Kalam shows compassion for earthquake-affected in Bhuj
Bhuj,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: President A P J Abdul Kalam on Tuesday stressed on the need for "unity of minds" to cope with various problems facing the country and stole the hearts of the people of this town ravaged by a devastating earthquake last year by showing compassion for the affected.
Kalam, who reached Deen Dayal Nagar here from Ahmedabad three hours behind schedule due to some technical snag in his aircraft, said "I have seen lots of distress among the people but I am sure you will face the problems and solve them."
"The Chief Minister (Narendra Modi) is here with me and he will help you in solving your problems," the president said praising the strong will of the Kutch people.
State Industry Minister Suresh Mehta and Education Minister Anandi ben Patel are also accompanying them.
"It is good to see new buildings coming up here. I hope you show the country the way in relief and rehabilitation measures," he said adding the Kutch people have had the misfortune of experiencing drought, earthquake and cyclone but had faced them boldly.
"You are a strong and vibrant people. Wish you all the best," Kalam said.
After his brief speech, the President left for Dagala and Sukhpar in the Bhuj sub-division.
Earlier, Kalam was greeted with cheers by the people who had waited patiently for him. The President first met some school children at Deen Dayal Nagar and also planted a sapling.
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Mother Teresa voted 'greatest Indian'
Mother Teresa of Calcutta has been voted the greatest Indian since the country's independence in 1947 in an Indian magazine survey.
She was the only one on the list not an Indian by birth, led the tally in most of the states in India and across all age groups in the survey carried out by leading English-langauge magazine, Outlook.
Mother Teresa was ranked ahead of independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as frontline independence leader Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who was instrumental in getting the princely states to join the Indian Union.
Mother Teresa, born in Albania, dedicated her life to work among the poor and dying for which she won a Nobel Prize.
She set up amongst other charity organisations, the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950 and lived there until her death in September 1997.
The survey received 50,000 responses which was more then expected.
The survey showed that Indians below the age of 25 years ranked Mother Teresa higher than Jawaharlal Nehru, while those aged 45 years and above voted him as the greatest.
Respondents who are 60 years and above seem to be more cynical about Mother Teresa's contribution than the rest.
The poll did not include the leader of India's freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi, because the magazine decided "to keep the father of the nation above a voting process".
According to the poll results, the top ten Indians are:
Mother Teresa
Jawaharlal Nehru
Vallabhbhai Patel
Indira Gandhi
JRD Tata
BR Ambedkar
Dhirubhai Ambani
Sachin Tendulkar
Jayaprakash Narayan
Atal Behari Vajpayee
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Toughest ever security arrangement for Independence Day
New Delhi,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: Amidst threat from Pakistan-based militant outfits, the toughest ever security arrangements are being put in place to ensure trouble-free Independence Day with anti-aircraft guns being readied to ward off even an aerial attack at the Red Fort, venue for the function.
Security agencies have intercepted certain communications suggesting that militants belonging to Lashker-e-Taiba, Harkat -ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed are planning to carry out some suicide attacks at important installations and against VVIPs, informed sources said.
The arrangements include an unprecedented aerial surveillance to thwart any attempt by militants to use any unmanned aerial vehicle.
Sharp shooters and elite commandos of NSG will keep a hawk's eye on the movement from highrise buildings and other vantage positions all along the parade route as also around the historic Red Fort from whose ramparts Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be hoisting the national tri-colour and address the nation.
Government has installed Air Defence guns in and around the capital. These guns will respond to danger signals from radars installed at strategic places.
Intrestingly, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has intercepted a message of Lashker-e-Taiba suggesting that the cadres of the outfit would be targetting the Reserve Bank of India. Following this, security around the building has been further beefed up.
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No law to book a gutkha vendor, say police
An anti-tobacco activist who caught a vendor selling gutkha on Monday got the shock of his life when the Azad Maidan police told him that there was no law under which they could book the vendor.
Vincent Nazareth of the Crusade Against Tobacco caught Vinod Chaudhary (22), a cigarette vendor, surreptitiously selling gutkha near Churchgate. Posing as a trader from Gujarat,Vincent coaxed him into selling off all his stock. When Vinod brought the sachets, Vincent caught him and took him to the police station.
Vinod was handed over to the Azad Maidan police station, where he has been put in a lock-up and will be produced before the magistrate on Tuesday. He has been arrested not for selling gutkha but for hawking without a licence. In fact, had Vinod furnished the bail bond of Rs 1,200, the police would not have detained him. “There is no law under which can arrest a person selling gutkha,’’ inspector Sanjay Kadam of the Azad Maidan police station told TNN.
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Rallies banned in Rawalpindi, Pak I-day celebrations low key
Islamabad,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: Amid threats of attacks from Islamic militants, Pakistan has scaled down its indpendence day celebrations on Wednesday shifting the venue of the flag hoisting ceremony by Preisdent Pervez Musharraf here and banning all political rallies in the city of Rawalpindi.
