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Indian dies, eight missing in Oman cyclone
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) An Indian has died and eight are missing after cyclone hit Oman causing widespread destruction yesterday.
The dead person has been identified as Prakash of Kerala, External Affairs Ministry said here today.
Among the missing, four are from Kerala and three from Andra Pradesh. One is from Punjab.
The missing people have been identified as Dharmarajan (Andhra), Sajit Kumar (Calicut, Kerala), Udayan (Guruvayur, Kerala), Sreenu (Andhra), Sami (Andhra), Mohd Ali (Ernakulam, Kerala) and Binu (Ernakulam, Kerala).
The name of the missing person from Punjab is not known yet, the Ministry said.
The Sultanate hosts 3.86 lakh Indians and the government here said it is trying to ascertain about their safety.
Oman Royal Police spokesman Abdullah al-Harthi earlier said at least 12 people were killed in the Gonu cyclone that hit Oman's coastal areas. He did not provide further details.
Supercyclone 'Gonu', with winds up to 170 kilometers per hour slammed into Oman's eastern coast and waves up to 12 meters high lashed out at the coastal towns.
Local government in Oman has established a casualty bureau where the dead and injured are being tracked and further information is expected to be available from there later.
Two round-the-clock control rooms have been set up -- one in External Affairs Ministry here and another in the Indian Embassy in Muscat -- to help Indian nationals in Oman. PTI
No patents given on yoga postures: US
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) After a furore over reports there was a move to patent yoga asanas (postures) in America, the US today said its patent office has granted exclusivity to certain new and "non-obvious" devices, but not the postures.
"Although the US government is unaware of any US patents on yoga, the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted patents on new and non-obvious devices that may be used in conjunction with yoga. However, those patents would not include any yoga positions," a US Embassy statement said here.
It said the US government has conducted a search of all patents issued and no patents on yoga postures have been identified. The US government has already clarified it to the Commerce Ministry, it added.
"Recent reports alleging that such patents exist are inaccurate," the statement said.
Earlier, reports had suggested Indian-origin yoga teacher Bikram Choudhury had applied for copyrights for his method of doing yoga. Subsequently, the Indian government had taken up the issue with the US government.
India has, in the meanwhile, started an exercise to translate Sanskrit hymns describing yoga asanas in English, French and German among other languages and send them to patent offices in other countries so as to avoid the country's traditional knowledge from being patented. PTI
1993 blasts case: gangster gets 10 yrs, conspirator life term
Mumbai, Jun 7 (PTI) Gangster Ejaz Pathan and conspirator Shaikh Ali Shaikh Umar, convicted for their roles in the 1993 serial blasts here, were today sent to prison for 10 years and life respectively by a special TADA court.
Pathan was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and directed to a pay a fine of Rs 2.25 lakh for his involvement in the conspiracy behind the blasts and for attending the first conspiracy meeting in Dubai.
He had also been convicted for providing his men to prime accused Tiger Memon for the landing of explosives, arms and ammunition before the blasts.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the sentences for the two men were less than anticipated and the prosecution would contemplate appealing against them only after reading the entire judgement.
Special Judge P D Kode sentenced Umar to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Umar was found guilty of conducting a reconaissance at the MCGM headquarters for an attack there and leaving a Maruti van, registered in the name of convict Rubeena Memon, with seven assault rifles and grenades near the Siemens factor in central Mumbai on the day of the blasts.
He was also convicted for aiding in the landing of arms and ammunition before the blasts, taking part in a conspiracy meeting in Mumbai, filling RDX in vehicles used in the attacks and for initiating another accused Gul Mohammed into the conspiracy.
The court has so far sentenced 73 of 100 people convicted for their role in the 1993 serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured 713. PTI
Ray Mali appointed as Acting President of ICC
Dubai, Jun 7 (PTI) Cricket South Africa President Ray Mali was today appointed as the Acting President of the International Cricket Council following the death of Percy Sonn last month.
Mali will assume the role of Acting President with immediate effect and in so doing he steps down as president of CSA, also with immediate effect.
"Mali will be the Acting President for approximately 13 months until the ICC's annual conference of 2008," an ICC statement said here.
