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- 21-03-2004
1. Look what the ministers force down Food Corporation's throat. A Rs. 30 lakh taxi bill, a 5-star hotel bill for Minister, wife, 4 children; FCI officer who asks questions shunted out. When the offices of the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Yadav and his deputy Subhash Maharia (BJP) run up almost Rs. 30 - lakh taxi bill in less than a year, guess who pays up? And when Maharia wants a suite and three rooms in a five-star hotel for his family on an official visit, guess who pays up?
2. India ticks off US for holding Pak gift-card closes to chest. India voiced
its' disappointment' today over US Secretary of State Colin Powell's refusal to share information that he was going to name Pakistan as a `major non-NATO ally" even though he had gone on and on with the Indian establishment on the growing `strategic partnership' with New Delhi only a day before his journey to Islamabad.
3. Son up for London award, father fights back his tears. Dubey only posthumous nominee for Whistleblower of the Year award, family says: best award will be when guilty are booked. On Monday evening, in London's City Hall, Satyendra Dubey will come to life-if only for an
evening, when his nomination is announced for the prestigious Whistlblower of the Year Award instituted by Index on censorship, an international magazine devoted to protecting and promoting free expression.
4. Authors shouldn't play with pride: PM. We are prepared to take action against James Laine, says Vajpayee at an election rally in Beed. In an
attempt to take wind out of the sails of the DF Government criticism for disapproving a ban on controversial book on Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji, Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today warned foreign authors against playing with country's national pride.
5. Congress, NCP formalise seat-sharing for LS polls. Cong and NCP to contest 26 and 18 seats respectively. Faced with a stiff Shiv Sena-BJP challenge in Maharashtra, Congress and NCP today formilised seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls under which Sonia Gandhi-led party would contest as many as 26 seats while the Sharad Pawar headed-outfit field nominees in 18
seat's. Gandhi and Pawar would also address a few joint election rallies in the state to send a signal to the cadres of the two parties that it was a united fight against communal forces, ALCC general secretary Vayalar Ravi and NCP leader Praful Patel said announcing the seat sharing pact.
6. Solution to Ayodhya soon after polls : DPM. A day after sending clear signals to Sangh Parivar hard-liners not to vitiate the atmosphere conducive for negotiated settlement of the Ayodhya tangle, Deputy Prime Minister L.K.Advani said the resolution of the dispute
would come about in a `few months' after the elections.
7. Coke recalls bottled water in Britain. London : Coca-Cola Co, on Friday recalled its Dasani bottled water product in Britain after tests showed the drink contained levels of a potentially harmful chemical above legal standards.
8. Taiwan President re-elected, rival says vote invalid. Taiwan President Chen Shuui-Bian was re-elected on Saturday, a day after he was hit by gunfire from a would be assassin.
9. IDFC top brass quits over SBI merger. The top management of IDFC Ltd, including the managing director and CEO Nasser Munjee, has quit, expressing unhappiness over the government's proposal to merge the infrastructure entity with the State Bank of India.
10. Charges against US Army chaplain withdrawn. The US Military on Friday dropped all criminal charges against Muslim Army chaplain Captain James Yee, who ministered to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, marking the final collapse of the espionage case against him.
22-03-2004
1. Looking for the light, Cong goes for Son Rise. Mother Sonia vacates Amethi seat for Rahul, shifts to Rae Bareli; no word yet on Priyanka Gandhi. Taking forward its
campaign tear-jerker Rajiv dikhenge (you will see Rajiv when you look at Rahul), the Congress today launched the first of its two prized war heads; Rahul, the elder Gandhi sibling, will be contesting the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, once held by uncle Sanjay, father Rajiv and now mother Sonia Gandhi.
2. Today, pvt carriers will fly to Colombo, open new skies. The duration of the flight may be less than an hour but when Air Sahara and Jet Air ways exit Chennai for Colombo tomorrow, it will be a giant leap for Indian civil aviation:in a span of 14 hours, the two private carriers will have made their first flights in foreign skies.
