Times Chennai, E-paper, April 01, 2009

8/14/2019 Times Chennai, E-paper, April 01, 2009

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VOL: 2 ISSUE 63 Apr il 01, 2009

ew Delhi, Apr il 01: :he Supreme Court onednesday absolved

amil Nadu Chief MinisterKarunanidhi and Unionansport Minister TR

aalu of the contempt of

urt charges for allegedolation of the apex courtsder dated September

0, 2008 directing theMK and its allies not to

nforce state-wide bandhn October 1 last year.

The SC had onarch 25 reserved itsrdict in the case whichso involved four others.

A b e n c h o fstices BN Agarwal andS S i n g h v i t o d a ysmissed the petition one ground that theADMK, which had filede contempt petition,iled to establish theegation.

The AIADMK haded a petition alleging thath e T a m i l N a d u

overnment organised the

b a n d h o n t h eSethusamudram projectrow despite the apexcourt restraining it fromdoing so.

T h e c h a r g eagainst Baalu was that

he made contemptuousa l lega t ions aga ins t judges of the SupremeCourt and questionedtheir integrity.

The ruling DMKand its allies had given acall for the state-widebandh in support of theirdemand for the speedyc o m p l e t i o n o f t h eSetusamudram Project.

The project hadhit a road block becauseo f t h e p r o p o s e ddemolition of the RamSetu, which Hindusbelieve was constructedby Lord Ram to reach SriLanka to free his wifeSita from the captivity ofdemon king Ravana.

The apex court

had issued showcause

notices to Karunanidhi,Baa lu , Sta te Ch ie fSecretary LK Tripathi,State DGP, the StateTransport Minister andthe State TransportS e c r e t a r y f o r n o t

i m p l e m e n t i n g t h edirections of the apexcourt, issued during aspecial sitting on aSunday.

The petitioner AIADMK chief and formerC h i e f M i n i s t e r JJayalalithaa had alsocontended that Tripathi

had to ld media onOctober 1 that only about50 transport buses pliedin the state when it had afleet of about 30,000buses.

According to the

petitioner, no action wast a k e n a g a i n s t t h eleaders, who enforcedthe bandh caus ingtremendous hardshipand harassment to thepeople of the state.

Loss of severalcrores of rupees wascaused to the state

exchequer and thegovernment connivedwith the organisers of thebandh and no action wastaken against a majorityof the state governmente m p l o y e e s , w h o

abstained from work onthat day.Baalu had made

derogatory remarksagainst Justice Aggarwalfor passing the orders onSunday.

While reservingits verdict, the SC hadreac ted to Baa lu s

remarks saying, "It showsutter ignorance of the man(Baalu). For the last 50years courts function onSundays also. People whoare governing the systemdon't know its functioning.

They are intel lectualgiants."The apex court

had also observed that ithad become a practice formany persons holding highp o s i t i o n s t o m a k einsinuiations against thejudiciary.

SC clean chit to Karunanidhi,Baalu in contempt case

hennai, April 01: The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu hasppointed rebel MDMK leader L Ganesan (MP), who hadcently merged his faction of MDMK with the DMK, as

arty's Election Works Secretary.Mr Ganesan would sort out problems arising in

onnection with the May 13 Lok Sabha elections and theoming Assembly elections in the state, in coordinationth the existing election work secretaries, DMK General

ecretary K Anbazhagan said.He would receive election related complaints

om partymen and sort them out after consulting party

gh command and office bearers at various levels, Mrnbazhagan said in a release here.Mr Ganesan, the former Presidium Chairman

the MDMK, was heading a separate faction along withnother rebel MDMK leader Gingee N Ramachandranter they were expelled from the party.

The leaders merged their faction with the DMKthe presence of its President and Chief Minister M

arunanidhi on March 17, marking their homecoming.

LG appointed DMK'sElection Works Secretary


2/9

Times Chennai E-Paper April 01, 2009ge 2

ReadTimes Chennai

E-PaperToday andevery day

hennai, April 01: Msasikala Sampath, wife ofanjil Sampath, MDMKopaganda Secretary,

e t a i n e d u n d e r t h eational Security ActSA) filed a Habeas

orpus Petition (HCP) ine Madras High Court,allenging the detentionher husband and soughte court to direct the statevernment to release himmediately.

In her petition, Msampath submitted thate DMK governmentrested her husband andmanded him to judicialstody for his politicaleech in support of LTTETiruppur.

''Sampath wasanted bail by a localurt, but to prevent hisease, the government

th a political motivetained him under NSA,''e said.

The petition isely to come up foraring on April 2 before a

vision bench headed byr Justice Elipe Dharma

Rao.MDMK leader

Vaiko will appear in thecourt as Ms Sampath'scounsel.

MarumalarchiDMK functionary NanjilSampath , who wasarrested on March 7 forspeaking in support of thebanned LTTE, wasdetained under theNational Security Act(NSA) on March 14.

The orders wass e r v e d o n N a n j i lS a m p a t h a t t h eCo imbatore Cent ra lPrison where he waslodged after he wasarrested on charges ofsedition, by a specialteam from Tiruppur.

The Tiruppurpolice registered a caseagainst Sampath, one of

the main speakers of theO p p o s i t i o n M D M K ,based on his speech hemade at a meetingo r g a n i s e d b y t h eStudents Federation ofIndia on the Sri LankanTamils issue on March 1.

Sampath was producedbefore a court in Tiruppurand remanded in judicialcustody.

He is the thirdprominent person to bedetained under the NSA,after the Tamil NaduGovernment cracked thewhip on Tamil FilmDirector Seeman andP e r i y a r D r a v i d a rKazhagam PresidentKo l a thu r M an i , byinvoking the provisionsof NSA for their 'pro-LTTE' speeches.

HCP filed challenging detentionof Nanjil Sampath under NSA Chennai , Apr i l 01 :

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C u s t o m e r scould simply log intoR o y a l S u n d a r a m ' sOnline "InstaBuy" facilityand get instant coveragefor themselves and theirf a m i l y m e m b e r si n c l u d i n g s p o u s e ,dependent children anddependent parents undera single sum insured.

The entry age

band is 18 years to 45years in respect of adultsand 91 days to 21 yearsfor dependent children.Customers can alsorenew online up to theage of 70 years, acompany release said.

N od o c u m e n t a t i o n o rmedical examination wasrequired for buying thepolicy online. Customerscan also avail Income Taxbenefit under section 80D of the IT Act, it said.

The insured willalso have access tovalue-added services likecash less t rea tment(subject to conditions and

Royal Sundaram launches family health insuranceauthorisations) at over2,000 networked hospitalsacross India, a 24-hourhelpline and ambulancereferral facility at noadditional cost.

I t h a s b e e ndesigned to ensure that theinsured and his family getthe best medical treatmentat any time when they needit. With the inclusion ofFamily Health Insuranceonline, Royal Sundaramnow offers the complete seto f hea l t h i n s u ranc eproducts online, for bothindividual and/or family, itsaid.

ew Delhi, April 01: The

ection season may bei t n e s s i n g m a n ylebrities from the worldcinema making a jumpo the electoral arena but

outh Indian superstaramal Haasan says heo e s n o t h a v e t h eclination or attitude forolitics.

''Joining politics ismatter of personal

oice. However, I don'tave an att i tude forolitics,''Kamal Haasanys.

In the capital inonnec t ion w i th the

omotion of the dubbedndi version of his Southdian hit 'Dashavtaram',amal sa id he hadceived many offers from

olitical parties to contest their tickets but he did

ot intend to enter theolitical arena.

' ' T h e r e h a v eeen many offers to entere political arena.

However, I feelne should not enterolitics just for the heck ofThere has to be a strongmmitment attached toe's entry in politics,''thetor-director said.

Asked for hisac t i on as t o w hyperstars from the Southdian cinema like N Ta m a R a o , M

arunanidhi, Jayalalithand Chi ranjeevi hadanaged big innings in

politics compared to their

counterparts from NorthIndia, Kamal said,''I donot think much should beseen into this. Perhaps, ithas something to do withthe literacy factor in theSouth.'' He may beaverse to joining politicsbut he admits that intoday's scenario it wasdifficult to be entirelyapo l i t i c a l i n one ' sattitude.

''I have realisedthat one cannot be totallyapolitical.

One has foreither vote in a person

one likes or vote out onethey do not like,''theSouth Indian superstarsaid.

The actor saidas a person he did havehis own agenda which hequietly put across in hisfilms like 'Nayakan', 'HeyRam', 'Hindustani' and'Dashavtaram'.

