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| Thursday,
May 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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British MP
has more revelations about Hindujas Hollywood
chases Biggs’ story Storm
kills 20 in Bangladesh Musharraf
hopes to be President Palestinians
stone 2 Israeli boys to death Japan PM’s house
haunted? |
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| Indian
surgeon gets recognition Sydney, May 9 Heart surgeon Dr Inderjit Singh Virdi has become the first Indian to be admitted to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The success for the surgeon, who saved hundreds of lives in Australia, New Zealand and India, comes after a prolonged seven year battle. USA
prepares to deal with terrorist attacks Furore
over sequel to “Les Miserables” Clinton
sends hosts into a tizzy
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British MP has more revelations about Hindujas London, May 9 Mr Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP for Chichester, said the key issue from India’s point of view was why the Hindujas were acting as go-betweens for New Delhi and London at a time when they were under investigation for their role in the Bofors payoffs scandal. “The key issue from the Indian angle is what on earth were the Hindujas doing acting as go-betweens for the Indian government and the British Government?” “What had come so badly wrong that the Indian High Commission in London couldn’t do this job? Why did (Indian Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Brajesh) Mishra use the Hindujas to fix up these meetings,” Tyrie said in an exclusive interview at the House of Commons. He also says the information in his possession undermines the credibility of the Anthony Hammond commission of inquiry that exonerated British ministers in their dealings with the Hindujas. “I am shocked most particularly by the government’s preparedness to mislead the public,” Tyrie said. “I don’t know how serious the government’s involvement is.” “But I do know that rather than engaging in a cover-up, which I fear they may be beginning to do, they would be far better making a clean breast of it - publishing all their contacts with the Hindujas, all the letters, giving details of all the meetings and saying, ‘Well, this is what happened.’ Asked how he got involved in the Hinduja affair, Tyrie replied: “I had no interest in this issue at all and was minding my own business when I was contacted by somebody I cannot name.” “They told me that intelligence material and other official advice in Whitehall had been made available to 10 Downing Street that was strongly advising the Prime Minister and his government not to have dealings with the Hindujas. That advice was ignored.” “That advice included making it clear that they were not of good character and wanted passports only to avoid prosecution for the Bofors scandal. Then I went to Anthony Hammond, told him what I’d been told and asked him to please look into it. He largely failed to do so. Then I was contacted again and this time a dossier of papers was put my way, which I am now putting parts of in the public domain.” “These are arms dealers who since January 1998 were under suspicion with another investigation about Bofors in India. The Indian government had contacted the British government and issued what are called letters rogatory, which are the letters that enable the Indian authorities to go directly to British institutions such as banks to try and obtain information about the Hindujas’ financial affairs.” “The British government had obviously been warned in the clearest possible way that investigations were under way and that these people were under suspicion. And yet they were being used as go-betweens.” Tyrie also speculated whether the confidential June meeting at 10 Downing Street violated the British government’s then freeze on meetings with Indian officials as a result of the May, 1998, nuclear tests. “Were the British not seeing the Indians officially?” Tyrie asked. “Were these meetings being held in this way because at the time it was official British policy not to receive people from the Indian Government?” Tyrie continued, “The Hammond inquiry didn’t have anything like the material that it should have had before. The government concealed crucial information from its own investigator. I am making a statement and I will be publishing further correspondence between the Hindujas and Tony Blair.” “I have had no previous contact with any of this. I’ve not been to India for 20 years, never met the Hindujas, scarcely exchanged more than a word in the lobby with Keith Vaz, scarcely know Peter Mandelson.” “I’m 44 years old, I’ve been a politician for four years, I’m on a learning curve. Before that I was in banking. I have been involved in politics before as an adviser to (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) Nigel Lawson and (ex-prime minister) John Major. But things did not go on in my day like this.”