3. 500 Maoists killed in Nepal gun battle. At least 500 Maoist rebels were killed and 200 injured in one of the blooddiest gunfights with security forces in western Nepal, where the rebels attacked a district headquarters, freed some prisoners from a jail and looted a bank, the army claimed today.
4. Drought relief work : code of conduct will not be obstacle. Stating that the code of conduct would not be an impediment to drought relief, Election Commissioner B.B.Tandon today said drought relief works like water supply schemes, grain supply and employment works would continue uninterrupted during the polls.
5. Chhagan Bhujbal to stay with NCP. Former deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has said that he would remain with NNCP and Sharad Pawar and was not interested to form any new party.
6. NCP complains against Cong govt to lokayukta. Leaving the Congress red-faced, teh Uttaranchal unit of the NCP has gone to the lokayukta with complaints of financial iregularities against the State Government during the Ardh Kumbh Mela celebrations at Hardwar which started in January this year.
7. Abhay Bansal granted bail. He was arrested in foreign currency seizure case. Abhay Bansal, who was arrested after foreign currency notes and used postage stamps were seized from his bungalow in the Cidco area in December, was granted bail after the CBI failed to lodge a chargesheet against him within the stipulated 90 day period.
8. Film makers keen to cash in on Indi-Pak bonhomie. The Indian film industry appears all set to explore `new frontiers' with some of the leading film producers opening up talks with their Pakistani counterparts to co-produce films that explore the rich cultural tapestry and emotional cohesiveness of both the countries.
9. Killing spree in Iraq again. Anti-US guerrillas fired rockets into the middle of Baghdad in a rare daylight salvo on Sunday, killing two civilians and wounding six people, including an American soldier. The latest violence followed worldwide anniversary protests against the war the US launched to topple Saddam Hussein and disarm Iraqof unconventional weapons, which are yet to be found.
10. Kaif brings a touch of Lords. When India's fifth wicket fell at 162, with the target still miles away, the tail up next and a series loss round the corner, two questions would have been troubling Sourav Ganguly. One, the `chokers' tag his team have been labelled with, rightly or wrongly. And two, his favoured and often derided-seven batsmen formula.
23-03-2004
1. Dubey gets global award before he gets justice. Whistleblower of the year award goes to Dubey. Nahi engineer Satyendra Kumar Dubey, who blew the whistle on corruption in a Bihar stretch of the Golden quardrilateral project before he was murdered, was awarded the prestigious Whistleblower of the Year Award at a ceremony here today.
2. Cong promises moon, new order. Selective privatisation, whistleblower law. The Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, released today by party president Sonia Gandhi, sounds more populist than reformist and promises to usher in `social democracy'.
3. Chameli Devi Award for Express reporter. The Indian Express Special Correspondent Sonu Jain, whose cover age of environment and agriculture in this newspaper-from illegal mining to CNG, Bt. Cotton to melting glaciers-touched off judicial intervention and policy debates, has been awarded The Media Foundation's 2003-04 Chameli Devi Jain Award for an outstanding Woman
Media person.
4. Friend-turned-foe dares Pawar on home turf. BJP handpicks Prithviraj Jachak to make Baramati contest tough for Saheb. Chances are you haven't heard of Prithviraj Jachak. You will during the course of this Lok Sabha election.
Because the BJP has hand picked Jachak, friend-turned-foe of Sharad Pawar, to take on the might of the Maratha strongman from Baramati.
5. State to seek CBI assistance to arrest Laine. AMID raging controversy over a book on Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Maharashtra Government today said it would seek CBI's help to arrest American author James Laine for making alleged slanderous remarks against Maratha warrior king and his mother Jijamata.
6. In Latur, BJP to field Nilangekar relative versus Shivraj Patil. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unleashed a shocker on the Congress-NCP combine in the State by deciding to field the daughter-in-law of former chief minister and present Revenue Minister Shivajirao Patil from Latur constituency in Maharashtra.
