcomed by the Queen in the first reception of its type.
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US asks Pak to stop infiltration in Kashmir
Washington,Friday, May 24, 2002: Taking note of India's "anger" over continued terrorist attacks, the US has told Pakistan to stop infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir and announced that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage would visit Islamabad and New Delhi on June four to help cool the seething tensions between them.
"We understand India's frustrations and anger over continued terrorist actions, but would reiterate that rather than being the solution, military action in this crisis would create even greater problems," State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker told reporters.
Saying that "it is vital for all sides in Kashmir to exercise restraint, to reduce violence," he said "an important component to this process is an end to infiltration into Kashmir, and as we have done before, we call upon Pakistan to do all it can to achieve this objective".
Announcing Armitage's visit, Reeker said it "is important for India and Pakistan to resume a productive dialogue over the issues that divide them, and that includes Kashmir".
Armitage's trip has been planned for several weeks, but officials had not previously given any firm dates. It was not immediately clear which country Armitage would visit first.
Reeker said the US, which is engaged in a flurry of telephone diplomacy to reduce tension in the South Asia, has taken note of President Pervez Musharraf's statements that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used by terrorists for attacks anywhere".
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US promises to "persuade" Pak to stop crossborder terrorism
Washington,Friday, May 24, 2002: The United States has said that it would take the initiative "to persuade Pakistan to stop crossborder terrorism" in Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain said here.
"They (the US) promised us they are taking several initiatives to reduce tensions and that their men are active on both sides and are doing their best to reduce tensions," Narain, leader of a defence delegation here, which met key officials in the State Department, told reporters.
Asked whether as a result of his talks the war clouds over India and Pakistan have lifted, he said "on our side we feel that President Musharraf never lived up to his January 12 speech promises, and our preparations are on".
Stating that Pakistan's crossborder terrorism was one of the major topics of his discussion with US officials, Narain said "we are determined that, if necessary, we might have to take the last recourse if Pakistan does not see reason and agree in some tangible measure to avoid recurrence of this crossborder terrorism and (its) consequences."
Narain said he did not carry any letter from Prime Minister Vajpayee to President Bush but the Prime Minister has sent a letter to Bush urging the United States to "act speedily" on this issue."
He said the United States "had expressed concern, and we told them that our patience has almost come to an end and what Musharraf had promised in his January 12 speech he has not lived up to, and we also felt that the United States had not done enough to control or advise Pakistan on this issue".
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Seven Singaporean turtles rescued from 2 Andheri shops
SEVEN Singaporean turtles trapped in small glass containers at Fish Palace and Silver Sea Aquarium in Andheri were rescued by animal lovers on Thursday. Activists of the People For Animals (PFA), an NGO working for the protection of animals, who rescued the turtles, say the rising Feng Shui craze in the city has created a considerable demand for these turtles, which are considered to bring good luck.
They add that one of the shops claimed to be an expert in Feng Shui.
The two shops, located in Four Bungalows and Seven Bungalows in Andheri (West) were selling the turtles, which have been declared as an endangered species, making it illegal to possess or store them for sale.
Dharmesh Solanki of PFA says the turtles were kept in small glass bowls with muddy water. ‘‘These turtles need to be in and out of water. The muddy water is bad for them and worse, they had hardly any space to move. When we reached the shops, they were trying to come out of the bowls, but were trapped in the tiny containers. The PFA volunteers were accompanied by policemen from Andheri police station. However, no complaint has been filed yet and consequently, no arrest has been made so far.
The turtles have been kept in a safe place, informs Solanki, adding that they will be sent to a suitable country for rehabilitation.
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100 feared trapped in Agra fire
Nearly 100 workers were believed to be trapped as a fire engulfed a shoe factory in India's Taj Mahal town of Agra, firefighters said.
The army was called out to rescue the employees who were trapped on upper floors of the burning building in the bustling Jeoni Mandi market area of Agra, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Police sealed off the area as 150 firefighters backed by 35 fire engines fought to bring the blaze under control.
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IOC to sell stake in ONGC, GAIL
New Delhi,Friday, May 24, 2002: State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is likely to mop up about Rs 51 billion by selling its holdings in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) in next couple of months.
"The Navaratna Board of IOC, on May 17, gave an in-principal approval for sale of 9.61 per cent equity shares in ONGC and 4.8 per cent in GAIL. We are yet to work out the method and details," highly placed company sources said.
IOC is likely to net about Rs 51 billion from the sale of 13.7 crore shares of ONGC at current price of Rs 343.25 and 4.08 crore shares of GAIL at ruling price of Rs 75.1, sources said.
