VOL: 3 ISSUE 16 Chennai, August 11, 2009

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Chennai, Aug.11 : Panic gripped coastal areas of the city for some, especially a m o n g f i s h e r m e n ,

following reports of a tsunami warning after a mild tremor here early this

m o r n i n g d u e t o a powerful 7.8 magnitude ear thquake o f f the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

C h e n n a i i t e s

with shock of Tsunami which struck them in 2004 still fresh were

jinxed and rushed outside in ther wee hours of Tuesday fearing the tremors might be another death knel l for them.

T h e I n d i a n M e t e o r o l o g i c a l Department here said the tremors in t h e c i t y w e r e triggered by the h i g h i n t e n s i t y earthquake in the Indian Ocean at 1.26 AM, about 270 km north of Port Blair in Andaman islands.

Sources said the department was flooded with calls f r o m a n x i o u s r e s i d e n t s w h o wanted to know if a quake had struck in the city.

Tremors were felt at several areas in the city, including Harbour area, Anna Nagar, Mylapore, Besant Nagar and

Nungambakkam. Soon after the

rumours spread about a Tsunami warning, most fishermen in coastal areas moved out of their houses to safer places. They also did not venture out to sea for a while.

However, once it was ascertained that no Tsunami warning had b e e n i s s u e d , t h e fishermen heaved a sigh

of relief. F i r e

department sources said

no casualty or damage was reported in any part of the city.

Chennai wakes up to a shaky Tuesday

Times Chennai E-Paper August 11, 2009Page 2

Times Chennai E-PaperAugust 11, 2009 Page 3

Chennai, Aug. 11: Tamil Nadu government has decided to set up Swine Flu test centres at the major t owns i n t he s t a te . Government’s decision came after a four-year-old boy died in Chennai due to the flu.

The decision for setting up cents was taken in a review meeting, which was chaired by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at Chennai today. The new centres will c o m e a t M a d u r a i ,

C o i m b a t o r e a n d Tirunelveli. Currently the government has centres only in Chenai and Vellore.

Government’s release further added, so far 7.71 lakh people who have travelled in 4,888 flights were tested of which 54 people were diagnosed and were treated in the state. Currently of the 54 people, 40 people have recovered af ter the treatment and the rest 14

people are going through treatments at various government hospitals.

T h e S t a t e Health Department has said the government is t a l k i n g a l l t h e precessions to arrest the F l u a n d a l l t h e government hospitals are equipped to cater the patients.

I t m a y b e recalled on Monday a four-year-old boy died in a private hospital due to swine flu. This is the first case of flu death in the city.

TN Govt to set up Swine Flu test centres in major towns

Chennai, Aug. 11: It’s Red A l e r t i n i n f o r m a t i o n technology and BPO companies in Chennai to tackle the H1N1 Swine Flu. Doctors are available on call and masks are being stocked up in companies. For instance, the US-based Perot Systems has one lakh masks in stock. It is also about to procure a temperature scanner as a precautionary measure.

Precaution is the only way to combat the flu, said Mr Vardhman Jain, M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r , B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s Solutions - India and Manila, Perot Systems. T h e c o m p a n y h a s temporarily banned travel between its Chennai and Coimbatore offices and all c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a r e through video-conference. Doctors are available on call , and a nurse is available in the Ambattur facility. A central control room has also been set up, he said. Perot has also made it compulsory for every individual to wear a mask while entering the campus, and sanitizer dry fluids are made available in every floor, he said.

Syntel Inc, a BPO company, has asked its employees returning from high-risk countries such as the US and Mexico to compulsorily go on a two-day paid leave for a check-up from a company doctor. It has also issued an advisory to employees to

avo id t r ave l l i ng t o Mumbai and Pune unless it is very urgent. A pandemic response team has been set up and the company is about to p r o c u r e m a s k s i n Chennai. Fumigation of the campus is under way and there are posters across the campus on the flu, and precautions to be taken to avoid it, said Mr N. NR Sharavanan, General Manager and Head (Administration), Syntel.

It is business as u s u a l a t A l l s e c Technologies Ltd, a BPO company. Things are under control. A doctor is available on call and visits the campus every day, said an official.Travel advisory

A spokesperson for Cognizant Technology So lu t i ons sa id t he company has advised its associates to undertake only essential travel and defer all other types of t r ave l t o l oca t i ons worldwide affected by swine flu. It has also advised its associates to defer travel in case they develop cold, cough and fever on the day of travel, as passenger screening at various airports may a f f e c t t h e i r t r a v e l schedules.

E m p l o y e e s h a v e e l a b o r a t e information about the causes and symptoms of t h e f l u a n d t h e

recommended health practices to be observed in order to ensure protection.

Cognizant is conducting sessions on proactive precautions and available treatment f o r H1N1 F lu and answering employee questions. A section on t h e I n t r a n e t g i v e s information about the e p i d e m i c a n d safeguards against it.

The US-based software company has also set up a toll-free number to support its employees and their families. This number is s t a f f e d 2 4 / 7 a n d supported by qualified physicians and doctors, the spokesperson said.

Chennai IT, BPO companies on ‘red alert’ mode

C h e n n a i , A u g . 11 : Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and leader of the Opposition AIADMK J Jayalalithaa today urged t h e T a m i l N a d u government to take steps on a war footing and draw up strategies to prevent spread of swine flu- A(H1N1) virus.

In a statement here, she said the government shou ld c r e a t e a w a r e n e s s among the people about the flu, and procure testing equipments for the laboratories and

medicines and contain the spread of the virus.

She said it was unfortunate that even two m o n t h s a f t e r t h e o u t b r e a k o f t h e pandemic, the King's Institute of Medicine, which had the testing facility for Swine Flu, did not have enough testing e q u i p m e n t s . T h i s showed the cal lous attitude of the state g o v e r n m e n t , s h e charged.

Ms Jayalalithaa said Tamil Nadu, which was once providing the best health care facilities, had become a place for outbreak of all dreaded

diseases. This was solely because of the DMK government's failure to t a k e p r e v e n t i v e measures.

S o o n a f t e r coming to power in May 2006, Chickengunya hit the state and as the state government failed to take preventive steps, lakhs of people contacted the disease and hundreds fell victims, she alleged.

Now, the Swine Flu, which was spreading fast in Maharashtra, has started spreading in Chennai city also. In all, 46 people had tested positive for the virus in Tamil Nadu, she added.

Jaya urges steps on war footing and strategies

Chennai, Aug. 11: In order to clear the extra rush of passengers during ensuing ‘Onam’ f e s t i v a l , S o u t h e r n Railway will run the following special trains.

C h e n n a i Central – Kochuveli Superfast via Kottayam: Train no. 0633 will leave Central at 3.15 pm on A u g u s t 2 9 a n d September 5 and reach Kochuveli at 6.30 am the next day. In the return direction, train no. 0634 will leave Kochuveli at 12 noon on August 30 and September 6 and will arrive at Central at 4.50

am the next day.C h e n n a i

C e n t r a l – K o l l a m Superfast via Kottayam: Train no. 0645 will leave Central at 8.30 pm on August 31 and reach Kollam at 11.25 am the next day. In the return direction, train no. 0646 will leave Kollam at 1 pm on September 1 and will arrive at Central at 4.50 am the next day.

C h e n n a i C e n t r a l – K o l l a m Superfast via Alappuzha: Train no. 0621 will leave Central at 6.05 pm on September 2 and reach Kollam at 10 am the next

day. In the return direction, train no. 0622 will leave Kollam at 3.15 pm on September 3 and arrive Central at 7.45 am the next day.

Chennai Central – Kol lam Superfast via Alappuzha: Train no. 0631 will leave Central at 11.30 pm on September 2 and reach Kollam at 2.45 pm the next day. In the return direction, train no. 0632 will leave Kollam at 9.15 pm on September 3 and arrive Central at 12.20 pm the next day.