7. Pawar has lost credibility : Munde. Pledging to give the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) a strong fight
throughout Western Maharashtra, BJP state unit president Gopinath Munde on Monday said Sharad Pawar's alliance with Congress would not result in consolidation of votes.
8. It is Congress VS PDP in Baramulla. It's official. Both the Congress and PDP are going to contest from Baramulla Parliamentary constituency. Earlier, leaders from both the parties were at loggerheads on contesting the elections from Baramulla. The row between the two major
parties of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir can prove a cakewalk for the Opposition National Conference.
9. Pak intensifies operation against al-Qaeda, Taliban. Hoisting white flags on their vehicles, tribal elders today traveled to the scence of fierce fighting between Pakistani forces and suspected alQaeda militants, seeking an end to a week of clashes that have killed dozens of people.
10. North Korea postpones planned talks. North Korea today postponed planned inter-Korean talks this weeks, citing on going joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
24-03-2004
1. US to India: Pak status to you too if you wish. Powell deputy says US willing to offer major non-NATO ally status to India; Pakistan won't get F-16s. Two days after US Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred on Pakistan the status of a major non-NATO ally, his deputy Richard Armitage told New Delhi that Washington was willing to offer it the same status provided India was interested in that lable.
2. Is Sharad Pawar playing big daddy ? . Congressmen fume as party dances to the tune of NCP
supreme. Ten days ago, when Sharad Pawar introduced A.R.Antulay as the Congress-NCP candidate at a public meeting in Raigad district, it caused a flutter in the Congress camp. The party had not finalised its list of candidates then.
3. Will Tulja Bhavani bless Cong-NCP ? After taking darshan, Pawar and Sonia will launch joint campaign. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar will jointly launch the campaign for the Congress-NCP alliance for Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on March 29 in Solapur.
4. Shinde or his wife, we have got the choice right : Mayor. CM's wife Ujwalatai to contest from Congress stronghold of Solapur. The Solapur Lok Sabha constituency has been a Congress stronghold since 1952, having won 10 of the 14 elections so far. The BJP won only twice. But it stole the limelight when it won in the hometown of chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in the by election held after he resigned after becoming the CM.
5. Jain temple row in Badrinath. This time it's a Jain temple. And the dispute is in Badrinath. Jain sects say that Badrinath, the site of one of Hinduim's most revered shrines, needs a Jain temple as it is the nirvana sthal (place of salavation) of Lord Adinath, the first Teerthankar.
6. Rights : China suspends dialogue with US. In Retaliation for US plans to table an anti-china motion at the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva, Beijing today announced unilateral suspension of all dialogues with Washington on human rights and promised to `fight to the finish' over the issue.
7. Israel to hunt Hamas leaders. ISREAL will try to kill the entire Hamas leadership, striking when ever an opportunity presents itself, a security
official said today.
8. MBT to recruit 2,000 staffers. Mahindra British telecom (MBT) is planning to recruit an additional 2,000 employees in the next 12 month period as it expects a rapid growth in industry and `substantial' risein manpower requirements.
9. CBI team to met SIT officials today. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team will arrive here tomorrow to meet the Special Investigation
Team SIT) as the first step towards taking over the probe in the multi-crore Telgi fake stamps scam.
10. 5 of family set ablaze over land feud. A simmering feud over famland culminated in the killing of five members of a family at Turka Asangi in this taluka on Sunday evening. The horrifying incident saw five members of the Chavan family, including a one-and-half y ear-old child, being charred to death by a mob of 200 people.
25-03-2004
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1. Team India does it. : Laxman was the man of the match, Irfan Pathan's the most stunning contribution. Sachin took a catch, Dravid -unfflappable as ever-kept wickets and captained. But today wasn't about individual efforts; today was about Team India doing what it does best : staring adversity in the face and not blinking first.
