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Tuesday,
April 29, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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2 more
SARS cases test positive 3-pronged strategy for J&K peace France
offers hi-tech weapons |
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Navy to
add punch to its armoury
Top
commanders to meet today Taliban
resurgence a threat ‘Saddam
funded 17 Indian politicians’ Efforts to make execution less painful SC
notice to states on jail reforms Youth
nabbed from near PM’s house Jaya
cases: Centre told to file reply NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENT Committee
comes to IDBI’s rescue Udhav, executive
president and son of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, holds a bow and arrow at a Shiv Sena convention in New Delhi on Monday.
— PTI photo Shekhar
to head Janata Party Verma
visits house of Lakshminarayan
Draft
charges against Salman Setback
to Bharat Shah Man
swallows cash worth 23 lakh
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2 more SARS cases test positive New Delhi, April 28 The Director General of Health Services, Dr S.P. Aggarwal told mediapersons here this evening that staff of the National AIDS Research Institute, National Institute of Cholera and other Enteric Diseases, Tuberculosis Research Centre and Mumbai Enteric Virus Research Centre would be trained within 10 days to test samples for SARS. He said facilities for PCR, quantitative estimation and sequencing are available at these institutes. The DGHS said this was being done as scientists at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune had been overworked for almost a month while the sample testing for SARS. Dr Aggarwal said the number of confirmed cases of SARS in the country had increased from seven to nine since one new case each was reported from Kolkata and Mumbai. While the patient in Mumbai is the driver of a person under medication for SARS, the other one had come to Kolkata from Bangkok. The DGHS said the condition of the two new patients who had tested positive for SARS was improving. They had no fever. Of the nine persons who have tested positive for SARS in the country, seven are men in the 29 to 42 age group. He said 38 suspected cases of SARS had been reported at the control room of the Emergency Medical Relief (EMR) Directorate here. Of the 46 samples tested for SARS so far, 25 have been tested at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Delhi and 27 at National Institute of Virology, Pune, with six cases being common in both laboratories. While 32 samples have reported negative, seven have reported positive and the results of 13 samples are awaited. Dr Aggarwal said 4836 probable cases of SARS had been reported from 26 countries. Of these, 293 have died. The Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr Ganguly said eminent scientists from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and National Institute of Cell Sciences met at NIV, Pune on Sunday to ascertain whether the interpretation, primer, alignments, bands and methodology being used for SARS tests were okay. “They were satisfied,” he said. |
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3-pronged strategy for J&K peace New Delhi, April 28 Besides the dialogue process with all groups which shed violence and voiced desire for talks, the government is following a “proactive” strategy for tackling cross-border terrorism, accelerating economic development and redressing public grievances, the Annual Report of the Union Home Minister for 2002-03, released to the media here today, said. To contain terrorism backed by Pakistan’s ISI, it said the Centre, along with the state government, had adopted a multi-pronged approach, which includes strengthening of border management to check infiltration, pro-active action against terrorists and gearing up intelligence machinery. The report noted that despite the USA, the UK and other western countries exhorting Pakistan to end cross-border terrorism and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s announcement accordingly on January 12 and May 27 last year, the menace increased and was especially noticeable during the Assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir. On the present security scenario, it said Pakistan was not inclined towards any let-up in its support for cross-border terrorism and apparently would “continue to keep the terrorist pot boiling in the vain hope of ultimate gain”. |
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France offers
hi-tech weapons New Delhi, April 28 The offer came following the meeting of the French Defence Minister Michelle Alliot Marie with her Indian counterpart George Fernandes here today. The French Defence Minister is on an official visit to India with a purpose of improving the military-to-military cooperation between the two countries. Asserting that the move towards a multi-polar world was a must, especially after the recent war in Iraq, the visiting French Defence Minister said only those countries which had a credible defence deterrent would be heard. Declaring that in the present turmoil in international relations forging of close military cooperation had become a necessity, Ms Alliot Marie said Paris wanted the “deepening of the intensity of its defence relations with New Delhi”. As the two countries were poised for signing of an estimated $ 2 billion deal for manufacture and licensed production of six advanced diesel propelled Scorpene submarines in India, she said France was committed to carrying out upgradation of its weapons systems sold to India and maintaining them at optimal operational use. She also said France had offered the sale of its upgraded Mirage 2000-5 to India along with technology transfer. Paris has offered thermal imagers for India’s Russian made T-72 and T-90 tanks and angular determination system for artillery. France has also agreed to meet India’s immediate needs for high-intensity mines and upgradation of fire control systems of Indian tanks. She sidestepped a question whether India was putting pressure on Paris to move away from arms’ sales to Islamabad as long as major weapons’ deals were on with New Delhi, merely saying that her country was only fulfilling old contracts with Pakistan. The French Minister had a one-to-one meeting with Mr Fernandes, after which military delegation talks were held. She also called on the Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. Besides Mr Fernandes, the nine-member Indian delegation to the talks included Defence Secretary Subir Dutta, Secretary, Defence Production, N.S. Sisodia, Scientific Adviser V.K. Atre, Special Secretaries Dhriendera Singh and Somi Tandon. The French delegation was headed by Lieut-Gen Jean Paul Pannie, Director of International Affairs, French Defence Ministry, Francoi Dupont, Vice-Admiral Herve Giraud and French Ambassador here Dominique Giraud. The three Service Chiefs, Admiral Madhvendera Singh, Gen N.C. Vij and Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy also called on the French Defence Minister. |
