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Headlines
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News:
Peace prevails in Gujarat
Shelling continues along LOC in J and K
Security beefed up in Ayodhya
Pak will not initiate war: Musharraf
US condemns terrorist attack on police station in Kashmir
King Gyanendra to visit India
US does not endorse any specific plan to resolve Kashmir issue
Rupee weakens against US dollar in early trade:
ED files chargesheet against six former ITC officials
Govt dubs VSNL decision as breach of trust; seeks reversal
BSE: share values open weak
25-hour tabla marathon creates Guinness record
Ace leg spinner Subhash Gupte dead
Confident India take on Windies in crucial tie
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Sensex: 3125.73, -10.16
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Forex, Metals and
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News
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Peace prevails in Gujarat
Ahmedabad,Friday, May 31, 2002: Situation remained peaceful in the city and other parts of Gujarat with no untoward incident reported during the last 24 hours, police said here today.
The curfew, imposed in Kadi town of Mehsana district after the violence on Tuesday last, was relaxed for four hours from 10 am, police sources told PTI.
Peace prevailed in Baroda which had witnessed violence in Panigate area on Wednesday last.
In Ahmedabad city life was normal even after the series of bomb blasts on Tuesday, police said.
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Shelling continues along LOC in J and K
Jammu,Friday, May 31, 2002: One army jawan was killed in heavy exchange of mortar shelling and firing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir since Thrusday night, a Defence spokesman said today.
Pakistani troops resorted to heavy artillery and mortar shelling from across the LoC in Kargil and Drass sectors forcing Indian troops to retaliate, he said here.
One jawan was killed at a forward post due to the shelling in one of these sectors, the spokesman said.
Exchange of mortar and small arms fire also took place in several sectors along LOC, he said, adding casualities or damage on the other side could not be ascertained.
Reports from Rajouri district said mortar shelling continued in Bhawani and Jhanghar sectors upto 0400 hours today without any loss or damage on the Indian side.
Small arms fire exchange was also reported in some areas along International Border in Jammu and Kathua district since Thrusday night, official sources said.
Forced by the firing from across the border, about 56 families have migrated from Dakar and Battal villages of Khour sector Thrusday night, the sources said, adding they have been provided shelter in Kala and Doli Dongi villages.
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Security beefed up in Ayodhya
Ayodhya,Friday, May 31, 2002: Security arrangements in the temple town have been beefed up in view of the closing ceremony of VHP's 'purnahuti yagya' here on June 2.
Para military forces and police staged a flag march through the main streets in Faizabad and Ayodhya Thursday evening.
Forty companies of PAC, four companies of RAF and a large number of police personnel have been posted in the twin cities to maintain peace during the functions, police sources said.
ADG (law and order) Tilak Kak, ADG (intelligence) A K Mitra and IG (Lucknow zone) A K Jain visited Ayodhya on Thursday and held a high-level meeting to review the security arrangements, the sources said.
The district administration has taken security steps, installing metal detectors at Hanuman Garhi crossing and barring vehicular traffic.
Security checks are being carried out at all entry points in the acquired land in view of terrorist threats in the past and anti-riot and bomb disposal squads have been deployed in the sensitive areas, the sources said.
Entry of all kinds of vehicles into Faizabad district would be banned from midnight of June one, they said.
VHP sources said a 'dharam sabha' will be held at Ramsewakpuram on June one and closing ceremony of 'purnahuti yagya' will be held at Karsewakpuram in the morning of June 2.
VHP leaders like Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Pravinbhai Togadia are likely to take part in the ceremony.
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Pak will not initiate war: Musharraf
Islamabad,Friday, May 31, 2002: After threatening to unleash a storm if Indian forces set foot on Pakistan's soil, President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday scaled down his rhetoric by offering the guarantee that his country will not initiate a war.
"All that I can do is give my own assurance. That we will try to avoid conflict. It will be the utmost endeavour to avoid conflict. I have been saying all along that conflict will only take place here if it is initiated by India. We will not be the initiators. This is my guarantee", he said.
Musharraf had in the past two days increased the tempo of the military tensions by issuing a series of warnings to take the war into the Indian territory.
Asked what message he had for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said "I am a soldier and know what destruction it (war) causes. I know what happens when your colleagues suffer and may be even die. I understand the miseries of war. There is need for both sides to avoid war. This is my message to Prime Minister Vajpayee", he said after signing the trilateral gas pipeline project involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
To a question on mediation, he said "any mediation helps. It does serve good purpose. We encourage mediation. (British Foreign Secretary) Jack Straw came here and we had a frank discussion with him. I am sure such third party interaction do help defuse the situation".
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US condemns terrorist attack on police station in Kashmir
Washington,Friday, May 31, 2002: The US has condemned Thursday's terrorist attack on Doda police line in Kashmir as "most irresponsible" and "very dangerous" and warned that such incidents were aimed at taking the tensions between India and Pakistan to a "higher level and undermining regional stability".
