Tatas not keen to implement Nano project in Singur
Kolkata (PTI): The Tatas were not keen to implement the Nano project in Singur, West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen today told the state cabinet.
Sen said this when some cabinet ministers sought to know about the status of the Tatas project in Singur, PWD minister Kshiti Goswami told reporters after the state cabinet meeting.
He quoted Sen as saying that the Tatas did not want to continue work with security which indicated that the future of the Nano project in the state was 'dark'.
Sen also informed his cabinet colleagues that the Tatas had offers from other states to shift the project from Singur.
The cabinet, he said, decided to appeal to both the Tatas to implement the project here as well as to the opposition to cooperate in the interest of the state.
India, Pak. vow to take "severe action" against terrorist acts
New York (PTI): Acknowledging that the peace process has been "under strain" in recent months, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced that cross-LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir will commence on October 21 and vowed to take "severe action" against any elements directing or involved in terrorist acts, giving fresh momentum for an "an early and full" normalisation of bilateral relations.
Unveiling a slew of measures for a "peaceful resolution and saisfactory settlement" of all bilateral issues including Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his first meeting with the new Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari agreed that the forces that have tried to derail the peace process msut be "defeated."
Meeting on the sidelines of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly session at the Millenium hotel where the Pakistan President is staying, the two leaders came out with a joint statement agreeing that violence, hostility and terrorism have no place in the vision they share of the bilateral relationship and must be "visibly and verifiably" prevented.
In an apparent attempt to tell India that let bygones be bygones in the backdrop of rise in cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations, Zardari reassured Singh that the Pakistan government stood by its commitments of January 6, 2004 to stamp out terrorism.
With the needle of suspicion pointing to Pakistans ISI for the bombing of he Indian Embassy in Kabul, the two leaders agreed to convene a special meeting of the Joint Anti-Terror mechanism to address mutual concerns including the Kabul attack.
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Flood situation in Orissa worsened on Thursday after 43 new breaches on embankments in Mahanadi delta region submerged more areas even as the deluge claimed 48 lives so far.
"Fresh areas were inundated as the number of breaches in Mahanadi system, which stood at 100 till on Wednesday rose to 143 on Thursday," the flood control cell in Bhubaneswar said.
As villages were swept away by gushing waters from the breaches, the plight of the marooned people multiplied in the absence of proper relief and rescue operation due to inadequate manpower and boats, sources said.
What added to the agony of the flood-hit regions was intermittent rains in most of the affected coastal districts including Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur as most of the victims were still on highways and similar open areas.
Though around 40 lakh people in about 6,000 villages in 18 districts of the State were affected by the devastating floods, the administration had only about 1,500 boats at their disposal for relief and rescue work, sources said.
Rescue and relief operations with the help of choppers had limited impact as most of the material were wasted as they fell into water and other wrong places, they said.
Naval teams and personnel of the central para-military forces continued to assist in the work.
Over 3.77 lakh people have been evacuated to safer places in flood affected areas so far with the help of air force choppers and boats, they said.
Listing the extent of damage as per preliminary study, a senior official said floods affected nearly 6,000 villages, while as many as 827 villages were completely marooned due to surging waters.
As many as 1,26,786 houses were found damaged so far, while nearly 1,000 breaches were caused on different roads due to gushing flood waters, badly affecting road communication, sources said.
Crops, in about 4.5 lakh hectare area, were damaged and nearly 12.5 lakh cattle affected due to the floods which claimed about 150 animals.
As many as 471 free kitchens were being operated to feed the flood-affected, while helicopters made 56 sorties so far to drop relief material and food packets besides rescuing people from marooned areas.
About 11.5 lakh water pouches were distributed by the relief teams and 4775 mt of cattle feed supplied.
The only solace for the flood-affected people and the administration was the falling water level in Mahanadi and its branches.
Water level in Mahanadi at Naraj near Cuttack dropped to 24.74m as against the danger mark of 26.41m.
However, a major cause of worry was a Met office forecast about rains in coastal Orissa.
Nanavati report on Godhra: Cong refutes, BJP welcomes
New Delhi, Sept 25: Reacting with apprehension to the findings of the Nanavati Commission, Congress party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that he was not surprised with the findings of the commission claiming that the investigation was not bonafide.
“We are not surprised at all the findings. It cannot be called a bonafide investigation. The way the committee was set up, its tenure was extended, large numbers of witness, deposed expressed their disappointment it creates ample doubts on its findings,” said Shingvi.
Reacting to the report social activist Teesta Setelvad called it a farce and as part of a larger conspiracy by the BJP to influence voters ahead of the upcoming elections.
Pointing to the Raghavan Committee, set up by the SC to probe the train carnage, she said, “What was the hurry to table the report when the SC appointed panel was probing the incident and would come up with its report by December 31.”
