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1993 Mumbai blasts: Eight sentenced to rigorous imprisonment
Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) Eight persons connected with the landing, transportation and concealment of arms and ammunition prior to 1993 serial bombings in the city were today sentenced to rigorous imprisonment ranging from five to 10 years by the TADA court here.
Shahid Qureshi, charged with having participated in the landing of arms and ammunition at the Dighi coast along with prime accused Tiger Memon, has been sentenced to 10 years rigourous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 25,000.
Qureshi, who has spent more than ten years in jail, and is entitled for a set off of the prison term was happy after hearing the verdict.
Father and son duo Isaaq Hajwani and Sikandar Hajwani, who were both found guilty of having been part of the arms training organised by prime accused Tiger Memon at Sandheri in Raigad district, were sentenced to seven and five years' rigorous imprisonment respectively.
Isaaq was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 70,000 while his son Sikandar has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.
Another convict, Shahnawaz Hajwani, who was also part of the arms training, was given a prison term of five years RI and ordered to pay Rs 10,000 as fine. PTI
Dera Sacha Sauda moves SC on Akal Takth ultimatum
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) The Dera Sacha Sauda today moved a petition before the Supreme Court seeking protection for all the Deras across the country against an ultimatum given by the Akal Takht to vacate them by May 27 and stop their activities.
The petition filed by Abhijit Bhagat, a trustee and Vice-Chairman of the Dera, was mentioned before a Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice D K Jain which posted its hearing for June 4 along with another petition filed on the issue.
A Public Interest Litigation was also filed seeking protection to the lives and properties of both Sikhs and followers of the Sacha Dera Sauda cult.
The Akal Takht, a highest religious body of Sikhs, has on May 20 served an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down all the deras in the state by May 27.
The stand off between the Deras and the Sikhs was triggered by Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's alleged insult to tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. PTI
Govt to grant navratna status to seven more CPSUs
Kolkata, May 25 (PTI) Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, National Aluminium Co and Power Finance Corp are among the seven public sector firms that would be given the navratna status soon, Minister for Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev said today.
An apex committee had recommended granting of navratna status to HAL, NALCO, PFC, Bharat Electronics Ltd, National Mineral Development Corporation, Power Grid Corporation of India and Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd, he said.
He said these would be granted the status as soon as they induct independent directors on their board.
With these, the number of navratna CPSUs under the Heavy Industry ministry would increase from nine to 16. Oil and Natural Gas Corp, NTPC Ltd, BHEL and Indian Oil are among the nine existing navratna companies.
The minister, addressing a meeting at the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry here, said the government would not sell any profit-making enterprises to private parties.
"We are interested in selling only sick companies," Dev said in reply to a question.
Dev said the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) had identified 75 sick CPSUs, out of which 43 units had been earmarked for revival.
He said the government had already approved revival packages for 23, with financial assistance of Rs 7,660 crore. PTI
Sensex up 120 pts; IT, capital goods stocks lead recovery
Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) The benchmark Sensex in volatile movements ended in positive zone with a recovery of over 120 points today on the Bombay Stock Exchange on the back of late buying by funds in IT and capital goods sector stocks.
The 30-share index, Sensex, which commenced the day on a distinctly weak note with a fall of over 172 points in tandem with weak global cues, staged strong comeback to close the session 120.34 points, or 0.85 per cent higher at 14,338.45. It touched the day's low of 14,046.06 and a high of 14,364.95.
The second wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 43.25 points at 4,248.15 after moving between 4,141.35 and 4,256.40 points.
Stock brokers said broad-based buying interest re-emerged after Inflation fell for the fourth consecutive week to 5.27 per cent during the week ended May 12. Inflation during the previous week stood at 5.44 per cent.
They said further weakness in rupee against the US currency also had its positive impact on the trading sentiments, triggering buying in software exporters stocks as their 60 per cent earnings comes from the US.
