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Putin merges rival MOSCOW, Nov 5: In a bid to consolidate his hold on Russia’s most lucrative business, President Vladimir Putin has fired the heads of Russia’s two rival arms exporting agencies .......more Former Pak skipper denies DUBAI, Nov 5: Former Pakistani skipper Asif Iqbal has vehemently denied his involvement in.....more In the footsteps of TEMBE ELEPHANT RESERVE AND LAKE ST LUCIA (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 5: After an absence of almost a century, the majestic...more Indo-EU talks to take PARIS, Nov 5: India and the European Union (EU) will hold high-level talks on trade disputes here....more |
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Russia, India to develop MOSCOW, Nov 5: India and Russia have agreed to jointly develop a new generation 100-seater.....more
Former Fiji PM SUVA, Nov 5: Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka today said he had been banned from entering....more Pirate attacks SINGAPORE, Nov 5: Pirate attacks on Singapore vessels more than doubled during the first nine.....more Families of crash TAIPEI, Nov 5: Bereaved families of the 25 Taiwanese killed in...more |
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Putin merges rival arms agencies under one roof MOSCOW, Nov 5: In a bid to consolidate his hold on Russia’s most lucrative business, President Vladimir Putin has fired the heads of Russia’s two rival arms exporting agencies and merged them under a new director. In separate Presidential decrees released yesterday, head of Rosvoorouzhenie Alexei Ogaryov and Director General of Promexport Sergei Chemezov were dismissed and moved to other jobs. The newly created State Unitary Enterprise Rosoboronexport (Russian Defence Export), is to be headed by Andrei Belyaninov, previously Chemezov’s Deputy. The merger of the two agencies will have no negative impact on defence cooperation with India as it will fulfil the obligations undertaken by them, a Kremlin source said. After a meeting with Putin on Friday on the issue, Ogaryov, who is said to be close to former President Boris Yeltsin’s younger daughter Tatyana Dyachenko, had opposed the merger, saying a big monopoly would prove unwieldy. He told reporters that Rosvoorouzhenie’s exports this year would amount to 2.95 billion dollars of a total four-billion dollar exports. He said the portfolio of the company’s foreign orders exceeded 10 billion dollars which was likely to increase with new contracts, citing in particular India. Promexport has dealt primarily with smaller contracts from Defence Ministry surplus, but had snatched a prestigious order for the supply of helicopters to India from Rosvoorouzhenie by offering a cheaper price. Both Ogaryov and Chemezov had accompanied Putin on his India visit last month. (PTI) |
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Former Pak skipper denies involvement in match-fixing DUBAI, Nov 5: Former Pakistani skipper Asif Iqbal has vehemently denied his involvement in match-fixing or betting even as he admitted that he knew Mumbai-based bookie Anil Steel, with whom, the CBI says, he had close links. Reacting to the CBI report on match-fixing and betting in which his name also figures, Asif, the coordinator of the Cricketers/ Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) at Sharjah told Khaleej Times from his London residence that "yes, I know Anil and I was friendly with him but it does not mean that I am involved in any kind of match-fixing or anything". He said "this is true that Anil used to ask me my opinion on a particular match or things related to cricket and I used to give him my opinions but there was nothing like match-fixing involved in our discussions". Asif went on to say "see, I am a retired cricketer and commentator. Nothing can stop me from expressing my opinions on a cricket match. I am not a serving player and I cannot influence the game in any respect". The 162-page report, released recently by the premier Indian investigative agency, has sent shock waves in the cricket world by naming five Indian and seven foreign players for their involvement in match-fixing. A chapter on foreign players in the report said Mumbai-based bookie Anil Steel claimed to have close links with Asif. "Anil Steel, the bookie from Mumbai has stated that he is on very friendly terms with Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistani captain. He has also stated that he has sought `information’ from Asif Iqbal about international matches and has also given him `gifts’ or jewellery items etc". The report said "Anil Steel has disclosed that he introduced MK (alleged bookmaker Mukesh Gupta, the central character in the CBI report), to Asif Iqbal during the World Cup inaugural ceremony at Calcutta in 1996. MK has stated that Asif Iqbal had introduced him to Jayasuriya at Sharjah, sometime in 1996". Asif said "I don’t think the CBI report is going to harm cricket in any way. I think it will benefit the game once and for all and will help in bringing back the fast-fading integrity of the sport". He said "there are some retired players who work as consultant to legal bookmakers in England. I don’t think there is any law to stop it". The former Pakistani skipper also refused to subscribe to the view that the CBI report would restrict the off-shore cricket around the world. "If you look into the report, the majority of the matches suspected to be fixed were played in regular test-playing countries and there is no mention of Sharjah in this report". Asked what the CBFS would do if any of its future beneficiaries was implicated in the match-fixing scandal, he said "it is up to the respective boards to find out the whole truth behind the allegations. As far as the CBFS is concerned, we have nothing to do with the list of beneficiaries as the players are nominated by the boards in consultation with the CBFS". He concluded "let me take this opportunity to say that the CBI has done a great job in preparing this report and now it is up to respective boards to rise to the occasion and take some solid steps". (UNI) |
