Terrorism will be one of focal points of PM’s address at UN
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: Terrorism is one of the major issues on which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would try to focus the World community's attention during his coming address to the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly.
The Prime Minister, who left here today on a ten-day two nation visit in US and France primarily to attend the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) in Newyork and India EU summit at Marseille, also said he looked forward to his discussion with United States President George Bush on the entire range of bilateral issues between India and the US, including the the civil nuclear initiative.
In his departure statement, he said that at the UN, he would draw the world community’s attention to the need for the reform of international institutions, including of the United Nations, and to address global challenges such as the food and energy crises, terrorism and progress on the Millennium Development Goals.
He said he would use the occasion to articulate India’s conviction that the contemporary challenges could best be addressed through collective and multilateral approaches.” “India has consistently attached importance to the central role of the United Nations in promoting global peace, stability and development,” he said. He added,“During my stay in New York, I also look forward to bilateral meetings with some of the visiting leaders, including of China, Italy, Namibia, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom”.
Dr Singh said he would meet a group of US CEOs, and members of the Indian-American community, both of whom have contributed to the consolidation of relations between India and the United States.
He said that at the invitation of President Bush he would visit Washington.
“I look forward to my discussions with him on the entire range of issues on our bilateral agenda with the United States, including our civil nuclear initiative”. “ In recent years our relations have expanded significantly in areas of interest to us such as education, trade, business, technology, energy and agriculture. The engagement between the two countries has strengthened and we are pursuing the multi-faceted cooperation to our mutual benefit”. he said.
Dr Singh, who will also visit France to attend the India-EU Summit in Marseilles said India attached high value to its excellent relations with the European Union. “The next India-EU Summit in Marseilles under the Presidency of France, which I will be attending, is part of the practice of annual Summit meetings between us. The European Union is our largest trading partner with whom we enjoy a multi-faceted strategic partnership,” he said India and Europe were bound by the common values of democracy and pluralism, and both have diverse areas of cooperation, including in the area of counter-terrorism, which, he would seek to strengthen, said the Prime Minister.
He said also looked forward to attending the India-EU Business Summit being held on the sidelines of the Nichelas Summit.
Dr Singh said he would pay pay a bilateral visit to France at the invitation of President Sarkozy.
“India’s relations with France are longstanding and of strategic importance. I am confident that my visit will lead to the further consolidation of our relations in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and high technology”, he said. (UNI) |
| Orissa seeks Navy help flood in relief operation
BHUBANESWAR, Sept 22: The Orissa government today sought the help of the Navy for rescue and relief operations as worst flood hit areas of Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jaagatsinghpur and Puri districts remained inaccessible leaving lakhs of people marooned.
State Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal said a high level meeting, held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to review the rescue and relief work, requested the Navy units in Chilika and Vizag to help the state government in the hour of crisis.
Four Army helicopters had already been pressed into service for air dropping the relief materials in the worst hit pockets.
Accusing the Centre of being apathetic he said, “though the state government had asked for an assistance of Rs 1,500 crore from the National Contingency Relief Fund, there was no response from the Centre so far”. The Government has directed the collectors of the flood affected districts to involve the NGOs in the relief and rescue work.
As many people were taking shelter on roof-tops and national highways, the government directed the district administration to shift them to the nearest available school or college buildings.
The state government has requested the Centre to provide additional 10,000 kilolitres of kerosene in addition to its regular quota of 30,000 kilolitres as the marooned villages have been without electricity for days, he said.
Official sources said seven people died in Cuttack, four died in Jajpur, three died in Angul, Bolangir, Keonjhar and Puri each, while Sambalpur reported one casualty.Unofficial sources said in addition to it one person died in Bhubaneswar, six in Kendrapara and two in Nimapara. (UNI).
Family bids tearful adieu to Indian student killed in US
HYDERABAD, Sept 22: Family and friends of Tummala Soumya Reddy, an Indian student who was shot dead in the US more than a week ago, bid a tearful adieu to her as she was cremated here on Monday.