Southern Railway will also run the following special trains:

Chennai Central - Nagercoil Specials: Train no. 0603 will leave Central at 6.05 pm on August 12 and reach Nagercoil at 10 am the next day. In the return direction, Train no. 0604 will leave Nagercoil at 12.15 pm on August 13 and arrive Central at 3.45 am the next day.

Train no. 0605 will leave Central at 8.30 pm on August 14 and arrive Nagercoil at 12.20 pm the next day. In the return direction, train no. 0606 will leave Nagercoil at 12.15 pm on August 16 and arrive Central at 3.45 am

A d v a n c e reservation for the above trains will commence on August 11, according to a Southern Railway press release.

Special trains for Independence Day and Onam

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Times Chennai E-Paper August 11, 2009Page 4 National

Mumbai/Pune, Aug. 11: A 62-year old Thane women and a Vadodara gir l succumbed to deadly swine flu virus taking the toll to ten. Shahida Abdul Aziz from Pune was admitted in Noor Hospital in Bhaikhala and A (H1N1) virus was detected in her body only after her death. While in Vadodara a girl fell prey to the deadly flu taking Gujarat’s toll to two.

W i t h t h a t Maharashtra’s swine flu toll has gone to seven. Pune has already has seen five deaths and the state capital also witnessed one death from the pandemic. 13-year-old city girl becoming the latest victim of the deadly virus, taking the toll in the pandemic to nine on Tuesday.

Shruti Gawade, a student of Ahilyadevi school, became the sixth victim of the Influenza A ( H 1 N 1 ) v i r u s i n Maharashtra.

Shruti, a resident of Narayan Peth area, had been kept on ventilator since August 7 when she was brought here after being referred from a private hospital in a critical c o n d i t i o n , s a i d D r Pandurang Pawar, Medical Superintendent of the g o v e r n m e n t - o w n e d Sasoon General Hospital. Yesterday, a four-year-old boy in Chennai and two more persons from Pune - 3 5 - y e a r - o l d c h e m i s t Sanjay Tilekar and 35-y e a r - o l d A y u r v e d i c pract ioner Babasahib Mane succumbed to the virus.

A total of 95 fresh cases -- half of them from Pune -- were reported a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y, yesterday taking the total of those affected across the country to 960. Gujarat recorded its first flu fatality on Sunday when a 43-year-old NRI, who had come from the US, died due to the disease.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in New Delhi yesterday that the "The number of swine flu cases are rising. We have to work a little harder". Azad, who has been directed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take urgent steps to check the spread of the virus, also said he did not favour closure of schools but left it to the state governments and schools concerned to

take a call.At a high-level

meeting of senior Health M i n i s t r y o f f i c i a l s yesterday, which was chaired by Azad and attended by Cabinet S e c r e t a r y K M Chandrashekhar, it was decided to form teams of off ic ials from other ministries to help state governments identify private hospitals which can be made nodal hospitals.

"As of now we h a v e b e e n corresponding with the state governments only through letters, but it now seems that this is not enough, so we have decided to send these t e a m s c o m p r i s i n g officials of additional secretary level to various states," he said.

"We have not a s k e d a n y p r i v a t e hospital, as of now, to treat patients and none has refused us, but if it comes to that we would issue legal directives to them to follow certain norms," Azad said.

In Hyderabad, Misbun Sidek, coach of the Malaysian team participating in the World B a d m i n t o n Championships, has displayed symptoms of s w i n e f l u a n d h i s samples have been sent for testing for Influenza A ( H 1 N 1 ) v i r u s , organisers of the event said.

" S i d e k complained of throat pain l a s t e v e n i n g . H i s samples have been sent for testing. We don't want to take any chance. We a r e t a k i n g a l l precautions," Pullela Gopichand, director of t h e o r g a n i s i n g committee and Indian team coach, said.

J a m m u h a s also recorded its first positive swine flu case after a girl from the city, who was studying in Pune and had come home for the summer break, tested positive for swine flu.

A n o t h e r patient tested negative and reports of four others are awaited from the National Institute of C o m m u n i c a b l e Diseases. Three of the four patients who have been tested study in

Pune and Bangalore. One is a Border

Security Force (BSF) soldier who returned from leave from his home in Uttar Pradesh.

H a r y a n a invokes Epidemic Act

The Haryana g o v e r n m e n t h a s meanwhile decided to invoke the Epidemic Disease Act of 1897 to tackle swine flu, the third state to make use of the law after Delhi and Maharashtra.

Regulations of the Act would remain in force upto one year, an official spokesman said last night.

T h e s e regulations shall be called Haryana Epidemic D i s e a s e , A H 1 N 1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Regulations 2009, he said.

Under these regulations, it would be obligatory on the part of private hospitals to notify t h e g o v e r n m e n t h o s p i t a l s i n t h e i r respective areas of any patient reporting swine flu-like symptoms.

Haryana has so far reported 38 positive cases of swine flu, out of which 27 have been discharged from various hospitals while 11 are still undergoing treatment.

Delhi was the f i rs t to invoke the Epidemic Disease Act to force an inf luent ia l person to undergo testing and treatment for the disease, followed by Maharashtra where six p e r s o n s h a v e succumbed to swine flu.

Swine flue toll reaches 10; Pune, Vadodara and Mumbai adds one each to the toll New Delhi / Bhuba

neswar, Aug. 11: A huge earthquake north of the Andaman islands jolted the archipelago and even the Orissa coast on the Indian mainland early Tuesday. The quake that measured 7.8 on the Richter scale led to a tsunami warning that was later withdrawn.

Thousands of people in Orissa and the Andamans spent the entire night on roads and f i e l d s f e a r i n g aftershocks, once the 1.25 am earthquake brought them out of their beds in panic. However, no aftershock was felt, nor was any casualty reported. The India M e t e o r o l o g i c a l Department in New Delhi

reported the epicentre of the quake at latitude 14.10 north and longitude 93.00 east, just north of the Andaman Islands, and 1,020 km southeast o f O r i s s a c a p i t a l Bhubaneswar, where the jolt was clearly felt.

"No casualties or damage has been reported so far," Balaram Singh, officer on special duty in the Or issa revenue control room, said about six hours after the temblor.

" W e w e r e sleeping. We woke up after our house was shaken and some of our w i n d o w s o p e n e d suddenly," said 45-year-old Sadasiba Mohapatra, a business executive who ran out of his Bhuba-

neswar apartment along with his wife.

"We felt as if our house will collapse. We stayed on the road for several hours," he added.

T h e U S G e o l o g i c a l S u r v e y immediately issued a tsunami alert for the coasts o f I n d i a , T h a i l a n d , Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But the alert was withdrawn after a few hours when it became clear that no tsunami wave had been generated.

A 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean had devastated coastal areas in Indonesia, Malaysia, T h a i l a n d , M y a n m a r, Bangaldesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives and had killed thousands.

Powerful quake jolts Andamans, Orissa

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Amid rise in swine flu deaths, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has asked Chief Ministers to take urgent measures to tackle spread of the dreaded virus in the country.

A top Health Ministry official today said Azad spoke to 22 Chief Ministers last night impressing upon them t h e n e e d t o t a k e measures to tackle the spread of the pandemic.

H e i s understood to have informed them about the steps taken by the Central government to tackle swine flu and the guidelines formed for allowing private labs and hospitals to conduct tests and treat suspected cases.

A z a d h e l d meetings with senior officials of the Ministry this morning to take stock of the situation, the official said.

He will hold a meeting with around 35 Additional and Joint Secretaries in various central ministries before they proceed to state capitals for stepping up their efforts to contain further spread of the disease.

T h e m o v e comes two days after P r i m e M i n i s t e r Manmohan Singh asked Azad to augment the response mechanism in the wake of the rapid spread of swine flu, which has claimed eight lives so far.

