India will use nuke weapons if peace threatened: Kalam
New Delhi,Thursday, November 14, 2002: In a significant statement, President A P J Abdul Kalam today said that despite "no first use" policy, India will use nuclear weapons when peace is threatened and some other country uses against it.
"We have taken a decision that India will not use nuclear weapons first but when peace is threatened and somebody else uses it, India will use it for defending the country", he said replying to a question from a student how can nuclear weapon be used for peace.
Maintaining that all around nations have nuclear weapons, Kalam said "when two of our neighbours have got nuclear weapons, naturally for India, to protect peace, we have to have it".
The President mingled with the children answering questions which ranged from his vision to make India a developed nation to how to stop brain drain and development of North East.
A missile technologist, Kalam appeared like a teacher for sometime when he went to the big slide screen to explain his "Vision for India".
A loud applause reverberated in the huge hall at the Vigyan Bhavan when acclaimed music director A R Rehman composed a song based on Kalam's "Ignited Minds" which was sung by a group of children.
Recalling that he had visited several states after he became President, Kalam said that one question that he often encountered was how to make a "secure, prosperous and peaceful India. "It is possible. If their (children) minds are ignited, it will be very powerful".
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VHP to ensure "no violence" during yatra
Ahmedabad,Thursday, November 14, 2002: Defying the Election Commission ban, the VHP today announced that it will go ahead with its planned yatra from Godhra on November 17.
Accusing Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngodh of misleading the nation and trying to impose his will on the masses, VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia told newsmen that the "Padshahi yatra" would commence from Godhra, the place where 58 Ram Sewaks were burnt in a rail coach on February 27. Calling Godhra the "Somnath of Gujarat", he said the Yatra would end in Ahmedabad on December six, the 10th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid mosque.
+I want to tell the entire nation that there will be no violence at all during our yatra. It is a yatra of saints and the religious freedom of expression should not be curbed+, he said a day after the Election Commission asked the state government not to allow the yatra on the ground it will raise communal passions and disturb peace.
THe VHP leader also denied there were plans for display of the replica of S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express that was torched on February 27, and said the report about it was "spread by media and not by VHP".
He also showed a written permission for the yatra that the Parishad had +reportedly+ obtained from the district magistrate late Wednesday night.
Replying to a question, Togadia said 2000 saints from all over the country would join the yatra from various places and at certain places followers might congregate for a glimpse.
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Charges to be framed against Hindujas
New Delhi,Thursday, November 14, 2002: A Special Court today ordered framing of charges against three Hinduja brothers and the Swedish gun manufacturer A B Bofors in the Rs 640 million Bofors payoff case.
Special Judge Prem Kumar ordered framing of charges against the three Europe-based brothers - Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand - and the Swedish compancy under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and Section 5(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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Huge condom welcomes Bill Gates
HYDERABAD, India - An eight-foot tall condom greeted Microsoft chairman Bill Gates Thursday during a visit to an Indian city, a tribute to mark his generosity in fighting AIDS.
The world's richest man smiled when he saw the giant air-filled condom in India's rising technology hub of Hyderabad, where his company has opened its first software development center outside the United States.
The billionaire inaugurated his four-day visit to India on Monday by announcing $100 million in contributions from his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to spread awareness on AIDS.
India has four million people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, making it the second largest number in the world after South Africa.
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Waste segregation at home to be mandatory
THE Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to make segregation of garbage by domestic households compulsory all over the city in the coming months.
Announcing this at a press conference today, K C Srivastava, Municipal Commissioner said that the civic body would extend its cleanliness drive, Swachha Mumbai Abhiyan, beyond its deadline of November 14.
>>From November 15, the drive will be implemented in conjunction with the Sant Ghadge Baba cleanliness drive and will intensively focus on the segregation of waste by domestic households, hospitals and commercial institutions and will ultimately strive to make the city ‘totally’ free of garbage.
Srivastava said from December 1, a 100-day campaign to increase awareness about segregation of waste on a compulsory basis would be launched.
