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1993 blasts: 5 sentenced for helping land arms, explosives
Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) Five persons convicted for their role in 1993 serial blasts in the city, including a former public servant, were today sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the TADA court here.
Tulshiram Dhondu Surve, employed as a watchman at the Wangani Microwave Tower was sentenced to nine years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a total fine of Rs 55,000 on the two counts of aiding and abetting a terrorist act and intentional omission of giving information of offence.
"Who were your real bosses? The government or the smugglers to whom you accorded such hospitality for a paltry amount of Rs 2,000?" special TADA judge P D Kode asked Surve, found guilty of allowing the use of government property on two occasions for transferring arms between two vehicles.
The "operational in-charges" of the arms and ammunition landing at the Dighi coast--Uttam Potdar and Mohammed Lajpuria alias "Mechanic Chacha"--were sentenced to 14 and 10 years' rigorous imprisonment respectively and directed to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each.
One hundred persons have been convicted by the TADA court for their involvement in engineering the serial blasts in the city on March 12, 1993 killing 257 and injuring over 700.
Kode held that the "main mind" in the landing was Potdar, as he negotiated with the police party at Dongar Phata and also facilitated the landing on behalf of one of the prime accused Mohammed Dossa, who is presently absconding.
The court observed both Potdar and Lajpuria were unaware of the material in the contraband till time of the landing operation and said that the latter even objected to helping in landing anything apart from silver. PTI
High alert sounded in Uttar Pradesh after serial blasts
Gorakhpur, May 23 (PTI) A state of high alert has been sounded across Uttar Pradesh in wake of serial bomb blasts in Gorakhpur and recovery of explosives in Faizabad.
Security has been beefed up at all sensitive places and security personnel in strength deployed to thwart the designs to create problems in the state, sources said.
Tight security arrangments had been put in place at Ram Janambhoomi complex at Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Srikrshna Janmbhoomi in Mathura, they said.
A strict vigil was being maintained on the Indo-Nepal border districts and extensive checking of vehicles was being conducted, they said.
Meanwhile, a Special Task Force team of the UP police had reached Gorakhpur to investigate into yesterday's serial blasts in Golghar area.
Senior Superintendent of Police R K Rai said timer devices could have been used to detonate three low-intensity bombs last evening in a crowded shopping area of this temple town. Five people were injured in the blasts All exit routes of the city had been sealed and security in and around the famous Gorakh Nath temple had been beefed up, police said.
The police was also checking whether the blasts have any link with the recoverey of 10 kilograms of explosives and 20 litres of amonium nitrite from a second class waiting room in Faizabad railway station, they said. PTI
India, US hold Nuke talks; report further progress
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Officials of India and the US have met in London as part of efforts for early conclusion of bilateral agreement to operationalise civil nuclear deal and reported "further progress".
At the two-days of technical-level talks on 123 agreement that ended yesterday, India clarified "certain concepts" and the two sides agreed that further discussions were required to sort out the remaining differences.
"We clarified certain concepts and exchanged ideas making further progress towards a mutually-agreed text," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters here when asked about the meeting.
He said the two sides agreed that some further work was required to "bridge the remaining gap" and the discussions will continue.
At the talks that focussed on technical details governing the proposed agreement, the two sides were represented by officials of the respective nuclear establishments.
The meeting assumes significance as it comes after US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns put off his visit here, planned for this month, to "finalise" the agreement.
Conclusion of the agreement has been delayed due to differences between the two sides on issues like reprocessing right, perpetuity of fuel supplies and continuance of the civil nuclear cooperation if India were to conduct an atomic test.
The issue is expected to be discussed at the highest level early next month when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets US President George W Bush in Germany on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit. PTI
Drugs case: Ex-cricketer Maninder Singh granted bail
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Former cricketer Maninder Singh arrested for possessing cocaine was today granted bail by a city court as the quantity of narcotics recovered from him was very small.
"On account of quantity being small, you are released on bail," Additional Sessions Judge S C Malik said granting bail to Maninder on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount. PTI
Family planning excesses cause riots in south China
Beijing, May 23 (PTI) China today confirmed detaining 28 people for allegedly 'instigating' local people protesting against family planning excesses to riot and destroy government property in seven towns in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
"Twenty-eight people, suspected of instigating the attacks, have been detained by police," the local government said.