Cricket South Africa nominated Mali after the ICC Board had asked it to make a nomination in line with a recommendation made by the ICC's Governance Review Committee (GRC) in Cape Town on June 1.
Mali will exercise all the powers and duties of the President while in office and his taking the role does not prejudice his chances of being appointed ICC President in the future.
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said: "I was delighted when the ICC Board approved the GRC's recommendation that Cricket South Africa should nominate the Acting President.
"I am equally delighted that Ray Mali has been not only nominated but has accepted that nomination and I congratulate him unreservedly on his appointment.
"Ray is an experienced and skilled administrator, a man of calm assurance and someone who combines a deep love of the game with an understanding of how best to secure its well-being." PTI
Musharraf accuses PML(Q) leaders of leaving him in lurch
Islamabad, June 7 (PTI) Embattled Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has accused ruling party leaders of leaving him in a lurch whenever he is faced with a crisis and warned that without him the country would be in "deep crisis" with Talibanisation creeping in cities.
Insiders attending a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and allied parties here said Musharraf blasted leaders for their attitude and for the first time appeared visibly shaken.
"I feel disturbed for the first time", Musharraf was quoted by participants at the meeting as saying.
When he was questioned by some on his plans for retaining dual posts of army chief and president, he expressed his frustration and narrated incidents in which the PML-Q leaders failed to stand by him during difficulties faced by him since 9/11.
He said Pakistan without him (Musharraf) would be in deep crisis. "You do not know the problems for Pakistan if I am left out.You would see its (Talibanisation) in Lahore and Karachi as well. And that if the present state of affairs is continued, it would be a big disaster." "I am not worried about myself. I am fighting your war," he told the allies.
Expressing his disappointment with ruling party leaders, he said "I bluntly say that you always leave me alone in the time of trial and tribulation. Whether it was a change in the Afghan policy, Dr A Q Khan and Bugti issues, the judicial crisis or the May 12 incident, you never came to my support". PTI
Chitra, Geetha, Krishna Poonia recommended for Arjuna
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) The Athletics Federation of India has recommended discus thrower Krishna Poonia and middle distance runners Chitra K Soman and Satti Geetha for the Arjuna awards for 2006-07.
All three won medals at last year's Doha Asian Games with Chitra and Geetha featuring in the gold medal winning quartet in the 4x400m relay, along with Pinki Paramanik and Manjit Kaur. Poonia claimed the bronze medal in her event.
Chitra was also part of the team that won the silver medal in the 1600m relay at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She also holds the national record of three minutes, 26.89 seconds set at the 2004 Athens Olympics along with Manjit, Rajwinder Kaur and K M Beenamol.
India managed only three medals in athletics at the Melbourne Games, including one in the Elite Athletes with Disabilities (EAD) category. The gold medal in the women's 4x400m relay was India's only yellow metal from the track and field at the Doha Asiad.
Satti Geetha, older to Chitra by five days, ran the first leg of India's gold-medal winning effort at the Doha Asian Games. She also claimed the silver medal in the 400m at the 2005 Asian Championships at Incheon, Korea, with a personal best of 51.75s, to finish behind compatriot Manjit.
Poonia threw the disc to a distance of 61.53m, her personal best, to finish behind the Chinese duo of Aimin Sing (63.52) and Ma Xuenjun (62.43). She finished fifth at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games with a then personal best of 58.65m.
The thrower from Rajasthan's Churu district has emerged as one of the main medal prospects for India in recent times. PTI
Police claim receipt of new information in Woolmer case
Kingston/London, Jun 7 (PTI) The Bob Woolmer controversy refuses to die down with Jamaican Police now claiming to have received some new information regarding the Pakistan cricket coach's mysterious death.
According to 'radiojamaica' website, Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas, who declined to reveal the nature of the information, would soon hold a press conference on the matter.
"We are in receipt of some material. We are studying it and we will make a statement shortly to address the whole issue of Bob Woolmer," Thomas said.
Thomas, however, declined to respond to questions about reports in the British media that Woolmer was not murdered but died of natural causes.
He also refused to comment on whether the information would confirm the speculation of the British press.
British newspaper 'The Daily Mail' on Saturday quoted "sources close to" the Jamaican investigaters as saying that police believed the 58-year-old coach was not murdered but died of natural reasons.