A z a d h a s announced a slew of

measures like allowing private labs and hospitals to conduct tests and treat s u s p e c t e d c a s e s , stockpiling another two crore tablets of Tamiflu and installing thermal scanners at all international airports to screen passengers.

On the decision to rush senior officials to states, he has said, "as of now, we have been corresponding with the states only through letters, but it now seems that this is not enough, so we have decided to send them to various states."

The decis ions were taken at a high-level meeting yesterday of senior health ministry officials chaired by Azad and attended by Cabinet S e c r e t a r y K M Chandrasekar.

Azad speaks to CMs on swine flu

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta h a s s a i d t h a t interrogation of the crew of a suspicious North Korea ship detained by Indian coastguards at Andaman and Nicobar Islands was still on.

T a l k i n g t o reporters here on the sideline of a conference Mehta said, "Till now nothing significant has c o m e o u t . T h e investigation is still on and only after further interrogat ion of the crewmembers we can come to a conclusion."

T h e I n d i a n Coast Guard detained the

s h i p w i t h 3 9 crewmembers on board late on Friday in the Indian Ocean.

Officials at the Integrated Command and the Intelligence B u r e a u ( I B ) a r e investigating the ship and all its crewmembers. Some reports said Indian o ff ic ia ls are fac ing d i f f i c u l t y i n communicating with the crew because of the language problem.

The ship, which had embarked on its journey from Thailand on July 27 with 1,600 tonnes of sugar to be shipped off to Iraq, stopped at S i n g a p o r e w i t h o u t

permission and then moved ahead without p r o p e r p a s s p o r t stamping done.

T h e C o a s t G u a r d h e l i c o p t e r s identified the ship in Indian waters. The ship did not respond to the signals, following which the Coast Guard ships chased the vessel and made it obey its orders.

Earlier, the ship dropped anchor at Hut B a y w i t h o u t a n y permission. Even the logbook of the vessel was found to be vague, sources said.

North Korean sales of missiles and

other weapons materials to tense and unstable parts of the world have long been a major concern for the United States and its allies, due to this its ships are frequently stopped and inspected.

In four publicly known cases between 1992-2003 in which North Korean vessels were stopped on suspicion of shipping weapons of mass destruction components or chemicals, none was prosecuted because the c a r g o w a s e i t h e r undetermined, legal or "dual-use," sources said.

Investigation of detained North Korean ship continuing

Times Chennai E-PaperAugust 12, 2009 Page 5National

Brain Gain policy: Govt exempts 14 varsities from CAG

New Delhi , Aug.11: Comple te au tonomy, exemption from audit by CAG and creation of s p e c i a l r e s e a r c h endowment fund could be the key features of 14 National Universities of wor ld-c lass standard proposed to be set up by the Government.

A i m i n g t o develop these universities as 'global centres of innovat ion, the HRD Ministry has prepared a c o n c e p t n o t e o n institutions proposed to be set up in the 11th Plan.

T h e s e universities will be kept out of the purview of existing regulatory bodies in higher education in academic matters.

"The government shall ensure that the governance structure of the university shall be tuned to towards ensuring autonomy over all matter, s p e c i a l l y a c a d e m i c matters, including but not limited to admissions, curr iculum, research, assessment, award of degrees, selection of m e m b e r s o f t h e professoiorate and the basic direction of the academic work in the university," the concept note said.

The autonomy will be at various levels -- at the level of university via-a-vis government, at the level of faculty vis-a-vis the university and at the level of researcher via-a-vis the faculty.

These proposed un ivers i t ies w i l l ge t Research Endowment Fund of an amount less than Rs 200 crore each annually.

Fol lowing the preparation of the concept note, the Ministry will make a draft bill on setting up the universities which will go to the cabinet for approval and then placed before Parliament.

The universities will have the freedom to get funding from non-governmental sources subject to condition that it will not be from dubious or unverified sources.

An research peer group, comprising eminent a c a d e m i c i a n s , w i l l evaluate the research proposals. The varsities will have the freedom to decide remuneration for research personnel.

A s a m a j o r e x e m p t i o n , t h e transactions of these universities will be kept out o f t h e p u r v i e w o f Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

T h e Comptroller and Auditor G e n e r a l ' s ( D u t i e s , Powers and Conditions of Services) Act 1971 will be amended for the purpose. Accountability will be ensured by the review of the academic research peer group for research work and teachers peer group for c o u r s e w o r k a n d teaching.

"To that end, s c r u t i n y a n d accountability shall be defined by outcomes rather than processes," the note said.

T h e universities will be free to establ ish Chairs of Studies with funding t h r o u g h n o n -g o v e r n m e n t endowments.

Similarly, the universities will have f r e e d o m t o m a k e a p p o i n t m e n t s b y invitation based on the recommendations of a s t a n d i n g s e a r c h committee.

"Recognising that brilliance is not a factor of age of a person o r yea rs spen t i n r e s e a r c h , t h e a p p o i n t m e n t b y invitation shall not be subject to limitations of a g e o r y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e considered candidate," the concept note said.

The teachers will have full freedom to structure the pedagogy. The class room shall also be freed from the

boundaries of physical space.

The universities will have freedom to define the pay structure o f f a c u l t y t h r o u g h n e g o t i a t e d arrangements.

T h e government will seek assistance of eminent persons such as Nobel laureates to act as a n c h o r s t o g u i d e , promote and lead the university to achieve world class standards. To ensure that quality f a c u l t y o f f o r e i g n nationality join these u n i v e r s i t i e s , t h e government may amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which does not allow persons of Indian origin, who are citizens of another country, to be appointed to publ ic services and posts.

Imphal, Aug. 11: The partial relaxation in an i n d e f i n i t e c u r f e w, imposed here following protests over the killing of a youth in an alleged fake encounter,

was withdrawn o n T u e s d a y a f t e r agitators tried to defy the restrictions. The indefinite curfew was reimposed from 9:00am and security beefed up around Raj Bhawan and the Chief Minister's office complex after agitators made an attempt to submit a memorandum

to Governor Gurbachan Jagat, v iolat ing the cur few res t r i c t ions , official sources said.

The eight-day-old curfew was relaxed for four hours over the weekend.

The sources said security forces were deployed at all entry points to Imphal and anyone entering the c a p i t a l a r e a w a s subjected to thorough checking.

Police mobile parties were patrolling at

different parts of the city asking the people to remain indoors.

The curfew was imposed after several organisations led by major outfit Apunba Lup b e g a n a g i t a t i o n protesting the killing of one Sanjit by police commandos in an alleged fake encounter at Imphal market complex on July 23.

A p r e g n a n t woman was also killed and five others were injured by stray bullets in the incident.

Curfew imposed in Manipur again

Hyderabad, Aug.11: The coastal region of Andhra Pradesh was rocked by an earthquake with its epicentre in the Bay of Bengal in the early h o u r s o f Tu e s d a y, triggering panic among people and raising fears of a tsunami.

Several costal towns felt the quake for a few seconds at 1.26 am., under the impact of an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that struck the Indian Ocean.

People ran out of their houses and spent the early morning hours on the roads even as authorities tried to allay apprehensions of a tsunami hitting the coast. Revenue and Relief Minister D. Prasada Rao said there was no loss of life or property due to the

temblor. He urged people not to panic as experts have ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.

The minister said the US Geological Survey had issued a Tsunami alert but later withdrew it.

T h e r e w e r e reports of two house collapsing in Krishna district but it was yet to be confirmed whether they collapsed due to the t r e m o r s , s a i d t h e minister.

H i g h t i d a l waves along the Bay of Bengal coast raised fears o f t s u n a m i a m o n g fishermen and people living in the coastal belt. The Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, however, said such tidal waves were common after a quake.

"I was sleeping

when I heard cries of my parents and other family members. We all ran out of the house," a girl told a local television channel in Visakhapatnam.