"The modus operandi of the sale is yet to be worked out. We want to see how markets react before we appoint a merchant banker for the sale," sources said.
IOC had in 1999 acquired 9.6 per cent government shareholding in ONGC for Rs 22.25 billion and 4.8 per cent government equity in GAIL for Rs 2.45 billion as part of cross-holding scheme formulated by the then finance secretary Vijay Kelkar.
In return, ONGC picked up 10 per cent in IOC for around Rs 17 billion and 5 per cent in GAIL for Rs 2.45 billion. GAIL bought 2.5 per cent of ONGC's equity for around Rs 6 billion.
"The decision would boost our bottomline and go a long way in sustaining profitability and bringing down the debt-equity ratio," sources added.
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Iraq orders 13,000 tonne Indian sugar at 255 dollars/tonne
New Delhi,Friday, May 24, 2002: India has received yet another order for export of 13,000 tonne sugar to Iraq at an attractive price of 255 dollar per tonne.
"In what is being considered a fabulous price of 255 dollar per tonne Free on Board (FoB), a trading firm has bagged a contract of 13,000 tonnes for June delivery to Iraq," market sources told PTI.
They said the order has been given under the Oil for Food Programme for Iraq of the United Nations and will give a push to exports at a time when global market is dull.
While the London prices are hovering around 200 dollars a tonne, an over 50 dollar premium on that is considered to be significant, they added.
It is not a direct order and the consignment will be sold to another trading firm for further execution, sources said.
Indian firms which are not registered with the Grain Board of Iraq (GBI) are ineligible for participation in the Iraqi tenders but are on the lookout for subcontracts from West Asian traders.
The order is the second in quick succession after the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation clinched a deal for 26250 tonnes for May -June delivery at 230 dollars per tonne FoB.
The first cargo of 13125 tonnes of the ISEC order has already been sent.
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Rupee rallies smartly against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai,Friday, May 24, 2002: The rupee rallied smartly against the US currency on renewed dollar sales by banks following receding war fears.
In moderately active but cautious trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee is currently quoted at Rs.49.01/02 per dollar, sharply higher from Thursday's record low finish of Rs.49.05/06. The rupee opened on a firm footing at Rs.49.01 per dollar.
Slightly easing Indo-Pak border tensions induced banks to unwind long dollar positions and allow the rupee to rebound smartly from overnight record lows, a forex dealer said.
In cross currency trades, the Euro was quoted at Rs.45.07/09, Pound Sterling at Rs.71.26/28 and Japanese Yen (100) at Rs.39.14/16.
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Rains threaten first two one-day internationals
Kingston (Jamaica),Friday, May 24, 2002: India's aim of making up for their disappointing loss in the Test series with a good show in the one-dayers against West Indies hinges not only on their performance but also on the weather, at least for the first two matches scheduled here for Saturday and Sunday.
Rains, that started minutes after India suffered a 155-run loss in the fifth and final Test on Wednesday, have continued unabated for the last three days and have already denied the tourists vital practice. It is very likely that the first one-dayer tomorrow, if not also the second on Sunday, is washed out completely. Strengthened by the arrival of five one-day specialists, India were looking to clinch the one-day series "to salvage some pride", as skipper Sourav Ganguly put it. After taking a 1-0 lead, India lost the five-match Test series with a 1-2 margin to prolong their 16-year drought outside the sub-continent. The five new players were expected to boost the chances of the team in the one-dayers, especially in the batting department which was the main problem area for the Indians in the Test series. Virender Sehwag, Yuveraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were giving the Indians problems of plenty, though, on the strength of their previous perforamances. None of the three, who along with all-rounder Ajit Agarkar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, joined the squad for the one-dayers, have ever played in the West Indies and it remains to be seen how they cope with the conditions here.
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Sensex: 3255.62, +141.57
The sensex closed at 3255.62, up 141.57
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Forex
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1 U.S. $ = 48.99 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.39 INR
1 British Pound = 71.19 INR
1 Canadian $ = 31.81 INR
1 Singapore $ = 27.15 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.32 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.04 INR
1 Euro = 44.94 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.44 INR
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Weather
| Temperature : 88 F / 31 C
HeatIndex : 96 F / 36 C
Humidity : 62%
Dew Point : 73 F / 23 C
Wind : WSW at 14 mph / 22.5 km/h
Wind Gust -
Pressure : 29.74 in / 1007 hPa (Steady)
Conditions : Partly Cloudy
Visibility -
Clouds (FEW): 2000 ft / 611 m
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