Times Chennai E-Paper March 03, 2009

8/14/2019 Times Chennai E-Paper March 03, 2009

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VOL: 2 ISSUE 48 March 03, 2009

Lahore attack: 6 SL cricketersinjured; none critical

ore, March 03:Te r ro r s t r uc k

ket on Tuesday whenSri Lankan cricket

m, which is in Lahore toy the second Test wascked upon by a gang ofhly trained terrorists,

ring at least six players,ugh none were critically

unded.The Sri Lankanorts Minister, Lokukemini, has confirmed toreporters that six of the

yers were injured anden to hospital. Thered players are: Thilan

maraweera, Tharangaranavi tana, Kumarngakkara , A jan thae n d i s , M a h e l aawardene and Thilanshara. Also, Ehsaan

za, the fourth umpire ofmatch, who was in the

m bus is said to becal.

However, Punjabv e r n o r , S a l m a a nseer, claimed that noLankan player was

cally injured in theck and all are safe atmoment.

The news waso confirmed by Sanathasuriya, who spoke to achannel from Sri Lanka,d that he had spoken tomar Sangakkara, whormed him that thoughre were few injuries,rybody was safe.

Father of the

going team skipperhela Jayawardene saidson had just called his

e from Lahore to sayhe too had suffered

or injuries in his legng the attack that hadcked the nation.

ur Cancell edThe Sri Lankan

c r i c k e t b o a r d h a scancelled the tour withimmediate effect and aconfirmation came fromPresident Rajpaksesoffice that the Sri Lankanteam had indeed beencal led back by the

government it saw noway to continue with the

tour. Meanwhile, TheInternational CricketCouncil (ICC) has calledin an emergency meetingin Colombo to assess thesituation and take stock.How It Happened

As per initialr epo r t s t he a t t ac khappened outside theGaddafi stadium whenthe team was passingthrough the Libertyroundabout. A group ofgunmen (Reportedly 12in number), armed withautomatic weapons,

were waiting there in awhite car, then resortedto indiscriminate firing atthe convoy and even firedrocket launchers.

S e v e npolicemen have lost theirlives while two other arereportedly injured.

Some of theslain policemen havebeen identified: ZafarKhan, Mudassar, TipuSu l t an and Tanv i rAhmed.

S t r i k i n gSimilarities with Mumbai

Attacks The authoritiesare suspecting it as ah a n d i w o r k o f o n ePakistans many activeterror groups. PunjabGovernor , Sa lmaanTahseer, while confirmingthe incident claimed thatthe attackers were highly

t r a i n e d a n d b o r eresemblance to theMumbai terror attacks inthe way it was executed.In the meanwhile, thePakistan police havereleased the sketches ofthe assailants and it has

been confirmed that theyhad automatic weapons.

I nc i den ta l l y ,media reports claimedthat the police knew of aplan to attack the teamand hence the routetaken by the convoytoday was kept a secretbut it seems that theterrorists had betterinformation.

A witness toldreporters he believed twopolice commandos werekilled along with a regularpoliceman and a trafficwarden. Shopkeeper

Ahmed Ali said the twopolice commandos hadbeen driving behind theteam bus when theywere hit.

"It was a veryheavy firing and I heardat least two explosions at

the time," said a witnesswho had been on his wayto cover the Test matchbetween Pakistan andSri Lanka.

Pakistan onlyinvited the Sri Lankateam to tour after India'steam pulled out withs e c u r i t y c o n c e r n sfollowing the militantattacks on the Indian cityof Mumbai in November.

-Agencies

Monday through Friday


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 03, 2009e 2

ennai, March 03:A l l e g in g th a t

me forces were trying toate a r i f t in the

ngress-DMK alliance,mil Nadu Chief Minister DMK President M

uananidhi on Tuesday

ed upon partymen toe a pledge to preservealliance and strive tok for its victory in they 13 Lok Sabha

ctions.T h e D M K

der's call to strengthenalliance comes a day

er AICC Secretaryulam Nabi Azad, who ischarge of Tamil Nadu,

s e r t e d t h a t t h engress-DMK alliancecontinue for the May

Lok Sabha elections.

Referring to aort in a Tamil Daily that

me Congress Districtcretaries and Statece-bearers had told Mrad in yeste rday 'seting that the high

mmand should considerance with AIADMK as ituld be natural, Mrunanidhi said, ''We doknow who had said like, but those leaderso u l d r e c a l l M salalithaa's personalck against Congress

e s id e n t a n d UPA

Ch a i rp e rso n So n iaGandhi during the 2004Lok Sabha elections.

He said aftermeet ing leaders ofvarious political parties

and especially

those in theCongress, MrA z a d , w h ocalled on himlast evening,had declaredthat the victorya l l i a n c e o fC o n g r e s s -DM K wo u ldcontinue forthe Lok Sabhaelections.Ho we ve r , aTami l Da i l y

carried a report that

some Congress leadershave told Mr Azad thatth e y we re a g a in s tCongress-DMK alliance,he said. If at all someCongress leaders haveexpressed such a view,they should recall theAIADMK leader's attackagainst Ms Gandhi inchoicest epithets duringthe 2004 Lok sabha pollcampaign.Accusing the daily oftrying to confuse the

D M K c a d r e s , M rKarunanidhi exhortedpartymen to ignore suchd i s i n f o r m a t i o ncampaign, destroy the

forces, which tried todestablise the allianceand work for its victory.