Thomas said investigators "are hearing all of these rumours" but refused to comment on the media reports.
A Jamaican pathologist initially called the cause of death inconclusive, but later ruled that Woolmer died due to "asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation".
Woolmer was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room on March 18 a day after Pakistan suffered an upset loss to Ireland making first round exit from the World Cup. PTI
Kenya likely to host next Afro-Asia Cup in June
Bangalore, Jun 7 (PTI) Kenya is likely to host the next Afro-Asia Cup which would be held in June next year, the Asian Cricket Council said today.
"The next Afro-Asia Cup, the third edition, will be held next June in Africa and the likely venue is Kenya where the facilities and weather would be ideal," said ACC Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Haq.
Huq said he was satisfied with the way things have progressed in the ongoing edition of the tournament despite the absence of some top players from both Africa and Asia squads.
"We are very satisfied with the way the teams have responded as well as with the crowd response," he said when asked whether the the pull-out by leading stars like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar from the Asian team affected the tournament.
"Sachin and Rahul were absent when the tournament was held in 2005 also. And Kumar Sangakkara and (Mutthiah) Muralitharan were not available to play for Sri Lanka (at Abu Dhabi against Pakistan) because of their county commitments. Do you think this Asian team is weak?" he queried.
"This tournament is being held for the purpose of developing unity through cricket. Where else can you see Mohd Asif (Pakistan fast bowler) taking a wicket and being hugged by India's Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh. Cricket is not (there) only for making dollars and cents," he said.
"We want Asia and Africa to be together for all purposes," he added. PTI
Pawar group retains hold over Mumbai Cricket Association
Mumbai, Jun 6 (PTI) Mantaining their hold over the prestigious Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), BCCI chief Sharad Pawar and his supporters swept the elections for the organisation held today, with their group winning all the 16 positions up for grabs.
While Pawar, who is also the head of the NCP and the Union Agriculture Minister, faced no opposition from any quarter for his re-election to the post of MCA president, his supporters, who were contesting as part of the Bal Mahhadalkar group, won the other seats by comfortable margins.
The only opposition to the Mahhadalkar group was the United Sporting Panel, which fielded 10 candidates for the various posts but failed win any of them.
Cricket clubs, who are members of the association, voted for the candidates with 329 clubs casting their votes.
BCCI Chief Administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty and Indian team chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar comfortably retained their posts of Treasurer and Vice-President of the association respectively.
Other elected office-bearers included Ravi Savant (Vice- President), while Hemant Waigankar and P V Shetty were elected Joint Secretaries.
Eleven persons were also elected to the managing committee of the association. The committee members are Lalchand Rajput, Javed Rizvi, Nitin Dalal, Vinod Deshpande, Deepak Murkar, Madhu Patwardhan, Sanjay Patil, Milind Rege, Avi Sule, Pankaj Thakur and Ramesh Vajge. PTI
Sensex drops 70 pts; IT stocks attract buyers
Mumbai, June 7 (PTI) Significant buying in technology stocks today failed to arrest a downslide at the bourses for the second day in a row, with the benchmark index settling lower by nearly 70 points after a volatile trading session.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share barometer index, Sensex closed at 14,186.18, down 69.75 points or nearly 0.5 per cent from yesterday's close of 14,255.93 points. It swayed nearly 240 points in the intra-day trade between the high of 14,362.58 points and low of 14,139.09.
While some FII buying was seen on select blue chip counters, domestic institutional and retail investors continued to book profits for the second day, said a broker.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped by 18.75 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 4,179.50, from its previous close of 4,198.25.
IT sector, however, bucked the trend and select stocks recorded smart gains for the second consecutive day on the back of appreciation in the US dollar versus the Indian rupee.
Attributing the volatility to heavy buying support from some leading foreign funds and bearish sentiments of the Indian investors, brokers said the market had entered into positive terrain after a bearish start but late selling spree by retailers erased the gains.
The Asian markets also exhibited steady to subdued trend during the day and could not influence Indian bourses.
IT majors Infosys Tech, Wipro, Satyam Computers and TCS Ltd attracted fairly heavy buying interest.
