Month: March 2010

5 Gujarat firms’ IPOs in the offing; to raise over Rs4,000 crore

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Ahmedabad, March 26: The year 2010 could well be the year of public issues. As many as 17 IPOs have been listed on India’s two premier stock exchanges, the BSE and NSE, in less than three months, equalling the total number of IPOs registered in 2009.

In the fray are five Gujarat-based companies, C Mahendra Exports, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Chiripal Industries, Aster Silicates and the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC).

Gates expresses “concern” over Iranian drones

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Washington, March 26: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern Thursday over Iran’s aerial drone program, saying the weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.

“Countries like Iran are developing their own UAVs and already have a UAV capability,” Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee, using the acronym the military uses for drones — Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

“That is a concern, because it is one of these areas where — if they chose to, in Iraq, in Afghanistan — they could create difficulties for us.”

A major fire broke

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Kolkata, March 26: A major fire broke out early on Friday in one of the largest ammunition depots of Indian Army at Panagarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal, gutting a store house containing a large number of small arms and ammunition.

“The fire broke out in shed number 16 (store house) of the depot at 1.30 am. Within five minutes, the entire fire fighting machinery of the Army was activated to battle the blaze,” Wing Commander M. Upasani of Eastern Command told.

Chaotic Philippine election season in full swing

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Manila, March 26: The Philippine election season kicked into top gear on Friday as thousands of candidates hit the campaign hustings amid assassination fears, coup rumours and other claims of political skullduggery.

In one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies, the polls on May 10 also offered hope for change following nine years of rule under President Gloria Arroyo that have been marred by allegations of corruption and vote cheating.

Egypt’s security use force to disperse activists

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Cairo, March 26: Egyptian state security prevented activists from holding a symbolic “trial” of Egypt’s ruling party on Thursday, using force to disperse those who tried to resist, activists said.

Security men in civilian clothes beat some of the activists who gathered to hold the event at a lawyers’ club south of Cairo.

The symbolic trial of Egypt’s National Democratic Party (NDP) was aimed at highlighting state oppression before a parliamentary election later this year, the activists said.

Major fire in Army ammunition depot in West Bengal

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Kolkata, March 26: A major fire broke out early today in one of the largest ammunition depots of Indian Army at Panagarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal, gutting a store house containing a large number of small arms and ammunition.

“The fire broke out in shed number 16 (store house) of the depot at 1.30am. Within five minutes, the entire fire fighting machinery of the Army was activated to battle the blaze,” Wing Commander M Upasani of Eastern Command told PTI.

The fire was brought under control at around 3.30am but the shed was totally destroyed, he said. There was no loss of

SK Chemical sells unit to US firm for $29 mln

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Seoul, March 26: SK Chemicals Co., a South Korean pharmaceutical and chemical products manufacturer, has sold an affiliate to a US firm for US$29 million as part of efforts to focus on its bio and medicine business, Yonhap News reported on Thursday quoting an industrial source.

SK Chemicals, an affiliate of SK Group, decided to sell its 90 percent stake in SK Utis Co. to U.S.-based Rogers Corp., with the remaining 10 percent stake to be sold two years later, the agency said.

Sharjah Museums to mark ‘Earth Hour’ on March 27

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Sharjah, March 26: As part of its ‘Because We Care’ initiative and ‘Earth Week’ activities, Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) is supporting ‘Earth Hour’ day on March 27 by switching off the lights of its 16 museums and by organizing a number of programmes at the different museums.

This initiative is part of SMD’s commitment to join hands with global efforts in raising awareness on the need to take individual actions for protecting the environment.

Sensex up 80 points on Asian cues

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Mumbai, March 26: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 80 points in the opening trade today on continued capital inflows by foreign funds, which took cues from firming Asian bourses.

The 30-share index gained 80.10 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 17,640.25 points in the opening trade.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 19.40 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 5,279.80 points.

Brokers said better trend on other Asian bourses and beginning of new settlement in the derivatives segment, mainly buoyed trading sentiments here.

Lt. Gen. Khalfan Lauds Judicial Institute’s Role in Strategic Plan

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Dubai, March 26: Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan, Dubai Police Commander and Head of the Security and Justice Committee praised the Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI) during a programme at the establishment.

The programme aims to provide DJI’s legal trainees with necessary expertise to communicate and introduce the important role of the Institute to leaders and prominent personalities, while strengthening their communication lines with public departments and developing other capabilities, skills and knowledge of trainees.

Tendulkar should play world T20

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New Delhi, March 26: Former India captain Kapil Dev has expressed surprise over Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to not play in the World T20 Championships, to be held in the West Indies from April 30.

“It is very surprising that he (Tendulkar) is fit enough to play the 43-day long Indian Premier League but cannot represent the country in the T20 World Cup,” Kapil said on the sidelines of the India Sports Summit here on Thursday.

Tendulkar had opted out of T20 internationals in 2007, and on Tuesday insisted he wasn’t playing this time around either.

Venezuela TV boss briefly held for Chavez criticism

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New York, March 26: Police briefly detained the head of Venezuela’s main pro-opposition TV station at an airport on Thursday for his criticism of President Hugo Chavez’s government during an international media forum.

The move against Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision network, followed the arrest of an opposition politician earlier this week and is likely to fuel accusations that the Chavez government is increasingly stifling dissent.