The cremation took place at Bansilalpet cremation ground as the young student’s relatives cried inconsolably.
The body of Soumya, who was shot dead in Chicago 10 days ago, was flown into the city by an Indian flight from New Delhi Sunday night. The body was earlier brought to the national capital from the US.
Soumya, 23, who was pursuing a Masters in electrical engineering at the Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville campus, was found dead in her cousin Vikram Reddy’s car near a lake. Vikram, 27, who was a software engineer in Chicago, was also found dead in the lake.
Mystery still shrouds the deaths, though police have recovered the killer gun.
Hemalatha cried inconsolably as the body of her daughter was brought home in Padmaraonagar in Secunderabad.
Vikram’s body has not yet been brought home. According to family members, the body is expected in a few days. Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator T. Srinivas Yadav reached Soumya’s house to console the girl’s family.
Yadav alleged that the state government failed to render any assistance and Soumya’s family had to make all arrangements to bring the body. The transportation cost for Soumya’s body was borne by an insurance company, while Vikram’s family spent $7,500 for the purpose.
Hanumantha Rao said Vikram’s body was expected to be brought home in a couple of days.
Hailing from the backward Adilabad district, Soumya’s family had migrated to the city after her father Bhoopal Reddy’s death about a decade ago. She went to the US last June after completing her B.Tech.
Soumya’s family received the information on Sep 15 that she was found murdered. The family was in for another shock the next day when Vikram’s body was also found in the lake. Vikram, son of Soumya’s mother’s elder sister, was working as a software engineer in a private company in Chicago. The US police said his death was expected to have taken place around the same time as Soumya’s.
Hailing from Nizamabad district, Vikram had gone to the US six years ago. After finishing his Masters, he had been working with a software firm. The two were reportedly sharing an apartment in Chicago.
This is the fourth incident of students hailing from Andhra Pradesh being killed under suspicious cir-cumstances in the US in the last 10 months. (IANS)
KISS of knowledge and sustenance
KOLKATA, Sept 22: Hard times generated out of ignorance and poverty could only be warded off with quality education and creation of ample opportunities.
Ten-year-old Anjali Beera, a Santhal from Orissa’s Keonjhar district, could hardly thought of leaping the confinement of abject poverty and gain access to a proper schooling, thanks to the Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). She is currently studying in Class Four and simultaneously receiving practical inputs in sewing, handicraft, pickel and jam making. Anjali's parents were engaged in farm activities and they are six siblings including her.
Sprawling over 50 acres, the KISS is a residential institute for tribal children which provides fooding, clothing and vocational training free of cost since its inception in 1994. The school, apart from catering primary and secondary education to the children, conducts undergraduate courses in Arts, Commerce and Science.
The residential school has a total strength of 7,000 tribal students representing 56 tribes drawn from the backward regions of Orissa. This also includes 13 primitive tribes.
It is noteworthy that a team comprising KISS boys had won Under-14 Rugby World Cup overplaying their South African opponents in London in September 2007.
“Childhood days were desolate and wintry dark when my father passed away before I could cut my fifth birthday cake. I had to sell bananas and coconut in the local market to make the both ends meet in my family and support my education. After completing M.Sc in Chemistry, I taught in colleges under Utkal University”, Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and KISS, said.
Dr Samanta was recounting his days of hardships prior to his strong determination took shape to a Rs 1,200 crore KIIT armed with ten campuses and a brigade of 13,000 students. However, the beginning dates back to an ITI set up by him in 1992 in Bhubaneswar. “That was too in a rented building with a strength of two students and a meagre capital of Rs 5,000. I had to even borrow that amount from my friends for chasing my dreams” he said.
KIIT imparts education in engineering, medicine, business management, bio-technology, rural management, computer application and law, armed with Wi-Fi campuses. It would introduce braches of studies like film technology, media studies and fashion technology during the current year, the founder informed.