Mr Karunanidhisaid ever since theC o n g r e s s - l e d U P AGovernment came topower at the Centre in2004, the DMK, which isa constituent of thea l l i a n ce , a cco rd e d

unstinted support to the

Government, followingthe dharma of allianceand coalition. Somepeople and a section ofthe media did not like theunity between the twoparties and were bent

upon breaking thealliance, right from theday one, he said, addingafter making indirectmoves to wean away theCongress to its side, theAIADMK leader hadeven openly invited theCongress to join handswith her, willing to ditch

the Left parties.''Who will go to

them after having seenthe trouble the AIADMKgave to former Prime

Minister A B Vajpayeeduring 1998-99,'' hesaid.

''That was whyC o n g r e s s l e a d e rVeerappa Moily hada s s e r t e d t h a t t h eCongress-DMK alliancewas firm, after MsJayalalithaa extendedan open invitation to theCongress to renew itsties,'' he added.

E v e n a f t e rrealising that the partieswere firm in the alliance,

some people expecteddifferences between theCongress and the DMKon the Sri Lankan Tamilsissue and tried to createa rift.

However, boththe part ies took auniform stand on theLankan Tamils issue andthey shared a commonview that the Tamils inthe island nation shouldbe protected, he said.

-Agencies

MK asks partymen to work foralliance victory in LS polls

ennai, March 03:This year The

sidency Towers hasawn up numerousents to ce lebra te

ernational Womensy in style and at veryactive prices.

M a i n S t r e e t

spectacular buffet ath lunch & dinner,wcasing the signature

hes of The Residency

Towers. And to honorthis day .an exclusiveoffer for our lady guests

one buffet with ourcompliments for every

five buffets. Plus recipec a r d s a n d t h eentertaining duo ofHeather & Ashley.

T h e C r o w n

Enjoy candle lit alfrescod i n i n g a n d g r e a tmusic.and for all the

l a d i e s , a s e l e c tcomplimentary dessert .B i k e & B a r r e l

Lady D.J. Sana to spintracks by leading female

artistes. Complimentaryhouse cocktail for ourlady guests, raffle &receipe cards -8pmonwards.

-Staff reporter

Celebrations Galore for Womens Dayat Residency Towers

New Delhi, March 03 :T a m i l N a d u

lawyers on Tuesday toldthe Supreme Court thatthey would not call offtheir strike till appropriate

action was taken againstthe po l i ce o f f i c ia l sresponsible for attack onthem in the Madras HighCourt on February 19.

The M ad rasHigh Court AdvocateAssociation counseltoday told the apex courtbench comprising ChiefJustice K G Balakrishnana n d J u s t i c e s PSathasivam and J MPanchal that they wereprepared to work onSaturdays and Sundays

to make up for the loss oflitigants in the state.

The plea of

senior counsel K KVenugopal appearing forthe Supreme Court BarA s s o c i a t i o n f o rresumption of workforthwith in the interest ofthe litigants in Tamil Nadu

had no effect on the Statel aw y e rs w ho w e redetermined to continuewith their strike til lappropriate action wastaken against the policeofficials responsible forthe attack.

The apex courttoday adjourned t i l lMarch 6 the hearing ofthe case.

Earlier SolicitorGeneral G E Vahanvatidefended the policeofficials and blamed the

lawyers for the clashbetween the police andlawyers.

It evoked sharpreac t ion f rom thoseappearing for Tamil Nadulawyers who alleged thatthe Solicitor General wasdiscriminating against thelawyers.

All are awaitingfor the report of retired judge of Supreme CourtJustice B N Srikrishna whohas been appointed by theapex court to conduct a judicial enquiry to fix theresponsibility against thosewho were behind the clashwhich virtually paralysedcourts in Tamil Nadu andPuducherry.

Justice Srikrishnahas been requested by thecourt to submit his reportwithin two weeks.

- Agencies

Strike to continue: Tamil Nadulawyers tell Supreme Court


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Page 3Times Chennai E-Paperrch 03, 2009 National

ethi, March 03:A day after the

ouncement of Generalctions, Priyanka Gandhidra Tuesday arrived in

Uttar Pradesh town toend the day in herngress MP brotherhul Gandhi's political

stituency where she willet party workers ande o p l e .

Though there wasannouncement of any

mal launch of the party'sction campaign frome, the arrival of thea r i s m a t i c f o u r t heration Gandhi is seen

significant in the light ofannouncement of

neral elections thatg i n n e x t m o n t h .

Priyanka, whow down in a charteredraft from Delhi to thesatganj flying academy

airstrip in Rae Bareli,d r o v e s t r a i g h t t oGauriganj, where she willa t tend the c los ingceremony of a CongressS e w a D a l c a m p .

She is to travelthrough villages of theAmethi parliamentary

constituency and hold am ee t i ng o f s en i o rCongress leaders atM u n s h i g a n j .