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Navy to add punch to its armoury New Delhi, April 28 The Navy is not only revamping its fleet of Sea King helicopters but is also replacing the giant IL-38 aircraft and thinking of buying advanced naval spy planes like the P3C Orions. The Navy will also induct in early June the first of the three multi-purpose stealth Krivak-class frigates and the launch of the first of the indigenous stealth frigate, INS Shivlak. The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Madhvendra Singh, told newspersons on the sidelines of a function to flag off a naval expedition to attempt climbing the over 7,500-m Kamet and Abi Gamin peaks that negotiations were on for seeking the replacement of two IL-38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Pointing out that the government had given the nod for the purchase of two “vitally needed” submarine rescue vehicles, the naval chief said international tenders for the project had been invited after which negotiations would be held. He said 18 anti-submarine and medium-haul helicopters, which had been procured in the early eighties, would be replaced. On Scorpene deal, he said the project had been cleared by the Navy and Ministry of Defence. |
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Top commanders to meet today New Delhi, April 28 Defence Ministry officials said a three-day conference of the Army’s senior-most commanders would review the fallout and lessons of Operation
Parakram, last year’s 10-month-long military mobilisation along the Pakistan border, as well as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is seeing a fresh spurt in violence. The Indian Air Force’s top commanders will gather for a separate three-day conference. Defence Minister George
Fernandes, who returned on Sunday after a weeklong visit to China, will open both conferences. The Indian Navy’s top commanders held a similar session in Mumbai earlier this month, Navy officials said. Military sources indicated that the Army commanders were expected to discuss new strategies to counter separatist guerrillas in Kashmir, where at least 17 persons were killed in suicide attacks after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made a fresh offer of talks to Pakistan earlier this month. |
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Taliban
resurgence a threat New Delhi, April 28 The killing of American servicemen in a clash with Taliban attackers last week in the south-eastern region of Afghanistan has come as a stark reminder to the coalition forces of the resurgence of the erstwhile Islamic hardline rulers of the country. The incident occurred in the region bordering Pakistan and the attackers, believed to be more than 20, armed with sophisticated weapons, fled towards the Pakistani border after the clash. The incident came just days before the impending visit of the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to
Afghanistan which was eventually cancelled due to a technical fault in his aeroplane. Intelligence reports here have been persistently pointing to the presence of Taliban forces, along with their senior commanders, in Pakistan and the active support which they have been getting from the Pakistani agencies specially the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). The incident was the second of its type in the past one month. Last month, two US special forces soldiers were killed and another wounded in an ambush in the south of Afghanistan said to have been carried out by Taliban men. Reports here also suggest that in an apparent bid to show resurgence, some Taliban fighters are said to have also captured a district in the north of Zabol province in southern Afghanistan. In an effort to recapture the Deh-i-Chopan district, about 200 government troops had been sent to the area to reinforce the forces stationed there. The incident again was a reminder for the coalition forces that tough work still lay ahead in the region away from Kabul and that the military campaign in Afghanistan was far from over. Sources here said that not only was the Afghanistan-Pakistan border very porous, but the Taliban sympathisers were also playing an active role in the resurgence of the Islamic hardliners, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron hand till recently. After every attack, the suspected Taliban members flee towards the Pakistan region which is again under the control of various tribes. |
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‘Saddam funded 17 Indian politicians’
New Delhi, April 28 “I am given to understand that 17 Indian politicians, who were financed by Saddam Hussein, figure in the list which is with the USA,” he said addressing a press conference here but declined to give their names. He said the Indian Government should write to the US authorities to secure the list so that they could be prosecuted in the country. Terming Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer of “hand of friendship” to Pakistan as “confusing”, he said it appeared the announcement had been made under US pressure. “This government is incapable of standing up to American pressure”, he said. “No Prime Minister of India should offer to talk with Pakistan unless there is a basic clarity that the Pakistan Government can be a partner in the peace process and India is ready to make commitment to strengthen the hands of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to carry forward the peace process,” he said.