Sprawling over 250 acres, it is the youngest university in the country to bag awards from the Limca Book of Records for four different categories simultaneously.
“The tribal community in Orissa formed one-fourth of the state's population who are suffering abject poverty and neglected in the society. Since I have tasted abject poverty, I wanted to do something for the have-nots. My policy is to eradicate poverty, ignorance and illiteracy through proper education. KISS has obtained 40,000 applications from the parents of different tribal communities to get their children admitted in the institute”, he elaborated Five per cent of seats under various disciplines in KIIT is reserved for the meritorious students of KISS, he said adding West bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka were in his radar to come up with similar institutes. (UNI)
Restrictions on export of non-basmati rice may be removed
DELHI, Sept 22: Amid prospects of good kharif output, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today expressed the hope that the ban on export of non-basmati rice, which was imposed as a temporary measure, would be lifted soon. “I know that we were forced to put temporary constraints on certain kinds of rice...Hopefully these restrictions can be removed as early as possible,” he said after inaugurating the new facility of rice exporting firm Tilda Riceland here.
The government has banned export of non-basmati rice in April as part of initiatives to check rising inflation that touched the 13-year high mark of about 12 per cent. “I am not giving you any date or I am not promising you any thing but things will ease and we will be able to remove these temporary restrictions,” the minister said. In view of record procurement of over 27 million tonnes rice during 2007-08 season ending September, the government permitted export of Pusa 1121, a non-basmati variety of rice.
Meanwhile, a senior commerce ministry official said that corps have been destroyed in certain areas on account of flood and the government will take a view on the availability position around mid-October, when the bulk of rice will arrive in markets, before deciding on lifting of export curb.
Based on initial reports, the official pointed out that rice production is likely to exceed 96.43 million tonnes output recorded in the previous year and some more varieties in addition to Pusa 1121 may be allowed for export. The area under rice has gone up by three per cent at 373.51 lakh hectares during the current year.
The senior commerce ministry official said the Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on wheat and rice, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is expected to review the availability situation of rice and other crops on November 1. “There has been quite a lot of damage to crops due to flood. So, we have to see the impact on maize and rice,” the official added.
He also indicated that there may not be complete withdrawal of ban on non-basmati rice export. “All (varieties of) non-basmati rice cannot go,” he said. India may export about two million tons of basmati, one and half million tons of Pusa 1121 and another half a million tonnes of other varieties, he said.
Chidambaram pointed out that it was for the first time that three crises in global economy - fuel, food and financial - that struck simultaneously causing certain strains on Indian economy and forcing the government to put certain restrictions on export of non-basmati rice. The Finance Minister also underscored the importance of raising productivity and availability of rice in the country. (PTI)
India’s growth depends on nuclear energy: Pranab
KOLKATA, Sept 22: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today lashed out at the Left and BJP’s propaganda against Indo-US nuclear agreement, saying India’s targeted growth was depending only on supplies of nuclear energy.
Explaining why India needed such an agreement, Mukherjee said to achieve 10 per cent growth the country must augment energy supplies to minimise current deficit of electricity of 1.5 lakh mw as against existing production of 1.38 lakh mw. “Electricity is absolutely a necessity to become a powerful nation as country’s growth is depending on energy supplies,” Mukherjee said while giving details of projected requirement of 4 lakh mw by 2030 and another 4 lakh mw in the next twenty years. He said now 300 million people, especially in rural areas, have no access to electricity, although India spends huge funds by importing coke from Germany and Australia for producing electricity.
Lambasting at the Left parties’ propaganda that Indo-US nuclear agreement would lead India into forfeiting its “economic sovereignty”, Mukherjee said he held altogether nine meetings to explain the position and asked “if they (Left) do not want to understand who will make them to understand?”. “We believe in debate and discussions but the Left parties and the BJP have misconception on 123 India specific safeguard agreement,” he observed. “Their propaganda was not on merit and rationale but based on political angularity on the Indo-US agreement,” Mukherjee said.