IT segment index was the second most performer with a rise of 120.72 points higher at 4,959.36 points after stocks such as Infosys Technologies, wipro, TCS, I-flex and Satyam Computer registered widespread gains. PTI
India 326/0 at stumps on day 1
Dhaka, May 25 (PTI) India were 326 for no loss in their first innings at the end of the opening day's play of the second cricket Test against Bangladesh here today.
Skipper Rahul Dravid (88 batting) and Sachin Tendulkar (9 batting) were at the crease at the draw of stumps.
Brief scores: India 326 for no loss in 90 overs (Wasim Jaffer 138 retd ill, Dinesh Kaarthick 82 retd ill, Rahul Dravid 88 batting). PTI
Sania eyes back to back WTA doubles title
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Top seeded Sania Mirza is eyeing her second WTA doubles tennis title in as many weeks by advancing to the final of USD 200,000 Istanbul Cup in Istanbul today.
Sania and her new partner Yung-Jan Chan of Taipei overcame stiff resistance from Mervana Jugic-Salkic of Bosnia and Italian Romina Oprandi to win 6-7 (3/7), 6-0, 10-5 in their semifinal match.
Sania and Yung-Jan were leading 5-1 in the opening set after breaking their opponents in the first game of the match but squandered the advantage by allowing Mervana and Romina to rally back to level scores 5-5 and stretch the game into the tie breaker.
But it was a completely different story in the second set, which Sania and Yung-Jan dominated to take the match into super tie-breaker and seal the match in their favour.
Sania won her fourth WTA doubles title at the Morocco Open at Fes, Morocco, partnering Vania King of America last week. PTI
Pakistan still undecided on participation in Asia Cup hockey
Karachi, May 25 (PTI) Pakistan Hockey Federation President Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said that they were yet to decide on sending a team for the Asia Cup, to be held in India in September.
Jamali admitted that top coaches of the country were not in favour of sending the team to play abroad.
"We are still looking at the Asia Cup invitation from India. The fact is that we want to give maximum exposure to our team before the Olympic Games in Beijing.
"But our coaches feel we also need to utilise time at home to remove basic flaws instead of going abroad and suffering defeat after defeat," Jamali told PTI.
Pakistan had finished a poor sixth at the recent Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Jamali also said that some European countries were reluctant to invite Pakistan because of the declining standards of the team. "The fact is we have reached a situation where we first have to become the best in Asia and then move on to match the Europeans," he said.
Jamali disclosed that the Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had recently given a cheque of Rs 20 million to PHF and promised another Rs 50 million before the Olympics to provide best of facilities to the national team to prepare for the Beijing Olympics.
Jamali dismissed reports that due to recent defeats the PHF selectors were considering bringing back seniors like Sohail Abbas, Wasim Ahmed, Mohammed Saqlain and Ghazanfar Ali, who had preferred to play in European league forgoing national duty.
"I will never compromise on discipline. When they made their decision they knew what was in store. But if they comeback to us, anything can happen," he said. PTI
Pakistan domestic cricket structure set for a overhaul
Karachi, May 25 (PTI) The Pakistan Cricket Board is seriously considering ending the decades old structure of commercial departments and banks participating in its domestic cricket competition.
PCB officials confirmed that serious consideration was being given to relegating departments and banks to only playing the non-first class grade-two competitions in domestic cricket.
"Yes such a proposal is under consideration because there is a strong argument that new talent is not emerging in Pakistan because instead of regional and grass root cricket, departmental cricket has dominated the domestic structure in the last few decades," one official said.
Former captain Imran Khan has been one of the most vocal supporters of this radical change.
Imran has been a vocal opponent of departments and banks being allowed to play in the domestic cricket season with other former players also backing his arguments.
The irony is that Imran and many of the stars of recent years are all byproducts of departmental cricket.
The role of departments and banks for long has been a raging debate in Pakistan cricket but everytime this issue has come up, the board has always backed off at the last moment.