Other Sensex heavyweights, including RIL, SBI, HDFC Bank, Grasim, ONGC, L&T, HDFC, Maruti Udyog, ITC, ACC, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors registered marked falls due to profit booking by retail investors. PTI DEL
Vodafone gets call for releasing up to $75-bn to shareholders
London, June 7 (PTI) Vodafone Group, which recently acquired control of Indian mobile operator Hutch-Essar for 10.9 billion dollars, has received a call from an influential activist investor lobby to consider a restructuring proposal that could unlock up to 75 billion dollars for its investors.
While acknowledging the receipt of the letter from Efficient Capital Structures (ECS), India-born Arun Sarin-led Vodafone said in a regulatory filing today that it was reviewing the cotents of the letter and would make an announcement in due course.
ECS, backed by another investment group and former Marconi Finance Director John Mayo-run investment fund Beehive Capital, is asking Vodafone to submit a number of resolutions at the company's AGM on July 24 concerning the potential restructuring options for the company.
The activist fund said separately in a statement: "We believe Vodafone is undervalued because it has an inefficient capital structure. Its most valuable asset is a passive, minority share and its balance sheet is under-geared." The resolutions are designed to put this right and if implemented could release between 17-38 billion pounds of value to shareholders, ECS Chairman Glenn Cooper said.
The fund has also established a website Vote4Value to garner support of Vodafone shareholders for its proposals.
"Our site is designed to help fellow shareholders and American Depository Receipt (ADR) holders of Vodafone Group Plc to understand our proposals and why they should vote in favour the resolutions at Vodafone's AGM on July 24," it said.
Vodafone shares moved higher in early morning trade following the disclosure of the proposals made by the fund. It was trading 3.5 pence higher at 158.5 pence. PTI
China, India reach "consensus" on key areas of proposed RTA
Beijing, June 7 (PTI) Amid record bilateral trade, China and India have reached "consensus" on goods and services trade, investment and facilitation of investment and economic cooperation as part of their proposed Regional Trading Agreement (RTA).
China and India are confident that their joint feasibility research on the RTA will be completed on schedule, China's Ministry of Commerce said here today.
During discussions here on June 4 and 5, both sides "fully" exchanged views and reached a consensus on goods and services trade, investment, facilitation of trade and investment and economic cooperation, the ministry said in a statement, without elaborating.
Both sides agreed to meet again in August in New Delhi and wrap up the joint research by October as the leaders of both countries required, it said.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun said that if China and India could agree on a trade arrangement, the vast east and south Asian markets would receive a significant boost while Asian economic integration would be facilitated.
The Indian and Chinese governments have set a target of achieving 40 billion US dollars in bilateral trade by 2010. In 2006, the two Asian giants achieved a bilateral trade of USD 25.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao initiated the joint feasibility research on RTA in April 2005 when the latter visited India. New Delhi and Beijing have each held such consultations on the proposed RTA twice.
China and its "all-weather" ally, Pakistan have already inked a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in November 2006. PTI
Nooyi regrets not having taken Sunita Narain head on
New Delhi, June 7 (PTI) She helped soft drinks giant PepsiCo double net profit to 5.6 billion dollars last year and in the seven years since 2000, she showed the way for it to increase annual revenues by 72 per cent. If PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi were to look back, one would assume she would be content with her achievements.
Yet, if she could change the past, the 'bubbly' lady from Chennai would have loved to take head on firebrand green activist Sunita Narain, Director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), when the pesticide-in-cola controversy first broke out in India in 2003.
In an interview with US-based magazine BusinessWeek, Nooyi blamed herself "for letting things out of hand," when CSE raked up the issue of pesticides in soft drinks.
"One thing I should have done was to appear in India three years ago and say: 'Cut it out. These products are the safest in the world, bar none, and your tests are wrong'," the magazine quoted the India-born Pepsi chief as saying.
Admitting that the company's marketing strategy also made the matter worse, she said: "Combine the public seeing the mercenary side of us, along with the fact that this was an American company." In the run up to the controversy, in December 2002, Supreme Court had pulled up PepsiCo for damaging environment by painting its advertisement on rocks in the Himalayan mountains, which was followed by allegations of depleting ground water by its various bottling units.
She, however, added that public didn't see "the other things we were doing" and implied the company was a victim of its own image. PTI
TV18 Group enters entertainment, events space; floats E18
Mumbai, June 7 (PTI) Media conglomerate TV18 group today said it has floated a new division, E18, to enter the entertainment and information events space.
