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Saturday,
August 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Power failure brings strangers together
Ban on Indian TV channels hits Pak cable operators I-Day celebrated in China, Gulf countries Modi’s UK visit runs into rough weather Case over sale of nuke-tech to India |
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Jail term of Indian increased in Singapore Singapore, August 15 Singapore has increased to 20 years, from 12 years, the jail sentence on Salwant Singh, who was extradited from India last December for cheating a Singapore bank of $ 5,54,557 (Singapore) through the credit card scam, the Straits Times reported today.
Explosives
killed 202 in Nepal in 2002, says NGO Tributes paid to Mujibur Rahman
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Power failure brings strangers together New York, August 15 It was pitch dark and you could hardly see anything. What gave away the identity was the accent as I spoke on the cell phone. The cell phone system became so overloaded that sometimes it took more than half an hour trying to get a number. Stranded among strangers, people seemed eager to talk with each other though no one trusted the other. In numbers and conversations, they found security. “Yes,” I replied and suddenly, a small group collected around and they wanted to know everything about India — from its world famous landmarks to weather in various parts of the country. Some were genuinely interested and others were just trying to pass time. One thing that stood out during the conversation was that most persons knew only about the Taj Mahal and temples and that they could see elephants and tigers. Fed by the television which showed only poverty, some were surprised that India too had high-rise buildings. There were exclamations of surprise on being told that parts of northern India got snow. Many thought that it was a very hot country. The conversation continued for about 15 minutes when someone said transport was available on the other side of the building and everyone rushed there. It turned out to be a false alarm. Thousands moved around aimlessly, often communicating with their loved ones to inform them that they were okay. Others sat and lay down on sidewalks, waiting for electricity to be restored. Often persons bumped into each other and sorry was the word most heard during the blackout. The worst plight was of people with children as they wandered about in the darkness. As the bus services suddenly halted, out-of-the-town people had a real problem. For them, there was nowhere to go, with several hotels saying they were not taking any guests. They could not serve the existing ones. People who came to pick up their loved ones were often seen shouting their names and saying their transport had arrived, but finding anyone among thousands was a time-consuming job. Thousands stranded in underground local trains were painstakingly evacuated by the staff and then left to their devices without any guidance. Dozens of law enforcement officers were on duty around the major terminals and people were wary of venturing beyond the terminals, uncertain of security conditions there. —
PTI |
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Diplomacy on hold at UN United Nations, August 15 There was no word on a highly anticipated letter from Libya that was expected to accept responsibility for the 1988 mid-air bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 persons, the council official said. Libya had been expected to send the letter to the UN Security Council by the end of the week. An agreement was reached on Wednesday between Libya and families of the bombing victims to set up a $2.7-billion compensation account. —
Reuters |
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Mayor predicts baby boom
Toronto, August 15 “I guess in nine months we’re going to see the biggest baby boom we’ve ever seen,” Mr Lastman told a news conference responding to the state of emergency in the city. It is widely believed that the birth rate rises after times of crisis, but many experts dismiss this phenomena as urban myth. Mr Lastman also asked people to use flashlights instead of candles in any future brownouts, as well as to conserve energy. “Please continue to conserve energy by turning off your air conditioners and not running your dishwasher or washers or dryers... this will hurt my son’s business.” Mr Lastman’s son has taken over the retail appliance business built up by his father. —
Reuters |
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Ban on Indian TV channels hits Pak cable operators Islamabad, August 15 According to the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (COAP), the official regulatory body Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has banned the showing of Indian channels throughout the country despite its recent promises to remove curbs on them. The fresh directive by PEMRA has come a surprise to COAP as the official body had earlier agreed to the pleas of COAP to allow them to show Indian entertainment channels, while continuing the ban on Indian news channels. PEMRA had agreed to permit the showing of entertainment channels after COAP lobbied hard with the government, stating that its business was badly hit by the ban on Indian channels. But much to the surprise of COAP, PEMRA again clamped a ban despite the on-going process of normalisation of ties. “PEMRA has warned us of stern action if we show Indian entertainment channels. We are back to square one,” vice-president of COAP Tahir Khan was quoted as saying by Pakistan weekly ‘Friday Times’. Mr Khan said as a result of the fresh ban, their business was hit badly. “We were expecting the ban would be officially lifted because of the positive developments. Instead, the opposite has happened,” he said. Though English-language channels are permitted in the country, viewers in Pakistan prefer Indian channels because of the language affinity. “The business runs basically on Indian channels. There are many Pakistani companies that advertise their products on these channels. Everyone is a loser in this business of banning channels,” Mr Khan said. PEMRA currently permits 49 channels which include 32 English, seven Arabic, four German, two Chinese, one Bangladeshi and a Turkish channel, beside the local channels. The flourishing cable business in Pakistan suffered a setback when the government imposed a ban on the Indian channels on December 30, 2001 following political and military tensions after the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament House. Since then, a number of cable operators have gone out of business. According to the COAP, the number of cable operators in Karachi has come down from 400 to 273. He said most of the Pakistanis preferred Indian channels because of the language and because they culturally identify with the programmes. “Banning TV channels is not a good precedent,” he said. Taking advantage of the ban, video parlours are doing brisk business by showing Indian films. In order to stay afloat, cable operators have begun showing Indian films.