Huge crowdsgathered all along hernearly 80 km drive tocatch a gl impse ofPriyanka, who is quite arage among the locals."She reminds us of hergrandmother Ind i raGandhi, whose charismashe seems to haveinherited," remarked 70-year-old Shushila Devi,who had walked some 8km to take a look at

P r i y a n k a .The Congress

party's workers feelPriyanka could make allthe difference, not only inA m e t h i a n dneighbouring Rae Bareli- her mother SoniaGandhi's constituency -

but also all across UttarPradesh, which sends 80members to the nationalp a r l i a m e n t .

" P r i y a n k aGandhi could really dothe magic that is requiredto revive the Congressparty in UP. I don't knoww h y s h e r e m a i n sconfined only to Amethia n d R a e B a r e l i , "wondered a seniorCongress leader, whopreferred anonymity.

-Agencies

Priyanka Gandhi arrives in brotherRahul's political turf

New Delhi, March 03:In line with the

tradition of naming newwarships of the sametype on decommissionedones , I nd i a ' s f i r s tInd igenous A i rc ra f tCarrier (IAC) being builtat Kochi may be namedafter the legendary INSVikrant which the Navyoperated successfullyduring the 1971 Indo-Pakwar.

"It is a traditionin the Navy to name newwarships of the sametype on decommissionedwarships. The idea is nowarship ever dies. The

new warship continuesthe legacy and is alwaysr e f e r r e d t o a s acont inuat ion of thed e c o m m i s s i o n e dwarship. In accordancewith tradition, the IAC, inall likelihood, will benamed INS Vikrant,"Navy officers said hereon Monday. However,they said, it was toopremature, as the IACbuilding has just begunand it may take a whilebefore a decision on itsn a m e i s t a k e n .

"First a list ofnames are suggestedand then the President of

India, who is the SupremeCommander of the ArmedForces, takes a decisionand approves the name.The decision is likely tocome just before i tscommissioning in 2015,"he said. The IAC is alsobeing designed from thevery beginning as India'sfirst warship that willp r o v i d e s e p a r a t eaccommodation facilitiesfor women naval personnelwho may sail on warshipsonce the governmentdecides to allow them to doso.

Indias indigenous aircraft carriermay be named INS Vikrant

w York , March 03: The- b a s e d o w n e r o f

a h a t m a G a n d h imorabilia, up for auctione this week, has offered"donate" the rareection to India if itees to spend five

rcent of i ts grossmestic product (GDP)

t h e p o o r .James Otis owns

personal belongings ofndhi -- his metal-med glasses, pocketch, a pair of sandals,

a plate and bowl --ch India is undernse pressure to acquirethe grounds they aret of its national heritage.

"... if the (Indian)vernment decides tocate five percent of theP to or announces

me major scheme for ther, who're very near to

the heart of Gandhi orannounces some otherscheme which wouldbenefit them, I will evendonate these items," hesaid.

Otis said that hehas added two moreitems of Gandhiji to thef i v e a l r eady be i ngauctioned. These includehis blood report from thethen Irwin hospital inDelhi and a signedtelegram he sent tostudents participating in a

non- violent struggle atthat time.

I n f a c t , h i sstatement came in thewake of several Indian-A m e r i c a n l e a d e r sincluding hotelier SantS i n g h C h a t w a la n n o u n c i n g t h e i rintention to bid for therare collection and, if

successful, hand it overto the Indian government.

However, it wasnot clear whether Otiswould be able to get outof the contract withauctioneers who getcommission on the saleproceeds, but he claimedthat an arrangementcould be worked out withthem.

N e i t h e r t h eAntiquorum Auctioneers's p o k e s p e r s o n w a s

available for commentnor an email sent elicitany response.

The auctioneershad ear l i e r va luedGandhi's belongings ataround USD 20,000 to3 0 , 0 0 0 b u t t h econtroversy could raisethe price much higher.

-Bureau Report

Govt may get Gandhi's rare assets

Sonepat, March 03:The BJP will

announce on March 9 thenames of its candidates

who will contest theupcoming Lok Sabhaelections from Haryana,President of the party'sstate unit, Atam ParkashM a n c h a n d a , t o l dr e p o r t e r s h e r e o nTuesday.

He said thatalthough the BJP iscontesting the electionsin the state in alliancewith the Indian NationalLok Dal (INLD), the twoparties are yet to reach adecision about sharing of

seats.M a n c h a n d a

said that the sate BJPcore committee which

met here yesterday, hasr e c o m m e n d e d t h enames of its candidatesfor six Lok Sabha seats,n a m e l y , A m b a l a ,Faridabad, Sonepat,Gurgaon, Rohtak andKarnal.

T h e p a r t y ' sCentral ParliamentaryBoard will announce thenames after its meetingin New Delhi on March 9t o d i s c u s s t h erecommendations andf ina l i se the l i s t o f

candidates, he said.T h e

recommended names areR a t t a n L a l K a t a r i a

(Ambala), Ram ChanderBa i nda (Fa r i dabad ) ,Kishan Singh Sangwan(Sonepat), former MPSudha Yadav and SudeshYadav, wife of former UnionMinis ter Hukam DeoNarain Yadav (Gurgaon),Captain Abhmanyu andO.P.Dhakar (Rohtak),former Union Minister ofState for Home Affairs,I.D.Swami, Atam ParkashManchanda and Niti SenBhatia (Karnal).