Describing BJP’s and Left parties arguments as hollowed and malicious that India would mortgage its economic sovereignty once civil nuclear cooperation agreement was signed with the US, Mukherjee reminded that similar opposition came when India wanted to have authority on some pharmaceutical products in 1994, which was ultimately achieved five years later.
Mukherjee, who was addressing on “Indo-US Civil Nuclear Co-operation and its Future Impact,” organised by Rajib Gandhi Development Institute, said India did not sign the NPT but believe in voluntary moratorium and would continue do so. He said “India did not sign the NPT because it is flawed. India believe in peace since the time of Mahahta Gandhi and Pundit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajib Gandhi followed the same”.
Earlier, Information and Boradcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi without naming the Left asked where they were when India really had sovereignty crisis at the time of Indo-China war in 1962. “Why those parties had kept quiet despite India were facing danger from aggression,” he asked. Das Munshi said forfeiting soverignty by signing an agreement with the US was a baseless propaganda as India has every right to choose and talk to any country it likes. (UNI) Cross-LoC trade likely from next month
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: In a major confidence-building measure (CBM) related to Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan are expected to launch cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes next month. Officials of the two countries today finalised modalities for undertaking the commerce, including the list of items that would be traded.
A final decision on the issue, particularly the timing, will be taken when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New York later this month. “We have finalised the modalities... We will submit it to our principals, our bosses.. Hopefully, it will work out,” Pakistan’s Additional Secretary in Foreign Ministry Aijaz Ahmed Chowdhury told reporters here after the meeting. He said the agreement was for undertaking commerce on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes.
Asked when the trade will begin, he said “political masters will decide” on that. Sources said the trade is proposed to begin next month and the dates for it are expected to be announced after the meeting between Singh and Zardari. During the meeting, the two sides fine-tuned logistical issues like the items to be traded, customs matters and security aspects, they said.
In July, Foreign Secretaries of the two countries had exchanged lists of commodities with zero tariff regime and to begin implementation, each side had agreed to indicate the items they were willing to receive. A delegation of Chambers of Commerce from Muzaffarabad is expected to undertake a visit to Srinagar and Jammu after a month to discuss various aspects related to the trade, the sources said. The meeting of the Chambers of the two sides is essential as they actually have to engage in trade, they said.
India has been keen on launching the cross-LoC trade since the bus service was launched on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route in April 2005 but the two countries so far failed to reach a consensus on issues like items to be traded. Pakistan also has been non-cooperative in enabling Chambers of Commerce of Srinagar and Muzaffarabad preventing them from discussing modalities for trade. In fact, India had invited business delegation from Muzaffarabad to visit Srinagar and Jammu from today but there was no response from the other side. Pakistan has today agreed to send the delegation after a month. (PTI) Indian army lodges protest with Pak over ceasefire violation
JAMMU, Sept 22: Indian army today lodged a “strong” protest with its Pakistani counterpart over a “major” violation of ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have lodged a strong written protest with Pakistan authorities over the small arms firing by them on an Indian position in Tarkundi forward on Saturday,” a senior defence officer told PTI after a meeting of the company commanders of the two sides at Tatapani along the LoC in Poonch district.
“India provided them evidence of firing,” he said. Officials yesterday said it was the gravest violation of the ceasefire by Pakistan since the November 2003 truce came into force. “Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and opened small arms firing on Indian posts along LoC in Tarkundi forward areas in Poonch district from 1100 hours to 1600 hours Saturday,” the officer said. But there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing, he said adding that Indian troops guarding the LoC also fired a few rounds.