At the end of this campaign’s period, that is from April 1 2003, the BMC will start slapping fines of not less than Rs 1,000 on those who do not segregate waste at its source point into ‘dry’ and ‘wet’.
Further, as a part of this drive, from January 1 2003, the BMC will make it mandatory for the builders of new structures to create facility for vermi-composting of ‘wet’ waste inside their compounds otherwise, they would be refused the grant of civic approvals for the structures as well as their later occupation. Besides, from April 1 2003, the BMC will refuse to pick up garbage of those hotels, hospitals and nursing homes which do not segregate their generated waste.
Giving more details, Srivastava said that all types waste of generators, whether household or commercial and also hospitals, would need to keep two types of bins at the source-point for the collection of garbage. While the white bin would store only dry garbage, a green bin should be kept for wet garbage including vegetables.
Accordingly, they would be separately unloaded on garbage-removal transport lorries. Later, while the dry waste would be segregated by a voluntary ragpicker NGO called ‘Stree Mukti Sangathana’, the wet waste would re-used through community vermi-composting facility which could be built at open spaces inside building compounds.
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Indo-UK relations stronger now: Blair
London,Thursday, November 14, 2002: Describing India as one of the most important countries in the world with its people having "tremendous spirit of enterprise", British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said Indo-UK relations have become stronger after undergoing a "huge change".
"The relations between our two countries have obviously undergone a huge change in the past few years. They are stronger today than, I remember, at any point of time. That is an excellent thing," he said on Wednesday night at the House of Commons, which for the second time in a fortnight celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights.
While the Diwali celebration on Oct 31 was organised by Keith Vaz, Former Minister for Europe, and several Hindu organisations, last night's function was organised by the Labour Friends of India which has a support of 122 MPs. It was attended by Tourism Minister Jagmohan, Indian High Commissioner Ronen Sen, British Treasury Secretary Paul Boeteng, several MPs and distinguished citizens.
Terming his visit to India earlier this year as "immensely memorable," Blair, who also lighted a traditional lamp on the occasion, said for obvious reasons "India is one of the most important countries in the world."
Despite the problems of poverty and underdevelopment, he said "there is a tremendous spirit of enterprise, willingness and desire to get up and go" in the country.
Jagmohan said the Indian culture and civilisation had survived mainly because of the many festivals like Diwali.
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Paedophile couple produced in court
(Express News Service)
A Swiss couple accused of running a porn racket involving children was produced before a sessions judge on Wednesday for framing of charges in the case.
Justice S B Munde, however, deferred the framing of charges as several lawyers, responding to a boycott call, were absent from the court.
The couple has also applied for bail, pleading that the investigations were over and the chargesheet had already been filed.
They also assured the court that they would co-operate with the authorities in the investigations and will not tamper with the evidence.
Special public prosecutor R V Kini, opposed the bail plea saying that the two were foreign nationals and if released would tamper with the evidence and could also abscond.
The couple, Wilheim and Mary Lily Marty were arrested in December 2000 for filming children in the nude and performing sexual acts. The films were later supplied to different websites.
The couple has been charged under Section 366 (for procuring a minor girl) and section 292 (for selling obscene material) among others.
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Petrol, diesel to cost less from Nov.16: Naik
New Delhi,Wednesday, November 13, 2002: State-run oil companies will pass on the fall in international curde oil prices to domestic consumers by reducing petrol and diesel prices this week, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said today.
"I am happy that international (crude) prices have fallen. So if the trend continues, on November 16 oil companies would revise petrol and diesel prices downward," Naik told reporters here.
The Indian basket of crude oil has averaged 23.72 dollars a barrel this month as against the average of 26.65 dollars per barrel cost in the second half of October.
"Fall in prices will be good news for consumers," he said but did not indicate the likely reduction.
As per the mechanism evolved after dismantling of Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) this fiscal, oil companies are to fix consumer retail price for petrol and diesel on the first and 16th of every month based on the average procurement cost of crude during the forthnight.