"But this time Dr Ashraf is serious and wants to see positive changes in our domestic cricket. There is no bluffing this time," one board official said.
Departments and banks have been an integral part of Pakistan cricket since the 1960's and have provided employment to hundreds of established and young players. PTI
Kapur sizzles in third place at Wentworth, Jyoti seventh
Wentworth, May 25 (PTI) A brilliant run on the back nine with four birdies saw Shiv Kapur opened the BMW PGA Championships of Europe in style with a superb five-under 67 that put him in tied third place after the first round.
The 25-year-old Kapur played in the afternoon session, while earlier in the day, Jyoti Randhawa shot a four-under 68 that gave him a share of the seventh place at the West Course at Wentworth Club. Things were however not so good for Jeev Milkha Singh, who stumbled to a 77.
England's Justin Rose stole a march in the world-class field as he shared lead with fellow Englishman Paul Broadhurst after a great first round.
The pair shot 66 each to take the lead, but were closely followed by another Englishman, Simon Khan, Australian Marcus Fraser, India's Kapur, who finished late in the day with three birdies in the last four holes, and Francesco Molinari of Italy.
Kapur, who finished way down the order last week in Irish Open is recovering from a strained back. His driving was in top condition as he found 13 of the 14 fairways and reached 14 greens in regulation.
He started with a bogey on second, but fought back with birdies on fourth and sixth. Then came a double bogey on seventh that threatened to derail his ambitions.
However, the tenacious Kapur struck birdies on eighth and ninth and turned in one-under. On the back stretch he birdied the 11th and then found three more in a row. He needed 27 putts for the round. PTI
IOC gets green signal to produce lubricants in Lanka
Colombo May 25, (PTI) India's oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today secured a license to produce lubricants in Sri Lanka so as to boost its presence in the local market.
The license will enable the Lankan unit of IOC to produce, blend, market and export its 'Servo' brand of products in the island, officials said here.
Lankan IOC, which commands nearly 13 per cent of the country's lubricant market, has hopes to increase its presence in the local market when its new plant goes upstream in August, they said.
The company was earlier allowed only to import and sell lubricants to customers.
"With IOC's support, Lankan IOC has an ambitious plan of becoming the leading lube manufacturer and marketer in Sri Lanka," an official statement from the corporation said.
The statement came after an agreement was inked between IOC's Executive Directors Amitava Chatterjee and A P Gunasekera, and Sri Lanka's Petroleum Ministry secretary.
Lankan IOC is 75 per cent owned by Indian Oil Corporation, with the remaining 25 per cent being listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. PTI
Adidas drags BCCI, Nike, Sachin Tendulkar to MRTPC
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Raising the cudgels against Nike, Adidas today petitioned MRTPC seeking to restrain India's cricket board BCCI and its sports apparel rival from using images of Sachin Tendulkar for promotions when he is not playing for the country.
At the same time, it asked the fair trade practices body to direct Tendulkar to furnish an undertaking that he personally endorsed Adidas, although Nike sponsored Indian cricket team's on-field uniform.
During the proceedings, Adidas argued that BCCI granted Nike only sponsorship and licensing rights and to carry trademarks of the batsman only while playing for the country.
The company's counsel Shailendra K Kapoor argued that personal endorsement rights were never a subject to this contract (between BCCI and Nike).
Nike has no right to use Sachin Tendulkar's name for endorsements, he argued.
In its petition, Adidas had made BCCI, Nike, Tendulkar and his manager Iconix respondents.
The counsel contended that Tendulkar and Iconix were only performa respondents and were made party to the case to state before the commission that he has exclusive personal endorsement rights only with Adidas.
However, declining any immediate relief to Adidas, MRTPC Chairman OP Dwivedi and member MMK Sardana said: "When you have waited for six months, then wait for one more month".
The commission has listed the matter for hearing in July.