Musharraf would unfurl the national flag before a small selected gathering of ministers and diplomats at the closely guarded Convention Centre opposite Parliament building instead of the Jinnah Avenue, the traditional venue for the ceremony officials said.
General public would not be allowed into the venue, the officials said.
After the flag hoisting, Musharraf would address the nation in which he is expected to announce the complete schedule of the October general elections.
He is also expected to announce the final version of his controversial constitutional amendments on sweeping powers to the President and steps to contain Islamic militancy that poses a serious threat to his government.
Islamic militants have stepped up their attacks in the country, particulary on foreign institutions following which some countries like France, US and Italy having closed their consulates in Karachi.
The city adminstration of Rawalpindi, which houses the country's military headquarters and is the hub of political activity, said it had banned the rallies so that the occasion is not used for "subversive activitites'.
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Villagers blame UFO for attacks, but police blame insects
By Prajnan Bhattacharya (The Associated Press)
SHANWA, India (AP) -- It comes in the night, a flying sphere emitting red and blue lights that attacks villagers in this poor region, extensively burning those victims it does not kill.
At least that's what panic-stricken villagers say. At least seven people have died of unexplained injuries in the past week in Uttar Pradesh state.
"A mysterious flying object attacked him in the night," Raghuraj Pal said of his neighbor, Ramji Pal, who died recently in Shanwa. "His stomach was ripped open. He died two days later."
Many others have suffered scratches and surface wounds, which they say were inflicted while they slept. In the village of Darra, 53-year-old Kalawati said she was attacked last week and displayed blisters on her blackened forearms.
"It was like a big soccer ball with sparkling lights," said Kalawati, who uses only one name. "It burned my skin."
"I can't sleep because of pain," she said.
Doctors dismiss the stories as mass hysteria.
"More often than not the victims have unconsciously inflicted the symptoms themselves," said Narrotam Lal, a doctor at King George's Medical College in Lucknow, the state capital.
The police have another explanation: bugs.
"It is a three-and-a-half-inch-long winged insect" that leaves rashes and superficial wounds, Kavindra P. Singh, a superintendent of police, told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Police drew this conclusion after residents of one village found insects they had never seen before.
Villagers are unconvinced. In the most affected area, the Mirzapur district, 440 miles southeast of New Delhi, people have stopped sleeping outdoors despite the sweltering heat and frequent power outages.
Villagers also have formed protection squads that patrol Shanwa, beating drums and shouting slogans such as, "Everyone alert. Attackers beware."
Some accuse district officials of inaction and failing to capture the "aliens." One person died Thursday in nearby Sitapur when police fired shots to disperse a 10,000-strong crowd demanding that authorities capture the mysterious attackers.
"People just block the roads and attack the police for inaction each time there's a death or injury," said Amrit Abhijat, Mirzapur's district magistrate, who claims he has captured the UFO on film.
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US Congressman condemns Amarnath attack
Washington,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: Condemning the recent killing of Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir, US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has said the war against terrorism will truly succeed only after Pakistan rids itself of religious extremists and terrorist elements.
"These attacks occur every time this trip is undertaken and this year is no exception. The targetted attacks against civilians must stop before there can be peace in Kashmir," he said in a statement here on Monday.
Emphasising the need for Islamabad to halt such attacks, he said "Pakistan, must work harder to stop the infiltration of militants into Kashmir. These terrorists are not only trying to destabilise the upcoming elections in Kashmir, they are also targetting President (Pervez) Musharraf's own regime."
"Only after Pakistan rids itself of religious extremists and terrorist elements will the war on terrorism truly succeed," he said.
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Infosys rated as best Quality IT company by KPMG
New York,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: India's software giant Infosys Technologies has achieved the unique distinction of becoming the first company in the world to be assessed at the optimum Level 5 on the PCMM model by KPMG Consulting.
The assessment has been carried out at Infosys Development Centre in Pune, which employs 1393 Infoscions -- the largest centre outside its headquarters in Bangalore, the company said.
The PCMM model has five levels of maturity and twenty- two Key Performance Areas (KPAs), across these five levels. The model helps software organizations increase their ability to attract, develop, motivate, organize and retain the talent needed to continuously improve their software development capabilities.
It also helps to develop and promote a culture of excellence amongst its people. The PCMM assessment marks another milestone in the company's successful track record of Level 5 assessments, on software CMM and more recently, the CMM integrated, it said.
The company said it has been a pioneer in innovative workforce practices -- be it in creating wealth for employees through wide distribution of stock options or in creating a fun workplace with various amenities such as a gymnasium, amphitheatre or multi-cuisine food courts.
The company's ability to retain talent is well above the industry norms. The company's individual training plan for employees ensures near cent per cent coverage of employees in the performance management process, it added.
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India to hold trade Expo in Moscow
Moscow,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: India is to hold an exclusive trade exhibition here in February next year to boost exports to Russia.