-Agencies

BJP to announce Haryana LScandidates on March 9

n c h i , M a r c h 0 3 : Unhappy with the

i t e d P r o g r e s s i v eance (UPA) over notting support to form anrnative government instate, the Jharkhand

kti Morcha (JMM) saidesday it will form a thirdnt with smaller parties toht the Lok Sabhactions in Jharkhand.

"We are in favourorming a third front withport of the Left andaller parties of thete," Dulal Bhuiya,onal general secretaryJ M M , t o l d I A N S

esday. "We will try tog the Left parties like

CPI, CPI-M, Forwardc and smaller partieser one platform to form

hird front. The front willht against the NDAat ional Democrat icance) and the UPA."

A s k e d a b o u tning with the UPA,

Bhu i y a s ho t bac k :"Where does the UPA

exist in Jharkhand? TheUPA partners cannotdecide on a minor issue,then how can we be partof UPA?" The JMM isu n h a p p y w i t h t h eCongress and RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD) for notsupporting it to form analternative government inthe state.

"The JMM is thesingle largest party of theUPA with 17 legislators,and the Congress andRJD have nine and sevenrespectively. Despitebeing the single largestparty of UPA we were not

supported to form thegovernment," he said.JMM chief Shibu Sorenquit as chief minister onJan 12 after losing a keyassembly by-election heneeded to win to remainin the post. The JMMp r o j e c t e d t h r e e

legislators as possiblesuccessors, but they

were rejected by theCongress and RJD.Jharkhand is underpresident's rule since Jan1 9 a n d t h e s t a t eassembly has been keptunder suspension.

In the 2004 LokSabha elections, theCongress and JMM hadformed an alliance to fightt he e l ec t i ons . Thea l l i ance swept theelections in the state. TheUPA, including RJD,bagged 13 of the 14 LokSabha seats. The BJPwon one seat.

Political experts

feel that if the JMMsucceeds in forming athird front then it couldgive a tough time to boththe NDA and UPA in thestate. At present the JMMhas four MPs fromJharkhand.

JMM to form separate front tofight polls in Jharkhand


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Times Chennai E-Paperage 4 March 03, 2009World

w York/Washington,

rch 03:T h e C I A

troyed 92 controversialrrogation tapes, the

ama Administration hasrmed a New York courtd t e r m e d t h eelopment "sad".

The informationut destruction of 92rrogation tapes by the

under the previoush Administration wasb m i t t e d b y t h epartment of Justice inponse to a lawsuit filed

the American Civilerties Union (ACLU),

e k i n g r e c o r d s o ftment of prisoners incustody abroad.

" T h e l a r g ember of videotapestroyed confirms thatagency engaged in a

systemic attempt to hideevidence of its illegalinterrogations and to

evade the court's order,"ACLU attorney AmritSingh al leged in astatement.

A m r i t i sdaughter of Indian PrimeMinis ter ManmohanSingh.

"The CIA cannow identify the numberof video tapes that weredestroyed. 92 videotapes were destroyed,"said Acting US AttorneyLev Dassin in a lettersubmitted to the New

York court. The details ofthe videotapes destroyedhave not been releasedyet. These tapes relate tointerrogation done by CIApost-9/11.

Responding to

a question on this issue,White House spokesmanR o b e r t G i b b s t o l d

reporters, "Obviously thedevelopment is not good;it's sad."

-Agencies

CIA destroyed 92 interrogation tapes:Obama Administration

New York , March 03:A f e r o c i o u s

storm packing freezingrain, heavy snow andfur ious w ind gus tsparalyzed most of theEast Coast on Monday,sending dozens of carscareening into ditches,grounding hundreds offlights and closing schoolfor millions of kids.

The devastatingeffects of the storm wereseen up and down thecoast. A crash caused a15-mile traffic jam inNorth Carolina, forcingpolice and the Red Crossto go car-to-car to checkon stranded drivers. Thestorm was blamed for350 crashes in New

Jersey, and a Marylandofficial counted about 50cars in the ditch on onestretch of highway.

By Monday, thestorm had moved northinto New England, andmost areas in the storm'swake expected to see atleast 8 to 12 inches ofsnow. The weathercontributed to four deathso n r o a d s i nMassachusetts, RhodeIsland and on LongIsland.

Diane Lugo, ofYonkers, N.Y., got a ride

with her husband to avoidwalking 10 minutes in theslush to her bus stop."Gett ing out of thedriveway was pure hell,"Lugo said. "He got towork late. I'm obviouslylate."

The South wasespecial ly hard hit,deal ing with recordsnowfalls, thick ice andhundreds of thousands ofpower outages in aregion not accustomed tosuch vicious weather.

I n N o r t h

Carolina, Raleigh gotmore than 3 inches ofsnow; the March snowfallfor the city has exceeded3 inches only 11 times inthe last 122 years. TheWeather Service said

parts of Tennesseereceived the biggestsnowfall since 1968.

The 15-mi letraffic jam in NorthCarol ina caused noserious problems andauthorities were able toget traffic moving again.

Travelers werestranded everywhere,with about 950 flightscanceled at the threemain airports in the NewYork area and nearly 300f l i gh ts cance led inPhiladelphia. Boston'sLogan Internat ionalAirport had to shut downfor about 40 minutes toclear a runway, andhundreds of flights werecanceled there.