''I have my ownagenda which I quietlyput into my films.

I do not shoutout my message throughmy films but all the sameit is there,''he said.

I don't have an attitudefor politics:

Kamal Haasan


3/9

Times Chennai E-Paperpril 01, 2009 Page 3News You Can Use

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ew Delhi, Apri l 01: Asmpaigning picks up fore Lok Sabha elections,e n e w l y e l e c t e desident of industry body

I, Venu Srinivasan, hasid he will promote aa n s p a r e n t w a y o fonations to pol i t icala r t i e s by bus i nes suses.

" C o m p a n i e sould do it (election

nding) transparently. If itcomes transparent it isod for the polity, good forciety," Mr. Srinivasand PTI.

H e s a i d t h eonfederation of Indiandustry (CII) has beenomoting the idea of

ansparency in politicalnations. In any case, heid, it has become difficultr business houses to deally in cash.

"Companies haveh i f t e d f r o m c a s hyments to cheques... the

sh (transactions) haveeen reduced in theonomy considerably

since liberalisation... ithas become difficult todeal with cash," he said.

T h eGovernment monitoring

through differentt a x e s l i k eBanking Cash

Transaction Tax isalso a deterrent tot h e c a s heconomy, Mr .Srinivasan, whois also Chairmanof Chennai-basedT V S M o t o rCompany Ltd,said.

The CII chiefsaid the chamber wouldlike its members toensure that the moneygiven away to politicalpar t ies i s p roper l yaccounted for in theirbooks.

Some of thecountry's well-respectedindustrial houses havealready taken lead ingiving political donationsthrough cheques.

On the state ofthe economy, he saidwhile the growth hasslowed down, the GDPtrends still remain in thepositive zone.

However, heremained cautious aboutfiscal 2009-10 that begantoday. "(The) growth inthe next year may not

meet our aspirations, butI look at the world withcautious optimism," he

said.Mr. Srinivasan

said the first-half of thefiscal is likely to be poorerbecause of the highg r o w t h i n t h ecomparative period theprevious year. However,

the economy is expectedto pick up in the second-half of the financial year2009-10.

" W e h a v ealready digested therecession...We are stillgrowing," he said.

While the bigpicture remains positive,s e c t o r s l i k emanufacturing, exports,handicrafts, textile, gemsand jewellery remainareas of concern.

After growingby a robust 30 per cent tillSeptember, exports have

been shrinking in thes e c o n d h a l f . T h egovernment estimatesdo not project theannualised shipments togrow beyond 3-4 percent.

Mr. Srinivasan,w h o i s f r o m t h eautomobile industry, saidit is early days to see arecovery in the sector.The commercial vehiclessegment is still reelingunder recess ionarytrends.

-Agencies

New CII chief to promotepolitical donations by cheque

ew Delhi, April 01:esident Pratibha Patil onednesday inducted thew state-of-the-art VVIP

ets into the Indian Airorce before embarking on

maiden flight to Assamd Arunachal Pradesh.

The new jets aresigned to work as anice-in-the sky and alsoa command centre in

ent of an emergency, likenuclear attack.

"The trip wouldw be more business like.e will get more time toudy, concentrate andply our minds as flightll be more smooth," saids. Patil at the ribbontting ceremony.

Standing proudn t he t a rm ac , t hearkling white Boeing

usiness Jet has beenatterned on the USesident's famous Air

orce One aircraft andmes equipped with ade range of securityo v e r a n d l a t e s tmmunication devices.

"The aircraft hasme of the finest highchnology systems and isuipped with excellent

c o m m u n i c a t i o nsystems," Air ChiefMarshal Pradeep VasantNaik.

The aircraft,which can seat upto 60passengers, has foursections with the first onebeing that of Presidentwhich is decorated withlight and dark woodenpanels with six leatherseats.

The s ec t i onalso has a bedroom forthe President along witha l l t h e m a j o re n t e r t a i n m e n t a n dcommunication facilities.

T h e n e wB o e i n g 7 4 7 / 7 0 0christened as 'Rajdoot' isone of the three suchaircraft that have beenbought by the country tocater to the VVIPs,including the PrimeMinister.

The aircraft issaid to be equipped withmodern hi-tech missiledefence system whichincludes a protections u i t e a n d c h a f fdispensers to ward offmissile threats besidesother security gadgets.

It has a secures a t e l l i t e b a s e dcommunication systemin addit ion to VHFcommunication systemwhich helps the travellingdignitary to be in touchwith ground as and whenthe need arises.

T h e j e t s ,powered by two CFM-56engines respectively,manufactured by USGeneral Electric andFrench Snecma, aredesigned to have longrange flights and caneasily pull off 6,000nautical miles (11,100kms) with refueling.

The planes canfly at the height of 41,000feet at a speed of 410knots.

Upon entering,one encounters luxuriousplush beige leatherinteriors. The aircraft has

b e e n s p e c i a l l ycustomised for thePresident, Prime Ministerand special guests andsenior ministers and cana c c o m o d a t e 6 0passengers in fourcompartments.

-Agencies

New VVIP jets in IAF

New Delhi, April 01The National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI)expects to exceed its tollrevenue target in the2008-09 fiscal and crossover Rs 1,700 crore onthe back of increased

collections."We expect atoll collection of morethan Rs 1,700 crore forthe fiscal 2008-09 asagainst a target of Rs1,600 crore," an NHAIofficial, who did not wishto be named, told PTI.

Claiming thatthe collection may evensurpass Rs 1,700 crore,the official said collection

of data from variousplazas indicated that theta rge t w as a l m os tachieved sometime backalthough the final figuresare yet to be compiled.

The NHAI haswitnessed increase in toll

collections from existingh i g h w a y s a n d i t srevenues have alsoswelled up with theaddition of new tollplazas in fresh highwaystretches, including theGolden Quadrilateral.

Enthused bybetter results in tollcollection during fiscal2007-08, the NHAI hadincreased the target for

2008-09 to Rs 1,600 crorefrom previous fiscal's Rs1,400 crore, the official saidpointing out that theachievement in 2007-08was Rs 1,415 crore.

"One of the keyreasons that we could

surpass the target is thatseveral new stretcheswere added for tollingduring the year," the officialsaid.

As per a data,only 6,212 km of the totalnational highway networkof 66,000 km is currentlytolled.

-Agencies

NHAI expects over Rs 1,700-cr toll collection

New Delhi, April 01: Beginning today, youneed not have to sweat itout looking for an ATM ofyour own bank as youcan use ATMs of your

choice without shellingout any extra money.

Thanks to anRBI directive, much to therelief of common man,b a n k s h a v e b e e nprevented from charginga n y f e e f o r c a s hwithdrawals using ATMand debit cards issued byother banks from April 1onwards.

However, bankscan still charge extra fors e rv i c es l i k e c as h

withdrawal with the useof credit cards and atATMs located outsideIndia.

Last year onMarch 10, the RBI had

come out with guidelineslimiting the fee chargedby banks for using theirATMs by clients of otherlenders to Rs 20. It hadalso allowed the use ofATM for purposes likebalance enquiry free ofany charge.

This was toe n s u r e g r e a t e rtransparency and tofacilitate usage of anyATM installed within thecountry by customers

without shelling out more,the central bank had said.

Till yesterday,banks were charging Rs 20per transaction when acustomer used the cash

machine of any bank otherthan the one in whichhe/she has an accountwith.

At the end ofDecember 2007, therewere 32,342 ATMs in thecountry and various bankshave entered into bilaterala n d m u l t i - l a t e r a larrangements with otherbanks to have inter-bankATM networks.

-Agencies

Free cash withdrawals from all

ATMs beginning today


4/9

Times Chennai E-Paper April 01, 2009age 4 National

umbai, April 01: Anjaliaghmare, the lawyerpointed to representptured 26/11 attackermal Amir Kasab, hasreed to fight the case ofe dreaded terrorist.

Confirming hercision to justice Tahiliani,

ho will preside overasabs trial, Waghmareid, I will continue as

asabs lawyer and willpresent him in trial.

Defending hercision to defend Kasab,

aghmare said, I am andian citizen and I haveken Kasabs case in theuntrys interest.

She informed theediapersons she had toldat she will continue if thevernment assures hercurity. The governments kept its word and Ive kept mine, she saidferring to governmentscision to provide her with

security.The lawyer also

opted a conciliatory tonewards those opposed to

r decision and whoacked her house sayingat their reaction was

motional and expressednfidence that in dueurse of time they willpport her decision.