IANS |
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Hollywood chases Biggs’ story London, May 9 The Sun, which orchestrated the ailing fugitive’s voluntary return from Rio de Janeiro this week, said it had been inundated with offers for the story from film makers. “This could be the script of the year. It’s a great story and studios are queuing up to tell it,’’ the newspaper quoted an unnamed Hollywood source as saying. Among the names being bandied about to play the leading role were Hollywood legends Kirk Douglas and Clint Eastwood, the paper said. Biggs (71) is back in prison after being greeted by 60 policemen on his arrival in Britain on Monday. He fled to Brazil after escaping from prison 15 months into a 30-year sentence for his part in one of Britain’s most daring and notorious crimes. He has said he will appeal the sentence. A shadow of his former self after suffering three strokes, Biggs is barely recognisable as one of the gang who robbed the Glasgow-to-London night mail train in 1963 that netted £ 2.5 million (nearly $50 million in today’s money). The raid became part of crime folklore, making heroes out of villains in the eyes of millions around the world. Biggs, who says he has none of the robbery money, has flirted with the movie world before. He starred in “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’’, a film by British punk band The Sex Pistols in which he appeared lounging with the riotous rockers on Rio’s famous Copacabana beach. The life story of fellow gang member Buster Edwards, who became a flower salesman after his early release from prison, was made into a hit film starring singer Phil Collins in 1988. Meanwhile, Michael Biggs (26) broke down in tears as he described how he had tried in vain to persuade his father to stay in his adoptive home of Rio de Janeiro. Reading from a statement, Michael Biggs said of his father: “At the age of 71 and fearing that the end of his life is close, he has chosen to voluntarily return to this country. “This decision was contrary to my wishes and neither myself nor his family and friends in Brazil could talk him out of it,” he said. “He has returned to England to end his days in the country that he still thinks of as home.”
Reuters, AFP |
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Storm kills 20 in Bangladesh Dhaka, May 9 Weather forecasters predicted further storms in the next few days and said the heavy rains could damage rice in the fields in parts of the country, which is tipped to produce a bumper crop this year. Officials said that the storm battered nine districts on Monday and Tuesday the people were killed by lightning or when their homes collapsed or were swept away. “A depression has been formed in the Bay of Bengal resulting in heavy rain and storm in the country. The phenomenon is likely to continue until may 14,” Director of Meteorological Department Anwarul Kabir said. Heavy rain on Tuesday flooded streets in the capital and swamped fields in most parts in Bangladesh. Five persons were killed in southwestern Bagerhat, four in northern Rajshahi and two each in Dhaka, central Narsingdi and Barguna and Satkhira in the south. The rest were in northern Naogaon, southeastern Lakhxmipur and central Madaripur. The storm destroyed straw huts, uprooted trees, snapped power lines and damaged crops. Bangladesh expects another bumper rice crop this year. The country produced nearly 25 million tonnes of rice and wheat in fiscal 1999-2000, one million tonnes in excess of the annual requirement.
Reuters |
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Musharraf
hopes to be President Islamabad, May 9 General Musharraf, who seized power in October 1999 by overthrowing the democratically elected Nawaz Sharif government, said he had already decided not to retire as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). “I think it is important for Pakistan’s economic revival. “I have a feeling that I have to play a role in ensuring continuity and sustainability. Therefore, I cannot retire as the COAS,’’ he said in an exclusive interview with the Herald Magazine’s. “One could not rule out anything,’’ he said when asked about his chances of becoming the country’s President. Asked about his role in the country’s political set-up after October 2002 , the deadline fixed by the Supreme Court for restoration of civilian rule, he said, “We are certainly evaluating. We are weighing the pros and cons of how to ensure continuity beyond this date and the decision will be taken at the right time.’’ General Musharraf has already elevated Lieut-Gen Muzaffar Hussain Usmani as the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff. It is reported some other generals, who backed the Chief Executive during the 1999 coup, would also be rewarded. Lieut-Gen Mahmood Ahmed, Head of the ISI and Lieut-Gen Mohammed Yusuf Khan, Chief of the General Staff, were being considered for a promotion, the report said.
UNI |
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Palestinians
stone 2 Israeli boys to death
Tekoa (West Bank), May 9 One of the boys was an immigrant from the USA, said Menachem Froman, the rabbi of the Tekoa settlement southeast of the town of Bethlehem. The police did not release the names of the victims. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the “heinous murder constitutes an additional escalation in Palestinian terror and violence against innocent civilians.” Mr Sharon held the Palestinian Authority responsible, saying that it was not stopping terror attacks and “venomous incitement to murder against Israelis and Jews”. There was no immediate Palestinian comment. The boys’ bodies were found early today in a cave in Wadi Hariton, a dried riverbed about half a mile from Tekoa, on the edge of the Judean Desert. The boys had skipped school yesterday and gone hiking instead, without informing their parents of the trip. When they did not return home, the parents notified security forces who began searching at first daylight today. Police spokesman Rafi Yaffe said investigators believed the boys were killed by Palestinian militants. In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, Palestinians fired two mortar rounds at the Jewish settlement of Nissanit and a roadside bomb exploded as an Israeli army patrol was passing on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Nobody was hurt in either incident.