Benchmark brent crude has fallen from 27.31 dollars a barrel in the second fortnight of October to 24.21 dollars a barrel this month.
State-run oil companies, which maintained the price line last forthnight with steady trend in international markets, had raised petrol and diesel prices by upto Rs 1.50 per litre each since September.
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Refocus on traditional crafts to enhance exports: Shekhawat
New Delhi,Thursday, November 14, 2002: Indian industry could no longer depend solely on government support to survive global competition, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said today and emphasised the need to refocus on comparative advantages in traditional products and crafts to enhance exports.
"If the industry under the WTO regime depends purely on government support it cannot survive. Large industries must focus on retaining competitiveness in terms of good price and quality. At the same time we need to refocus on our competence in small sector traditional products and crafts to enhance our exports," he said.
Inaugrating the 22nd India International Trade Fair in the capital he said competition had increased due to globalisation under the WTO regime and it was therefore imperative for the industry to be able to generate its own investment and become self-reliant.
Craftsman in the villages could easily make a mark in the global market, provided they are given market access and modern tools to manufacture their products, he said.
Citing tourism as an example, he said tourists from across the globe visited India primarily for its old forts and palaces which were marvels of craftsmanship.
The demand for India's traditional crafts and products could be better assessed by undertaking studies of the market demand of products in different countries, he said.
Terming the fair as an opportunity for local industries to take a competitive view, he said a detailed data should be compiled on the prices and the goods sold in the fair to serve as a reference to the industry in the future.
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RBI notifies draft scheme for merger of Nedungadi with PNB
Mumbai,Thursday, November 14, 2002: The Reserve Bank of India today said it has notified the draft scheme of amalgamation of Nedungadi Bank Ltd with Punjab National Bank.
The scheme has been forwarded to both the banks for their comments and has invited suggestions or objections by November 30, RBI said in a statement here today.
The apex bank on November two had placed the Kerala-based bank under moratorium upto February one, 2003 and restricted depositors from withdrawing more than Rs 5,000 during this period.
Allaying fears of depositors, the RBI said the proposed amalgamation envisaged full protection of public deposits and it would make all efforts to complete the due process for the proposed merger as early as possible.
RBI said it would consider requests on case to case basis following requests from depositors of Kerala-based bank to allow them to withdraw their deposits in excess of the limit of Rs 5,000 for personal and other reasons.
The bank chairman and the regional director for Kerala have been issued with necessary instructions in this regard, RBI said.
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India should be wary of competition from China
Bangalore,Thursday, November 14, 2002: India can no longer "wish away" the competition from China and hence a national commitment at every level to effectively face such competition is essential, Twelfth Finance Commission member and former Union Cabinet Secretary T R Prasad said today.
The competition between India and China must be "seen in its reality", he said, inaugurating the 10th "Quality Summit" of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
Chinese goods were 20 to 40 per cent cheaper,he said, noting however that it could not be said that productivity was low in India. The Government was putting more taxes (on goods in India). Also, for China, domestic demand was driving the competition.
He said China had been following one-child norm effectively, which makes more resources available for a family to spend. India, Prasad said, had to adopt at least a two-child norm so that more earnings are available to a family.
Stating that quality was a pre-condition for competition, he said quality was basic whether it was manufacturing, governance, education or services.
"Unless we change and bring in quality, we will be out of the international market," he said.
CII Institute of Quality Chairman K N Shenoy said Indian industry and the Indian economy had been caught in "turbulent waters". "The going has been tough as has been the case across the globe".
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Cricket: Security takes centrestage in troubled series
Ahmedabad,Thursday, November 14, 2002: With bowling remaining their biggest concern, India are likely to include left-arm spinner Murali Kartik for Friday's high-security day-night game against West Indies which will be under the scanner for altogether different reasons.
Following crowd violence in all the first three matches, security concerns have taken the centrestage at this volatile venue which had witnessed crowd trouble in an earlier match also, incidentally involving West Indies in 1993.