Ph i l ade l ph i adeclared a Code Blueweather emergency,which gives officials thea u t h o r i t y t o b r i n ghomeless people intoshelters because theweather poses a threat ofserious harm or death.

D o z e n s o fschools across NorthCarolina, South Carolina,New Hampshire, NewJersey and Maine gavechildren a snow day.Schools in Philadelphia,Boston and New YorkCity did the same. It was

the first time in more thanfive years that New YorkCity called off classes forits 1.1 million publicschool students.

Some New Yorkparents complained thatthe city waited until 5:40a.m. to call off classes,saying they didn't haveenough notice. MayorMichae l B loombergbrushed off the criticismand praised the city'sstorm response, whichincluded dispatching2,000 workers and 1,400

plows to work around theclock to clean New York's6,000 miles of streets.

"It's like plowingfrom here to Los Angelesand back," Bloombergs a i d a t a n e w s

conference, standing infront of an orange snowplow at a garage. CentralPark recorded 7 inches ofsnow, and more than a footwas reported on parts ofLong Island, where highwinds caused 2-foot driftson h i ghw ay s i n t heHamptons.

The storm offereda hint of irony in a couple ofcities. People had to bravethe snow and cold to attendthe annual PhiladelphiaFlower Show, an indoorexhibition that provided af rag ran t , s p r i ng - l i k eglimpse of yellow daffodils,crimson azaleas and whitetulips. In the nation'scap i ta l , hundreds o fprotesters gathered on

Capitol Hill to protest apower plant and globalwarming during one of theworst storms of the year.

In Fairfax, Va., 8-year-old Sarah Confortisaid Monday's day off was just what she'd beenhoping for, and planned to"make a snowman or playin the snow with myfriends," she said.

H e r m o t h e r ,Noelle Conforti, said Sarahand her 10-year-old sistercouldn't be happier aboutthe school-free day. "Thekids are against the

window, just looking out thewindow like a cat," shesaid. "It's hilarious."

Outside a medicalcenter in New Rochelle,N.Y., Emilia Rescignastruggled to push a strollerthrough the snow andslush. Asleep in the strollerwas her 1-year-old sonAdam, who had a 9 a.m.appointment with hispediatrician. The snowbegan to accumulate inNew Hampsh i re andMassachusetts as thestorm moved north, but

most residents there weretaking it in stride "This isNew England, after all,"said Dave Richardson ofSalem, Mass.

-Agencies

Ferocious storm paralyses EastCoast sending several cars into

dtches, grounding flightsshington, March 03A C a l i f o r n i a

ector who plans to sellsessions once ownedMahatma Gandhi says

h a s r e j e c t e d anerous but small" offer

m India and barring a minute agreementu rsd a y ' s p l a n n e dtion would go ahead.

"Indian officials

proached me th isrning with a generous

small offer that Ipectfully declined,"

mes Otis told IANS overphone Tuesday fromAngeles.

Otis,45, a peacevist, refused to spellthe offer saying "it wasncially so small that I

uld not like to repeat it."B u t h e h a s

eed to meet Indianc ia ls a t 10 a .m.d n e s d a y i n t h e

mpany of Lester Kurtz,ofessor at Georgeson University, inrfax, Virginia.

O t i s a n a v i dlec to r o f Gandh i

morabilia has for thet decade been workingh Kurtz, a leadingolar on Gandhi on

ee projects, including ar -h o u r t e l e v i s i o n

c u m e n t a r y t i t l e deacefu l Warr iors-Atory of Non-violence."

But as of now thect ion of Mahatma

Gandhi's Zenith pocketwatch, steel-rimmedspectacles, a pair ofsandals and an eatingbowl and plate would goahead as scheduled inNew York March 5. The

collection has a reservep r i c e o f b e t w e e n$20,000 and $30,000.

The New Yorka u c t i o n h o u s e ,

Antiquorum Auctioneers,with whom Otis hassigned a contract to sellthe items, too said the"auction is going aheadtomorrow (Wednesday)despite an interim stayby Delhi High Court.

Arepresentative of theauction house told IANS,

" W e h a v e b e e ncontacted by the Indianconsulate and we'll bemeeting them." But theperson decl ined tocomment on when themeeting would takeplace or what they wouldtalk about.

T h e I n d i a ne m b a ssy h e re to o

declined to comment onwhat the mission wasdoing to stop MahatmaG a n d h i ' s p e r s o n a lbelongings from goingunder the hammer,which has triggered apublic outcry in India.

Earlier, beforehe was contacted byIndian officials, Otis had

indicated he would behappy to negotiate somekind of solution thatmigh t sa t is fy bo thparties.

" I h a v e acontract with the auction

house to sell theseitems, but as you knowyou can make a dealprior the auction. I wouldb e ve ry h a p p y to

welcome any seriousoffers from the Indiangovernment and it mightnot even have to befinancial," he said.

" T h e r e a r ethings they could offer interms of helping thepeople of India that Iw o u l d m o r e t h a nwelcome, for example

improving health care forthe poorest Indians inexchange for the items."B e s i d e s G a n d h imemorabilia, the March4 and 5 auction willfeature a collection ofover 400 importanttimepieces from acrossthe globe. These includea watch that belonged to

Pres iden t John F .Kennedy and la terAristotle Onassis and aunique Patek Philippewristwatch made forHenry Graves.