She however saidat she was shocked bye attack.

The Shiv Sena,eanwhile, in a U turn,

said that it has noproblem wid Waghmaresupporting Kasab andadded that it wont comein the way of her job.

According tosources, the lawyer wasunder immense pressureto withdraw from thecase.

H o w e v e r ,

S p e c i a l P u b l i cProsecutor Ujjwal Nikamrubbished the pressuretheories and said, AnjaliWaghmare has decided

on her own to fight thecase. He also welcomedher decision and said, Itis a good decision, nowthe 26/11 trial can moveforward.

Welcoming thedecision, senior lawyerMajid Menon said, Its agood news. We needed as t a b l e l a w y e r t orepresent Kasab.

On Tuesday,Waghmare had askedthe Special Court inMumbai for a day toconsider her position

f o l l o w i n g p r o t e s t soutside her home by ShivSena activists.

E a r l i e r , t h elawyer had said she waspulling out of the casefollowing an attack on herhouse by Shiv Sainiks onMonday night.

"Owing to publicsentiment, I withdrawfrom the Kasab case,"

she had said.Recounting the

horror, Waghmare toldthe court that nearly 300people and not 100 asclaimed earlier attackedher house last night.

The judge hadsaid that it is the mandateof law that Kasab bedefended in the court.

O n M o n d a ynight, activists belongingto Shiv Sena staged aprotest and pelted stonesat Waghmares residenceat Warli Camp area of thecity, police said.

Waghmare wasunhurt in the attack andpolice resorted to a mildlathicharge to dispersethe mob. The situationwas brought undercontrol.Shiv Sainiks arrested

T h e p o l i c ear res ted n ine Sh ivSainiks, including aCorporator, in connectionwith the incident. All of

them were sent to one-day custody." N i n e S e n a

workers were held forunlawful assembly andhouse tresspass. Theywere holding protestoutside Waghmare'sresidence in Worli PoliceCamp," senior policeinspector BV Worlikarsaid.

"They seem tob e u p s e t a g a i n s tWaghmare , who i srepresenting Kasab.They were shoutingslogans against her,"J o i n t P o l i c eCommissioner KL Prasad

(Law and Order) said.On March 23,

Kasab, who had earliersought consular accessfrom Pakis tan, hadrequested the court toprovide a lawyer at theexpense of the state, int h e a b s e n c e o f ar e s p o n s e f r o mIslamabad.

-Agencies

will represent Kasab: Anjali Waghmare

New Delhi, April 01:With the possibility of anex tended de ten t ionlooming large, youngB J P l e a d e r V a r u nGandhi on Wednesdaymoved the SupremeC o u r t a g a i n s t h i sdetention under theNational Security Act(NSA).

The SupremeCourt is expected to takeup his plea for hearingtomorrow.

V a r u n w a sbeing held illegally by thestate government, hislawyer, former additionalsolicitor general MukulRohtagi, told a benchheaded by Chief JusticeKG Balakrishnan.

Rohtagi told thebench that he was in theprocess of f i l ing aHabeas Corpus petitionto bring Varun Gandhi tothe court. The HabeasCorpus special petition isfiled when a person goesmissing and foul play is

suspected.Varun, who is in

the eye of a storm for hisal leged ant i -Musl imutterances, was booked

under the NSA for incitingcommunal tensions,disruption of peace andon grounds of publica d m i n i s t r a t i o n .Conviction under Section3(2) of NSA may result inh i m b e i n g u n d e rdetention for upto one

year. U n d e r t h eprovisionsof the NSA,a pe rs oncannot getbail at leastf o r s i xmonths andi f t h i sh a p p e n sVarun hasto remain in j a i l t i l le l e c t i o n sare over.

However , NSAc a n n o t

debar a person from

contesting elections.Even if one is detained,the person can make arepresentation againstthe order, which goes toan advisory committee,the chairman of which isnormally a sitting judge ofa High Court.

V a r u n i scurrently lodged in theEtah jail in Uttar Pradesh.He was moved to theEtah Jail from Pilibhitearly today, followingInte l l igence Bureauwarning that DawoodIbrahims D-Companywas looking to eliminate

him. According tor e p o r t s , t h e I Bi n t e r c e p t e d aconversation between

underworld don ChotaShaqueel and his sharpshooter Rashid Malabariabout eliminating VarunGandhi.

But the politicsover the issue continuesunabated with the BJP nowconstituting a panel led byits former president MVenkaiah Naidu to assessthe situation on the groundand report back to its topleadership.

" W h a t i shappening with VarunGandhi is unfortunate. Heis being harassed and theBJP condemns it," partypresident Rajnath Singhsaid at a rally in Raipurtoday.

" T h e B J P i spolitically and legallyrallying behind VarunGandhi," he added.

"His detentionunder the NSA is shameful.It is the joint act of the

Congress and BSP. Wheredo they want to lead thecountry?" asked Rajnath.

A c c o r d i n g t os ou rc es , S i ngh hasdeputed Naidu and UP BJPchief Ramapathi Tripathi tovisit Gandhi in Etah jailtomorrow.

On the o therhand, Varuns motherManeka, who was in Etahto visit her son, said thattransferring Varun fromone jail to another wasillegal and dangerous asthere was no need for it.She expressed concern atthe security and safety ofher son and said, This is a

political conspiracy againstVaun.

-Agencies

Varun moves SC againstdetention under NSA

Jaisalmer, April 01: Sen io r BJP leaderJ as w an t S i ngh on

Wednesday denied thathe had distributed cashdur ing an e lec t ionmeeting at Gagariavillage in Rajasthan'sBarmer district.Related Stories

Jaswant cash-for-vote: DM submitspreliminary report Hesaid helping the needy

was his duty and hisfamily has been helpingthe poor, but claimed that

neither he nor any otherBJP leader had violatedthe model code ofconduct by distributingcurrency notes.

Singh and BJPMP from Tonk Lok Sabhaseat Kailash Meghwalwere yesterday accusedof handing Rs 10,000 to awoman and distributing

food packets amongpeople in violation of themodel code of conduct at

Gagaria where he hadgone to campaign for hisson Manvendra Singh.

"Prima facie Rs10,000 was given to awoman on the dias by thetwo leaders who alsodistributed 6,000 foodpackets among thepeople at the meeting,State's Chief Election

Jaswant denies distributing cash during campaign

ew Delhi, April 01: ollywood actor Sanjayutt has confirmed that heas being threatened by anion Minister's aide ofre consequences" if heo i ned SP ev en asongress dismissed theegations as completelyaseless".

" Y e s I c a no n f i r m t h a t I w a sreatened by a senior aidea Cabinet Minister anda r n e d o f d i r ensequences," he told aws channel in a jointerview with SP generalcretary Amar Singh.

Dutt, who was

arred by Supreme Courtom contesting the LSlls, however, refused toveal the name of therson.

" I w i l l revea lv e r y t h i n g a t t h eppropriate time. No onen stop me from beingth Samajwadi Party," he

asserted.M e a n w h i l e ,C o n g r e s s t o d a yd i s m i s s e d D u t t ' sallegations, terming it ascompletely "baseless".

"I think it is aself-serving claim. Iwould it dismiss ascompletely baselessunless they come outw i t h a n y t h i n gsubstantial," she said.

In the jo in tinterview, Singh said the"counsel of a very seniorm i n i s t e r h a d a l s othreatened Sanjay Duttfrom joining SP".

"Sanjay was

told clearly that shouldhe take such a step, evenh i s b a i l c o u l d b ecancelled," Singh said,adding "there are certainmanagers of SoniaGandhi and the PrimeMin is te r who wereagainst Sanjay joiningSP."

Dutt confirmedSingh's charges. Hecontended that "I am notsaying that there is aconspiracy against me,but there are people whoa re s c a red o f m yc o n t e s t i n g f r o mLucknow."

-Agencies

I was threatened by a cabinetminister's aide: Sanjay

Patna, Apr i l 01 :Veteran socialist leaderGeorge Fernandes ,denied a ticket by theJanata Dal (United)((JD(U)), on Wednesdayfi led his nominationp a p e r s a s a nindependent candidatef r o m M u z a f f a r p u rconstituency in Bihar,hours after he was

reported to have taken ill.Mr. Fernandes,

78, was accompanied byJD(U) MP Digvijay Singh,f o rm e r B i ha r c h i e fmin is te r JagannathMishra, former MP RamJ eev an S i ngh anddozens of other socialistl e a d e r s . B e s i d e s ,h u n d r e d s o f h i s

supporters were presentwhen he filed the papers.