Residents who attacked government officials and police in seven towns in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to protest government family planning law enforcement measures have been calmed, the official Xinhua news agency reported from Nanning, the regional capital.
About 300 people gathered at the town of Dungu, Bobai county, and attacked government workers and police last Thursday, according to the county government.
On Friday and Saturday, similar gatherings occurred in six other towns of Bobai County. Some government facilities and documents in the township seats were damaged by residents, who also burned cars and motorcycles, it said.
Residents complained that local government workers were "rude and suspected of illegal fee collection" while dealing with violators of the country's mandatory family planning policy.
"There may be problems with the family planning work of the government, which have prompted complaints from residents," head of the Bobai county Huang Shaoming said.
There may also be some people who have taken advantage of residents' anger and instigated them in their attacks toward governments, another county official said. PTI
Indian team arrive Dhaka for second Test
Dhaka, May 23 (PTI) After the disappointment of the rain-marred opening Test in Chittagong, the Indian cricket team arrived here today for the second and final match of the series begining on Friday.
The Indian players reached Dhaka by a GMG Airlines flight in the morning and headed straight for the team hotel under strong security cover.
Team sources said there would be no net practice today.
In the evening, the Indian team would attend a reception dinner organised in their honour by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
Meanwhile, leggie Anil Kumble, down with flu, was improving.
"I am feeling better," Kumble said before boarding the Dhaka-bound flight in Chittagong.
Kumble could not complete his batting in the first innings of the first Test and had to stay out of the ground for the remaining part of the first Test due to high fever.
The Bangladesh team arrived in their capital city last night, and like the Indians, would skip nets today.
More than 15 hours of playing time was lost in the first Test which ended in a dull draw yesterday.
The second Test would be played at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. PTI
Inzamam advices Pak players to avoid brushes with officials
Karachi, May 23 (PTI) Concerned about Pakistani players getting frequent reprimands for their on-field conduct, former captain Inzamam-ul Haq has advised his teammates to avoid getting into skirmishes with match officials and rival cricketers.
Referring to the reprimand issued to pacer Mohammad Asif during the recent one-day series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, Inzamam said players should be very cautious in their behaviour on the field.
"Nowadays the ICC is very strict about enforcing its code of conduct. And players, specially the senior ones, should avoid getting into minor skirmishes on the field as if they are suspended or banned it hurts them in future matches," Inzamam said.
"We suffered because of this in the World Cup when Shahid Afridi was unavailable for two crucial games. I myself have been banned a number of times in the past and it didn't do the team any good. The players must show patience and tolerance on the field," he added.
Asif had rushed at Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardane after bowling him out in the second match of the just-concluded Wahid Cup series on Sunday.
Inzamam himself was suspended for four matches for bringing the game into disrepute when he refused to lead his team onto the field during the Oval Test against England last August. PTI
Sania-Chan through to doubles quarters in Istanbul
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Top seeds Sania Mirza and her Taiwanese partner Yung-Jan Chan sailed into the quarterfinals of the USD 200,000 Istanbul Cup with an easy 6-3, 6-1 win over the Romanian pair of Sorana Cirstea and Agnes Szatmari in Turkey on Tuesday.
Sania and Yung-Jan will take on the Greco-German duo of Anna Polunina and Stella Menna in the last eight stage of the Tier III WTA Tour event.
The top seeds overcame a patchy start to storm past their unseeded rivals for a comfortable victory.
Sania and Yung-Jan were broken twice in the first set but more than made up for that with four breaks of their own in the opening set.
The Indo-Taiwanese combination put up an even better display in the next set and held their serve besides breaking the Romanians twice to clinch the match.
Earlier, Sania bowed out of the singles competition in the first round itself, losing to American Meghann Saughnessy.
The Indian ace, who is coming back after a 2-1/2 month-long injury layoff, was seeded eighth in the singles draw. PTI
Harinder loses in semis of KL squash tourney
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Harinder Pal Sandhu's dream run at the PSA NSC Satellite-3 squash tournament in Kuala Lumpur came to an end with a 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 5-11 loss to third seed Nafzahizam Adnan in the semifinals.
Harinder, playing his first PSA semifinal, won the first game comfortably but Nafzahizam came back strong to level the match.
The Malaysian then raced to a 10-3 lead in the next game before wining it 11-9.