"We were afraid to go back to our house and remained in an open ground till dawn," said a resident of Kakinada town.

S r i k a k u l a m , V i j a y a n a g a r a m , Vijayawada, Rajhamundry and Tirupati also felt the tremors.

Immediately after the quake, authorities alerted fishermen along the coast and advised them not to venture into the sea.

" T h o u g h n o tsunami alert was issued, we still advised fishermen not to go into the sea as a precautionary measure," sa id K ishore Kumar, revenue divisional officer in Kakinada.

M e a n w h i l e Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean In fo rmat ion Serv ices (INCOIS), which runs the tsunami warning system, has said that there is no need for panic as a tsunami is not likely to occur as a result of the quake.

" U s u a l l y aftershocks are recorded after a quake but there are no chances of another big earthquake," said INCOIS director S.C. Shenoi.

Andhra Pradesh has a nearly 1,000 km long coast line. The 2004 tsunami had hit the coast, killing about 100 people.

Earthquake triggers panic in coastal Andhra Pradesh

Times Chennai E-Paper August 11, 2009 Page 6 World

Sydney, Aug.11: A charter plane carrying 13 people — including nine Australians — to a popular tourist site in Papua New Guinea van ished on approach to an airport on Tuesday, the airline and A u s t r a l i a ' s F o r e i g n Minister said.

The twin-engine plane left the capital of Port Moresby en route to an airport near the country's K o k o d a T r a c k , a m o u n t a i n o u s 1 0 0 -kilometre (60-mile) trail. The plane's crew radioed air traffic controllers as it was approaching the airstrip, but the aircraft never landed, said Allen Tyson, a spokesman for

Airlines PNG. A search and

rescue mission was immediately launched, Tyson said. The plane, carrying 11 passengers and two crew, had an e m e r g e n c y l o c a t o r beacon but it was not transmitting, he said. No further information was immediately available, he said.

A u s t r a l i a ' s Department of Foreign A f f a i r s a n d T r a d e confirmed nine of the passengers on board were Australian. The trail is a popular destination for Australian tourists.

A u s t r a l i a n Foreign Minister Stephen

Smith expressed grave fears for the passengers' welfare in Parliament.

"We are , o f course, concerned for all of the passengers and the crew," Smith said.

The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby was working with Papua New Guinean authorities to determine what happened to the p lane , Smi th sa id . Searchers were checking other small airstrips in the area to see if it may have landed elsewhere. But poor weather conditions w e r e h a m p e r i n g searchers' efforts, he said.

Plane carrying 13 missing in Papua New Guinea

London, Aug. 11: The mother and stepfather of Baby P, whose death after months of brutal abuse shocked Britain, were o f f i c i a l l y n a m e d o n Tuesday after the lifting of a court order.

Tracey Connelly and her lover Steven Barker were jailed in May this year over the death of 1 7 - m o n t h - o l d P e t e r Connelly whose body was f o u n d i n h i s b l o o d spattered cot at his London home in 2007.

Jason Owen, the coup le 's 37-year -o ld 'lodger' who was also convicted of causing or allowing Baby P's death, was also identified as Barker's older brother.

The names of the

couple, and details of their background, were released after a High Court order protecting their anonymity expired at midnight on Monday following an application by media organisations.

N e w s p a p e r s posted photographs of the pair on their front pages along with further d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e background of the people whose horrific abuse of the toddler sparked outrage in Britain and tr iggered an urgent review of childcare policy.

The todd le r, who had initially been referred to only as Baby P, suffered fractured ribs and a broken back among more than 50

injuries. When he died, a

fingernail and toenail were missing, having been ripped out in some form of torture, evidence to the court during the original case showed.

Social workers, doctors and police failed to spot the abuse despite seeing the toddler at least 60 times over eight months.

Connelly, 28, who has married at 16 and has four other children, was jailed for at least five years for failing to prevent her son's death.

B a r k e r , 3 3 , received 12 years for his role in the killing.

British couple responsonsible for Baby Peter's death identified

Seoul, Aug. 11: Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi on Tuesday called for a fresh election under UN surveillance to end violence in her country and urged UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to visit Tehran.

Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights defender who won the prize in 2003, said Ban must gather first-hand information on human rights conditions before drawing up a United Nations report on Iran due in December.

"In order to have fair election results, there must be a re-election under UN surveillance," she told journalists during her visit to South Korea.

"I plead with the UN Secretary General to come to Iran. He must see what's happening in Iran with his own eyes and talk

to Iranians in order to write an accurate and truthful report," she said through an interpreter.

E b a d i denounced Tehran for using violence against citizens who protested at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in a June 12 poll that sparked weeks of unrest.

S h e u r g e d Tehran to stop using violence against peaceful protesters, halt the "show t r i a l s " o f p o l i t i c a l opponen ts , re lease d e t a i n e e s , e n d c e n s o r s h i p a n d compensate victims of government violence.

Many Iranians had begun employing new tactics to continue protests while avoiding arrest, she said.

Iranian Nobel laureate calls for fresh election under UN

Kinshasa, Aug.11: Hillary Clinton has a message for the world: It's not all about Bill. The Secre ta ry o f S ta te bristled Monday when — as she heard it — a Congolese university student asked what her husband thought about an international financial matter.

S h e h a d n ' t travelled to Africa to talk about her husband the ex-president. But even there, she couldn ' t

escape his outsized shadow.

She abruptly reclaimed the stage for herself.

"My husband is not Secretary of State, I am," she snapped. "I am n o t g o i n g t o b e c h a n n e l l i n g m y husband."

C l i n t o n ' s presence, so bold in her histor ic president ia l c a n d i d a c y a g a i n s t Barack Obama, has sometimes been hard to see in the months she's served as the supposed face and voice of US foreign policy.

The President's ambitious travels have ove rshadowed he r, heavyweight special envoys have been assigned to the world's critical hotspots, Vice

President Joe Biden has taken on assignments abroad — and then last week he r husband succeeded in a North Korean mission to free two journalists even as she landed in Africa on a seven-nation trip.

"You want me to tell you what my husband th inks?" she asked incredulously when the student raised a question about a multibillion-dollar Chinese loan offer to Congo.

"If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion," she said. "I am n o t g o i n g t o b e c h a n n e l l i n g m y husband."

The moderator quickly moved on.

S t a t e Department officials said the student approached Clinton afterward and told her he had meant to ask what Obama, not Bill Clinton, thought about the Chinese loan. A senior Clinton aide said that Hillary assured the student not to worry about it.

The student's question, according to the State Department translation, went like this: "Thank you. Mrs Clinton, we’ve all heard about the Chinese contracts in this country. The interference is from the World Bank against this contract. What does Mr Clinton think through the mouth of Mrs Clinton and what does Mr Mutombo think on this situation? Thank you very much."

It was unclear whether the French-speaking student or translator had erred. Either way, she was not pleased at the mention of her husband's name.

The Clintons have always been a complicated couple. An accomplished lawyer and politician in her own right, Hillary Rodham Clinton h a s s t r u g g l e d f o r decades to balance her interests and ambitions against his. She has supported his career while looking to blaze a trail of her own — at times proud of, and benefiting from, her husband's accomplishments, and at other times frustrated by

his failings and his habit of overshadowing her, friends say.

T h e b i g g e s t controversy of Bill Clinton's career — an affair with a White House intern that led t o i m p e a c h m e n t p r o c e e d i n g s — engendered rare sympathy for his wife and helped her win a Senate seat. One of h i s b igges t po l i t i ca l miscues — injecting race into her South Carolina primary with Obama — helped seal her defeat in the 2008 Democrat ic primary.