— PTI |
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I-Day celebrated in China, Gulf countries Beijing, August 15 At a well-attended function held here at the Indian Embassy, Charge d’Affaires Debnath Shaw hoisted the national Tricolour and read out President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s address to the nation in which he mentioned China by name. While mentioning that India has taken “significant” peace initiative with all its neighbours, President Kalam had specifically mentioned that the recent visit to China by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee definitely paved the way for resolving “certain outstanding issues”. In Shanghai, the Consul-General of India Sujan Chinoy hoisted the national flag at a function held at his residence. Afterwards, he read out the President’s speech to the assembled Indian community in the booming city. The Indian community in Hong Kong also marked the day at a function held at the residence of Consul-General B.K. Gupta, who read out President Kalam’s message. At the function, attended by over 100 Indians, children sang patriotic songs. In UAE, Indian expatriates from all walks of life celebrated Independence Day with hoisting of the Tricolour, cultural programmes and singing of patriotic songs. At a similar function at the Indian Consulate, Dubai, the new Indian Consul-General Yash Sinha led a big Indian gathering in the day celebrations. To mark the occasion, The Gulf News, The Khaleej Times and the Gulf Today carried special supplements detailing the high points of India’s success as a democracy. Children from five Indian schools attended a flag hoisting ceremony and sang patriotic songs in Muscat, Oman, where Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed read out the President’s address to the nation. About 1,500 Indians attended the day celebrations at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait where Indian Ambassador Swashpawan Singh addressed the community. The day was also celebrated in the other Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In Nepal, Ambassador Shyam Saran hoisted the Tricolour and read out the President’s speech on the Embassy grounds in Kathmandu, where a large number of Indians residing in the country had gathered. Indian foreign missions in Bhutan, Myanmar and Turkmenistan also celebrated the day with singing of patriotic songs and unfurling of national Tricolour. In Durban, India’s Consul-General Ajit Kumar unfurled the Tricolour at his residence and read out the President’s address to about 100 Indian nationals and a few local guests. In Islamabad, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon hoisted the Tricolour at a simple ceremony attended by Deputy High Commissioner TCR Raghavan and other mission
officials. —PTI |
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Modi’s UK visit runs into rough weather London, August 15 According to sources, Mr Modi’s schedule has been kept a closely guarded secret due to security reasons. The South Asia Solidarity, which includes several voluntary organisations, will demonstrate at the Wembley Conference Centre, where Mr Modi will address a convention on “Vibrant Gujarat” organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP. In a statement released here today, the group said, “though Mr Modi’s visit is apparently meant to attract business to Gujarat, but he will also be using it to gather support and funds from pro-Hindutva organisations.”