The new unit, christened E18 and to be housed under the group's listed holding firm Network 18, will conceive and execute large format business and entertainment conferences, conclaves and seminars.
"E18 will try and dominate the live entertainment space by leveraging the various media brands owned and managed by TV 18 Group. It will also conceptualise and stage large format events such as concerts by international artistes, Bollywood shows, award nights in India and around the region," Network 18 said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The group has appointed Farhad K Wadia as the Chief Executive Officer for the new operation. Farhad has 24 years of experience in entertainment, events and marketing promotions and has staged over 300 events across the world, it added.
The TV18 group recently announced a joint venture with US-based Viacom for general entertainment in India. The JV, named Viacom 18, will have presence in television, film and digital media content across numerous brands.
The Raghav Bahl-promoted group has been of late actively pursuing interests across different sectors and recently launched an outsourcing firm - Source 18 - alongwith Infosys BPO to provide services to media and entertainment companies globally.
Shares of Network 18 were last trading at Rs 467, up 0.3 per cent on the BSE. PTI
Kennedy airport plot: US investigators probing Iran link
New York, June 7 (PTI) Investigators in the United States and Trinidad are probing possible link between the alleged plot to blow John F. Kennedy airport in New York and Iran.
Newsday quoted police sources in New York and Trinidad as saying that they are investigating whether one of the suspect, Imam Kareem Ibrahim, had ties to Iraq and Iran.
Former Guyanese law maker Abdul Kadir, 55, was arrested on Friday in Trinidad minutes before he was to fly out to Venezuela from where, sources told the paper adding he was to fly to Iran.
Three of the four suspects were arrested in Trinidad while the fourth was taken into custody in New York. Any link to Iran would heighten tension between Washington and Tehran, already at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear aspirations.
U.S. Officials also fear the possibility of an Iranian militant presence in the Caribbean because of Iran's ties with leftist presidents in Venezuela and Nicaragua, Newsday said.
In Guyana, Police Commissioner Henry Greene told the paper that he was not aware of any Islamic radical elements.
Muslims comprise up to 15 percent of the population of nearly 800,000. Most are East Indian Sunnis. It quoted relatives and friends of Kadir, 55, a Christian who converted to Islam while a college student in Trinidad in the 1970s, as saying he had connections to Iran and is a devout Shia, But they said he was not an imam, as U.S. Court papers claim, and that he was far from radical.
"He is a progressive, not a fanatic," Marjorie McCaskey, a longtime friend, was quoted as saying. PTI
Saudis to deport 750 more Indians for overstaying
Dubai, June 7 (PTI) Saudi Arabia is set to deport 750 more Indians found overstaying in the kingdom on pilgrim visas even as the Indian consulate in Jeddah has set up a special cell to facilitate the repatriation of the illegal migrants.
Earlier this week, Saudi authorities had deported 1,000 Indians for overstaying.
Currently there are 350 Indian detainees in the Tarheel Deportation Centre in Jeddah and another 350 at the temporary shelter of Madinat-ul Hujjaj, Indian Consul General Ausaf Sayeed told PTI over phone from Jeddah.
An unspecified number of Indian overstayers, who have converged here from far-off places in the central and eastern provinces of the Kingdom, are also taking shelter under various over-bridges in Jeddah, he said adding the number of those people are estimated at 1,000.
About 750 Indian overstayers would be shortly deported, he said.
He said Consulate officials are in regular touch with the Saudi authorities concerned in an effort to ensure speedy repatriation of all these Indian Umrah overstayers.
The Indian Consulate in Jeddah has also set up a Special Umrah Overstayers Cell (SUOC) as well as a 24-hour Help Line is also available to the Umra Overstayers.
He said all those Umrah overstayers, who have proof of Umrah visit, proof of Indian nationality and the means to pay for their travel back to India can contact this cell.
The cell, in consultation with the Saudi authorities, can help arrange for early departure of such persons.
Saudi Arabia recently issued a two-month amnesty for those overstaying their Haj and Umrah visas. The amnesty began on April 2 and ended on June 1. PTI
Suspended CJ accused of using spy agencies against judges
Islamabad, June 7 (PTI) The case against Pakistan's suspended Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry took a sensational turn today with chief's of the country's intelligence accusing him of using the country's spy agencies against fellow judges.