BCCI has a five-year contract with its rival Nike for the team uniform. Nike had won the sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in 2005 with a bid of Rs 199.66 crore, beating Reebok whose bid stood at Rs 119.48 crore and Adidas Rs 127.50 crore. PTI
Delhi, Mumbai among most expensive in Asia for office space
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) The strong demand for office space from booming IT and ITeS sectors has pushed Mumbai and New Delhi to the ten most expensive Asian office locations, according to a latest survey by global realty consultant DTZ.
Mumbai with occupancy costs of 11,400 dollar per annum per workstation ranks fourth in the Asia Pacific region while Delhi is at eighth place having an occupancy cost of 8,150 dollar, DTZ said in a release.
In the global rankings, both Mumbai and Delhi have become costlier and occupy 18th and 51st positions respectively (27th and 56th in 2006). London (west end), Hong Kong and Paris occupy top three positions globally.
"Mumbai and Delhi have risen through the global ranks and currently occupy 18th and 51st position respectively by virtue of the expanding Indian real estate market and the booming IT/ITES sector," it said.
Interestingly, according to a recent survey from property consultant CB Richard Ellis New Delhi and Mumbai are among the top ten most expensive office locations in the world.
According to CBRE survey, Mumbai is at fifth place in the world's most expensive cities with an occupation cost of 138.41 dollar per sq ft per annum, the national capital ranks seven with cost of 116.19 dollar.
Other cities from India featuring on the global list of DTZ survey are Bangalore and Chennai at 117th and 123rd positions respectively.
"Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi have experienced one of the largest increase in occupancy cost in Asia Pacific in 2007 survey with year-on-year growth of 37 per cent, 34 per cent and 23 per cent respectively," DTZ India Managing Director Ankur Srivastava said. PTI
Rupee ends at 40.5850/5950 versus dollar
Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) The rupee today ended barely changed at 40.5850/5950 against the US currency after moving in tight band with sustained dollar demand amid fairly heavy FII inflows into the equity market.
The local currency was trapped in a tight band of 40.56 and 40.65 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market during the day as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped up efforts to contain the rupee's surge.
Initially, the rupee weakened versus the greenback due to weakness in equity market but a bounce in the benchmark Sensex helped Indian unit overcome the pressure in the latter part of the day, a forex dealer said.
Sustained dollar demand from oil corporates weighed on the rupee sentiment while traders expected the central bank to increase its intervention after the inflation fell to 5.27 per cent in the week ended May 12, commented a banker.
The rupee, however, continued to draw support from good inflows in equity market, which amounted to USD 876 million in five days from May 17 to 23.
The domestic currency also derived strength from reports that the central bank is contemplating another hike in the cash reserve ratio (CRR), more likely only on incremental deposits.
The Japanese yen also strengthened against dollar in overseas markets providing underlying support to the rupee. PTI
Coke to acquire Glaceau for USD 4.1 bn
New York, May 25 (PTI) Soft drink giant Coca-Cola today announced it will acquire US energy drink maker Glaceau, in which India's Tata Group has 30 per cent stake, for 4.1 billion dollars in cash.
The Atlanta-based world's largest aerated drinks firm said in a statement it has reached an agreement with Energy Brands, Inc, also known as Glaceau, for the acquisition.
Tata Tea had acquired a 30 per cent stake in Glaceau, which has an annual turnover of 355 million dollars, in August last year for 677 million dollars.
At the time of the transaction, Tata Group had projected Glaceau's annual revenue to nearly double to 700 million dollars in 2007.
Based on the price of Tatas' acquisition, New York-based Glaceau could be valued at close to 2.25 billion dollars. The acquisition price of 4.1 billion dollars represents a significant premium to the price paid by Tata Group. PTI
17 children rescued from child care centre in Nepal
Kathmandu, May 25 (PTI) Seventeen children, all suffering from mental agony and stress, were rescued from a child welfare centre at Basantpur in the Nepalese capital today.
Police rescued the children from Angel's Heaven at the initiative of the District Child Welfare Board with active cooperation from the Central Child Welfare Board, sources said.