A delegation of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) just concluded its visit to Moscow to finalise arrangements for the Indian Expo, which is expected to bring together over 400 reputed Indian companies and export houses.
ITPO Executive Director Ranjan Chatterjee said the Indian Expo would focus on non-traditional goods and commodities for high-end and middle segments of the market, with a 'modest' representation of traditional items like tea, coffee and spices.
Expensive Indian jewellery items and other luxury goods would be one of the main thrusts of the Indian export promotion efforts, he said.
Chatterjee said he was amazed at the immense changes in Moscow, which has become an 'island of wealth', since his last visit in 1975.
"Moscow is just like Paris, New York or London," he said after spending days at stretch in the post-Communist Russia's exclusive malls with showrooms and boutiques of world known companies marketing most expensive items of luxury the money can buy.
"It would be a blunder to sit on the fence and let the Russian market slip away, where once upon a time India had dominated", Chatterjee said.
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Moon within our reach: ISRO
he report of the lunar mission task force, which was constituted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) last year, states that the moon is within India’s reach.
The report, which was submitted to Isro chairperson K. Kasturirangan in July, emphasises that this country has the technical capability to launch an unmanned flight to the moon in five years.
The task force was headed by George Joseph, former director of the Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre. Its other members included space scientists P C Agarwal of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai and N Bhandari of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad. Its membersecretary was K. Thyagarajan of the ISRO satellite centre in Bangalore.
Speaking to TNN from Ahmedabad on Monday, Joseph said:
* The rocket to be used for the mission will be the highly-proven Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
* After launch, the satellite will be initially placed in a particular orbit (the geo-synchronous transfer orbit).
* At this point, it will fire its thruster motors,which will raise the satellite to the lunar orbit. The flight from launch to the lunar orbit is expected to last for five days.
* A deep space network for communication purposes has to be set up prior to embarking on the lunar mission. One such unit can be set up at the tracking centre at Bangalore.
The project will cost less than Rs 400 crore, which includes setting up the deep space network.
Joseph said the Indian moon project arose out of Kasturirangan’s vision to embark on such an exciting and challenging mission. According to Joseph, it has the backing of prestigious bodies like the Astronautical Society of India.
Once the Indian lunar mission is given the formal go-ahead by Kasturirangan, it will have be to be cleared at different levels in the government.
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India force a draw with a united effort
Trent Bridge (England),Tuesday, August 13, 2002: In a rare collective effort, the famed Indian batting trinity of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly fired in unison to lead a dogged resistance and force a draw in the second cricket Test against England on the fifth and final day here.
Dravid cracked a gritty 115 on Monday and batted for nearly a session each with Tendulkar and Ganguly - both of whom got out in the nineties - to enable India post a second innings total of 424 for eight.
Having conceded a 260-run first innings lead, India were ahead by 164 runs with two wickets standing but with only 10 more overs remaining in the day, a result was not possible and both the captains agreed to call off the play.
It was an impressive recovery from the Indians who had slipped to 11 for two when both their openers had failed. Resuming at their overnight 99 for two, India lost just one wicket each in the morning and post-lunch session while adding 216 runs.
Apart from the trio, there were some important knocks from the batsmen lower down the order too, especially from Ajit Agarkar and debutant wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel who not only contributed 32 and an unbeaten 19 runs runs respectively but also hung in long enough to deny the Englishmen any opportunity to try and chase the Indian total. Zaheer Khan also did well by defying the English bowlers for 40 deliveries to remain unbeaten on 14.
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No change to ambush marketing protections - ICC
London,Tuesday, August 13, 2002: The International Cricket Council has advised all Boards that it would not change the "ambush marketing protection" given to the ICC's commercial sponsors.
In a letter to all Chief Executives, ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, referred to the importance of these protections to the sport and said all boards should meet their obligation to send their best teams to the ICC Champions Trophy.
In line with other major sporting events and previous Cricket World Cups, the ICC is protecting its commercial partners by ensuring that their competitors are unable to associate with the event.
In 2000, based on agreements in place for the 1999 World Cup, all Boards, through the ICC, agreed to a number of sponsorship and personal endorsement restrictions in return for 550 million dollars for the commercial rights to ICC events until 2007.
The ICC is to distribute a record 102 million dollars of this income to the Boards and the players from the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.
In addition to this payment, South Africa is to receive tens of millions of dollars to stage the tournament, including the funding for ground redevelopment and infrastructure while 13 million dollars is to go directly to fund the development of the game around the world.
In return the ICC is seeking to ensure that the agreements previously reached with the Boards are adhered to.
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India, England fined for slow overs rate
Trent Bridge (England),Tuesday, August 13, 2002: Match referee Clive Lloyd has fined both India and England for slow over rate in the second Test match which ended in a draw here on Monday.
Lloyd docked India 40 per cent of their match fee for bowling eight overs short during England's lone innings in the Test, an official spokesman said here. England were fined 10 per cent of their match fee for bowling two overs short.
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