AP |
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Japan PM’s house haunted? Tokyo, May 9 For the Prime Minister’s blockish, red-brick official residence, built in 1929 in the heart of Tokyo and the site of several bloody attacks and murders, has long had a reputation for spookiness. “It seems like a really uncomfortable place to sleep,’’ Mr Koizumi said just before moving in. “I prefer a place I’m used to.’’ The silvery maned and highly popular Mr Koizumi, who is divorced, has been less than eager to move in. Swept into office on April 26 on a wave of longing for the reform policies he espouses, he only spent his first night there on Monday. At least in his dislike of the official residence he resembles his unpopular predecessor Yoshiro Mori, who publicly referred to the building as a haunted house and complained of unexplained bumps and noises in the night. “I heard things like the rattle of doorknobs turning,’’ the daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted him as saying. To keep him company, Mr Koizumi’s sisters, one of whom works as his secretary, will take turns looking after him. He may need a little more care than that. “I hope I don’t become a ghost myself,’’ Mr Koizumi said. “Because once you become Prime Minister, there’s a chance you could be killed.’’ In 1932, young military officers burst into the building and shot dead the then Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai. Another group of military extremists seized the residence and other government buildings in an attempted coup d’etat in 1936, killing two ministers and a high-ranking official. The Prime Minister’s residence has suffered from a raft of more prosaic problems as well. Mori said he saw mice scurrying across the rooms and other residents have complained about mildew on the walls. One Prime Minister’s wife protested bitterly about huge cockroaches in the bathroom. A new official residence is being built next door. It is due for completion next year.
Reuters |
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Indian surgeon
gets recognition Sydney, May 9 The success for the surgeon, who saved hundreds of lives in Australia, New Zealand and India, comes after a prolonged seven year battle. “Being a heart surgeon, I don’t get excited, but this certainly is one of my major achievements. It is a tough road to success and being recognised as a super specialist in this country takes more blood than sweat,” Dr Virdi, who received recognition to practise in Australia, told PTI. Dr Virdi, MS, MCH from PGI, Chandigarh and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), Edinburgh, came to Australia in 1986. He worked at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney between 1989 and 1992, but his admission to RACS was twice rejected. Dr Virdi’s former boss, under whom he was trained at St Vincent’s, Dr Mark Shanahan, told the local media that the college had been wrong in insisting on requirements appropriate for Australian trainees while not taking account the Indian doctor’s experience and qualifications.
PTI |
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USA prepares
to deal with terrorist attacks Washington, May 9 “Prudence dictates that the USA be fully prepared to deal effectively with the consequences of such a weapon being send here on our soil,” Mr Bush warned in a statement yesterday. He also directed Vice-President Dick Cheney to coordinate development of US Government initiatives to combat terrorist attacks on the USA. He also placed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which normally handles floods, fires and tornadoes, to coordinate an integrated and comprehensive federal response to weapons of mass destruction — biological, chemical or nuclear-used in an attack on the USA. “To maximise their effectiveness, these efforts need to be seamlessly integrated, harmonious and comprehensive,” Mr Bush said.
PTI |
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Furore over sequel to “Les Miserables” Paris, May 9 Aiming for a popular hit, publisher Plon put 60,000 copies of “Cosette or the Time of Illusions” on sale on Thursday, but the book was received with criticism that author Francois Ceresa had no business stepping into Hugo’s shoes. “This is a product, not a book,” commented historical biographer Pierre Assouline, who had not read “Cosette”, but said the principle of a sequel was shocking.
Reuters |
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Clinton sends hosts into a tizzy
Hong Kong, May 9 Mr Clinton asked for the Bushmills single malt as he dined at the territory’s exclusive China Club yesterday after arriving here to attend a three-day global economic forum. The drink is not widely sold in Hong Kong and club staff had to ring around to track a bottle down, the South China Morning Post reported. They found one at the Dublin Jack bar in Hong Kong’s Central district and raced around to collect the drink, which cost them $102.
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