According to Gyan Bahadur Lama of the District Child Welfare Board, Angel's Heaven is not registered as an organisation for keeping destitute children.
"As we know the children there were not given adequate food and water, we went there to rescue them," he said.
The children were later handed over to the Umbrella Foundation - Nepal. However, one of the children, Sapana Tamang, was admitted to the Kanti Children's Hospital.
Last Wednesday also, the authorities had rescued some 17 children, mostly malnourished, from the same centre. PTI
India yet to share intelligence on Samjhauta blasts: Kasuri
Islamabad, May 25 (PTI) India has not shared intelligence with Pakistan on the Samjhauta Express blasts despite repeated requests, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said.
"Anti-Terrorism Mechanism (ATM) was signed between the two governments for intelligence sharing but India is not cooperating," he claimed.
To a question, Kasuri said he was unaware of India's objections to the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service, adding both countries had "liberalised" visa policy and issued more visas at present compared with the past.
Speaking on the war on terror, he said it was unfair to say that Pakistan was not doing enough in the war on terror.
"We have deputed 80,000 troops on our western borders and have suffered hundreds of casualties. We have done more than any other country in the war on terror," Daily Times quoted him as saying.
He said Pakistan has also proposed fencing and mining to stop cross-border terrorism. PTI
Macedonia diplomat to chair UN assembly
United Nations, May 25 (PTI) The United Nations General Assembly has elected former Macedonian foreign minister Srgjan Kerim as its President.
Kerim, who replaces Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, will chair 62nd session of the UNGA beginning in September.
Thanking the 192-member Assembly, Kerim said he would work towards making multilateralism more effective.
Citing globalisation, climate change, terrorism, immigration and sustainable development as his priorities, the General Assembly president-elect said these challenges transcend borders.
Failures, he stressed, are not rooted in deficiencies within the UN system, but rather "in the lack of political will of individual member States to cooperate within the multilateral framework".
He would give top priority to tackling global warming and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in capacity as the president.
The eight goals set by the Millennium Summit aim at eliminating or sharply reducing several economic and social ills by 2015. However, experts warn that they cannot be reached unless a major effort is made.
"Climate change has implications for every aspect of our daily life -- from the environment, health and energy, to economic development, human rights, peace and security, and global governance," he said.
Kerim had served as Macedonia's ambassador to the UN from 2001 to 2003 as well as in several positions within his national government.
He has a doctorate in economic science and is currently the General Manager of the South-East European arm of the WAZ Media Group. PTI
Nepal Maoists to stop recruitment of Gurkhas into British army
Kathmandu, May 25 (PTI) Nepal Maoists have decided to stop all recruitment of Gurkha soldiers into the British armed forces, seeking instead to "generate employment" in the Himalayan nation for those looking for military services abroad.
The Young Communist League (YCL), the youth wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), said it would stop recruitment of Gurkha soldiers into the British armed forces at the earliest.
"It is necessary to make our youth more independent, and generate employment in our own country," YCL chairman Ganeshman Pun said, adding "The YCL will continue its people-centric activities." Following its central committee meeting in Kathmandu, the YCL said it would seek alternative employment opportunities and stop the employment of Nepalis in the British Army.
The British government has set up a British Gurkha recruitment centre in Dharan, Sunsari district, for the recruitment of Gurkhas from the eastern region into the British armed forces.
The British official, recruitment officer of Pokhara area and officials from B P Koirala Health Science Council reached an agreement this week to set up the center in Dharan for the next 10 years. The centre has been set up in the B P Koirala hospital premises.
The Gurkhas have been employed in the British Army since the early 19th Century. After the Partition of India in 1947, four Gurkha regiments moved across to the British Army while the rest continued to serve the Indian Army.
There are over 3,000 Gurkhas in the British Army today, having won 13 Victoria Crosses and playing an important role in the Gulf, the Falklands, and Afghanistan. PTI
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