2. VVS Laxman shines in Lahore. A year ago to this date, V.V.S.Laxman was in the West Indies with the India `A' team, wondering whether he could have made the World Cup final turn out any different. His omission from the squad-on the grounds that his fielding wasn't up to scratch-had come as a surprise to many and left the stylish Hyderabadi deeply hurt and mystified.
3. Dharmendra follows wife Hema Malini, joins BJP. Following in the footsteps of wife Hema Malini, matinee idol of yesteryear Dharmendra today joined the BJP amid strong indications that he would be fielded from the Jat-dominated Bikaner seat of Rajasthan in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
4. 25 Karbis killed in Assam hill district by Kuki ultras. At least 25 people, all belonging to the Karbi tribe, were reportedly killed in three separate incidents in Assam's Karbi Anglong autonomous district early this morning and at noon, with police holding the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) responsible for the massacres.
5. LS polls : Police meet to review preparations. Additional Director general of Police (Law and Order) Rahul Gopal today held a meeting of police officers from four districts in western Maharashtra to review the preparation for Lok Sabha elections, at the police commissioner's office in Pune.
6. Lessons in Baramati, courtesy Pawar. It's drought-hit but surviving better than the rest, under Saheb's loving gaze. The drought, in its third year, may be searing Western Maharashtra, but one place is coping better than the rest-Sharad Pawar's
pocket borough Baramati.
7. BJP list makes room for parivar quota. FM Jaswant Singh, CM Vasundhara's sons make it to the party's fourth list. The BJP released its fourth list of candidates on Tuesday and prominent among those in the list include sons of Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, and former CMs Kailash Joshi (Bhopal) and Babulal Marandi (Koderma, Chhattisgarh).
8. 4 dead, 1 hurt in attacks. In what may be a backlash to an offensive mounted by Pakistani security forces against 500 al Qaeda militants in tribal zones along the border with Afghanistan, four people have been killed in an attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan and four rockets fired in Peshwar city.
9. US issues worldwide advisory to citizens. The State Department has issued a worldwide advisory warning Americans overseas of increasing threats from terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Al Qaeda. The State Department cited growing threats from Hamas against American interests abroad since Israel's killing of the group's spiritual leader. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, on Monday.
10. Sahara lands in Sri Lanka to cheers, champagne. The stars were missing, but cheering and champagne welcomed the 121 passengers who landed in Colombo from Chennai on Tuesday in the Air Sahara flight marking the first international operation of an Indian Private
carrier.
26-03-2004
1. EC decides to check airline bags for cash. Aviation Ministry told to inform higher authorities of Rs. 10 lakh or more is found in passenger luggage. In a bid to stop flow of `tainted cash' into the poll arena, the Election Commission today shot off a directive to the Civil Aviation Ministry to check air-passenger bagage for liquid cash.
2. Tagore's Nobel, heirlooms stolen. Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan lost some of its most prized
possessions Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel prize medal, watch, a bangle and important citiations-when burglars broke into the Uttarayan Complex museum last night.
3. Now, US lifts coup related curbs on Pak. In yet another bonanza to Pakistan after granting it a major non-NATO ally status, which dismayed India, the US has removed all sanctions imposed after General Pervez Mushrraf grabbed power overthrowing the elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999.
4. DRDO revives AWACS project. Less than a month after finalising a deal for acquiring Phalcon radars from Israel, India is planning to revive its own AWACS(Air-borne Early Warning and Control System) project.
5. Rajasthan : Cong looks to babus to win votes. In the season of film strs, the Congress is looking for a few good retired bureaucrats to bail them out in the upcoming polls in Rajasthan.
6. Over 50 al-Qaeda ultras killed as battle intensifies. More than 50 terrorists have been killed in Pakistan's largest military operation yet against suspected al-Qaeda fighters and local sympathisers in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, the interior minister today said.
7. Hamas leaders go underground in Gaza city. The top leaders of the radical Hamas movement went into hiding today as the three-day mourning period for their assassinated spirtual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin came to a close.