-Agencies

US collector declinesIndia's offer for Gandhi items

Lahore, March 03:S r i L a n k a

cricket captain MahelaJayawardene said thatthe players dived to thefloor of the bus to take

cover when the team buscame under heavy firefrom terrorists, on theway to Gaddafi Stadiumfor the Test match hereTuesday.

"The bus cameunder attack as we were

driving to the stadium,the gunmen targeted thewheels of the bus firstand then the bus,"J a y a w a r d e n e w a squoted as saying byCricinfo.

"We all dived tothe floor to take cover.About five players havebeen injured and alsoP a u l F a r b r a c e ( amember of the supportstaff), but most of the

injuries appear to beminor at this stage andcaused by debris," hesaid.

At least six SriL a n k a n c r i c k e t e r s

including Jayawaredene,h i s d e p u t y K u m a rSangakkara, AjanthaM e n d i s , T h i l a nS a m a r a w e e r a a n dTharanga Paranavitanareceived injuries in theattack.

We all dived to the floor to take cover: JayawardeneThe team bus

was shot and grenadeswere also lobbed towards itby armed terrorists on itsway to the Gaddaf iStadium for the third day of

the second and the finalTest match here. Fiveescorting policemen werekilled in the attack that tookplace near the Liberty.

-Agencies


5/8

Times Chennai E-Paperrch 03, 2009 Page 5Business

neva, March 03:Largest Indian

o maker Tata Motors,ch is gearing up for the

mmercial launch of Nanondia this month, will beeiling the European

sion of the small car --ed as cheapest in the

ld -- here on Tuesday.A c c o r d i n g t o

ustry sources, thempany would showcasecar at the Geneva Motorw.

"The version forEuropean market willmore fuel efficient,

er emission compliance

a n d w i l l b etechnologically superior,"they added.

Fur ther , thesources said the car,w h i c h w o u l d b eshowcased here, wouldcomply with Euro-Vemission norms.

However, TataMotors spokespersonwas unavai lable forcomment.

Last year, thea u t o m a k e r h a ddisplayed the luxuryversion of the IndianNano at the GenevaMotor Show.

Following theevent, many car makersacross the world came upwith plans for similar low-cost small cars.

Ta ta Motorswould commerc ia l lylaunch Nano in India onMarch 23.

UK-daily TheTimes has reported thatthere is no confirmedlaunch date for Europeand Nano is likely to havet o u n d e r g o acomprehensive redesignto meet European safetystandards.

-Agencies

Tata to unveil Nano'sEuropean version

N e w D e l h i : ntinuation of the bearishase in the g lobalnomy could pull downa's economic growth

e to a dismal 3 percent in09, said internationalncial services major

rgan Stanley.Morgan Stanley's

earch report releaseday said, dependingo n t h e e x t e n t o fnomic recovery in theeloped world, India'sss Domestic Product

DP) growth rate during9 could range between

3 per cent and 5 percent."Based on bull-

bear case outlook for G7(c lub o f deve lopedcountries), we see bullscenario growth for Indiaat 5 percent in 2009 and7.4 percent in 2010 andbear case at 3 percent in2009 and 4.5 percent in2010", it added.

However, on anaverage, the reportp r o j e c t e d I n d i a ' seconomic growth rate for2009 at 4.3 percent andfor 2010 at 6.1 percent. \ According to

advance estimates ofnational income releasedby the governmentrecently, the economicgrowth rate during 2008-09 i s ex pec ted t omoderate to 7.1 percentfrom 9 per cent in theprevious fiscal.

T h e t h i r dquarter growth (October-December 2008) rate hasbeen estimated at 5.3percent, down from 8.9percent posted during thecorresponding period lastyear.

- Agencies

Bearish phase may pull downndia's GDP to 3%: Morgan Stanley

w Delhi, March 03:The year 2009 is

to be more difficult forIndian economy and

pite the government'smulus packages, ituld take at least a yearore it starts recovering,nomists at Moody's has

d. I don't think themulus is sufficient to start

covery. The most it canis to minimise the

gnitude of a furtherwdown... India will mostly start to recover in therch quarter (2010),"ody's economy.comnomist Sherman Chan

d from Sydney.She added this

r would be more difficultn las t year . "We

bably won't see a solid

ound until early 2010.e US needs to recover. Then global economicvity will begin to pick" Chan added.

T h e I n d i a nnomy grew by 5.3cent in the third quarter

of this fiscal, its lowestrate in over five years,against a whopping 8.9percent a year ago, asa g r i c u l t u r e a n dmanufacturing outputcontracted.

T h i s h a sensued debate between

the government and theeconomists. While thegovernment i s s t i l lconfident of achievingclose to seven percentg row th t h i s f i s c a l ,economists at variousg l o b a l f i n a n c i a linstitutions see a furtherfall in the figures. Whenasked if the 'worst' is overfor the Indian economy,she said it is difficult tosay as the whole year isexpected to be extremelytough.

However, theslight improvement canbe seen in the October-D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9 ,b e c a u s e t h e U Seconomy will slightlyrebound by then, whichshould help to give global

business confidencesome support.

