The Mumbai Grapevine
Connecting Mumbaikars with Mumbai
(Published by Mumbai-Central.com)
Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and co-workers
who might be interested in it. The instructions to join the Mumbai
Grapevine are at the end of the message.
1993 Mumbai blasts case: Sentences to be pronounced on May 18
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) A special TADA court hearing the 1993 serial blasts case will start pronouncing sentences against 100 people convicted in the matter on May 18 after deciding on an application filed by actor Sanjay Dutt seeking leniency under the Probation of Offenders Act.
Special Judge Pramod Kode today said the applications filed by Dutt, Yusuf Nalwala, Kersi Adjania and Rusi Mulla under the Probation of Offenders Act will be decided on May 16.
However, court sources said the order will not be disclosed in open court on May 16 itself.
Of the 123 accused, 100 were convicted by the court. The CBI has sought the death penalty for 44 of the convicts who were involved in the conspiracy to carry out the serial blasts here of March 12, 1993. The court formally acquitted 23 people today.
Kode also said various applications, including those seeking retrial, discharge under TADA and parity with Dutt, will be decided along with the pronouncment of sentences as the subject matter of the applications was related to the award of punishment.
Earlier, the court heard yet another application, filed by convict Zakir Hussain Noor Mohammed, who urged that he be allowed to rely on Anand Patwardhan's acclaimed documentary "Father, Son and the Holy War" in his plea for a lenient sentence.
His lawyer Farhana Shah argued that the documentary depicts the atmosphere before and after the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992 and could be useful while considering what provoked her client to become involved in the bombings.
However, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam opposed this plea, saying the application was made with the intention of delaying the trial. PTI
Dravid dismisses reports of divide in team
Dhaka, May 9 (PTI) Indian skipper Rahul Dravid today said he had received full support from Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly during the World Cup, dismissing reports that the two players had undermined his leadership.
"To be honest with you, I felt I had as much support as I needed. I was very happy with the team that I had and the support that I had. Other than that I really don't know what it is and what it is all about," Dravid told newspersons on the eve of India's first ODI against Bangladesh.
In a television sting operation, four of the five national selectors were caught claiming that Tendulkar and Ganguly did not cooperate with Dravid in the World Cup and were dropped from the Bangladesh tour for that reason.
However, refusing to attach much importance to the sting operation, Dravid said, "I am not going to react on these sting operations or any of this stuff." When mentioned that the quotes were attributed to a national selector, the Karnataka batsman said, "I haven't seen anything and I cannot comment on everything that somebody says." In the expose, four national selectors - Bhupinder Singh Sr., Ranjib Biswal, Venkatapathy Raju and Sanjay Jagdale - had also claimed that ex-coach Greg Chappell followed a divide and rule policy and had largely blamed him for India's World Cup debacle.
One of them had also claimed that Chappell did not talk to senior players like Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh for days on the tour of South Africa last year.
Bihar govt conspiring to kill Shahabuddin in jail: RJD
Patna, May 9 (PTI) A day after controversial RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping a CPI-ML worker, the party today charged Bihar government officials with conspiring to kill him in Siwan jail where he is currently being held.
Alleging that jail officials were behind the move to to "eliminate" the MP, state RJD president Abdul Bari Siddiqui said the clash between prisoners of Siwan jail soon after the life sentence was awarded was an "indication that a conspiracy is being hatched to kill Shahabuddin".
Siwan jail officials were biased against Shahabuddin and were framing him in matters such as threatening the prison superintendent and an investigating officer on "frivulous" grounds, Siddiqui told reporters here.
Shahabuddin will move a higher court to appeal against the life imprisonment given to him by the deignated court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Gyaneshwar Prasad Srivastava, Siddiqui said.
He also said Shahabuddin had full faith in the judiciary. PTI
We are keen to settle scores, says Dravid
Dhaka, May 9 (PTI) Indian captain Rahul Dravid today said his team had reviewed its stunning loss to Bangladesh in the World Cup and was keen to avenge the defeat in the three-match ODI series starting here tomorrow.
Dravid said that the Indians were not looking to target any particular player from the rival camp, but the opposition as a whole in the series opener at the Sher-e-Bangla national stadium.
"We definitely got to review and look at all their players. We have a bit more first hand information about them now after watching them at the World Cup. I think that should help us," Dravid said at the match-eve press conference.
Draivd did not agree that the Bangladesh tour was a fresh beginning for his team, battered by the shock early exit from the World Cup.