"In the current charged climate of tension between two nuclear-armed neighbours poised for war, this attack appears to be aimed at taking tensions to a higher level and undermining regional stability," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said here while urging immediate end to violence.
"We have had terribly irresponsible people attack a police station, and that is a horrible thing, and very dangerous in this situation".
"There is a danger that such irresponsible elements will try to spark a conflict between India and Pakistan by engaging in terrorist provocations," Boucher said repeating his earlier warnings.
Urging both the sides "to do utmost to reduce violence, lower the rhetoric and exercise restraint", Boucher said "only terrorists would benefit from a war in South Asia".
Boucher said the US was looking forward to President Pervez Musharraf to fulfill his commitments on not allowing Pakistani territory or territory controlled by it to be used for terrorist actions.
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King Gyanendra to visit India
Kathmandu,Friday, May 31, 2002: Signifying the importance Kathmandu attaches to New Delhi, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev will make his first ever foreign trip to India from June 23 after his accession to the throne last June.
During his week-long trip, the King will be accompanied by Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, a royal palace announcement said today.
King Gyanendra, who was declared King after the killing of King Birendra and other family members in the Royal Palace massacre last year, would meet President K R Narayanan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the statement said.
The visit comes three months after Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba paid an official visit to India in March this year.
Gyanendra, younger brother of late King Birendra was declared the King after the June 1 Royal Palace massacre, in which King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Crown Prince Deependra and other members of the Royal Family were killed.
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US does not endorse any specific plan to resolve Kashmir issue
Washington,Friday, May 31, 2002: The United States has said it does not endorse any specific plan for solving Kashmir issue but President George W Bush is mulling a two-step strategy to resolve the dispute between India and Pakistan -- ease tension and then find a solution acceptable to both the countries.
President Bush is contemplating a two step strategy on Kashmir and the Indo-Pakistan situation -- first ease the tension and after that is accomplished, see whether there can be a solution to which both countreis can agree to, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters here yesterday.
Declining a question on whether the US would favour an independent Kashmir, Fleischer rejected President Pervez Musharraf's assertion that he cannot stop cross-border infiltration from Pakistan.
"Well, Pakistan has a robust military force, and the ability internally to take action to prevent terrorists from crossing through Line of Control," he said.
Asked about the possibility of a nuclear war, he said "the US views any type of war as a dangerous situation. That is why the US is making every effort to stop war of any type".
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Rupee weakens against US dollar in early trade:
Mumbai,Friday, May 31, 2002: Mounting border tensions and month-end dollar demand drove the rupee lower against the US currency early today in moderately active but slightly nervous trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.
Opening on a weak note at Rs 49.01/02 per dollar, the rupee later declined to Rs 49.0250/0350 in late morning deals, sharply lower from Thursday's finish of Rs 49.0000/0050.
Escalating tensions in the subcontinent continued to weigh heavily on the rupee, which was partly compounded by residual month-end dollar demand.
However, the Central Bank will be monitoring the situation and will prevent any sharp rupee decline to record lows by timely dollar-selling intervention, a forex dealer said.
In cross currency trades, the Euro was quoted at Rs 45.93/96, Pound Sterling at Rs 71.81/84 and Japanese Yen (100) at Rs 39.75/77.
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ED files chargesheet against six former ITC officials
Kolkata,Friday, May 31, 2002: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today chargesheeted six former officials of tobacco major, ITC Limited, for alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), but discharged four others including former chairmen, J N Sapru and K L Chugh.
The chargesheet was filed before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate here under Sections 8 and 9 of FERA for illegally acquiring and transferring foreign exchange without the permission of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or any other competent authority of the Government of India.
The Special Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of ED, A K Tewary, said that the chargesheet was filed against former Directors G K P Reddy, R K Kutty and R P Agarwal and top officials E Ravindranathan, N Laxminarayanan and M B Rao.
The officials were liable to be prosecuted under Section 56 of FERA which provides for upto six years of zczc
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Govt dubs VSNL decision as breach of trust; seeks reversal
New Delhi,Friday, May 31, 2002: Government today asked VSNL to reverse its decision to invest Rs 12 billion in a Tata group company as it tantamounts to 'breach of trust', failing which all legal options will be explored.
"I am requesting them to reverse the decision. My secretary will write to them. At least government nominee should have been a part of board subcommittee which considers investment proposals," Communication Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.
"If this is not done then the goverment will do whatever is legally possible and permissible... afterall government is government," he said.
Mahajan's reaction came after VSNL, in which Tatas took management control in April, took the stand that it was well within its rights and would not reverse the decision to invest Rs 12 billion in Tata Teleservices taken on May 28.
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BSE: share values open weak
Mumbai,Friday, May 31, 2002: Indo-Pak border tension continued to weigh on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today with share values resuming on a weak note for want of buying support.
The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened hardly changed at 3136.41 and touched a high of 3140.03. Later it met with strong resistance and dropped to a low of 3111.05 before being quoted at 3112.30 at 10.55 a.m. as against Thursday's close of 3135.89.