S i n c e h i s presidency, Bill Clinton has s p o k e n o u t a b o u t international financial and development aid to poor countries, one focus of his foundation's Clinton Global Init iat ive, making his opinion of interest abroad. But the stage in Kinshasa was his wife's, and she reacted instantly to a suggestion that he shared it.

She had been sidelined for weeks after she fell on her way to the White House in June and f rac tured her e lbow, requiring surgery. Her aides acknowledged her frustrations stemming from the injury, which made her miss out on going to Russia with Obama and attending s e v e r a l E u r o p e a n conferences.

But her aides and those in the White House have denied any rift or attempt to marginalise her. After returning to action following her injury, Clinton made a round of TV appearances and a rousing speech — all in tune with Obama's priorities, but in her own voice.

S h e t h e n resumed her frenetic pace, travelling to India and Thailand and then to Africa. Hours af ter she le f t Washington for Africa a week ago, news broke that Bill Clinton had gone on a humanitarian mission to North Korea to win the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two television journalists who had been arrested and sentenced to 12 years at hard labour.

She arrived in Kenya to find herself peppered with questions about his secret mission. Clinton quickly recovered her cool on Monday and m o v e d o n t o o t h e r subjects. Just before the question that set off her anger, another student had asked if the US and the West fel t a need to apologize to the people of Congo for colonialism and postcolonial interference. That brought a pointed rebuttal as well.

"I cannot excuse the past and I will not try," she said. "We can either think about the past and be imprisoned by it or we can decide we're going to have a better future and work to make it."

A furious Hillary says, I'm Secretary of State, not Bill

Washington: Pakistan is still identified as a base for terrorist groups and t h e i r s u p p o r t e r s "operating in Kashmir, India and Afghanistan", a latest Congressional report has said.

T h o u g h acknow ledg ing tha t Pakistan has started taking strong military action against Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists in recent months, the report said, "Pakistan is identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan."

Te r m i n g t h e P a k i s t a n i m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a s unpreceden ted , the report, however, said the offensive had so far

p r o v e d " l a r g e l y i n e f f e c t u a l " i n t h e country's western tribal areas, where al-Qaeda operatives and pro-Taliban militants are said to enjoy "safe haven."

U S o f f i c i a l s i n c r e a s i n g l y a r e c o n c e r n e d t h a t indigenous rel igious extremists represent a serious threat to the stability of the Pakistani state, it said.

"US concerns rega rd ing Pak i s tan include regional and global terrorism; Afghan stability; democratization a n d h u m a n r i g h t s protection; the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions; a n d e c o n o m i c development," it said.

But it also said

that a stable, democratic, prosperous Pakistan ac t i ve l y comba t ing religious militancy is considered vital to US interests.

The report by Congressional Research Service or CRS, an independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares reports on various issues for the convenience of the US lawmakers, was made available to the media today.

Pak identified as a base for terrorist groups: Report

Times Chennai E-PaperAugust 10, 2009 Page 7World

Police book Musharraf for judges' house arrest

Myanmar: Suu Kyi convicted of violating house arrest

Islamabad, Aug. 11: Acting swiftly on a court order, police here have booked former Pakistani P r e s i d e n t P e r v e z Musharraf for ordering the house ar res t o f the Supreme Court judges he had sacked after declaring an emergency Nov 3, 2007.

T h e "unprecedented first in Pakistan's history" could "actually see" Musharraf land in prison "or at the minimum turn his stay abroad into a permanent exile", The News said Tuesday.

"An ironic fate of twist for a man who once boasted that he would never allow (former prime ministers) Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to end their exile on their own and return to Pakistan. The table stands turned on its head," the newspaper added. The Islamabad police registered a criminal case (FIR No 131 dated 10-08-09) under section 344/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code following the orders of the A d d i t i o n a l S e s s i o n s J u d g e , I s l a m a b a d , Mohammad Akmal Khan Monday. Khan was acting on a petition filed by advocate M o h a m m a d A s l a m Ghuman seeking action against Musharraf for

ordering the confinement of the Supreme Court judges.

Sources in the interior ministry told The News that Ghuman had filed his petition some one-and-a-half months ago but despite repeated reminders, the Law Division didn' t take interest in proper ly pursuing the case.

The FIR states that Musharraf and others had detained the Supreme Court judges and their families at their houses and their children were neither allowed to a t t e n d s c h o o l n o r permitted to appear in examinations. Judge Khan's Monday order came 11 days after the Supreme Court July 31 held that Musharraf had acted extra-judicially, i l l e g a l l y a n d unconsti tut ional ly in declaring an emergency and sacking the apex court judges.

A 14-member bench headed by Chief J u s t i c e I f t i k h a r Muhammed Chaudhry, however, stopped short of censuring Musharraf as had been demanded in a petition the court was hearing against the d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e emergency.

The Supreme Court had summoned

M u s h a r r a f , w h o i s currently in London on a lecture tour, to appear before it July 29 in person or through his lawyer but he failed do so.

"Determin ing responsibility for the steps taken on Nov 3, 2007 is necessary," Chaudhry observed July 2 2 b e f o r e i s s u i n g summons.

Chaudhry, who was one of the 80-odd Supreme Court and high court judges sacked, had been reinstated in March after a bruising lawyers' agitation.

Musharraf had s a c k e d t h e h i g h e r judiciary after it refused to take fresh oath under the P r o v i s i o n a l Consti tut ional Order (PCO) he promulgated a l o n g w i t h t h e emergency.

The emergency had been declared just as the Supreme Court was to deliver its verdict on the constitutionality of Musharraf's re-election in October 2007.

I t had been contended that the same Parliament and provincial assemblies that had elected Musharraf in 2002 had re-elected him in 2007 and this was unconstitutional.

Islamabad/Mumbai, Aug. 11: Pakistan has denied it had agreed to accept the bodies of four of the nine terrorists killed in the 26/11 Mumbai carnage as has been claimed by the Home M i n i s t e r o f I n d i a ' s Maharashtra state.

Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit told Online news agency in Islamabad that reports on this in the Indian media w e r e b a s e l e s s a n d fabricated.

" H e s t r o n g l y condemned this attitude of the Indian media and said that it was not a suitable time to publish such kind of baseless news items when only very recently the prime ministers of Pakistan and India had held a very important meeting in Sharm El Sheikh while the next course of secretary level dialogue was going to be held in New York on the (sidelines) of the UN G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y session," Online said.

B a s i t s a i d

P a k i s t a n ' s h i g h commission in New Delhi had never made any request to India on handing over the dead bodies of four of the 26/11 attackers.

He also wanted the Indian media to avoid carrying stories that might derail the Pakistan-India dialogue.

Maha rash t ra Home Minister Jayant Patil said in Mumbai Monday that Pakistan had owned up to four of the nine terrorists who were gunned down during the Nov 26-29, 2008 attacks.

"Now, we shall pursue with the centre that Pakistan should accept the bodies of all the nine (terrorists) gunned down by security forces. We hope this matter will be sorted out in the next 10 days," Patil told reporters.

Patil said he was informed that the Pakistan government

had accepted as its nationals four of the nine who carried out the 26/11 te r ro r opera t ion in Mumbai.

The bodies of nine terrorists are lying in the morgue of the Sir J.J. Hospital for the past nine m o n t h s a n d t h e i r condition is not very good, Patil said.

When asked what the authorities w o u l d d o a b o u t disposing of the bodies if Pakistan refused to accept them, Patil said that would be decided at the appropriate time.

Nine of the 10 terrorists, who attacked the city were killed in fierce gun battles with security forces during the 60-hour long operation last year at various places in the western metropolis.

O n l y o n e - Ajmal Amir Kasab - was captured alive and he is currently being tried in a Mumbai court.

Yangon, Aug. 11: A M y a n m a r c o u r t o n Tuesday found pro-democracy leader Aung

San Suu Kyi guilty of violat ing her house arrest, but the head of the military-ruled country said she could serve out

an 18-month sentence under house arrest.