"The media likes to use such terms. I don't see any fresh beginning or end. International cricket is a continuous process." PTI
Buchanan calls squash ball row a fuss over "non-issue"
Melbourne, May 9 (PTI) Irked by the "unethical" charge levelled at Adam Gilchrist for using a squash ball in his gloves in the World Cup final, outgoing Australian coach John Buchanan said people should not make fuss over this "non-issue".
More than a week after the final in which Gilchrist belted a match-winning 149, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan alleged Gilchrist's using of the squash ball was as unethical as Trevor Chappell's infamous under-arm delivery.
Describing it as a "disappointing" comment, Buchanan said, "Everybody will be disappointed about this. The final should be a celebration of cricket and Adam's innings was outstanding. Comments like these should be ignored by the public, and be dealt with harshly as quickly as possible.
"It's a non-issue. If you want to go down this road, where do you draw the line? Should it be illegal for players to receive strapping to injuries, or for batsmen to use extra grips on their bats?" Buchanan told 'The Age'.
He urged all to remember Gilchrist's inning just for its sheer beauty and ignore everything else.
"There is an argument that there is some benefit there. I hope that over time, people will ignore something like this and remember the innings for how good it was." A top Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) official has already given Gilchrist a clean chit, saying he did not do anything wrong.
Mathivanan had also threatened to take up the matter with the International Cricket Council, even though it turned out later that he did not have support of his own board. PTI
Powar, Mongia set for comeback; hosts likely to miss Mortaza
Dhaka, May 9 (PTI) Ramesh Powar and Dinesh Mongia are set to make their comeback after being shortlisted in India's 12-member list for the first cricket one-dayer against Bangladesh here tomorrow.
The Indian think-tank left out leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh from the 15 while rookie Manoj Tiwary has already been ruled out with a shoulder injury.
In all probability, the race to make it to the final 11 would be between Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, two of the three openers alongwith Virender Sehwag.
Mongia last turned out for India against South Africa at Centurion in December while Powar played his last ODI in January against the West Indies.
Captain Rahul Dravid said the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium looked firm and could take a "bit of spin and grip a little later on." There was a slight drizzle this morning. The fans would be hoping the rains keep away and pave way for an interesting clash tomorrow.
Banlgadesh also have their share of fitness worries and they are likely to miss pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza, who has a lower back problem and would undergo a fitness test this evening. Mortaza was architect of Bangladesh's World Cup upset win against India with his four-wicket burst. PTI
Gilchrist did not contravene law or spirit of cricket: MCC
London, May 9 (PTI) A sub-committee of the MCC, the guardians of the laws governing the game, has given a clean chit to Adam Gilchrist saying that his using of squash ball in batting glove in the World Cup final could not be classed either as contravening the law or as breaching the Spirit of the Game.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) issued a statement, responding to claims that Gilchrist violated laws and spirit of cricket in the final where he slammed a match-winning ton.
The statement said Gilchrists ploy was designed to alter his grip on the bat at the crease, something which he was entitled to do under Law 3.6(c), which specifies only what external protective equipment is permitted for certain players.
"Since there is no restriction in Law even on the external form of batting gloves, let alone the interior thereof, no Law has been breached," the statement read.
"There is no failure by either the umpires or others in charge of the players if they do not extend their observation to non-external items," it added.
The sub-committee pointed out that batsmen use grips on the bat-handle to have a better grip, means which is considered fair and even newly designed gloves, that have extra protection inside helps in giving better grip to batsmen.
"This would be entirely legal, but have the same effect on his grip for a batsman who wore such gloves. So in this case, apparently the addendum to the inside of the batting gloves was not for protection from injury, but to improve the way the batsman gripped the bat handle. This should not be considered unfair," it said. PTI
Pakistan hunting for tech-savvy coach
Karachi, May 8 (PTI) Pakistan Cricket Board is looking for a tech-savvy and modern coach to fit into the shoes of slain Bob Woolmer.
"We are in search of a qualified coach and we will be selecting the most suitable candidate with the help of our search committee and the process will be completed by July 1," PCB Chief Naseem Ashraf said.
Ashraf defended the selection process for the new coach in the wake of former captains Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad's refusal to apply for the post, objecting to the methods.
"We need a computer literate qualified coach and if some one has any objection to the way we are selecting a coach by advertising the post we cannot help them," Ashraf was quoted as saying by 'The News'.
So far, four foreign coaches from different countries including England and West Indies have submitted their credentials in response to the Board's advertisement but Ashraf declined to reveal their names. The appointment of the new coach would be made by July 1, the report said.
Ashraf said the team needed a coach who could polish players' skills and point out their weaknesses and also take remedial measures for them.