PTI |
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Efforts to make execution less painful New Delhi, April 28 "The commission has decided to conduct study of various modes of execution of the death sentence and to suggest any reform if needed in the present system of execution... and public opinion on the issue has been sought to finalise its proposals," Commission's Chairman Justice M Jagnadha Rao told mediapersons here today. He said, a consultation paper on the issue has been made available on the internet by the commission for opinion from the general public, social and human rights organisations. He, however, made it clear that there was no proposal for "abolition" of the capital punishment. He said any social organisation or individual, who wanted to give their views on the issue must submit the same within four months. |
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SC notice to states on jail reforms New Delhi, April 28 The states were directed to submit their replies within four weeks by a Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice V.N.
Khare, Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan. In response to the first public interest litigation
(PIL) relating to jail reforms, Centre’s counsel S. Wasim Ahmed Qadri submitted that recommendations by the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences
(NICFS) regarding facilities to the children of convicted women, had been forwarded for implementation to the states. The “Prisons Management Bill, 1998” aimed at improving the condition of women prisoners and bringing uniformity in the administration of jails had been adopted by the Centre as a model and the states had also been asked to follow suit, the Union Government in its affidavit submitted. Regarding the second petition on the issue of trafficking of women and children, the court sought replies from the states as 18 of them had not responded to its earlier direction to file
affidavits. Shakti Vahini, a social organisation, in its PIL had said that despite the Union Ministry for Social Welfare laying guidelines in this regard, the state governments had failed to implement them in letter and spirit. Notice to the Centre on the PIL was issued by the apex court earlier. |
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Youth nabbed from near PM’s house New Delhi, April 28 The youth who was identified as Mohammad Yakub, hailed from Muzaffarnagar in UP. He was arrested around noon when he was spotted moving near the high-security 7, Race Course Road, police sources said. Besides the fake pistol, a police uniform of Sub-Inspector’s rank was also recovered the sources said. The police suspect that he might be having some terrorist links and could have been on some reconnaissance mission. He is being interrogated by a joint team of the Delhi police and intelligence agencies, the sources said. |
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Jaya cases: Centre told to file reply New Delhi, April 28 The reply was sought by a Bench comprising Mr Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal, while issuing notice to the Centre on a petition by the DMK pleading for transfer of the cases outside Tamil Nadu on the grounds that the prosecution was being “influenced” by the Chief Minister. The court granted four weeks time to the Union Government to submit its reply. It also issued notices to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu Government, Ms Jayalalithaa and four other accused persons on another petition by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy seeking to implead himself on behalf of the DMK in the special leave petition (SLP), filed before the apex court. According to the prosecution cases, filed by the previous DMK government, Ms Jayalalithaa and her close associates had amassed properties worth several crores during her earlier tenure as Chief Minister. The other accused in the cases are; AIADMK MP T.V. Dinakaran, Jayalalithaa’s close friend Sasikala and her sister Ilavarasi and Chief Minister’s foster son V.N. Sudhakaran, whom she has now disowned. Ms Jayalalithaa, in her counter-affidavit, sought vacation of the stay on the trial court proceedings, granted by the apex court earlier, alleging that it was “obtained” by the DMK by “misrepresenting” the facts to the court about the cases. Now the transfer petition by the DMK was an “abuse of the process of law,” the Chief Minister contended in her counter. |
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NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, April 28 Participating in a debate in Parliament today, he said the provisions of the Act should be expanded to incorporate clauses for the registration of marriages for Sikh residents in India and non-resident Sikhs. MACRO MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE:
Punjab was given Rs 850 lakh under the centrally-sponsored scheme for macro management in agriculture in 2002-03, Minister of State for Agriculture Hukamdeo Narayan Yadav said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today. He said the amount released was Rs 1,600 lakh each for Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, it was Rs 1,932 lakh for Jammu and Kashmir, the minister told the House. Regarding the funds released under the scheme on “Development of Fresh Water Aqua Culture”, he said Rs 60 lakh to Punjab, Rs 103.3 lakh to Haryana and Rs 25 lakh to HP had been released. DECLINE IN SEX RATIO:
Sex ratio in Punjab declined from 882 in 1991 to 874 in 2001, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare A. Raja told the Rajya