The 64-year-old Suu Kyi was charged

with breaching the conditions of her h o u s e a r r e s t f o l l o w i n g t h e bizarre incident in which Yettaw, a former US military ve te ran , swam across a lake to reach her heavily secured villa in May.

T h e c o u r t initially sentenced Suu Kyi to a three-year prison term. But after a five-minute recess, the country's Home Minister entered

the courtroom and read aloud a special order from junta chief Senior Gen Than Shwe.

The order said

Than Shwe was cutting the sentence in half to 18 months and that it could be served under house arrest.

S u u K y i h a s already been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years, mostly under house arrest.

The order, signed on Monday, l ikewise reduced the sentences of Suu Kyi's two female house companions to 18 months.

Than Shwe said he reduced the sentence to "maintain peace and tranquility" and because Suu Kyi was the daughter of Aung San, a revered hero who won Myanmar's independence from Britain. Suu Kyi's trial has sparked international outrage and calls for her release and that of Myanmar's more than 2,000 other political prisoners.

26/11: Pak denies accepting attackers’ bodies

St Louis (US), Aug. 11: Hundreds of Americans

in eight cities are lining up for experimental swine flu shots in a race to get a vaccine out in case the new flu virus regains strength this fall and winter.

Sharon Frey, who is leading the g o v e r n m e n t - f u n d e d testing at Saint Louis University, said scientists have been working late nights and weekends to organize the studies and recruit volunteers.

"Typ i ca l l y i t takes a year to do this," said Frey, an infectious diseases expert. "I can tell you we're working at breakneck speed."

About 2 ,800 people will participate in the government- led studies. Saint Louis University will test 200 adults and 200 children. Also under way are

separate studies by five f l u v a c c i n e manufacturers under contract with the government.

Health officials expect to have about 160 million doses available this fall, with the first batch s o m e t i m e i n S e p t e m b e r. T h e studies will test the s a f e t y a n d e f fec t i veness o f vaccines developed by drug makers and h e l p d e t e r m i n e dosage and whether it can be given with a

seasonal flu shot.

Participants will b e g i v e n d i f f e r e n t combinations of two swine flu vaccines made by drug makers Sanofi Pasteur and C S L L i m i t e d a n d a seasonal flu vaccine.

Frey said the data will be turned around quickly for review by the F o o d a n d D r u g Administration.

It's possible the government will begin a p u b l i c v a c c i n a t i o n campaign before all of the work of the tr ials is c o m p l e t e , D r. A n n e Schuchat has said.

US cities line up for swine flu vaccine test

Monday through Friday

Times Chennai E-Paper August 11, 2009Page 8 Business

New T-bills will allow moreflexibility: Govt.

Very few takers for New Pension Scheme till July 31

New Delhi, Aug. 11: The government on Tuesday said its plans to raise funds through a new kind of instrument will provide more flexibility for its cash management.

" I t ( C a s h Management Bills) will provide more flexibility for c a s h m a n a g e m e n t , " Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on the sidelines of annual

conference of Chief Commiss ioners and Director Generals of income tax.

He said the new short-term treasury bills wi l l be part of the government 's same borrowing programme.

To mee t i t s burgeoning expenditure, necessitated by the slowing down economy, the government has

p e g g e d i t s m a r k e t borrowing at over Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the current fiscal, bulk of which is being raised in the first half.

T h e c a s h management bills will have maturities of less than 91 days and will h a v e t h e b r o a d e r features of treasury bills.

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday warned that the country was facing the biggest drought of the century as a delayed and deficient monsoon continues to adversely affect agriculture in several parts of the country.

T h e F i n a n c e Minister, however, assured that there was no need to panic as the government was taking adequate steps to meet the situation.

E x p r e s s i n g c o n c e r n s o v e r t h e situation, Pranab said that the severe drought will also a f f ec t t he coun t r y ’s economic growth, which is expected to be below 6% this year.

The warning from the Finance Minister comes at a time when as many as 161 districts have been declared drought-hit across the country.

Pranab’s warning assumes significance in the wake of a report by the Ind ia Meteoro log ica l Department (IMD) that the average monsoon rainfall has been deficient by 25% in the country for the

monsoon period June 1 to August 5. The IMD report also said that the shortfall has been far higher in traditional breadbasket states like Punjab and Haryana.PM reviews drought situation

E a r l i e r o n Monday, Prime Minister M a n m o h a n S i n g h attended a high-level meeting including 13th Finance Commission Chairman Vijay Kelkar a n d P l a n n i n g Commission Secretary Sudha Pillai to discuss the drought situation in different parts of the country.

The meeting holds importance as the government is planning t o p r o v i d e m o r e resources to states to battle the impact of poor monsoon on khar i f (summer crop) and sp i ra l l ing pr ices of essential food items.

T h e P r i m e Minister has also urged the state governments to draw up contingency plans to deal with the situation without delay.

T h e P r i m e Minister also offered all assistance to the states f r o m t h e C e n t r a l government to deal with the situation and said the government "should not hesitate to take strong measures and intervene in the market" if the need arises.

The PM, during a recent meeting with the chief secretaries, had a d v i s e d t h e s t a t e governments to seek more assistance from the N a t i o n a l C a l a m i t y C o n t i n g e n c y F u n d (NCCF) to deal with the drought situation.

W h i l e t h e Planning Commission is involved in allocation of resources towards Plan schemes, the Finance Commission, which is a const i tut ional body, deals with distribution of taxes, collected by the Centre, among states. T h e F i n a n c e Commission is expected to submit its report to the government by October end for the five-year period beginning April 1, 2010.

Mumbai, Aug. 11: Lack of tax incentives and inadequate awareness about the New Pension Sys tem (NPS) has resulted in only 1,109 subscribers filing their applications as on July 31.

Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) rolled out the NPS for all citizens from May 1. Till July 31, only 1,109 forms were collected by the 22 po in ts o f presence (POPs) appointed by the interim pension fund regulator.

"Initially, when NPS for the private sector was launched, we expected it to grow at a slow pace but it grew at a much lesser pace than e x p e c t e d , " I C I C I Prudential Pension Fund Management Director-on-Board, Tarun Chugh, told reporters here.

ICICI Prudential P e n s i o n F u n d Management, which has 49 branches authorised by the PFRDA to act as points of presence,

collected 218 forms, the highest among all 22 POPs.

He further said the lack of tax-breaks for NPS is one of the major reasons for it not picking up.

"At the time of ret i rement one can withdraw 33 per cent of the contribution and the rest 67 per cent is used for annuity, which is taxed. There should not be any tax at the time of withdrawal," Chugh said.

Ta x a t i o n o n annuity at the time of withdrawal under NPS is not in line with provident fund, he said.

At the time of the launch of NPS, the interim pension fund regulator Chairman D Swarup had also said, "it (NPS for private sector) will be slow in the beginning. We do not foresee large volumes initially."

U T I A s s e t Management Company Chief Marketing Officer Jaydeep Bhattacharaya, said, "Pension is a push-

based product. Lack of adequate

provisions to push NPS makes its penetration low."

Awareness about the system is also less, he said. "Eighty seven per cent of India's workforce does not have a pension plan. There is a need to make them aware about the pension plans," he said.

" A s t h e c o s t structure of NPS is higher than mutual fund products, it (NPS) needs to find a way t o r e d u c e t h e c o s t structure," Bhattacharaya added.

U T I A M C collected 121 forms from subscribers from its 25 p o i n t s o f p r e s e n c e branches.

C i t ing no tax benefits on NPS as one of the reasons for a low number of people joining the system, an official from another pension fund manager said, "People should feel the necessity to join NPS, which can be generated by giving them adequate tax incentives."