"We want to find out at least 300 players from domestic cricket to reward their performance by giving them monthly salaries besides increasing cash incentives for members of our national team," he said.
"Through that process, the regional cricket and associations would be strengthened as they will be nominating the players and the gap between international cricket and domestic cricket will be minimised," he said. PTI
RBI Reference rate for US dollar and Euro
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the Reference rate for the US currency at Rs 40.91 per dollar and the single European unit at Rs 55.42 per Euro from Rs 40.78 per dollar and Rs 55.53 respectively yesterday.
In a press release issued here by the apex bank, the exchange rates of Great Britain Pound and Japanese Yen against the Rupee have been given as Rs 81.4641 per pound and Rs 34.13 per 100 yen respectively, based on the reference rate for US dollar and middle rates of the cross currency quotes at 12 noon.
The Reference rate is based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai and the SDR-Rupee rate will be based on this rate, the release added. PTI
HCL Tech to provide IT solution to SIDBI
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) Information technology services provider HCL Technologies today said it will implement an integrated enterprise-wide IT solution for SIDBI, which will increase the bank's efficiency and reduce response time.
"HCL is pleased to partner with SIDBI for their business process re-engineering and automation initiative which will significantly enhance their agility for their customers - the fast growing SME sector," HCL Technologies Country Manager (India and Middle East) Kiran Bhagwanani said.
The project would be implemented in a period of 15 months and the company would support the solution at Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for a period of five years thereafter.
HCL Technologies and SIDBI have entered into an agreement to this effect to better serve the bank's small and medium enterprises (SME) customers, HCL Technologies said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
"This engagement will leverage HCL's strong credentials in transformational, multi-service deals and our experience in the financial services sector in India," Bhagwanani added.
The application software products would include core banking, data warehousing, loan automation, document management aimed towards enabling SIDBI to reduce time to market, increase efficiencies, control exposures and risks.
The shares of HCL Tech were trading at Rs 328, down 1.03 per cent on BSE in late afternoon trade. PTI
Sensex down 66 pts in early trade as funds continue selling
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) The stock market opened on a weak note today with the benchmark Sensex declining by over 66 points following sustained selling by funds and retail investors.
The BSE-30 share index, Sensex, which lost over 310 points in the last three sessions, was down by another 66.57 points at 13,698.89 in the first five minutes of trading.
Similarly, on the wide-based National Stock Exchange, Nifty was down by 16.90 points at 4,060.10.
Stock brokers said sustained selling by foreign funds and domestic participants mainly dampened the trading sentiments.
They said overnight weakness in Indian company's ADRs at the US markets also impacted sentiments.
Major losers were Reliance Industries, Reliance Capital, Hindustan Lever, ITC Ltd, Ranbaxy Lab and Sterlite Industries on selling pressure.
Meanwhile, stocks of Fortis Healthcare were listed at Rs 106 on the bourses against the offered price of Rs 108. PTI
Fortis Healthcare lists at Rs 105 on BSE
Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) Ranbaxy promoter group company Fortis Healthcare today got listed at Rs 105, nearly three per cent below its issue price of Rs 108 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Within minutes of listing, the shares of the company touched a high of Rs 109.10 and over 43.56 lakh shares exchanged hands. The scrip later parted some gains and was trading at Rs 102.65 at 10.13 am on the BSE.
The healthcare firm entered the bourses with 22.66 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 108 each.
The IPO of Fortis Healthcare was oversubscribed 2.78 times with bids for over 12.74 crore shares against about 4.57 crore shares offered in the public issue.
The qualified institutional buyers (QIB) portion of the IPO, reserved for FIIs, mutual funds and domestic financial institutions, got subscribed 2.72 times, while the retail portion received bids of over 3.26 times.
Fortis Healthcare, which runs 11 hospitals in Northern India, has received around Rs 153.69 crore through a couple of pre-IPO placements.
The offer proceeds would be deployed mainly in the construction of new hospital facilities and for other business purposes.
The Book Running Lead Managers to the Issue were J M Morgan Stanley Private Limited, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited. PTI
Putin warns against threats to global security in V Day Speech
Vinay Shukla Moscow, May 9 (PTI) Russian President Vladimir Putin today warned against threats to global security similar to the ones which existed before the Second World War and called for coordinated resistance to attempts to unleash armed conflicts in the contemporary world.
Addressing the Victory Day military parade at the historic Red Square commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, he attacked moves to shift war memorial and common grave in the Estonian capital Tallinn and Poland's plans to remove the Soviet memorials on its soil.
"Those who commit outrages on the monuments to war heroes actually insult their own nations and sow the seeds of new misunderstandings between countries and peoples," Putin said in his last V-Day address.