Mr. Fernandeshad earlier said he wouldn o t f i g h t a s a nindependent but as aparty candidate. Hearrived in Patna onTuesday from New Delhia n d l e f t s o o n f o rMuzaffarpur, 70 km fromhere.

T h e J D ( U )denied him a nominationon the grounds of his"advancing years andfailing health."

But Fernandessaid some people wereb e h i n d s p r e a d i n grumours that he was notwell and insisted he couldcontest elections. "It is a

big lie, I am healthy," hesaid.

However, early onWednesday , he wasreported to be feelingweak.

"Fernandes wasunwell last night, and whenhe got up he avoided hismorning walk. He suffereda bad stomach and feltweak," Ram Jeevan Singh

said.The official JD(U)

c a n d i d a t e f r o mMuzaffarpur, Jai PrakashNishad, is effectively facinga revolt within the party andfrom workers of alliancepartner Bharatiya JanataParty.

-Agencies

Fernandes files nomination as independent

Officer (CEO) Vinod Zutshisaid yesterday af terreceiving a report from

Barmer Collector Ravi Jainon the episode.The complaint

against the two leaders hasbeen forwarded to theElection Commission, hesaid.

-Agencies


5/9

Times Chennai E-Paperpril 01, 2009 Page 5World

ondon, April 01: Primenister Manmohan Singhscribed Pakistan as thepicentre of terrorism ine world" and said it hadled to take effectivetion against militants, in

n interview publishedednesday.

Speaking to thenancial Times, Singhid Islamabad was eithernable" or "unwilling" to

control Pakistan-basedterrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which New Delhiaccuses of staging theNovember attacks onMumbai that killed 165people.

"The proof ofthe pudding is in the

eating," he said.Singh said that

despi te p ledges byPakistan throughout the

past decade that it wouldnot be a launch pad forattacks against India, "inpractice no effectiveaction has been taken tocontrol terror."

He added: "Weall know the epicentre ofterrorism in the world

today is Pakistan. Theworld community has tocome to grips with thisreality."

Pakistan epicentre of worldterrorism: PM

ondon, April 01: India isnguished" by Pakistan'soft touch" in bringing the

erpetrators of the Mumbairror attacks to book and

concerned at theossibility of the recent

ahore-style attacks on itswn soil."We feel there is a

ry soft touch approach,"aid an Indian officialccompany ing Pr imenister Manmohan Singhthe G20 summit here,

hen asked about Newelhi's stand on Pakistan'spproach in investigatinge Mumbai terror attacks.

"This is causing a great deal of anguish,"e official said.

The official, whoquested anonymity, said

nough evidence had been

ven to Islamabad that theentified masterminds

ehind the attacks were inakistan and that thoseho had carried out thetacks were Pakistani

ationals."The best thing

r us will be if they areanded over to us .herwise they should beed as per the laws of theirnd," the official said.hat is only fair."

Prior to leavingr London, the Primei n i s t e r had as k ed

akistan to show somesible results" on how it

has deal t w i th theinformation India hasshared with Islamabadon those responsible forthe Mumbai savagery -- ifIslamabad wanted thecomposi te d ia logue

process to resume."Pakistan has toprove (it) is doing all thatis possible," ManmohanSingh said, responding toP r e s i d e n t A s i f A l iZardari's suggestion thatthe two countries resumethe dialogue process,f r o z e n s i n c e t h eNovember 2008 Mumbaiattacks that left over 170people dead

" P a k i s t a nshould show visibleresults on the 26/11probe," he had said.

Referring to the

most recent Islamistmilitant attack on a policeacademy near Lahore,another official in theP r i m e M i n i s t e r ' sdelegation to G20 saidthat India had "no joywhatsoever" over thekillings and that themedia should not makeany such insinuation.

"Pakistan andIndia have a commonobjective of eliminatingterrorism. Pakistan hasto come to grips with thisproblem," he said, addingthat the lesson for Indiawas that terror was not a

diffused phenomenon." W h a t t h e

recent attacks haveshown is terrorism andextremism are fused andun-segmented," he said."We are concerned that

every day when we lookat these incidents, we feelthese can happen on oursoil also."

It was for thisreason, he said, that theprime minister had beenpus h i ng f o r I nd i anintelligence agencies tobe agile, beef up theirnetwork and spruce uptheir ability to gatherc ruc ia l i n fo rmat ion .

M a n m o h a nSingh, who will be holdingbilateral talks with USP r e s i d e n t B a r r a c kObama on the margins of

the G20 meet Thursday,has said that issues liket e r r o r i s m a n d t h esituation in Afghanistanand Pakistan will be ont h e a g e n d a .

Officials said alot of preparatory workhad gone in to themeeting. US Secretary ofState Hillary Clinton andTreasury Secre ta ryTimothy Geithner wereexpected to participate inthe meeting.

-Agencies

India concerned at Pakistan's'soft touch' on Mumbai attack

ashington, April 01:he ruling establishment inakistan wrongly believesat India is increasinglya i n i n g c o n t r o l i nghanistan, Senator JohncCain has said.

"India is veryeresting, in my view,cause there is a view in

akistan that the Indianse taking control of theonomy and forging closel l i a n c e s w i t hghanistan," McCain saida seminar on 'The PathSuccess in Afghanistan'ganised by the Foreigno l i c y I n i t i a t i v e , aashington-based think

tank yesterday."I don't think

that's true, but there isthat belief, and part of it isbased on this deep-seated animosity thate x i s t s b e t w e e nA f g h a n i s t a n a n dPakis tan," he said.

This, McCainsaid reminds him that,still, if you ask themajority of the Pakistanipeople and military, theywould probably say thatthe greater threat to theirsecurity is still India, asopposed to Afghanistan,w h i c h t hen m ak esunderstandable some of

their lack of movement oftroops, lack of efforts -significant efforts toassert - reassert control incertain parts of the borderareas.

So, the relationa m o n g A f g h a nneighbours is complex,he added.

"But I think that ifwe begin to succeed inAfghanistan and restorecontrol and then all of thethings that follow that,t h e n I t h i n k t h e i rneighbours will behave ina more responsib lefashion," he said.

-Agencies

'Pak wrong to think India gainingcontrol in Afghan'

Washington, April 01:Solving the problem ofterrorism in Afghanistanand Pakistan is theresponsibility of the entireworld community and notthe United States alone, as e n i o r O b a m a administration official has

said." T h e r e ' s a

genuine recognition thatthis region and thesecountries are not simply aconcern of just the UnitedStates, but instead aconcern of the world,"W h i t e H o u s espokesman, Rober tGibbs, said on Board AirForce One en-route toLondon.

S i m i l a r

statements, in th isregard, were made bythe US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, at TheH a g u e d u r i n g t h einternational meeting onAfghanistan.

"The Secretaryof State (Hillary Clinton)

was pleased with whatshe heard in public and inp r i v a t e a b o u tc o m m i t m e n t s t oresolving the concernsthat we have in thisregion of the world," hesaid.

" W e a l lrecognise the need tosupport the people ofAfghanistan as they buildu p t h e i r s e c u r i t yservices, strengthen

t h e i r e c o n o m y a n dinstitutions, and work withtheir neighbours to build asafer region," Clinton hadtold reporters at TheHague.

Gibbs said TheHague conference hasbrought the world together

on a platform on this issue."As you know, the

President committed at theb e g i n n i n g o f h i sadministration to reviewingour policy -- not simply asone t ha t r e l a t es t oAfghanistan or one thatrelates to Pakistan, but onethat relates to the region asthe whole," he said.

-Agencies

AfPak a responsibility of world;not us alone: US

Washington, April 01:The US is planning aUSD 2.8 billion militaryaid to Pakis tan tos u c c e s s f u l l y f i g h tt e r r o r i s m , b u tW a s h i n g t o n w o u l densure that the money isnot spent in a way thatwould give Islamabad agreater capacity to attacka n o t h e r c o u n t r y ,primarily India, a mediareport said.

T h e O b a m a

Administrationis planning to propose tothe Congress a USD 2.8billion military aid toPakistan, in addition tothe USD 7.5 billion non-military aid in the nextfive years as proposed inthe Kerry-Lugar Bill, theFOX News said quotingu n n a m e d D e f e n c eDepartment officials.

The off icialssaid the US would havecontrol over the spendingof money under this fund,who would ensure thatthe money is not spent ina way that would give

Pakis tan a greaterc apac i t y t o a t t ac k

D h a k a , A p r i l 0 1 : Bangladesh is readyingits first draft of a nationaldefence policy, a ministerhas said.