India faces century's biggest drought: Pranab

Bangalore, Aug. 11: State’s IT industry — the nation’s biggest — has something to cheer about. Karnataka plans to set up an IT/BT development authority which will function as a ‘true’ single-window to e n s u r e s p e e d i e r clearance of business proposals. The state cabinet is expected to clear this proposal soon.

Ashok Kumar C M a n o l i , p r i n c i p a l secretary, IT/BT/S&T, told that the authority wou ld work as an independent body and would have the power to c l e a r i n v e s t m e n t proposals without delay. This proposal to set up a special body for business c l e a r a n c e w a s i n response to industry demand. Asked what according to him are the key issues on the mind of industry leaders, Manoli said: “The industry has been communicating its concern over the delay in clearance of investment proposals. The proposed authority will offer quick solutions to all those industry woes.’’

The industry in general and tech/BPO sector in particular have been complaining about the “chronic’’ project delays caused by red tape . As a resu l t , Karnataka has lost

s e v e r a l h i g h - v a l u e business projects to other states.

Bob Hoekstra, CEO, Opportunity India C o n s u l t i n g , a N e t h e r l a n d s - b a s e d consult ing f i rm and former CEO of Philips Innovation in India, said: “Many ministers and b u r e a u c r a t s l a c k understanding of the dynamics of business and the importance of time. They sit on projects

and forget about them for months and years. Some are also bad at keeping their appointments and make even many global

CEOs wait for hours, to eventually appear without even an apology. Indian businessmen are used to this casual attitude, but outsiders get shocked and never come back. It is high time the governments took investment decisions quickly.’’

Good news for IT/BT business in Karnataka

Mumbai, Aug. 11: The average inflation for FY 10 will be modest at 0.5 per cent, higher than the earlier projection of 0.1 per cent, a leading economic think-tank said in its latest report.

T h e u p w a r d revision is mainly on account of a spurt in the prices of sugar, khandsari and gur, the report said, adding the upward revision is sharp, yet negative as compared to the 8.3 per cent average inflation recorded in FY 09.

"The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) will start rising (after November) and inflation is expected to reach three per cent by the end of March 2010, Average inflation for the year will be modest at 0.5 per cent," Centre for M o n i t o r i n g I n d i a n Economy (CMIE) forecast

in its monthly report on the state of Indian economy.

The WPI was down in the recent seven weeks, till July 2009 and the decline is expected to continue till October-November this year, CMIE said.

The report said that weak global growth prospects have kept company prices in check in the internat ional market and the same sentiments were being reflected in the domestic market.

According to CMIE, prices of basic metal and metal products are projected to decline by 10.5 per cent in the current fiscal.

Likewise, the prices of chemical and chemical products and

rubbe r and rubbe r p r o d u c t s a r e a l s o expected to decline by 2.5 per cent, the report said, adding inflation in the groups other than these manufactured product groups is also expected to remain low in FY 10.

T h e o n l y exception, however, is the manufactured food products group, which includes sugar, gur, khandsari and several other groups, the report said.

"The rise in WPI of manufactured food products is now placed higher at 10.2 per cent during the current fiscal as against the 4.5 per cent projected earlier," CMIE said

Average inflation for FY 10 to be modest at 0.5%: CMIE

Mumbai, Aug. 11: Opto Circuits (India) Limited (OCI), one of the leading companies in developing, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices for global markets, has developed a new pocket size finger pulse oximeter (SPO2 monitor) 'M50 NanoSAT' in treatment of diseases like Swine flu.

The product has received CE (Conformité Européenne) mark that certifies that it has met EU consumer safety, health and environmental requirements and is now available for marketing and distribution in key markets like Europe, Asia and Latin America.

'' We have created this product for ease of use and with minimal power consumption in mind. It is also cheap and readily available, '' mentions OCI Managing Director and Chairman Vinod Ramnani.

He further said that keeping in mind the spread of pandemic H1N1 virus, the device was made as it was ideally suited for sudden monitoring needs in the treatment of Swine Flu.

Pulse oximetry (detection of arterial oxygen saturation and heart beat rate) is one of the five vital signs that a patient is monitored for in medical care environments.

OCI develops mini Oximetry to check swine flu

Times Chennai E-PaperAugust 11, 2009 Page 9SPORTS

Melbourne, Aug. 11: Michael Clarke will take o v e r a s c a p t a i n o f Australia`s Twenty20 team to play England after Ricky P o n t i n g w a s g i v e n permission to go home a f te r t he l as t Ashes Test.

Pont ing w i l l r e t u r n t o Britain to take charge for the bulk o f o n e - d a y i n t e r n a t i o n a l series but the selectors wanted to give him a rest a s t h e y s t a r t blooding younger players for next year`s Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies.

"Ricky Ponting is hav ing h is work load managed and will return home to Australia after the fifth Test at The Oval and will miss the ODI against S c o t l a n d , t h e t w o Twenty20s and the start of the of the ODI series a g a i n s t E n g l a n d , " Australia`s chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said in a statement on Tuesday.

"This is the last opportunity we have to give Ricky a break until next y e a r, w i t h t h e I C C Champions Trophy, ODIs against India and of course a full domestic summer against the West Indies and Pakistan to finish 2009."

"The plan for him to return to Australia before rejoining the team is considered the most

appropriate course of action.”

" T h i s g i v e s Michael Clarke another opportunity to captain the Australian Twenty20 and ODI side."

C l a r k e ` s promotion is a further sign that he is being groomed to eventually replace Ponting as Test skipper.

Clarke is the current vice-captain of the Test side and has been Australia`s best ba tsmen th is year, scoring two hundreds and averaging 89 in the Ashes.

The selectors named separate squads f o r t h e Tw e n t y 2 0 matches and one-day internationals as part of their building process for the West Indies next year.

P r o m i s i n g opener Phillip Hughes and paceman Stuart Clark failed to make either side while batsman Mike Hussey and pace

bowlers Peter Siddle and Nathan Bracken made the one-day side but not the Twenty20.

"We obviously know what Mike Hussey and Nathan Bracken are

capable of in one-day and T w e n t y 2 0 cricket, but with l i m i t e d opportunities at in ternat iona l level in this format of the g a m e w e wanted to look a t d i f f e r e n t players as we look to improve our Twenty20 performances," Hilditch said." T h e i r

omissions do not mean we won`t look to them for the World Twenty20."

O D I s q u a d : Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Nathan B r a c k e n , C a l l u m Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben H i l f e n h a u s , J a m e s Hopes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine (subject to fitness test), Peter Siddle, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

T w e n t y 2 0 squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Brad Haddin, C a l l u m F e r g u s o n , Nathan Hauritz, Ben H i l f e n h a u s , D a v i d H u s s e y , M i t c h e l l Johnson, Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Ponting left out of Australia Twenty20 squad

L o n d o n , A u g . 11 : Marcus Trescoth ick could be talked out of international retirement in a bid to bolster England`s batting at the Oval next week for their Ashes decider against Australia, according to his Somerset boss.

The left-handed opener `s re tu rn to England duty would be little short of sensational as he has not played Test cricket since coming home before the start of the 2006/07 Ashes tour in Australia with what was later diagnosed as a stress-related illness.

But, following

England`s double batting failure in their innings and 80 run fourth Test defeat b y A u s t r a l i a a t Headingley, which left the series all square at 1-1, Somerset chief executive Richard Gould has said Trescothick could play at the Oval if told he no longer had to tour.

Trescothick is the leading England qualified batsman in English first-class cricket so far this season with 1,130 runs from 18 matches at an average of o v e r 7 8 w i t h s i x centuries.

"Marcus is a team player and would

want to abide by rules, which is what makes him so supportive of captains," Gould told reporters.

"I believe Marcus would be more willing to end his self- imposed retirement if he was told he did not have to be available for any tours due to his medical condition."

T r e s c o t h i c k , wh i le Eng land were struggling at Headingley l a s t w e e k , s c o r e d hundreds in both innings of Somerset`s drawn First D i v i s i o n C o u n t y Championship match against Warwickshire.