Harinder could not recover after that and a backhand drop in the fourth game clinched the match for Nafzahizam.
The 18-year-old was the only Indian left in the fray after all others failed to go beyond the first round of USD 3,000 event. PTI
Market snaps five-day winning streak, down 90,46 pts
Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) The stock market snapped a five-day gaining streak today and ended 90.46 points lower at 14,363.26 as investors booked profits at existing higher level in the absence of any major trigger amid end of futures contract on May 31.
In volatile trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) came under pressure after hitting a high of 14,500.64 and gradually moved downwards to end the day at at 14,363.26 from yesterday's close of 14,453.72, a net fall of 90.46 points.
The Sensex had risen by about 524 points of 3.6 per cent in the five-day rally since May 16.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also dipped by 31.90 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 4,246.20 from previous close of 4,278.10.
The market is expected to consolidate before any strong rally as the BSE barometer has neared the all-time intra-trade high of 14,823.88 touched on February 9, dealers said.
Share prices were driven higher by sustained purchases by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and domestic funds in the past few days and today's slide was seen as a necessary correction for the market's sound health.
Asian markets exhibited steady to mixed trend during the day, having a sentimental impact on the bourses.
Metal shares, however, were exceptionally firm on fresh buying interest. As a result, the BSE Metal Index strengthened further by 108.25 points or 1.0 per cent to 10,639.40. PTI
Microsoft introduces Fortza 2 in India
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Microsoft Game Studios today launched the upgraded version of its motor sports game, Fortza Motorsport 2, in India priced at Rs 1,895.
"The launch of Fortza 2 marks a new price point that Microsoft has introduced in the Indian market. We were earlier selling our titles for Rs 2,599 and have brought this popular title for just Rs 1,895," Microsoft Country Manager Entertainment and Devices division Mohit Anand told reporters here.
He said the company had spent nearly 40 million dollars and two years in upgrading the title for gamers globally.
Microsoft is also planning to bring a top-end variant of its high-definition gaming console, X-Box Elite, in the Indian market by August.
The company is presently looking at bringing online gaming through XBox live in the country soon.
"We will introduce XBox live in India within this year," Anand said.
The company presently sells over 70 gaming titles in India and would soon introduce two new titles here, he added. PTI
NDTV to raise Rs 400 cr; may dilute up to 10 pc equity
Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) Television broadcaster NDTV, which has announced plans to float lifestyle and entertainment channels, will raise Rs 400 crore through a mix of debt and equity.
The company's Board of Directors has approved the fund-raising scheme through preferential issue, Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), follow-on issue, or rights issue constituting a combination of equity shares, convertible debentures, convertible preference shares and warrants etc.
NDTV, which had recently announced it would launch three channels under its new entertainment venture called NDTV Imagine, said it is open to dilution of up to 10 per cent of its present paid-up capital.
This, the company said, would be carried out at the option of the holders seeking conversion of securities into equity shares.
ENAM Financial Consultants, BSR and Co and KPMG have been appointed as advisors for the same, the company said.
The fund-raising proposal is subject to shareholders' approval through postal ballot, it added.
NDTV said the proposal is a result of the exploration of appropriate structural changes in the organisation. PTI
Subex Azure launches Nikira V6.0
Bangalore, May 23 (PTI) Subex Azure Ltd today announced the launch of Nikira V6.0, the latest version of its fraud management system for telecom operators.
Nikira V6.0 helps wireline and wireless telecom operators detect and investigate both traditional and next-generation frauds in order to prevent revenue leakage, the company said.
Part of Rocware suite, Nikira V6.0 will enable fraud analysts to identify and reduce false alarms, it said in a statement. PTI
Sensex up 46 points on funds buying
New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The stock market continued its upward march on the Bombay Stock Exchange today by gaining over 46 points in early trading on sustained buying by funds.
The 30-share index, Sensex, which had been on a rising spree this week, added another 46.92 points to reach 14500.64, during the first minutes of trading.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange, Nifty, added 13.30 points to set a new peak at 4191.40 points.
The rally was lead by shares of Reliance Inds, Tata Steel and Infosys. PTI
Complaints from Indian maids rising in Qatar
Dubai, May 23 (PTI) There has been a steady increase in the number of complaints from Indian housemaids working in Qatar, the Indian envoy to the country has said.