" T h egovernment has alreadyprepared a draft policy onnational defence byforming a council. It willb e f i n a l i s e d o nc o n s u l t a t i o n w i t hcompetent people," Air

Vice Marshal (retd.) A.K.Khandaker, planningminister, told the JatiyaSangsad (parliament)Tuesday.

P repa r i ng anational defence policyhas been discussed for along time but none of theprevious governments

a n o t h e r c o u n t r y ,p r i m a r i l y I n d i a , i treported.

This has beenone of the major concernof India in the past,wherein US funds to fightagainst terrorism, hasbeen used to purchasefighter jets, primarilyaimed at India.

In an interviewto FOX News, USCentral Command chiefGeneral David Petraeus

said the plan for military-aid will be called the" P a k i s t a n iC o u n t e r i n s u r g e n c yCapability Fund".

I t s a i d t h emilitary aid of USD 2.8b i l l i o n w o u l d b edistributed over fiveyears, with the first USD400 million of it added tothe fiscal year 2009supplemental request forwar fighting. AnotherUSD 700 million wouldbe in the fiscal 2010 basebudget.

For each of thefiscal from 2011 to 2013,

Pakistan would receiveUSD 575 million, the

completed the task, TheDaily Star newspapersaid.

Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina's AwamiLeague party, in itse l ec t i on m an i f es toissued last December,had promised to preparethe c oun t r y ' s f i r s td e f e n c e p o l i c y t ostrengthen the defenceforces.

Replying to aquery of Awami League(AL) lawmaker NasimulA l a m C h o w d h u r y ,Khandaker, a formerBangladesh Air Forcechief and in charge of thedefence ministry for theparliamentary business,said the government has

report said.Bruce Riedel ,

c h a i r m a n o f t h eInteragency Policy Reviewo n P a k i s t a n a n dAfghanistan, had earliersaid: "In the course ofimplementing this newstrategy, General Petraeusand CENTCOM will studyexactly what Pakistan'smilitary needs are that arebes t r e l a t ed t o t hecounterinsurgency fight."The White Paper of the

Interagency Policy Group,stresses on the need tostrengthen the US efforts todevelop and operationallyenable Pakistani securityforces so that they arecapable of succeedingsustained counterterrorismand counterinsurgency.

"In part this willinclude increased USmilitary assistance forhelicopters to provide airmobil i ty, night visionequipment, and trainingand equipment specificallyfor Pakistani SpecialOperation Forces and theirFrontier Cops," the White

Paper said

initiated steps to formulatea national defence policy inkeeping with the pollpledge.

The South Asianna t i on t ha t w on i t sindependence in 1971after a liberation war withPakistan, has a standinga r m y e s t i m a t e d a t250,000, besides air forceand the navy.

Its border guard,

the Bangladesh Rifles(BDR), with a strength of67,000 is in the process ofbeing dismantled andraised afresh after itst roopers mut in ied inFebruary over low wagesa n d p o o r w o r k i n gconditions.

US plans $ 2.8 bn military

aid to Pakistan: report

Dhaka prepares national defence policy


6/9

Times Chennai E-Paper April 01, 2009Page 6 Business

ondon, April 01: Indianime Minister Manmohanngh has urged the worldonomies to continue withmulus packages till 2010d avoid all kinds ofotectionism including ine financial sector to battlee g lobal economic

owdown.hen asked about India's

and on fiscal stimulus,ngh told a newspaper in interview: "I've seen ater from the Managingrector of the IMF sayingat the stimulus that hasen planned in the year09 by major economies

mounts to 2 per cent oforld) GDP.his is probably adequatet it's necessary to ensureat stimulus is sustainedd maintained in the year10."

Singh, who isre to attend the secondeeting of the leaders of

e G-20 in about a month,

said, "Protectionism hast o b e a v o i d e d - -protectionism not only onthe goods butalso in the area ofs e r v i c e s .F i n a n c i a lprotectionism isalso bad ands h o u l d b eavoided.""Some action bythe developedc o u n t r i e sparticularly thewi thdrawal ofcapital resourcesf r o m t h ed e v e l o p i n gcountries by thebanks of thed e v e l o p e dc o u n t r i e s i se q u a l l yworrisome." W e h a v eentirely agreed thatprotectionism of all sortsi nc l ud i ng f i nanc i a l

protectionism has to be

avoided. Although somecountries have takenaction, in practice the

impact of what has beendone has not beenreversed," he added.

-Agencies

Continue fiscal stimulus: PM to G20

ew Delhi, April 01: aruti 800 - the small cara t r e v o l u t i o n i s e d

ersonal transport inodern India - will take aow starting next year and

e phased out by 2016,hen the country ispected to embrace new

mission norms, Marutiu z u k i I n d i a s a i dednesday.

Along with the

M800, MSI will also bephasing out its secondoldest model, the utilityvan Omni. In the initialphase, the two modelswill be done away with in

11 cities from next year,where the Bharat Stage-IV emiss ion norms(which is equivalent toEuro-IV norms) wi l lbecome applicable.

"Once Euro-IV

em i s s i on no rm s i sapp l ied ac ross thecountry, which is likely tohappen around 2015-16,then M800 and Omni maynot be a saleable product.We will have to eventuallyphase (them) out then,"MSI Chairman R CBhargava told.

The company

would not upgrade theengines of these twomodels to meet betteremission standards, hesaid while also ruling outtheir replacements.

"We regularlyintroduce new models inthe market, but at presentthere is no plan to bringout substitutes for thesetwo cars," he added.

-Agencies

Maruti to phase out M800,Omni by 2015-16

Mumbai, April 01: State-run lender CorporationBank today joined theleague of 12 other publicsector lenders in cuttingits benchmark lendingrate from Wednesday.

In a filing to theB o m b a y S t o c kExchange, the bank saidthat the CorporationB a n k B e n c h m a r kAdvance Rate (COBAR)h a s b e e n r e v i s e ddownward by 50 basispoints to 12 per cent from12.5 per cent per annumwith effect from today.

As many as 13s t a t e - r u n l e n d e r s ,

including CorporationBank, are set to cut theirprime lending rates in therange of 25-50 basispoints.

Eight state-runl e n d e r s t h a t h a v edecided to reduce primelending rate by 50 basispoints, are Canara Bank,Central Bank, VijayaBank, OBC, Union Bank,Bank of Baroda, UCOBank and Punjab & SindBank.

Four banksother banks -- AllahabadBank, United Bank, DenaBank and Andhra Bank --wou ld lower p r ime

lending rates by 25 basispoints from today.

Besides, private-sector lender Citi Bank alsodecided to cut its mortgageprime lending rate by 50basis points to 13.75 percent.

Meanwhile, thecountry's second largestpub l i c - s ec to r l ende rPunjab National Bank hasannounced a cut in interestrates by 50-100 bps onfixed deposits of less thanthree years effective fromtoday.

-Agencies

Corporation Bank slasheslending rate to 12%

(Tata's) in Singur is almostready," Sen said whileseeking to explain theevents leading to TataMotors exit from the state.

"Tata did notwant to delay, it wanted tobe in the market with thecar before other small carmakers entered the scene.Tatas also did not want anyaggressive tactic to dealwith the situation... theyhave a global reputation,"

said Sen, who is here towoo Malays ian au tocomponent makers to setup shop in West Bengal.

-Agencies

Kuala Lumpur, April 01:West Bengal todayclaimed that the world'scheapest wheels, Nano,will be made in Singur,although car maker TataMotors had stomped outof the eastern Indianstate in a huff last year.

"West Bengallost the opportunity ofbeing Nano's numberone plant. However,Nano will definitely be

made in West Bengal asthe low-cost car needs atleast four to five plants,"the state's PrincipalI ndus t r y Sec re ta r ySabyasachi Sen toldhere.

He, however,did not state by when thiswould happen. TataMotors, which choseSanand in Gujarat as thea l t e rna t i v e s i t e t omanufacture the sub-USD 2,500 car Nano, stillhas its plant in Singur.

C o m p a n yChairman Ratan Tata, atthe commercial launch ofthe people's car onMarch 23, had said that

the factory shell was stillintact in Singur - fromwhere it quit over a landrow fuelled by oppositionTrinamool Congressparty.

"The i r p l an t

Tata will make Nano inSingur: W Bengal official

New Delhi, April 01:Korean electronic major

Samsung today said ithas partnered state-runtelecos BSNL and MTNLto provide high-endhandsets for their 3Gservices and is looking atup to 45 per cent of itst o t a l s a l e s b e i n gg e n e r a t e d f r o mmultimedia and touchscreen phones.