Hitting back at Chaudhry, who in an affidavit before the apex court accused Musharraf, premier Shaukat Aziz and heads of intelligence agencies of restraining him from leaving the President's office after he declined to quit, Chiefs of Military Intelligence and IB filed a counter affidavit in the court today making counter charges against the judge.
In his affidavit, MI Chief Gen Mian Nadeem Ijaz alleged that Chaudhry has used MI's Lahore bureau to spy against some of the judges. Also Chaudhry was in regular touch with the heads of the civil and military intelligence agencies, they contended.
In the affidavit filed before the 13-member full bench of the apex court hearing Chaudhry's petition challenging the Presidential reference of allegations against him, the MI Chief said Chaudhry has even suggested to Musharraf to dissolve the present assemblies, saying they have became a "nuisance" and asked him to hold fresh polls under his supervision. PTI
Implementation of Pak media ordinance to be reviewed
K J M Varma
Islamabad, June 7 (PTI) Faced with spiralling protests over the sweeping new curbs on the press, the Pakistan government has suspended implementation of the media ordinance promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf till a committee reviews its contents and submits its report.
The government has stopped any proceedings under the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Amendment Ordinance against the electronic media till a six-member committee reviews the recent changes in the ordinance and submits its report to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
A statement issued late last night said the committee will submit its report to Aziz within the shortest possible time and till such time the proceedings under the ordinance will not be initiated against electronic media.
Before that Aziz had a meeting with the owners of TV channels and newspapers' owners to discuss the way out of the crisis and heard the representation made by the media delegation with respect to the withdrawal of the ordinance.
It was decided that all options of Pemra Amendment Ordinance, promulgated on June 4, 2007, would be reviewed in totality by the six-member committee.
He assured the media delegation that all actions in this regard would be taken in a spirit of mutual tolerance and in the interest of principles of justice.
The ordinance gives sweeping powers to PEMRA to seal premises and seize equipment of electronic channels without consulting a council of complaints. PTI
Book: Indian art scene is on the threshold of a new era
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Indian art scene is on the threshold of a new era riding piggyback on a rapidly expanding art market. The contemporary art in the country is attracting more and more people who are complete strangers to the art world till the other day, says a new book.
From Singapore to San Francisco, newspapers point towards the exchange of big money at art auctions of Indian art and of events mounting Indian artists worldwide.
This is one reason why any Indian artist, especially one like Bikash has to be written about extensively for readers both at home and abroad, says the book "Close to Events".
The book explores the life and works of contemporary artist, Bikash Bhattacharjee by noted author and critic Manasij Majumder in his foreword by eminent painter M F Husain.
"More and more people are now keen to know and understand contemporary art, often as part of efforts to cope with their own time. They include young collectors as well as those who can afford to buy art only in prints and reproductions and they want to read lucid exegetic texts about art and artworks," Manasij says.
The tome analyses the techniques and styles through which art developed with detailed illustrated explanations on the paintings, contained in the book. The sketches and writing used throughout the book has been taken from Bhattacharjee's own notes. (About the Book- Works of Bikash Bhattacharjee Close to events by Masij Majumder foreword by M F Hussain by Niyogi Publishing, pages 250, price not mentioned.) PTI
A replica in Berlin: to help Taj enter the Seven Wonders list
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) As the race for the Seven Wonders of the World draws closer with the on-line voting to choose world-class monuments closing next month, sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik is going to make a last-ditch attempt to canvass for the 'Monument of Love's' inclusion in the prestigious list.
The artist, who is all set to participate in the Berlin International Sand Sculpture Championship beginning from June 14, has decided to use the forum as a medium to appeal art-lovers worldwide to vote overwhelmingly for the Taj.
"Paradise is the theme given to me as the base of the sculpture that I will design in the Berlin fair.
Taj Mahal -- the eternal symbol of love -- will aptly represent the theme with the faces of Shahjahan and Mumtaz carved out on it," the artist told PTI over phone from Bhubaneswar.
According to him, there is a large number of Taj lovers in Western countries, he hoped, would come forward to vote for the 16th century monument.