Indian Ambassador to Qatar George Joseph said that an average, two to three maids approach the embassy with grievances these days, as against one or two a few months ago.
Most of the complaints are related to delayed wages, payment of salaries lower than the contracted amount and sometimes no payment at all, he was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.
Though fewer, there were also cases of physical abuse by the employer or the lady of the house, or even attempts at molestation by male members of the family, he said adding "some came to the embassy saying they can't stay at the employer's house". PTI
Nine kidnapped Pak officials freed
Islamabad, May 23 (PTI) Nine government employees, including five women, kidnapped by suspected militants from Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal agency last week, were freed today.
The employees, who were conducting Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) in the agency, were on their way back to Peshawar from Miranshah, the center of Waziristan, when over 100 militants stopped their vehicle near Mirali on May 19.
They were then taken to an unknown destination, Zahid Muhammad Wazir, one of the freed men said, adding the captors treated them well.
Wazir did not offer any word about the identity of the kidnappers and as to why they were kidnapped but said they will disclose it after consulting their senior officials.
Geo TV reported that the kidnappers had some disputes with the government and wanted to resolve their problems through a hostage drama.
The government employees were kidnapped at gun point when they were also being escorted by members of the local government militia force in the troubled tribal region.
Witnesses said militants had severely beat members of the militia men and had also snatched guns from them.
Reports said the authorities had engaged a jirga or council of tribal elders to find out whereabouts of the captives and to negotiate for their release.
The Civil Secretariat had started a survey in all seven agencies and six Frontier regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) to collect data about socio-economic needs in the tribal region. PTI
Musharraf says his army uniform is like second skin
Islamabad, May 23 (PTI) Brushing aside the demand for quitting the post of army chief, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said his uniform is like a second skin, which he cannot remove.
The General, who is seeking re-election to the post of the president by the existing assemblies later this year, has said that he is proud to be an army man, and the uniform is like his second skin, adding, "then how can I even think of taking it of".
Musharraf told BBC Urdu in an interview that he took over as president due to the turmoil in the country, otherwise he loved to be an army man. He said that his uniform could not be separated from him.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley had last week asked Musharraf to "separate" the offices of the President and the Army Chief this year as demanded by the Commonwealth.
Various political parties in Pakistan have also been demanding that Musharraf shed his military uniform. PPP leader Benazir Bhutto had recently said that any deal with Pervez Musharraf was not possible while he continued to be the Chief of Army and President.
Asked about the crisis triggered by the suspension of the Chief Justice, Musharraf said he was waiting for the full court's verdict and added that he would accept it in any case.
However, he refused to answer the question if he would fulfil his "moral responsibility" if the full court's decision was in the chief justice's favour.
Musharraf maintained that the army did not enter Pakistani politics on its own, rather it was invited to take care of the civil administration. PTI
India has role in solution to Bhutanese refugee crisis: UN
Kathmandu, May 23 (PTI) The top UN officer for refugees has urged countries in South Asia, particularly India as a "very relevant partner", to play a role in finding a solution to the protracted Bhutanese refugee crisis that has soured relations between the two Himalayan nations.
"India is a very relevant partner. India's positive attitude in finding out a solution could be helpful," visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres said after meeting Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
He said all countries in this region, especially India, have a role to play in finding a durable solution to the protracted crisis.
Prime Minister Koirala yesterday urged Guterres to "convince" Bhutan on repatriating refugees during his visit to the country.
Koirala also told Guterres that even though the issue was a bilateral one, Nepal "expected" India's cooperation on the issue.
"We appreciate the initiatives of countries which have agreed to resettle the Bhutanese refugees," Suresh Chalise, foreign affairs advisor to Koirala, quoted the Prime Minister as telling Guterres during their meeting yesterday.
Guterres, who will be visiting the Goldhap refugee camp in Jhapa district, is going to Thimphu where he will discuss the refugee issue with the Bhutanese government.
Guterres, who arrived here yesterday, said the choice between resettlement or repatriation has to be left to the refugees. "We only want a permanent solution," he said, adding that local integration is not a "general" solution.
Chalise said Koirala was also concerned that a sizable chunk of the Nepali speaking community of Bhutan were barred from taking part in the mock polls that was conducted in the country recently. PTI
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The sensex closed at 14363.26, down 90.46
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