" W e h a v epartnered BSNL andMTNL to promote 3Gservices in India. We arecurrently giving a specialbundling offer for BSNL

consumers on our selecth a n d s e t s f o r 3 G

services," SamsungI n d i a E l e c t r o n i c sPresident and CEO JungSoo Shin said here.

He said, "Wehave also providedhandsets to MTNL tooffer 3G services inDelhi."

Samsung todaylaunched an 8 megapixel touchscreen, 3Genabled phone 'Ultra'priced at Rs 27,500 inIndia. The handset iscapable of of fer ingspeedy internet access,

video telephony, streamingand multimedia services.

" S a m s u n ga l r e a d y h a s f o u rt ouc hs c reen phonesavailable in the Indianmarket, all of these are 3Genabled," Shin said."We a re l ook i ng a tt o u c h s c r e e n a n dmultimedia phone portfolioto contribute 40-45 percent of our total sales bythe end of the year,"Samsung Telecom DivisionCountry Head Sunil Duttsaid.

-Agencies

Samsung partners BSNL, MTNLfor 3G services

umbai, April 01: About50-300 employees ataud-hit Indian outsourcera t y a m C o m p u t e rervices are joining Bank

America, a newspaper

id on Wednesday.The employees

ere working on a Satyamoject for Merrill Lynch,hich was taken over bye U.S. bank after it was

hit by the subprime crisislast year, it said.

The project wasnot renewed by Merrillafter Satyam was caughti n I n d i a ' s b i g g e s tcorporate scandal andthe work of managing itsdatabase and providinginfrastructure supportwould now be done inhouse, the paper said.

The f i rs t o fthese employees will joinB a n k o f A m e r i c a

between April 2 and 8, itsaid, adding they havebeen g i v en s a l a r yincreases of around 10percent and joiningbonuses.

As p o k e s w o m a n f o rSatyam said: "The reportis speculative." An official

at Bank of America-MerrillLynch in India said shecould not immediatelyc o m m e n t . S a t y a m ,whose market value hasslid to $505.6 million from$7 billion last May, is inthe midst of a biddingprocess to find a newbuyer. It plunged into acrisis in January after itsfounder quit as chairmanrevealing profits hadbeen falsified for years.

I n d i a n

e n g i n e e r i n gconglomerate Larsen &Toubro and mid-sizedo u t s o u r c e r T e c hMahindra are among thesuitors, and local mediahave said U.S. privateequity WL Ross & Co wasalso among the bidders.

-Agencies

300 Satyam staff join Bank

of America: Report

New Delhi, April 01Taxpayers will not have topay levy on withdrawal ofcash from banks with thegovernment withdrawingt h e B a n k i n g C a s hTransaction Tax (BCTT)from on Wednesday.

T h e

g o v e r n m e n t h a dintroduced 0.1 per centBCCT in 2005 on cashwithdrawals of more thanRs 50,000 (individuals)and Rs 1,00,000 forothers in a single dayfrom non-savings bankaccount maintained withany scheduled bank.

The tax has

been withdrawn fromApril 1 following anannouncement made bythe then Finance MinisterP. Chidambaram in hisbudget speech for 2008-09, sources said.

In his Budgets p e e c h , M r .

Chidamabram had said,"The BCTT has served avery useful purpose inenlarging the informationsystem of the Income TaxDepartment. Since theinformation is also beinggathered through otherinstruments introduced inthe last few years, I

propose to withdraw thistax with effect from April 1,2009."

The levy wasintroduced in 2005 to trackunaccounted money andtrace its source anddestination.

Though BCTT

was not introduced withthe intention of revenuegeneration, the levy, as perthe revised estimates,c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h eexchequer Rs 600 croreduring 2008-09. The BCCTcollection was Rs 550crore for 2007-08.

-Agencies

Govt. abolishes banking transaction tax


7/9

Times Chennai E-Paperpril 01, 2009 Page 7Spor ts

ondon, April 01: Fabioapello has confirmed thateter Crouch will leadng l and ' s a t t ac k i nednesday's World Cupalifier against Ukraineer once again dashingchael Owen's hopes of international recall.

A n i n j u r y t oarren Bent offered thelian an opportunity toaft Owen into the squadexperienced back-up for

r o u c h a n d W a y n eooney.

But he optedstead to call up Gabrielgbonlahor, despite theston Villa's forward's cluberformances havingpped of late.

T o t t e n h a mrward Bent had himselfen a late call-up to theuad after Emile Heskeyd Carlton Cole suffered

uries in Saturday's 4-0endly win over Slovakia.

That underlinedw far Owen has fallenwn the pecking orderhough Capello again

sisted that the injury-a g u e d N e w c a s t l e

rward's England careeruld be revived once hearts playing regularly fors club.

" I n e v e r yerview I've said the door

for al l the Englandplayers is open," Capellosaid.

"I respect Owenbut I chose Agbonlahorbecause he has played alot of games." RioFerdinand, who returnedto training after missing

the Slovakia match with aback strain, declaredhimsel f f i t to s tar talongside John Terry incentral defence.

Capello will alsohave Shaun Wright-Phillips, who missedSaturday's game with anankle injury, available,although Aaron Lennonis expected to get the nodon the right flank withS t e v e n G e r r a r dsupporting Rooney andCrouch from the left.

W i t h f o u rstraight wins in group six,

England will be in a verystrong position to reachnext year's finals in SouthAfrica if they can beatUkraine, the only teamthey have yet to face.

The impressivew i n ov e r S l ov ak i aa u g u r e d w e l l f o rEngland's chances andCapello expects Ukraineto play a similar style.

"It will be a verydangerous game, they

play very well on thecounter attack," theItalian said.

"It will be verytough.

" I w as v e ryhappy after the Slovakiamatch, our movementwith and without the ball

was very good and wecreated a lot of goodchances. For me it was agood test."

C a p e l l ob e l i e v e s U k r a i n e ' stendency to lay back andtry and hit teams on thecounter makes the matchideally suited for Crouch.

"I think the mostimportant thing is themovement of Gerrard,Lennon or Beckham andRooney," he said.

"The movementnear Crouch is veryimportant. "He can do

the same movement andp r e s s l i k e ( E m i l e )Heskey.

B u t t h emovement of the playersaround him will be veryimportant.

"All the playerswill be important. Wehave to play like a team, agroup, this is the mostimportant thing. Not asingle player."

-Agencies

Crouch to lead England inWorld Cup qualifier

arachi, April 01: Theakistan Cricket Board iscing a Rs 12 millionwsuit by the owner of acurity agency who has

ccused the PCB ofvicting his office at theational Stadium againste terms of contract.

A c c o r d i n g t oetails, Ikram Sehgal, whowns a high profile securitygency, has claimedound Rs 12 million frome board after a clean upperation carried out at thea t i ona l s t ad i um i na n u a r y t o r e m o v e

ncroachments from theea inside the stadium

oundary.

Sehga l hasclaimed through his legalnotice that the boardviolated the terms of thecontract by bulldozing hisoffice and sheds insidethe stadium boundarywall, one source said.

S e h g a l ` ssecurity agency wasevicted from the stadiumproperty before the one-day matches against SriLanka with the boardc l a i m i n g h e h a dencroached upon extraland and violated hisc o n t r a c t u a l t e r m s .

Sehgal is aninfluential personalityand now he has put the

board under pressuresince the board is alreadyfacing a possible financialcrunch, one source said.He said Sehgal was dueto meet with the PCBChief Operating Officerthis week to resolve theissue out of court.

Apparently theboard is in a fix as theirdirector human resourcesd i d n ` t r e a d t h econtractual terms withS e h g a l ` s c o m p a n ybefore approving theeviction operation fromthe stadium," the source

added.-Agencies

Pak board faces Rs 12 million lawsuit

Rio de Janeiro, April01: Ronaldo was ont a r g e t a g a i n a sCorinthians cruised to a3-0 win over Ituano in the

Paulista championship.The 2002 WorldCup winner swept theball home in the 26thminute to notch his fifthgoal for the club after theItuano defence wascaught out by a quickly-t a k e n f r e e k i c k .Corinthians had taken

the lead with a JorgeHenrique header in thesecond minute and wentfurther ahead whenmidfielder Crist ian

scored from a free kickfour minutes beforehalftime. The win keptCorinthians second in thetable and guaranteedthem a place in the semi-finals of the Paulista, thebiggest of the regionaltournaments which kickoff the Brazilian season.