"... The number of threats is not reducing. Those threats are transforming and changing facades, but they also contain disrespect for human life as well as claims to universal exclusiveness and dictate, quite the same way like it was in the Third Reich," a grim-looking Putin said in front of more than 7,000 servicemen.
Putin said causes of any war lie in the mistakes and miscalculations made in times of peace. "Such follies are usually rooted in the ideology of confrontation and extremism." The Russian President has been vociferously opposing NATO's expansion into the former Soviet territory and US plans to deploy elements of its missile shield on the soil of Czech Republic and Poland.
The soldiers marched on the cobbled Red Square after the speech while jet fighters roared overhead in a diamond formation at the ceremony attended by war veterans and foreign diplomats. PTI
Five killed, 26 injured in mishaps in China
Beijing, May 9 (PTI) At least five people were killed and 26 others injured in a series of mishaps in different parts of China, the state media reported today.
Five people died and six others were injured in a blast in a quarry in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The accident happened on Monday afternoon after a controlled explosion in the quarry in Zhulin County of Wenshan Prefecture. The five dead had taken shelter in a shed which was crushed by the rocks.
Three people are missing and 12 injured after an explosion in a pharmaceutical factory in Jiangxi Province in east China yesterday.
Fifteen workers were carrying out repairs in the workshop when a spark caused a fire which resulted the workshop to collapse, the local fire brigade said.
The fire was extinguished three hours later. The search for the three workers buried under the rubble is continuing, Xinhua news agency reported.
In another mishap, eight workers were injured seriously in a mill explosion today in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.
The casualties, four men and four women are being treated at a hospital.
The blast reportedly went off in an economic development zone on the north-western outskirts of the city.
In a boat tragedy, three people are missing after their boat capsized in the Yangtze River as it was berthing at a dock in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality yesterday, Xinhua news agency reported.
All the six crew members and porters fell into water. Three were rescued, but the other three are still missing, rescuers said. PTI
Agro-scientist perishes in Kenyan air crash
Kochi, May 9 (PTI) Eminent agricultural scientist Alice N'Goran of Ivory Coast, who was to attend an international coconut summit here today, was among those who died in the Kenyan Airlines crash that claimed 114 lives.
Information reaching here said N'Goran, the head of the Coconut Research Programme of Ivory Coast's National Centre for Agronomic Research who was to reach Kochi on May 6, was in the flight that crashed near Cameroon on Saturday.
N'Goran was listed among the main speakers this afternoon and would have spoken on coconut cropping on the coastal sands in Ivory Coast.
As a mark of respect to her, the conference began with a condolence meeting, K I Vasu, chairman of the organising committee, told a press meet here.
Her paper will be presented at a seminar, Vasu said. PTI
EU seeks early return of democracy in Bangladesh
Dhaka, May 9 (PTI) The European Union has said it backs the military-backed Bangladesh government's attempt to fight corruption in politics but wants to see an early return of parliamentary democracy in the country.
"Yes, we are supportive of the caretaker government," British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury said at a press conference here yesterday which was also addressed by other EU envoys on the occasion of Europe Day.
"This is a civilian government supported by the military; it also enjoys support from the people," he said.
EU ambassador in Dhaka Stephan Frowein, however, said the bloc would like to see Bangladesh return to democracy "provided the conditions are there to hold free, fair and credible elections".
Choudhury, a Bangladeshi born British diplomat, said they would support the caretaker government as long as they were "working towards holding free and fair elections and leaving behind an infrastructure and a set of reforms to ensure a sustainable democracy and high standard of elections in the future".
EU is currently the largest development cooperation partners of Bangladesh, disbursing well over Tk 3,900 crore in 2006 alone.
German Envoy Frank Meyke, representing the current EU presidency, said the EU is encouraged by the Election Commission's (EC) proposed electoral reforms, particularly the move to register political parties and ensure intra-party democracy.
Meyke said they also expected the political parties themselves should move towards democratising their party structures as political reform involves all democratic stakeholders as well. PTI
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Market_______
To get regularly updated NIFTY (NSE) quotes by email, join the NSEData
mailing list by sending an email to NSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To get regularly updated BSE quotes by email, join the BSEData mailing
list by sending an email to BSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Sensex: 13781.51, +16.05
The sensex closed at 13781.51, up 16.05
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = INR
1 Japanese Yen = INR
1 British Pound = INR
1 Canadian $ = INR
1 Singapore $ = INR
1 UAE Dirham = INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = INR
1 Euro = INR
1 Qatar Rial = INR
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________