In addition tot h e t w o s t i m u l u spackages, recently, thegovernment announceda Rs 30,000-crore boostto the slowing economyby cutting excise duty

and service tax by twopercent each.T h e

government has alsoextended a four per centreduction in excise duty,provided in the firsts t i m u l u s p a c k a g e ,beyond this fiscal-end. Italso announced cut inexcise duty on bulkcement by two percent.

According toCommerce Min is te rKamal Nath, the worst isover. "I believe the worst

is over," Nath said,adding, the last twomonths of the currentfiscal would be muchbetter in terms of growth.

- Agencies

Indian economy to take a yearto recover: Moody's

New Delhi, March 03:The country's

s e c o n d l a r g e s tca rmaker , Hyunda iMotor India, on Mondayreported a 45.31 percent

j u m p i n d o m e s t i cpassenger car sales at21,215 units during

February as against14,600 units a year ago.

The company'sc u m u l a t i v e s a l e s( inc lud ing expor ts )during February were upby 31.91 per cent at38,254 units comparedto 29,001 units in thesame month a year ago,

Hyundai Motor India Ltd( H M I L ) s a i d i n astatement.

Its exports forthe month rose by 18.32percent at 17,039 units

compared to 14,401units during the samemonth previous year.

H M I L s o l d3 4 , 2 8 5 u n i t s o fhatchbacks Santro,Getz, i10 and i20, 3,900units of Accent andVerna, 66 units ofSonata Transform andthree units of its SUVTucson in February.

"The overa l l

market situation continuesto be challenging and notmuch should be read intothe February growth aslast year in February, theb u d g e t w a s t o b e

a n n o u n c e d a n d asubstantial amount ofsales were deferred till

March," HMIL senior vicepresident (Marketing andSales) Arvind Saxenasaid.

The companyexpected flat sales for theindustry for the quarterending March this year, headded.

- Agencies

Hyundai Feb sales soar 45.31%

New Delhi, March 03:Two-whee le r

maker Bajaj Auto onMonday reported a16.94 per cent fall in itsmotorcycle sales inFebruary at 1,31,785u n i t s a s a g a i n s t1,58,662 units in thesame month last year.

To t a l t w o -wheeler sales during themonth stood at 1,32,393units, a 17 per centdecrease over the samemonth last year, BajajAuto Ltd (BAL) said in astatement.

The companyhad sold 1,59,508 unitsof two-wheelers in theyear-ago period.

BAL's exportsalso plummeted by

19.70 per cent at 50,738units in February from63,182 units a year ago.

The company'stotal vehicle sales stoodat 1,53,782 units lastmonth compared to1,83,807 units in theyear-ago period, downby 16.34 per cent, the

statement said."Lower three-

wheeler sales continueto reflect the subduedstate of the commercialv e h i c l eindustry...exports areexpected to continue tobe slow through thisquarter relative to thefirst three quarters ofFY'09," BAL said.

Y a m a h aMotor's Feb sales zoom

by three-foldT w o - w h e e l e r

maker India YamahaMotor on Monday reportedan almost three-foldincrease in sales duringFebruary at 15,033 unitsas against 5,746 units soldin the same month lastyear.

"We are seeingthe year 2009 as aprogressive year. YZF-R15 and FZ16 haveh e l p e d u s i n t h erevitalisation of Yamahabrand in India and have setsa les ro l l ing , " Ind iaYamaha Motor ChiefE x e c u t i v e O f f i c e rYukimine Tsuji said in astatement.

- Agencies

Bajaj posts 17% fall in motorcycle sales;

Yamaha's sales zoom by three fold in Feb

Mumbai, March 03:The Reserve

Bank on Tuesday said itis closely monitoringdevelopments in theforex market and wouldtake appropriate actionon monetary policy asand when necessary.

"We are closelym o n i t o r i n gdevelopments in themarket. The dollar has

strengthened againstother major currencies.Our policy on the rupeehas not changed," RBID e p u t y G o v e r n o rShyamala Gopinath toldr e p o r t e r s h e r e .

The domesticc u r r e n c y t o d a yweakened to a historiclow of 52.04 per dollar inintra-day before closingat Rs 51.93/94. There isspeculation in the marketthat the apex bank islikely to intervene in theforex market in the daysahead.

Asked aboutfurther easing monetary

policy, Gopinath said theapex bank would takeappropriate action asand when necessary.

Noting that thefinancial crisis had asignificant impact on

advanced economies,G o p i n a t h s a i d t h eReserve Bank did not seeany "systemic risks" in thedomestic market as grossand net NPAs of bankswere under manageablelevels and they aresufficiently capitalised.

" T h e r e i s aresilience in the financialsystem. It is difficult toconclude that NPAs will

rise. We don't see anysystemic risks," Gopinathsaid.

-Agencies

RBI watching rupee movement

closely: Shyamala Gopinath


6/8

Times Chennai E-Paper March 03, 2009age 6 Spo r t s

w Delhi, March 03:T u e s d a y sorist attack on the Srikan cricket team inore, Pakistan has casthadow over the 2011rld Cup to be played in

Indian sub-continent.The International

Cricket Council (ICC), thesports governing body,condemned the attack onthe Sri Lankan team,saying it upset the "widerc r i c k e t f a m i l y . "

I C C c h i e fexecutive Haroon Lorgatfurther said that the

governing body will meetto review the 2011 WC."We will take the

decision on the 2011World Cup in the next 48hrs," he said.