L e a d e r sPalmeiras were held to a 1-1 draw at Oeste, who wentahead when Ademarchipped the ball over

Marcos early in the secondh a l f . V a n d e r l e iL u x e m b u r g o ' s t e a mlevelled when MauricioRamos headed in fromCleiton Xavier in the 70thminute.

-Agencies

On target in Corinthians win

Venezuela, April 01:Venezuela scored twicein the last 15 minutes,including a stunningJuan Arango free kick, tobeat 10-man Colombia2-0 and keep alive theirchances of qualifying fortheir first World Cup.

Nicolas Fedor,who plays for Salamancain the Spanish seconddiv is ion, broke thedeadlock when he turnedin a low cross fromAnyelo Pena in the 77thminute, only two minutesafter coming on as asubstitute.

Four minuteslater Arango curled afree-kick in off the

u n d e r s i d e o f t h ecrossbar as the hostsmade Colombia pay fortheir ul tra-defensivetactics. Colombia, whohave scored only sixgoals in their 12 WorldCup qual i f iers, hadmidfielder Abel Aguilar

sent off in the 27thminute for a violent lungeat Alejandro Moreno.

H ow ev e r , i tmade little difference asthey were incapable ofputt ing any sort ofa t t a c k i n g m o v e stogether before or afterhis dismissal. The win leftVenezuela with 13 pointsfrom 12 games in the 10-team group, one behind

Colombia, three behindfifth-placed Uruguay andfive behind fourth-placedBrazil.

The top fourteams qualify directly forthe 2010 World Cup inSouth Africa and the fifthplay off against the fourth

C O N C A C A F t e a m .Uruguay visit Chile onWednesday while Brazilhost Peru.

V e n e z u e l a ' schances nearly all camefrom Arango's left foot. Thecaptain was close threetimes in the first half, allfrom outside the penaltyarea, and misse.

-Agencies

Venezuela stun 10-man Colombiato keep hopes alive

L o n d o n , A p r i l 0 1 :Former England andN e w c a s t l e U n i t e dcaptain Alan Shearer willmanage Newcas t leUnited for the remainderof the season, accordingto television reports.

Shearer, 38,who has been working asa TV pundit with the BBC,will take over fromcaretaker Chris Hughton,who has been standing infor manager Joe Kinnear.Kinnear, 62, has beenrecovering from tripleheart bypass surgery

s i n c e F e b r u a r y .It was reportedlate on Tuesday thatShearer would take overas manager while a clubsource told Reuters that

Shearer would hold anews conference onThursday and that theclub would make no othercomment.

Newcastle arethird from bottom in thePremier League andfacing relegation for thefirst time since they werepromoted back to the toptier of English soccer in1993.

T h e y h a v ea l r e a d y h a d t h r e emanagers this season.Kevin Keegan resigneda s m a n a g e r i n

S e p t e m b e r w h e nHughton took over ascare taker fo r th reew e e k s .

K innear wasannounced as interim

manager at the end ofSeptember and was incontrol of the team until thebeginning of Februarywhen he was admitted tohospital with a heartcondition.

Hughton thenresumed control with ColinC a l d e r w o o d a s h i sassistant, but in the fiveleague matches since thenNewcastle have drawn twoand lost three and droppedfrom 13th place to 18th andinto the relegation zone.

S h e a r e r w a soffered a position on

Newcastle's coaching staffwhen Keegan becamemanager early in 2008 butturned it down.

-Agencies

Shearer to become Newcastle manager

Miami, April 01: RafaelNadal survived a stiffchallenge to reach thequarter-finals of the ATPand WTA tournamentw i t h s t r a i g h t - s e ttriumphs.

Nadal neededtwo tiebreaks to beat thepesky Wawrinka in thetwo hour, 42 minutesm a r a t h o n m a t c h .Wawrinka jumped out toa 3-1 lead in the secondset before Nadal clinched

it 7-4 in the final tiebreak.N a d a l a n d

Wawrinka traded blows inthe first set then Nadalstepped up his game inthat tiebreak winning 7-2.

Russian eighths e e d S v e t l a n aKuznetsova became thefirst semi-finalist in thewomen's draw by beatingD a n i s h 1 3 t h s e e dCaroline Wozniacki 6-4,6-7 (5/7), 6-1.

T h e 2 0 0 6

champion will play in thesemi- f inals Thursdayagainst No. 11 VictoriaAzarenka, who beatuns eeded Sam an thaStosur 6-1, 6-0.

Nadal's victorymeans eight of the top 10seeds are into the quarter-finals for the first time in thetournament 's 25-yearhistory. It is also the firsttime there are eight seedsin the quarter finals.

-Agencies

Nadal advances to Miami quarter-finals

ami, April 01: Russianghth seed Svetlanauznetsova reached theony Ericsson Open semi-als after holding off airited challenge from

anish teenager Carolineozniacki to win 6-4, 6-7,1.

K u z n e t s o v aminated the first set andok a 5-2 lead in thecond but 18-year-oldozniacki, the WTA's new-mer of the year for 2008,ounted a desperate bid toay alive.

She fought back5-5, saved a series of

match points and won thetiebreak but then paid theprice for her exertions inthe Florida heat andstruggled in the decidingset.

Kuznetsova willface Victoria Azarenka inthe last four after the 11thseed from Belarus easedto a 6-1, 6-0 win overSamantha Stosur ofAustralia.

The Russianwas exhausted at the endof the three sets inintense heat and blamedthe temperature for herstruggle in the second.

"I saw Carolineand she was fine," thef o r m e r U S O p e nchampion told reporters.

"The heat didn'tdisturb her. I know shewas feeling much betterthan myself.

"I knew thoughthat I was playing a bettergame and doing the rightthings, so I was veryhappy to win this match,e s p e c i a l l y i n t h econditions that we playedin."

-Agencies

Kuznetsova reaches semi-finals


8/9

Times Chennai E-Paper April 01, 2009Page 8 Medley

hennai, April 01: A Ra h m a n h a s b e e nentified for an Honoraryegree by Middlesexniversity, London. Joector , Regional Director of

ddlesex University, metR . R a h m a n a n d

Selvakumar, Co-FounderCEO of KM Musiconservatory in Chennaind pu t fo rward h isniversity's intend to award

Honorary Doctorate forr. A.R.Rahman, at aaduation Ceremony to

e held at Middlesexniversity, London in July09.

K M M u s i conservatory along withudio Media Education,gan in July 2008, to bee first music conservatoryIndia to specialize in bothestern, Indian music and

music technology. Theschool hopes to trainI nd i an s t uden t s i nW e s t e r n m u s i cP e r f o r m a n c e ,Composition and Music

Technology at anin te rna t iona l l ycompetitive level,

as well as to oneday provide Indiaw i t h i t s o w ns y m p h o n yo r c h e s t r acomprised of itsown musicians.

T h eConservatory hasi n i t i a t e d adialogue with theRegional DirectorSouth Asia ofM i d d l e s e xU n i v e r s i t y ,London to explore

t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f

developing an AcademicArt iculat ion for theBachelor of Arts HonoursProgrammed for MusicComposition and MusicPerformance.

The D eg reef r o m M i d d l e s e xUniversity is of threeyears duration. The aimof KMC will be to explorethe possibility of offeringthe first two years of theMiddlesex Programme att h e K M M u s i cConservatory in Chennaiwhile the final year willt a k e p l a c e a t t h e

Middlesex University inLondon. This Coursesare planned to start fromJanuary 2010.

A b o u tMiddlesex University,L o n d o n M i d d l e s e xUniversity is a prestigiousinstitution located in the

North of London and hasreceived the highestpossible ratings, acrossall of its programs, fromthe UK Quality AssuranceAgency. The Universityprides itself in its aim toproduce students whomake economic, cultural,and social contributionsin a growing globalcommunity and hasaffiliated itself to partnerinstitutions across theGlobe.

This year theR eg i ona l O f f i c e o fMiddlesex University iscelebrating its tenthanniversary in India.

Admissions intoKM Music Conservatory'sPreparatory Program andFoundation Program arec u r r e n t l y o p e n .Applicants for entranceinto the degree programmust have a twelfthstandard or equivalenteducation level and havecompleted one year in theKM Music ConservatoryFoundation Program.