Since January this year, Pakistani troops have violated the five-year-old ceasefire agreement 32 times. The aim of the cross-border firing is to push in armed militants into Jammu and Kashmir. Nearly 110 infiltration bids have been reported in the last eight months from across the LoC. On Thursday, there was firing from Pakistan across LoC on forward posts of Panjal and Kopra in Sabzian sub-sector of Poonch district.
There were 13 incidents of ceasefire violations along LoC in Poonch sector from May to September this year. Four jawans were killed and 13 injured in Pakistani firing and shelling in the sector.
Army has further beefed up the security along the LoC in the wake of intelligence reports that several big groups of the militants are waiting to enter Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations had strongly protested to his Pakistani counterpart on a couple of occasions over ceasefire violations after the Tangdhar and Nowgam incidents.
Infiltration bids by militants have witnessed an increase in summer months this year in view of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections due for later this year. (PTI) I just want to rediscover myself : Padmini Kolhapure
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: Yesteryear actress Padmini Kolhapure, who took a break from acting at the prime of her career, will be seen in a new film, Mera Bachpan, but says she has no intention of making a career out of her second innings.
“ I’m not trying to make a career from my comeback. I am doing what I did best and that is acting. I want to rediscover myself like any other woman would want to do if given a chance. I’m going with the flow and my instincts,” Padmini told IANS on phone from Mumbai.
She teams up with the legendary Helen in “Mera Bachpan”. Directed by Rajiv Sharma, the film is about a woman (Padmini) who comes to live with her mother (Helen) with her four children. “This is for the first time I’m working with Helen. I’m her diehard fan. She is a fantastic human being and we bonded very well on the sets. “Earlier, we couldn’t work together because when I was working, she took a break. But now that we both are back in the business, I enjoyed working with her,” said Padmini.
Padmini started her career as a child actor in 1975 and featured in films like Dreamgirl, Zindagi and Saajan Bina Suhagan. But it was the song Yashomati maiyaa picturised on her in Satyam Shivam Sundaram, where she played the young Zeenat Aman, that brought her fame. She was then roped in to play Zeenat Aman’s younger sister in Insaaf Ka Tarazu that fetched her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award in 1980.
She graduated to doing lead roles at the age of 15 with Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai. In 1982, she bagged a Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role in Prem Rog and a special acting award for Ahista Ahista.
However, she retired from the film industry when she married producer Tutu Sharma at the age of 21. “I quit at that age because I wanted to retire. The work used to keep me very busy and I couldn’t get time for myself. Anyway, I had decided that whenever I got married, I would definitely leave films. So when I got married, I quit films and got busy with my family,” she said.
“However, I have been associated with acting all these years as I set up the Padmini Kolhapure School of Acting in London and Delhi. I used to organise acting workshops in Maharashtra and other states and also in Nepal. I also have a company - Star Talaash Promotions. It promotes young actors,” she added.
Padmini made a comeback with the hit Marathi film Chimnee Pakhra in 2004. After that she was seen in another Marathi film, Manthan. In Hindi films, she started her second innings with Karan Razdan’s Eight, but the film didn’t see the light of day. In 2006, Padmini was seen in the box office dud Souten, a remake of the 1980s hit of the same name.
On being asked why she wasn’t seen too often after her comeback, she said: “I have a bit of a laid-back attitude. I don’t even have the temperament for working continuously.” Her other forthcoming films include Daughter and Phir Bhi Rahengi Nishaniyan, a Hindi remake of Chimnee Pakhra.
In her prime, she starred with heroes like Mithun Chakraborty, Anil Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah and says she would like to work with them again. “I’d love to work with all the actors I’ve worked with like Anil (Kapoor), Govinda and Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) because when I left, they had just come in the industry. I’ve never had the opportunity to work with Amitabh Bachchan and I’d definitely like to work with him,” said the actress. She would also like to collaborate with newcomers. With the films in her kitty and her acting schools, the actress is looking forward to only “happiness” in life. (IANS) |
No comments:
Post a Comment