Heavy security arrangements have been made in the city and the stadium has been virtually turned into a fortress after International Cricket Council threatened to review the status of venues where crowd trouble is incessant.
Aside from all the security paraphernalia that has kept their minds engaged no doubt, the Indian team was thinking about the strategy to adopt in the only day-night game of the seven-match series which they trail 1-2.
And it seems Kartik, who was included in the squad in place of leg-spinner Anil Kumble for the next two one-dayers, and, possibly all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, form an important part of the team's strategy as the hosts try to add more variety and sting to their bowling attack.
Bangar, who broke into the one-day team on strength of his fine all-round performance in the Tests, is also likely to get his first game of the series, most probably in place of J P Yadav.
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Govt forms committee to probe into Sunita doping scandal
New Delhi,Thursday, November 14, 2002: Even as the athletic federation gave a clean chit to middle-distance runner Sunit Rani after its internal probe, the Government today instituted a high-level committee to inquire into the doping scandal.
It has asked the committee, headed by former Sports Secretary S S Sharma, to submit its report within three months.
The decision to set up the committee was taken by Sports Ministry in view of the "wide ranging concern" over the issue.
The inquiry committee will also include among others Prof Y K Gupta, Department of Pharmacology in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, an official press release said here today.
Sunita Rani was stripped of her gold and bronze medals after she tested positive for banned substance nandrolone during the Busan Asian Games but has vehemently denied having taken any performance-enhancing drugs.
The committee, constituted almost a month after the doping fiasco broke out, will go into the role of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI), Sports Authority of India (SAI), manager of the team and coaches.
The committee will suggest measures which could have been taken to avoid such a situation, ascribe responsibility wherever possible and recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such instances.
The constitution of a government committee, barely three days after the middle distance runner was given a clean chit by the Amateur Athletic Federation of India, has given a new twist to the doping controversy.
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Japanese team in Nagaland to apologise for war crimes
(Times News Network)
GUWAHATI: A group of Japanese church leaders have apologised to the Nagas for atrocities committed by their soldiers during World War II in Battle of Kohima.
The church leaders are in Kohima leading the delegation of Agape, the charity supported by the Japanese government and business houses, to promote reconciliation between the Japanese people and those who bore the brunt of Japanese army atrocities.
"The Nagas suffered because they sided with the Allied forces. So we apologise to them," Keiko Holmes said on phone from Kohima.
On Tuesday, the visiting Agape delegation held a special service at the Commonwealth War Memorial in Kohima. "We prayed for those who suffered and died at the hands of the Japanese," Holmes said.
An eighty-year old war veteran, Dovi Khate, formally accepted the apology on the behalf of the Nagas and granted pardon. "My friends were tortured by the Japanese and I was very bitter but now that they have apologised, it is all over," Khate said at the end of the special service at the War Memorial, where nearly 2,000 Allied troops, mostly British, lay buried.
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Bangloreans witness Jesus in a chapatti
(ANI)
Thousands of devotees thronged a small suburb in Bangalore to catch the glimpse of their venerable deity, Jesus Christ, on, believe it or not, a chapati.
Strange but this is true. A hazy image of Jesus appeared on a chapati that was partly burnt, a demonstration that faith is rewarded by miracles.
Sheela Anthony, a staunch follower of Jesus, came home after offering Friday prayers at a church and prepared chapatis for her kids. The children refused to eat one of them as it was burnt. After looking at it carefully, she found an emblem of Jesus on the burnt part.
Thereafter Sheela Authony took it to Father George Jacob of Renewal Retreat Center, who confirmed that the image was that of Jesus. He firmly believes that it is a miracle.
"Being a staunch devotee of Jesus, it was Sheela's great gift to the other followers. From morning till late in the evening, around 20,000 people come in to catch the glimpse of Lord Jesus on the chapati," said Father Jacob.
The "holy chapati" has been placed at the central shrine for public viewing. The followers who had came distant places to witness the "presence of Jesus" felt that it was a big miracle.
But there were others who felt that it was merely a figment of imagination.
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