8. Centre the sole authority on natural gas, rules SC. Recognising vitality of natural gas in the smooth flow of trade, commerce and industry across the country, the Supreme Court today ruled that the Centre alone, and not the states, has the legislative competence to enact laws for supply of the gas through pipelines.
9. Rajasthan : Cong looks to babus to win votes. In the season of film stars, the Congress is looking for a few good retired bureaucrats to bail them out in the upcoming polls in Rajasthan.
10. CBI takes over two Telgi cases. The CBI today informed the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court in Pune that it has taken over investigations in two cases pertaining to circulating counterfeit stamps and stamp papers one lodged at the Bund Garden police station and other registered by teh Dharavi unit of Mumbai police crime branch.
- 27-03-2004
1. `NDA back, Cong
may dip below 100'. Poll gives BJP 190-200, Cong 95-105; BJP
will do particularly well in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MP, states it
won recently; TN has bad news for Amma. THE BJP led National
Democratic Alliance will be back in the saddle once the heat and dust
of the elections is over. And there is a distinct possibility
that the Congress may slump below the 100 mark. This is
suggested by a mid-March opinion poll, jointly commissioned by The
Indian Express and NDTV and conducted by A.C.Nielsen, a leading market
research agency.
- 2. Swiss couple pay Rs. 1
lakh, walk free. Two little girls are growing up in a
remand home, but learning to be children once more.
3. IIM Kolkata
faculty opposes fee cut. IIM-Kozhikode backs HRD move. The
HRD juggernaut continues to roll through the IIMs over the fee-cut
issue leaving deep divisions and damage in its wake. After a
heated four-hour meeting of the 26 member IIM Kolkata board of
governors today, so sharp was the division-thanks partly to the
controversial presence of `Government surrogates'-that the board
played it safe by not tempting to pass any resolution.
4. `Key man in
Pandya murder in Yemen'. A year after the cold blooded
murder of Gujarat BJP leader Haren Pandya, the CBI has brought
out several startling facts to light even as it arrested 15 persons
including sharp shooter Asghar Ali and hunt is on for the alleged
prime conspirator believed to be in Yemen.
5. PMO didn't leak Dubey
letter : Khanduri. Union Minister for Road and Surface Transport
B.C. Khanduri(retd) has denied that the letter written by slain
National Highways Authority of India offiical Satyendra Dubey had been
leaked from the Prime Minister's office, and instead blamed the
prevailing law and order situation in Bihar for his killing.
6. Govinda : the blue-eyed
neta of Virar. popularity soars with candidature; Virar natives
swear to get him elected. He stuck to his word of travelling on
a local train to Virar, as a campaign visit to mingle with commuters
and get a feel of their troubles. Surprisingly, also making it
on time for the 7.07 am local to Virar from Borivali, Govinda looked
dapper in white, carrying off his newly anointed position with as much
panache as his filmi jhatkas.
7. Cong, BJP
undecided on Solapur nominee. Deeputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh
Mohite Patil and state BJP president Gopinath Munde are in a quandary
over the candidature of Pratapsinh Mohite Patil, the sitting BJP MP
from Solapur and brother of Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh
Mohite-Patil.
8. Tigers vow
to get rid of Karuna. SRI Lanka's Tiger rebels today issued
their strongest warning to a renegade commander who caused an
unprecedented split within the movement, vowig to `get rid of' him and
said his followers should take advantage of a pardon and abandon him.
9. US vetoes
UN vote flaying Israel over killing of Yassin. The United Status
on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution by Arab nations to
condemn Isreal for assassinating Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin.
- 10. ICICI Bank sets price
band of Rs. 255-295. The 3,500 cr mega equity issue to hit
market on April 2. Close on the heels of a spate of mega
equity offers from the government, ICICI Bank, India's
second-largest bank, on Friday said it will make a public issue
of equity shares of up to Rs. 3500 crore, making it India's
largest primary equity issue ever from the private sector.
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