US, Russia close to finalising nuclear arms

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Moscow, March 26: US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev are close to finalising the most comprehensive nuclear arms control treaty in nearly two decades, according to US and Russian officials.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that the two leaders were expected to ‘wrap up’ the new treaty during a telephone call that would take place in the coming days.

Municipality to Insist on Clean Water Tanks

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Dubai, March 26: Dubai Municipality will act tough with building managements and companies if the water tanks on top of buildings are found to be polluted and 
not well-maintained.

The civic body has issued a list of new guidelines and tips and has ordered building managements to periodically clean and disinfect water tanks and coolers by approved companies.

This is being done as part of a clean drinking water awareness campaign launched on World Water Day which had the theme “Clean Water for a Healthy World.”

US . targets Iraqi with ties to al Qaeda network

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Washington, March 26: The U.S. Treasury on Thursday levied sanctions against an Iraqi with ties to an al Qaeda-linked support network that Washington says is operating in Iraq.

The move bans Americans from dealing with Muthanna Harith al-Dari and seeks a freeze on any assets he has under U.S. jurisdiction, the department said. It added that the sanctions were carried out under a U.S. executive order that targets terrorists and those providing support to them.

Thailand steps up security after mystery blasts

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Bangkok, March 26: Authorities in Thailand stepped up security Thursday after a series of small bomb blasts raised tensions in the capital as anti-government protests continued for a twelfth day.

The ‘Red Shirt’ protest movement, which wants Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve Parliament and call new elections, staged its latest attention-getting action, having hundreds of supporters shave their heads.

Maharashtra ATS Chief Replaced for Revealing Sensitive Information

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Mumbai, March 26: The chief of the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) was abruptly shunted out of his post on Thursday, days after he revealed sensitive information to the media about a terrorist plot.

K.P. Raghuvanshi, the ATS chief, disclosed several details about a plot that was being hatched by Abdul Latif and Riyaz Ali, two residents of Mumbai, who were arrested a few days ago. They were allegedly targetting the Mangaldas market, a shopping mall and the ONGC office in Bandra.

Big B becomes political football

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Mumbai, March 26: The one-upmanship between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has landed actor Amitabh Bachchan in an unsavoury political controversy.

The Congress is viewing the invite to the actor to the inauguration of the north carriageway of the Bandra-Worli sea link as a ploy of the NCP to embarrass chief minister Ashok Chavan, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday sought to score a few brownie points by snubbing the Congress.

Superman author’s new book based on Mahabharata

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Washington, March 26: A new illustrated script book based on the Indian epic Mahabharata by Grant Morrison, the writer of comics like “All Star Superman”, “Batman & Robin” and the “Invisibles” is set to hit the US market in August.

‘Grant Morrison’s 18 Days’ is a re-imagining of the great Indian epic, Mahabharata and tells the story of three generations of super-warriors, meeting for the final battle of their age, Dynamite Entertainment and Liquid Comics said announcing a publishing partnership to release the book.

Three Held for Killing Amity Varsity Student

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Noida, March 26: Three people were arrested on Thursday for killing a 20-year-old Amity University student after abducting him from this satellite town on March 20 and disposing of his body in Aligarh, police said.

Rohit Singh, son of a government contractor, was in second year doing a B.Tech course. He belonged to Aligarh.

Presenting the accused in front of the media here, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashok Kumar said the trio kidnapped Rohit from Sector 46, Noida on March 20.

New emigration law

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Chandigarh, March 26: The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is drafting a new emigration legislation to safeguard the interests of Indians settled abroad, union Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V.Narayanasamy said.

Promising to pursue a pro-active policy to transform the emigration system and empower emigrants through systematic interventions of the MOIA, he said the government is doing its best to protect the Indian emigrants from unscrupulous elements.

Amitabh is nation’s pride: BJP

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New Delhi, March 26: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan was the “nation’s pride” and had every right to be the chief guest at the inauguration of a sea-link in Mumbai.

The BJP’s support for the actor, who is brand ambassador for the party-ruled Gujarat, follows a controversy over Bachchan’s being chief guest at the inauguration of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link extension Wednesday.

Pakistan satisfied with U.S. nuclear talks

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Washington, March 26: Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Thursday his team had “very satisfactory” talks with Washington on civilian nuclear cooperation but a senior U.S. official played down prospects of a deal.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is pressing for a nuclear cooperation arrangement similar to one its key rival India has with the United States but Washington has been reluctant to enter into any formal talks on the issue.

Pentagon makes it harder to expel gays in military

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Washington, March 26: The Pentagon issued new rules on Thursday to make it harder for the U.S. military to discharge gay personnel, an interim step to ease enforcement of the existing “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy while Congress considers repealing it.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the directives were the result of a 45-day review of what the Pentagon can do in the short term within the confines of existing law to allow implementation in a “fair and more appropriate manner.”

Eight killed in road mishap in Orissa

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Bhubaneswar, March 26: Eight people, including two children, were killed Friday in a road accident in Orissa’s Dhenkanal district, police said.

The mishap took place when a trekker carrying some passengers of Khajuria village in Dhenkanal district had a head on collision with a speeding truck near Baldiabandh on National Highway 42 early Friday. The villagers were returning home after watching the Opera near Khuntuni.

‘The driver may have dosed off early in the morning leading to the accident,’ a police officer said.