Looking at the heavy selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), which sold shares worth Rs 2.35 billion in the first three sessions of the week, dealers said that FIIs are pulling out of the market following war fears leading to sustained downslide in share prices.
However, the news of privatisation of India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog Limited Thursday and promise of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to stop cross-border terrorism "within certain period", could not impact positively.
Among major losers, Rolta India declined by 4.87 per cent, Polaris Soft by 3.92 per cent, SAIL by 2.96 per cent, M&M by 2.90 per cent and Ranbaxy by 2.88 per cent.
Rayban, however rose by 4.98 per cent, Thomas Cook by 4.89 per cent, ICICI Bank by 3.83 per cent, Mastek by 3.55 per cent and HCL Info by 2.26 per cent.
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25-hour tabla marathon creates Guinness record
(Express News Service)
The rhythmic beat of the tabla pierced the silence of the night. But as the city slept, the man responsible for this soulful music steadily moved towards becoming the newest entrant to the Guinness Book of World Records. At the stroke of 1 pm on Thursday, it was fait accompli for Rakesh Kumar (30), who played the tabla for 25 hours, non-stop.
Kumar, who has received seven years of tabla taalim from the late Ustad Alla Rakha and tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, was a picture of concentration since he took the gaddi at 12 noon on Wednesday. In spite of the tiredness cloaking him, his fingers never slowed through the performance, an event organised by Masterminds and Manoranjan Events in collaboration with Hotel Kohinoor Continental, Andheri. With just an hour to go before cracking the record, a sense of simmering expectancy enveloped the room by then filled with members of the media and others. Without skipping a beat, Kumar turned around to look at the wall clock behind him, smiled and continued playing with his eyes closed lost in a world of his own making. Then, at 12.40 pm, Kumar beckoned to his brother, Roopesh, to join him with his sarod.
Then, only five more minutes, Roopesh tells his brother, and there is a burst of energy from Rakesh the last of his stamina goes into performing at a furious pace. At the stroke of 1 pm, Kumar ended with a flourish, amid thundering applause.
Born to a small family of priests in Jharkhand, Kumar has been playing the tabla since the age of five. He has also won the Best Tabla Player Award at Sanskar Bharatvidya Bhavan in 1994-95. He currently teaches at the Ustad Alla Rakha Institute of Music.
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Ace leg spinner Subhash Gupte dead
Mumbai,Friday, May 31, 2002: Subhash Gupte, one of the greatest leg-spinners the cricketing world has known, died in Trinidad late Thursday night, according to his brother Balu Gupte.
Subhash Gupte, 72, had been ailing for some years. His health detiorated four days ago and the end came at 7.20 am (IST) today, Balu Gupte, himself a leg-spinner who represented the country, told PTI here. Known to be too accurate for a leg-spinner, Subhash Gupte claimed 149 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of 29.55. Gupte, who played for India from 1951-52 to 1961-62, took nine for 102 in the second Test at Kanpur against the Gerry Alexander-led West Indies in 1958-59.
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Confident India take on Windies in crucial tie
Port of Spain,Friday, May 31, 2002: Having taken a 1-0 lead, India would be keen to wrap up the rain-truncated one-day series here as they take on West Indies in the fourth match tomorrow on a ground that has been traditionally lucky for them.
India's inability to pull through in the final matches in recent times has made them treat the penultimate game tomorrow as the all-important affair.
Skipper Sourav Ganguly was quite confident about his team taking a winning 2-0 lead tomorrow after the first two one-day internationals at Jamaica were washed out by rains.
"We don't want to leave it to the last game," said Indian Ganguly. "We would finish the job straightaway."
Part of the enthuthiasm stems from the fact that the Queen's Park Oval has been the luckiest ground for the Indians in the Caribbean. All their three Test victories in West Indies have come at this venue with the latest one coming on this particular tour only.
The Indians are also buoyed by their comprehensive seven- wicket win in the Bridgetown one-dayer, especially with the way the junior memebers of the team fared. Speedster Tinu Yohannan and left-hand batsman Dinesh Mongia, the only two players not to have got a single Test on this tour despite being in the squad, won the match for the Indians with their sterling performances.
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Sensex: 3125.73, -10.16
The sensex closed at 3125.73, down 10.16
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Forex
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1 U.S. $ = 48.96 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.39 INR
1 British Pound = 71.79 INR
1 Canadian $ = 31.95 INR
1 Singapore $ = 27.42 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.33 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.05 INR
1 Euro = 45.95 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.45 INR
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Weather
| Temperature : 88 F / 31 C
HeatIndex : 98 F / 37 C
Humidity : 66%
Dew Point : 75 F / 24 C
Wind : NW at 9 mph / 14.5 km/h
Wind Gust -
Pressure : 29.65 in / 1004 hPa (Steady)
Conditions : Partly Cloudy
Visibility -
Clouds (FEW): 2000 ft / 611 m
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