Sabha. The minister said the ratio had declined from 865 to 861 in Haryana, 976 to 970 in HP and from 790 to 773 in Chandigarh. FISHERIES:
For the development of fisheries the government gave Rs 126 lakh to Punjab during 2000-2003, Mr Humadeo Narayan Yadav, Minister of State for Agriculture informed the House. He said Haryana got Rs 204 lakh and J&K Rs 107.1 lakh, while HP got Rs 97 lakh. UNEMPLOYMENT:
The unemployment rate in Punjab increased to 4.03 per cent in 1999-2000 from 3.1 per cent in 1993-94 whereas this rate declined in Haryana from 6.5 per cent in 1993-94 to 4.8 per cent in 1999-2000, informed Minister of State for Labour Vijay
Goel. |
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Committee comes to IDBI’s rescue
New Delhi, April 28 The committee, headed by Mr V. K. Malhotra, also put up a strong case for granting the IDBI the “infrastructure undertaking” status, making it eligible for getting tax exemptions on its profits and allow it to issue capital gains bonds. Stating that the IDBI does not have a “level-playing field” with all other FIs and banks, it said, “The IDBI should have access to cheaper funds to undertake long-term lending in the infrastructure sector”. “Since this has to be done through short-term borrowing at market related rates in a highly competitive environment, the IDBI requires special support from the government,” it said. “There is a need for declaring the IDBI as an infrastructure undertaking under Section 10(23G) of the Income Tax Act,” the panel said.
PTI |
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Assembly poll: Sena may go it alone
New Delhi, April 28 “We are yet to decide from which state to contest and how many seats. We are free to contest the poll even if an alliance with the BJP is not there,” Mr Thackeray on his first visit to the Capital after his appointment as executive president of the party told reporters here. The sena leader charged the Sharad Pawar-led NCP with planning to force mid-term Assembly elections in Maharashtra as holding of poll simultaneously with those of the Lok Sabha was politically disadvantageous to the NCP. The sena would be fielding a candidate in the south Solapur Assembly byelection against Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and the candidate would be decided in a couple of days, he said. Uddhav, who is the son of Bal Thackeray, said he would be meeting Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani during his visit. Several Shiv Sena leaders, including Union Ministers Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and Anant Gite and party leaders in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha Chandrakant Khaire and Satish Pradhan respectively, were also present at the press conference.
PTI |
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Shekhar
to head Janata Party New Delhi, April 28 Liquor-baron politician Vijay Mallya, who has also joined the party, has been appointed its Working President. Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda will also join the party fold. |
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Verma visits house of Lakshminarayan New Delhi, April 28 Mr Verma said he had received suggestions from a number of journalists that his ministry should float a welfare fund for journalists afflicted with deadly diseases like cancer and assured Lakshminarayan’s family that he would consider these suggestions “with a positive mind”. Mr Verma consoled Lakshminarayan’s widow Ranjana, his father T.V. Venkatachalam, and brother Mr
T.V. Sriram. |
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Draft charges against Salman Mumbai, April 28 The court heard arguments on draft charges and deferred the matter for further hearing tomorrow. If the prosecution’s plea is accepted, the court would frame charges against the actor or else the charges would be dropped. Salman urged the court to drop the charge of Section 304 part II of the IPC, which can be tried only by a sessions court. On other charges he did not raise any dispute.
PTI |
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Setback
to Bharat Shah New Delhi, April 28 “...At this state the petition is not entertained and the order of the (Bombay) High Court is not disturbed. The matter will be heard by the trial court in accordance with the law,” a Bench, comprising Mr Justice
M.B. Shah and Mr Justice Arun Kumar, disposing of his petition said. The film financier, who is at present on bail, has sought a direction to the trial court at Mumbai to hear his application for quashing of the charges against him. His counsel Kapil Sibal contended that on the face of evidence recorded so far, no case of criminal conspiracy with Chota Shakeel had been established against his client. Mr Sibal told the Bench that the High Court in its order had said that Mr Shah’s application would be considered after the trial court had recorded evidence. |
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Man swallows cash worth 23 lakh
Mumbai, April 28 On the basis of some reliable information, sleuths of the DRI intercepted the passenger when he was about to board a Cathay Pacific flight on April 26, DRI sources said here today. During the interrogation, the accused admitted he was carrying Indian and foreign currency which was concealed in his anal cavity. The sleuths also seized certain notes hidden in a secret pocket in the bottom of the baggage, the sources said.
PTI |
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In video: Residents along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh are
worried as foreign tourists crossing over into the country are not being
checked for SARS. (
New Delhi, April 28