New Delhi (PTI): Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Thursday came under attack from Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh who claimed that the minister refused to respond to his plea for help when an alleged BSP worker tried to blackmail him.
Singh claimed that a BSP worker Hashmat Ali had come to his residence on Thursday morning demanding Rs 5 crores to make a statement in the SP leader's favour before the Privileges Committee of Parliament probing the cash-for-vote scam.
"I called Shivraj Patil but he refused to send the police and asked me to register a complaint in the nearest police station," the SP leader claimed.
Singh claimed the Home Minister refused any help fearing that it may appear that the Congress party was involved in the incident.
"If Amar Singh can get such a cold response, I can well imagine the condition of the common man," the SP leader said.
Singh said he would raise the issue of the behaviour of the Home Minister at the SP-Congress Coordination Committee meeting.
The SP leader had defended Patil when he came under attack from various quarters for his change of dress three times on the evening of serial bomb blasts in the capital.
The SP leader said he dispatched one of his assistants to the Tughlaq Road Police Station to register a complaint following which action was taken.
ONGOLE: Two bogies of Tirupati-bound Padmavati Express were gutted after a fire broke out in them between Ulavapadu and Tettu around 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
A tragedy was averted by a pointsman, who helped in bringing the train to a halt. The passengers of the ill-fated bogies–a three-tier air-conditioned coach and the general compartment–jumped out.
The pointsman, who noticed the commotion in the bogies on the outskirts of Ulavapadu, telephoned the station master, who alerted the guard over cell phone. Reports suggested that the fire broke out due to short circuit in the electrical panel of the air-conditioned bogie.
HK bank run hits Singapore, spurs US$500M infusion
HONG KONG (AP): Hundreds of nervous customers swarmed Bank of East Asia offices in Singapore and Hong Kong Thursday, the second day of Asia's first major bank run since the global financial crisis erupted last year.
Hong Kong's de facto central bank, meanwhile, responded by injecting US$500 million into the market as a way of shoring up the territory's banking system.
The Bank of East Asia received another boost when billionaire tycoon Li Ka-shing started buying the company's stock after it plunged Wednesday _ a huge vote of confidence from the territory's richest man. Shares rebounded Thursday.
The moves came after thousands of customers descended on BEA offices across Hong Kong on Wednesday to demand their deposits amid unconfirmed rumors questioning the mid-sized lender's stability.
The bank and authorities were quick to shoot down the rumors _ spread by what officials say were hundreds of thousands of cell phone text messages in recent days _ as ``malicious'' and baseless.
But many customers were less than assured. While crowds appeared to taper off in Hong Kong Thursday, hundreds thronged the company's headquarters in Singapore's financial district to inquire about the status of the bank or to withdraw their savings.
``I read about the bank's problems in Hong Kong, so I came down here today to pull out some of my money,'' said Kim Hoon Toh, 70, as he waited in the bank's lobby for his number to be called. ``Better safe than sorry.''
The panic underscored a growing distrust of financial institutions in Asia since the turmoil on Wall Street began more than a year ago.
Confidence has eroded further in recent weeks as thousands in Hong Kong and Singapore canceled policies with troubled insurer American International Group, and investors in Lehman Brothers products lobbied the government to help prevent losses.
Bank of East Asia CEO David Li flew back to Hong Kong from New York overnight to deal with the crisis. Li joined government officials in pronouncing the bank's finances healthy.
``We are financially sound,'' Li told The Associated Press. ``There were a lot of vicious rumors.'' Police were investigating the matter, he said.
The bank, Hong Kong's fifth-biggest by assets, has declined to specify how much customers have withdrawn, but said the amount wasn't large and no major clients had pulled money.
It offered assurances that its capital ratio was well above international standards. Seeking to calm investors, the bank also disclosed that its combined ``exposure'' to failed U.S. financial companies Lehman Brothers and American International Group was about HK$473 million (almost US$61 million).
The company's stock recovered more than 3 percent to HK$26.85 after tumbling more than 7 percent in the previous session.
With credit tightening following the run, the territory's central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, flushed HK$3.883 billion (about US$500 million) into the financial system.
Chief Executive Joseph Yam said the agency acted after seeing an uptick in lending rates among banks.
``Because there was a bank run yesterday, the Hong Kong interbank (offered rate) was a bit tense this morning,'' Yam said, adding that the infusion would ensure that banks have enough ``money supply to handle various kinds of problems they have.''
The rumors emerged after Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on BEA's credit rating from stable to negative on Friday, citing a recent insider trading case that exposed ``lackluster internal controls'' at the bank.
Last week, the bank revealed a trading loss of HK$93 million (nearly US$12 million) it says was incurred by a rogue equity derivatives trader who ``manipulated'' valuations to hide losses. The discovery forced the bank to revise down its earnings for the first half of the year.