Gould says Trescothick ready for Ashes rescue act

Leeds, Aug. 11: England coach Andy Flower ins is ted the Ashes

performance of the team`s middle order was "simply not good enough " after Australia levelled the series with an innings and 80 run victory.

A u s t r a l i a ` s fourth Test win, achieved with more than two days t o s p a r e h e r e a t Headingley on Sunday, came after England were

bowled out for just 102 in their first innings and left the series all square at 1-

1 ahead of next week`s finale at the Oval.

S ign i f icant ly, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and P a u l C o l l i n g w o o d managed just 16 runs between them during the whole match – the worst collective return in any of England`s 890 Tests by their number three, four and five batsmen.

But this was just the latest collapse in a series where, since their second Test win

at Lord`s, England have b e e n w i t h o u t s t a r batsman Kevin Pietersen because of the South Africa born shotmaker`s Achilles problem.

The difference at Headingley was that, with England opting not to play key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff because of a knee injury, the batsmen below their under-performing trio could not bail the hosts out of trouble.

Although England are confident Flintoff, the man at the centre of their

2005 Ashes series win, will be fit for what is now set to be his final Test before their in jury-prone ta l isman ret i res f rom f ive-day cricket, the future of the middle-order remains uncertain.

Flower turns fire on England middle order

L o n d o n , A u g . 11 : England received a welcome boost with the news that talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is expected to be fit to face Australia in the deciding Ashes Test at the Oval next week.

Flintoff, 31, was forced to miss England`s emphatic fourth Test innings and 80-run defeat at Headingley last week, which left the series tied at 1-1, because of an injured right knee.

"The swelling in

his knee has significantly eased fol lowing the decision by the England management team to rest him from the last Test match," a statement on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) website said.

" S u b j e c t t o further rest and intensive treatment, he will be available for selection for the fifth Ashes Test."

Fl intoff , who took seven wickets and scored 171 runs in the opening three matches,

will retire from Test cricket following the Oval contest which starts on Aug. 20.

James Anderson, England`s joint leading wicket-taker in the series with 12, is also expected to play despite injuring his hamstring in the fourth Test.

"As there is no evidence of a significant tear, it is anticipated that he (Anderson) will also be available for selection for next week`s final Test," the ECB statement said.

Flintoff, Anderson expected to be fit for Ashes decider

Times Chennai E-PaperAugust 11, 2009 Page 8HEALTH

Owned Edited and Published by S. Raghunathan Editorial and Advertisement Office: F 5 and 6 1st Floor, Leo Complex, New No: 41, Madley Road, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017. Ph: 42867771, Fax: 42867772

The spread of swine flu is fast emerging as No 1 hea l thcare emergency not just in the country but the world over. Despite the issue being in the

media for a long time, there continue to be i g n o r a n c e a n d m i s -information about the disease and how to handle i t . I n d i a n M e d i c a l Assoc ia t i on , Nagpu r Centre, has come up with a information dossier on the subject. We reproduce it here for the benefit of our readers. What is H1N1 (swine) flu? H1N1 (referred to as "swine flu" early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. Other countries, including Mexico and Canada, have also reported people sick with this new virus. This virus is spreading from p e r s o n - t o - p e r s o n , probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.

In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were first reported in Southern California and near San Antonio, Texas.

In the beginning it was difficult to predict the effect of this virus on general population. In seasonal flu, there are certain people who are at higher risk of serious flu-related complications. This includes people with 65 years of more age, children below five years, pregnant women, and people of any age with chronic medical conditions.

T h i s v i r u s i s contagious but, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people. The symptoms of H1N1 swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore t h roa t , body aches , headache, chi l ls and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhoea and vomiting associated with H1N1 swine flu. Severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and even deaths have been reported with H1N1 swine flu infection. Like seasonal flu, H1N1 swine flu may cause a worsening of u n d e r l y i n g c h r o n i c diseases.

I n c h i l d r e n , emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include: * Fast breathing or difficulty in breathing * Bluish or gray

skin colour * Not drinking enough fluids * Severe or persistent vomiting * Not w a k i n g u p o r n o t interacting * Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held * F l u - l i k e s y m p t o m s improve but then return with fever and worse cough

I n a d u l t s , emergency warn ing signs that need urgent m e d i c a l a t t e n t i o n include: * Difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath * Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen * Sudden dizziness * Confusion * Severe or persistent vomiting * Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

How do you catch H1N1 (swine) flu? Spread of H1N1 (swine) flu can occur in two ways:

H 1 N 1 v i r u s a p p e a r s t o b e transmitted the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

Infected people can infect others right from day one even before they themselves develop any symptoms up to seven or more days after becoming sick. That means that one can pass on the infect ion to someone else before he/she even knows that he/she is sick, as well as while one is sick. What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?

There is no vaccine available right now to protect against H1N1 (swine) flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that c a u s e r e s p i r a t o r y illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also

effective. * Avoid touching

your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

* Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

* If you get sick wi th inf luenza, you should stay at home and not go for work or school and limit contact with others to prevent them from getting infecting by you.

* Reduce the time spent in the crowded settings.

* I m p r o v e airflow in the living space by opening the windows and proper ventilation.

* Practice good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutrit ious food, and k e e p i n g p h y s i c a l l y active. How long can influenza virus remain viable on objects (such as books and doorknobs)?

Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for up to 2-8 hours after being deposited on the surface.

Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a p e r s o n t o u c h e s respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk, for example , and then touches his own eyes, mouth or nose before washing hands.

A r e t h e r e medicines to treat H1N1 (swine) flu?

Yes , use o f oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu?) or zanamivir (brand name Relenza ?) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these H1N1 (swine) i n f l u e n z a v i r u s e s . Ant iv i ra l drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent ser ious f lu c o m p l i c a t i o n s . F o r treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon

after getting sick (within two days of symptoms). Follow the advice of your loca l pub l i c hea l th department regarding school closures, avoiding c r o w d s a n d o t h e r measures to reduce flu transmission. These measures will continue to be important after a novel H 1 N 1 v a c c i n e i s available because they can prevent the spread of other viruses that cause respiratory infections. What should I do if I get sick?

If you live in areas where people have been identified with new H1N1 flu and become ill w i t h i n f l u e n z a - l i k e symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, sore t h roa t , nausea , o r vomiting or diarrhoea, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people, except to seek medical care. If you have severe illness or you are at high risk for flu complications, contact your health care provider

or seek medical care. Your health care provider will determine whether flu testing or treatment is needed.

Antiviral drugs m a y r e d u c e t h e symptoms and duration of illness, just as they do for seasonal influenza. They also may contribute to preventing severe disease and death. WHO is in touch with public health authorities and clinicians in affected c o u n t r i e s a n d i s gathering information about how effective the drugs are. What about using a mask? What does WHO recommend?

If you are not sick you do not have to wear a mask. If you are caring for a sick person, you can wear a mask when you are in close contact with the ill person a n d d i s p o s e o f i t i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r contact, and clean your h a n d s t h o r o u g h l y afterwards.

If you are sick

and have to travel or be around others, cover your mouth and nose.

Using a mask correctly in all situations is essential. Incorrect use actually increases the chance of spreading infection. How do I know if I have influenza A (H1N1)?

You will not be able to tell the difference between seasonal flu and influenza A (H1N1) without medical help. Typical symptoms to watch for are similar to seasonal viruses and include fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat and runny nose. Only your medical practitioner and local heal th author i ty can confirm a case of influenza A (H1N1). If they suspect any symptoms they will send your blood sample, t h r o a t s w a b a n d nasopharyngeal (nose to mouth) for testing to laboratories. Presently this facility is available only at c e r t a i n s p e c i f i e d government laboratories.

Everything you wanted to know about swine flu