-Agencies

To review 2011 World Cupplans in next 48 hrs: ICC

pier, March 03:A c l i n i c a l

proach to the game byIndian camp after the

0 series loss got themdesired results as the

n in Blue notched up a53 runs victory over

w Zealand in the firstI of the five matches.

It was a day whenrbhajan Turbunatorgh came back in his

stine form and sentmors down the Kiwiting line-up. He claimedee crucial wickets in thes play and ensuredt the tempo for the restthe series was set.

T h e I n d i a na y e r s w o r e b l a c kmbands as a symbol of

r support to the Srinkan team over theorist attack in Lahore.

The only valiant

stand from the hosts endcame from the willow ofMart in Gupt i l l , whocracked a fine fifty beforebeing claimed by a wilyBhajji special at 64.

Even the parttime bowlers Yuvraj

Singh and Yusuf Pathancame true in the hour ofneed and maintained atight line and length tomake sure that therequired run-rate only

piled up fort h eopponents.

T h eIndian ODIc a m p a i g nstarted on asolid note asthe comebackp a c e rP r a v e e n

Kumar rattledthe Kiwi toporder with hisdeliveries.

Danger m a nB r e n d o nM c C u l l u mwas shownthe exit for aduck and hiso p e n i n gpartner Jesse

Ryder too departed at 11runs to become thesecond victim of PraveenK u m a r .

Yusuf Pathanensured that the wicketsdidnt dry up as he gotRoss Taylor just when thebatsman star ted todictate the proceedingsat Napier.

A f i n eperformance by theIndian batsmen saw the

v i s i t o r s p o s t N e wZealand a dauntingtarget of 278 for victory inthe allotted 38 overs.

A fiery knock of66 off just 39 deliveries byleft hander Suresh Rainaput India in the drivers

seat after India had losttwo quick wickets in theform of swashbucklingSehwag (77) and YuvrajSingh (2). Indian captainMS Dhoni played acaptains knock of 84runs from 89 balls tosteer India to a huge totalof 273 from 38 overs.

A couple of hitsto the fence and one overit from Yusuf Pathan (21off 10) also helped thet e a m s c a u s e .

At the start ofthe Indian innings, thehome team was rocked

b y a s t u p e n d o u sperformance from the batof Virender Sehwag whosmashed 77 runs fromjust 56 balls after SachinTendulkar had departeda f t e r s c o r i n g 2 0 .

Yuvraj Singhcould not manage tomake an impact as hewas wrapped up for 2r u n s b y amisunderstanding on thecrease that resulted in arun-out.

T h e m a t c hresumed after a delay inthe proceedings due to adrizzle, as a result ofwhich the match wasreduced to 38 overs aside.

A slight drizzleover the ground resultedin a short delay in theongoing match after aperiod of 4.3 overs.

MS Dhoni hadwon the toss and electedto bat first against NewZealand. The Indiansquad was bolstered bythe entry of SachinTendulkar in the playingeleven.

Ishant Sharmahad to miss the game dueto a shoulder injury. Thespeedster expressedhope that hed be able toregain fitness before thesecond ODI.

-Agencies

Napier ODI: India cruise to53-run win over NZ

Napier, March 03:Indian cricket

captain Mahendra SinghD hon i on Tues dayexpressed shock at theterror attack on SriLankan cricketers and

s a i d t h e I n d i a ngovernment had takenthe right decision ofcancelling a scheduledtour to Pakistan inJanuary-February.

"I am glad I amin New Zealand. I don'thave to worry aboutthese incidents. Now on,cricketers will be on alert.However, there is notmuch a cricketer couldhave done in a situationlike this, espesciallywhen the whole convoy is

attacked," said Dhoni,who heard about theattack on the Sri Lankancricketers when he wasbatting in the first one-day international againstNew Zealand.

"I was right in

the middle and was quiteshocked to hear about it. Ijust heard the Sri Lankancricketers are fine. It issad that sportspersonsare being attacked. Hopethey are all fine."

Dhoni said thatthere are a few placeswere you have to beguarded.

"Of course, theyare a few places whereyou have to be aware ofwhere you are and whatis happening around you.We are quite happy not tobe in this kind of situation.People say sport is nottargetted.

"But you are notimmune to it. Once a guydecides we have to

attack the cricketers, weare not tough targets.Cricketers roam aboutfreely while on tours. Soyou have to be aware,"Dhoni said.

On being askedwhat if India had toured

Pakistan as per schedule?Dhoni said "That's a thingof the past. W ewere supposed to tour NewZealand. I am happy that

we didn't tour Pakistan. I

a m h a p p y t h a t t h egovernment didnt allow usto tour Pakistan. It mayhave happened to us or itmay not have happened tous. But overall I am happyto be here," said Dhoni.

-Agencies

Dhoni happy to haveescaped Pakistan tour


7/8

Times Chennai E-Paperarch 03, 2009 Page 7


8/8

Times Chennai E-Paper March 03, 2009age 8

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