"I hope that the NRIs will also vote for the Taj," he said.
Taj Mahal, which has secured its place among 21 other world-class architectural beauties, including the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Acropolis in Greece, still needs active voting to be bag the final crown among six others. The campaign was started by Swiss billionaire Bernard Weber in 2000. PTI
Newsletter-Dehra Dun: Khanduri refuses Z plus security, prunes expenses
Deepti Saxena
Dehra Dun, Jun 7 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri's decision including that to gunners drawn from the ranks of the Uttarkhand Police assigned to VIPs and VVIPs and streamline distribution of funds from the CM's funds have gone well with the people of the state.
The previous Congress government had been quite liberal in assigning the security personnel and also downsized the army of government lawyers from 45 to 15, drastically reducing the Rs two crore annual burden on the exchequer.
The new Chief Minister has refused Z-plus security and restricted his fleet of vehicles to a bare minimum of two cars, a move that ha won him appreciation.
"I am taking only those steps which are good for Uttarakhand," says Khanduri.
Recently, he put a spanner on the foreign jaunts of IAS officers and other government officials as part of his economy drive.
Khanduri has also tried to record of sorts by undertaking whirlwind tours of the hill state covering all but one district in a short span of less than two months. "People are narrating their problems. We try to solve their problems as early as possible," said Khanduri.
In yet another major step, Khanduri has now ordered that the chief minister's discretionary fund would not be given unless it is being recommended by a district magistrate. PTI
The Employment Exchange, no jobs!
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Established after the Second World War in 1945 with the main objective of resettling soldiers returning from the war, the Delhi's Employment Exchange (DDE) today suffers from an identity crisis and is facing an uphill task ahead to survive in a market driven by competition by private job sites.
One of the biggest exchanges in the country, the DDE has a network of nine district exchanges and five zonal offices all of them falling under Delhi Government's Directorate of Employment, which handles the network and works with a total staff of 250.
The success rate of exchange, however, is almost next to nothing, a lowly 0.5 per cent, which is less than the national average, says K C Aggarwal, Joint Director, DDE.
On the contrary, a leading online job website, Timesjobs.Com, claims they have a database of 6.5 million job seekers and the success rate of giving placement in a month is 10-15 per cent. "More than 20,000 recruiters visit our resume pool daily to choose the best suitable candidate," says Rajat Gandhi, head of marketing, Timesjobs.Com.
To track Employment Exchange in Delhi is itself a full time job! Even those who live in the vicinity are not aware of its existence. 'Rozgar Karyalaya' for them sounds more familiar. At the Pusa Road Exchange, youth and a few school children taking vocational classes are found seeking to try their luck. There are no queues and no huddles of people and officials are surprisingly overenthusiastic to help and provide counseling to aspirants. PTI
Newsletter-Maharashtra: Sugarcane glut leads to bitterness
Mumbai, June 5 (PTI) Excess sugarcane crop has become a major political issue in Maharashtra, with the government failing to get all sugarcane crushed during the ongoing season.
Indications that around 30 lakh metric tonne sugarcane would be left uncrushed as the crushing season ends with the onset of monsoon, has resulted in a spate of protests by opposition BJP-Shiv Sena against the DF government's `apathy' on the issue.
During the recent budget session of the state legislature, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectare for sugracane which is left uncrushed this season `despite all efforts'.
BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde, who earlier this month led a `oos jala' (burn sugarcane) agitation to highlight the issue of uncrushed sugarcane, has blamed Union Agriculture minister and old political foe Sharad Pawar, for `failing to handle farmers issues'.
"Pawar claims that he works 15 hours daily for farmers but does not take a single decision in the interest of farmers", he said.
Munde's party colleague and MLC, Pasha Patel, also blamed Pawar for the 'mess' in agriculture sector. "Had not Pawar banned sugar export when there was demand abroad and even the prices were good, we would not be facing the fall in domestic sugar prices now", he said. PTI
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Sensex: 14186.18, -69.75
The sensex closed at 14186.18, down 69.75
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______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = 40.580 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3342 INR
1 British Pound = 80.576 INR
1 Canadian $ = 38.303 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.457 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 11.049 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.819 INR
1 Euro = 54.682 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.150 INR
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