-Agencies

Rahman to be awarded anHonorary Degree in July

ew Delhi, April 01: Don't surprised if the next call your cell phone is fromur area candidate or youme across a very catchyg tone promoting BJPth the IT cell of the Delhiit of the party coming outth a b lue pr int to

x t e n s i v e l y u s e h i -c h n o l o g y t o i t s

vantage.V a l u e a d d e d

rvices on mobile phonesch as SMS and e-mail

a m p a i g n s , b l o g s ,nversion of all theomotional songs intoP3 format and usingcial networking sites-

acebook and Orkut- areme of the methods to beed in the campaigning for

ok Sabha polls nextonth, according to theue print.

Convenor of ITll Vivek Goel said "almost

l l t h e s e v e nnsti tuencies in thepital have substantialmber of young votersd the party plans to usee high technology to best

its advantage to getem."

"The use of e-ail, webcasts, SMS,

MMS, blogs and socialnetworking sites will helpus connect with theyoung voters and we aree n c o u r a g i n g o u rcandidates to use thesemediums," Goel told PTI.He said IT cell is alsoencouraging candidatesto create their websitesand blogs through which

they will be able tocommunicate with themedia as well as net-savvy citizens.

The party alsop l a n s t o u s e t h ei n t e r a c t i v e v o i c eresponse or IVR which isa computerised phonesystem that enables atelephone caller to getanswers to standardi n q u i r i e s t h r o u g hautomated process.

As per the plan,the party will also seek tou s e b l u e t o o t h

technology throughwhich voters can receivecontents such as videoclips, music and otherinformation on theirmobile phones.

The IT cell alsoplans to convert all thepromotional songs intoMP3 format and upload

them on websites ofparty leaders.

Mr. Goel saidthe party will also launchan SMS campaign whichwill be divided into fourphases. "SMS campaignr e m a i n s a m a j o rc o m m u n i c a t i o n sopportunity and we willuse it to the hilt." He said

the party may also usethe voice SMS also forthe campaign.

At the nationallevel also, the BJP istrying to exploit the cyberspace to a great extentas it is using Google'sAdWords and AdSenseto promote the party onm ore t han 30 ,000websites and blogs.

The Congressis also not far behind as italso plans to use Googlet e c h n o l o g i e s f o radv e r t i s em en ts on

v a r i o u s p o p u l a rwebsites.B J P h a d

l a u n c h e d a w e bcampaign "Advani forPM" recently, spreadover 2,000 websitesworldwide.

-Agencies

Orkut, Facebook, MP3 format--Delhi BJP to try it all

Washington, April 01:Want to avoid makingunnecessary purchases?Well, then keep yourhands off the object, for anew study has shownthat merely touching ani tem inc reases thefeelings of ownershippeople have for the

object, prompting them topurchase it.In 2003 Illinois

state attorney general'soffice had warned holidayshoppers to be cautiouso f r e t a i l e r s w h oencourage them to holdobjects and imagine theobjects as their ownwhen shopping.

In the presentstudy authors JoannPeck from University ofWisconsin-Madison) andSuzanne B Shu from

U C L A s o u g h t t ode te rm i ne w he the rtouching somethingincreases perceivedownership.

" I n o u rresearch , we havee v i d e n c e t h a t t h ewarning from the attorneygeneral is valid, said the

authors. We find thatmerely touching anobject increases thefeelings of ownership aperson has for the object.This, in turn, results in aperson being willing topay more for mostobjects that they touchversus objects that theycannot touch.

"We also findthat when touch isunavailable, such asshopping online, having

people imagine owning aproduct increases theirperception of ownershipand how much they arewilling to pay for a product,"they added.

If people have ap o s i t i v e o r n e u t r a lresponse to touching anobject, they are willing to

pay more for it."Our findings thatc o n s u m e r s r e s p o n de f f e c t i v e l y t o t h ecombination of no-touchand ownership imagerysuggests a remarkableopportunity for onlinereta i lers to increaseperceived ownership andpurchase," wrote theauthors.

T h e s t u d yappears in the Journal ofConsumer Research.

-Agencies

A mere touch of an objectcan make you buy it

B o n n , A p r i l 0 1 : Deforestation, one of themain drivers of globalwarming, has barged itsway to the heart of UNclimate talks, whichresumed in Bonn thisweek.

B u t w h i c hm a k e s t h e b e t t e rincentive for saving thec a r b o n - a b s o r b i n gtropical woodlands:market mechanisms orpublic funding?

This questionhas split nations, dividedgreen groups and tossedin yet another factor tobedevil efforts to agree a

pact by year's end fortackling climate change.R e d u c i n g

e m i s s i o n s f r o mdeforestation and forestdegradation -- an effortknown as REDD --emerged last year as akey element in the UNFramework Conventionon Climate Change(UNFCCC) negotiations.It owes i ts r ise toscientists' warnings thatdestruction of tropicalf o r e s t s c a n n o t b eignored by policymakers,for it now accounts for afifth of all greenhouse-gas emissions.

Logging andground clearance areespecially concentratedin Brazil and Indonesia.They each account forabout one third of forest-r e l a t ed em i s s i ons ,making them the world'stop carbon polluters afterChina and the UnitedStates.

"There is broadconsensus now that thepost-2012 agreementwill include some sort ofincentives for tropicalcountries to reduce theirdeforestat ion," saidSteve Schwartzman of

Environmental Defense,an advocacy groupbased in Washington.

"The issue is,w h a t k i n d o fmechanism? And that iswhere the polemicsstart," he said.

T h e U n i t e dStates and a coalition ofaround 20 small rain-

forest nations, led byPapua New Guinea andC o s t a R i c a , a r ed e m a n d i n g t h a tdeforestation "credits" bea d d e d t o c a r b o nmarkets, say sources.

Under carbontrading -- an innovation ofthe Kyoto Protocol thatwill be superseded by thetreaty -- companies inindustrialised nationscan offset obligations toslash CO2 emissions byfunding certified carbon-reduction projects in thedeveloping world.

For this to workproperly, the price of

carbon has to be highenough to create a juicye n o u g h c a r r o t f o rinvesting in clean andrenewable technologies.

But many greengroups, along with theEuropean Union (EU),fear that an influx ofdeforestation offsetswould cause carbonprices to plummet.

A s t u d yc o m m i s s i o n e d b yG r e e n p e a c eInternational, unveiled inBonn on Tuesday ,p r e d i c t e d t h a tintroducing forest creditswould depress carbonprices by 75 percent,s tarv ing developingcount r ies o f c leaninvestment.

"Of the manyo p t i o n s f o r f o r e s tfinancing currently on thetable, this one ranks ast h e w o r s t , "Greenpeace's RomanCzebiniak said.

"Forests are thewi ld card in thesenegotiations -- it could beused to bring us closer toour goals, or to waterthem down."

Schwartzmancouldn't disagree more.

"We think it's a terribleidea to preclude theop t i on o f c rea t i ngpositive economic valuefor standing forests," hesaid.

P r o t e c t i n gforests through othermethods is bound to fail,he argued. Direct grantsor carbon levies in rich

nations would either fail togenerate enough cash orwould be vulnerable tomismanagement, poora c c o u n t a b i l i t y o rcorruption.

"There is now a40-year history of publics e c t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a ldevelopment assistance inthe forestry sector -- inIndonesia, in the Amazon --which has been entirelyunsuccessful in reducingdeforestation," he said.

B y c o n t r a s t ,Schwartzman contended,a company facing a legalobligation to comply withemission caps has a strong

incentive to be sure thecarbon credit it is buyingcorresponds to reality.

F o r K i mCarstensen, leader of theWWF's global climateinitiative, both market andpublic funding mechanismsare necessary, but not all atonce.

"The initial stagesneed to be funded by publicmechanisms, not tradablecredits. Markets are not agood option now becausein the near term we don'tsee any credible REDDu n i t s c o m i n g i n t oexistence," he said.

Only five yearsago, Brazil opposed anydiscussion of deforestationat the UN forum. But inDecember, it announced anational target to reduce itsdeforestation by 71 percentby 2017, using a 10-yearaverage up to 2006 as abenchmark.

It has opened af u n d t o r e c e i v ei n t e r n a t i o n a lcompensation, and hasrecently received the first110 million of a USD 1billion pledge -- contingentof continuing progress inforest protection -- fromNorway.

The key, arguesSchwartzman, is that bothdonor and recipient nationshave to have nationalemissions caps in place,otherwise they will simplyshift the carbon pollutionfrom one location toanother.

-Agencies

UN climate talks: Save the forests -- but how?


9/9

Times Chennai E-Paperpril 01, 2009 Page 9

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Times Chennai, E-paper, April 01, 2009