— UNI |
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Case over sale of nuke-tech to India thrown out Washington, August 15 US District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston overturned the jury convictions last month of Walter Lachman of Concord and Maurice Subilia of Kennebunkport, Maine, Boston media reported. The top executives of two related high-tech companies were found guilty of violating Department of Commerce export rules, intended to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, by shipping a device without a special license. The jury had found that Lachman and Subilia sold equipment that helped India improve its Agni medium range missile. They faced upto 10 years in prison and five million dollars in fines. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the men sold India a complete plant for processing carbon-carbon —fibers that, when applied to missiles, make them strike more accurately because they can withstand the heat of atmospheric re-entry. —
PTI |
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Jail term of Indian increased in Singapore
Singapore, August 15 Dismissing an appeal for a retrial, the Singapore Chief Justice Yong Pung How acknowledged the fantastic record of the 41-year-old Singapore Sikh who had previously obtained an external economics degree from London University while doing his corrective training. But the Chief Justice told Salwant that the evidence would not allow him another trial. The Chief Justice suggested to Salwant to study for a masters degree or even a PhD during his next 20 years behind bars which would enable him to get a job when he is out at the age of 60 or 62. Salwant, who represented himself at the appeal, was described as a clever person who had mastered the computer and a series of different programmes. But he had 93 convictions since 1983 and had pleaded guilty in June for 765 charges of cheating United Overseas Bank (UOB) of $ 5,54,557 (Singapore) in 1999. Salwant was a director of Infoseek Communications, which provided long-distance telephone callback services to the UOB customers. He charged some of them for calls they did not make and generated 765 false credit card transactions for sums between $ 200 and $ 1,648 (Singapore). Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong Siu Jin said the 12-year sentence handed down by the District Judge in June was “manifestly inadequate’’ for this “incorrigible offender’’.
— UNI |
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Arnold to pump $ 10 m into poll bid San Francisco, August 15 The wealthy liberal Republican, who hopes to emerge the winner of a chaotic campaign to replace Democratic Governor Gray Davis, has already injected $ 1 million into his campaign fund, which is likely to dwarf that of other candidates, said the report yesterday. The report appeared hours after state election officials finalised a list of 135 candidates to compete in the October 7 elections, in which voters will be asked whether they wish to prematurely recall Davis from office, and who they wish to replace him. Over 100 candidates were disqualified for improper applications, but the list of approved candidates is still so long that it could take days for election officials to count the results. The huge list of names will also make it difficult for voters to find the candidate they wish to vote for. Schwarzenegger has taken an early, large lead in opinion polls, but critics have said he has yet to offer any substantive policy initiatives. Buffett is to assemble a panel of economists and business executives to draw up a plan to overcome the financial crisis of the USA’s richest and most populous state, which has been grappling with a budget deficit that topped $ 38 billion. |
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Woman doctor prepares to run for Afghan Presidency Kabul, August 15 The dull apartment block is home to Masuda Jalal, a woman who has made history in Afghanistan this year and might possibly rock the country again next year. The paediatrician was the first woman to run for the interim presidency after the country was freed from the Taliban regime following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States of America. Last year she lost to Hamid Karzai, the US-backed candidate now transitional President, but she intends to challenge him again in the first free elections which are due to take place in Afghanistan in 10 months. In June, last year, the mother-of-three caused a sensation when she suddenly announced her candidacy in the Loya Jirga, the grand council convened to elect a provisional leader after 23 years of war and civil unrest in the impoverished country. Despite much resistance, however, she won the support of almost 11 per cent of the delegates, far less than the votes for Karzai, but more than those received by the third contender in the elections. More than a year later, the 43-year-old says nothing has changed for the people in Afghanistan since Karzai took up office. Neither the country’s reconstruction nor the disarmament of militias was making any real progress, she complains. Despite his international backing, Karzai had not presented a programme, she says. Instead, his government was corrupt, dominated by warlords and endangering the peace process, she adds. Jalal herself runs women’s projects for the United Nation’s World Food Programme, a job which she already had under the Taliban regime when many of the current government members were in exile. The Taliban jailed her for her commitment, Jalal says and referring to her candidacy, she adds, ‘’I am exercising my rights as a citizen and human being.’’
— DPA |
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Explosives
killed 202 in Nepal in 2002, says NGO Kathmandu, August 15 “202 persons died by such explosives,” said a statement from the Ban Landmine Campaign Nepal. Nepal is not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Convention, ratified by more than 130 countries, which bans the production and use of anti-personnel mines as well as their storage and transportation.
— AFP |
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Tributes paid to Mujibur Rahman
Dhaka, August 15 Mujib, also popularly known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), along with the most of his family members, was assassinated by some disgruntled army personnel on the day in 1975. In the absence of Sheikh Hasina, who is at present in the USA, senior leaders of the Awami League led by acting president Abdus Samad Azad (MP) offered floral wreaths at the portrait of Mujib at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, housed in the three-storey modest accommodation in the city’s Dhamandhi area, where the leader lived till the end. The Awami League and its front organisations, which have been organising a month-long mourning programme throughout the country from August 1, also organised blood donation camps. —
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