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In the footsteps of tembe elephants TEMBE ELEPHANT RESERVE AND LAKE ST LUCIA (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 5: After an absence of almost a century, the majestic shores of St Lucia, Africa’s largest salt water lake, will again be graced with the presence of elephants. In March, 24 elephants from South Africa’s famed tembe reserve on the Mozambican border will be moved south to the eastern shores of St Lucia, the heart of a wetland park that has been declared a world heritage site. The relocation is part of a much larger project — the lubombo spatial development initiative — which is aimed at upgrading infrastructure and promoting ecotourism and other economic activities in South Africa’s poor northeastern corner and in neighbouring Swaziland and Mozambique. In the longer term, the greater St Lucia wetland park will be turned into a "big five" game reserve — boasting elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard. Conservationists also hope the relocation will be the first step toward re-establishing some of the ancient coastal migration routes used by tembe’s unique elephants. "We may be able to link Kosi Bay (on the Mozambican border) with St Lucia, sort of like an elephant corridor," Khulani Mkhize, Assistant CEO of Kwazulu-Natal Conservation Services, told Reuters. Others hope the elephants may once again move freely from Maputo Elephant Reserve on the Mozambique coast all the way to St Lucia —but that is a distant dream. Tembe’s elephants have had a rough time. Southern Africa’s coastal elephants once ranged all the way from mozambique to the cape peninsula. Human encroachment and hunting severed their old coastal routes. The only surviving remnants of this population are now confined to maputo elephant reserve, tembe, addo elephant national park in South Africa’s eastern Cape province and the Knysna forests. When the tembe reserve was proclaimed in 1983, its northern border with Mozambique was open to allow the elephants to follow the last section of their traditional migration paths. But Mozambique’s civil war was raging at the time and turned the elephants into targets, forcing the reserve to fence the northern boundary and close the elephants’ route. Many of the reserve’s elephants bear the scars of bullets and snares. Because of their diet, the elephants of tembe have exceptionally large tusks, which made them a magnet for poachers. One huge old bull who ambled into view in front of a game hide on a shimmering spring morning recently had massive tusks over two metres (6 feet 6 inches) long. The hide was raised several metres off the ground, as it is best to watch these elephants from a safe vantage point. "The elephants here can be very, very nervous around people," said Sipho Sibiya, a Jovial Park Ranger who was born in the reserve and spent his childhood living around the elephants — before the fences were raised. Austrian researcher Alois Haberhauer, who has studied the genetic make-up of the tembe elephants at the University of Kriel, believes they are a unique subspecies of pachyderm — though the scientific jury is still out on this. They also tend to browse more than other elephants and are less destructive to their habitat — making them ideal candidates for relocation. Conservationists say it is best to move the tembe elephants to st lucia — and not, say, excess elephants from Kruger National Park —on genetic grounds alone, as they are the descendants of the area’s original population. "To stock the St Lucia area with kruger elephants would be in violation of the principle of conserving gene pools where ever possible," says Dr Anthony Hall-Martin, a noted elephant expert. Perhaps an equally compelling reason is the romantic notion of seeing the tembe elephants following in the footsteps of their ancestors. "Elephants once crossed this lake, and I would love to see them do so again," Paul Dutton, a former ranger in St Lucia who also worked for many years in Mozambique, said as he surveyed the lake from a remote shore. And if some of their old coastal routes were re-established, would they remember them? There is hope on this point, as they say that "elephants never forget." (REUTERS) |
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Indo-EU talks to take up trade disputes PARIS, Nov 5: India and the European Union (EU) will hold high-level talks on trade disputes here tomorrow in which New Delhi is expected to forcefully argue against imposition of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy restrictions against the country’s exports by the 15-member body. Despite the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accord, EU countries still have protectionist tendencies, which have all along impeded enhanced bilateral trade ties, diplomatic sources told PTI. The Indian delegation for the one-day meeting, led by Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh, includes Indian Ambassador to France Kanwal Sibal and Envoy to Belgium and the European Commission (EC) P K Singh. Discussions will also focus on strengthening institutional relationships between India and the EU, the sources added. The French capital was chosen as the venue for the meeting as France currently holds the EU presidency. Officials from the host country and the EC, the executive body of the EU, would also take part in the discussions. Tomorrow’s meeting is a follow-up of the first-ever summit between India and the EU held in Lisbon last July during which the two sides agreed to focus on improving economic partnership. This would come in for review in the scheduled talks. On the political front, both parties would exchange views on developments in their respective regions. India would brief the EU on its relationship with its neighbours, China, situation in Afghanistan and international terrorism while the other side will discuss EU expansion, developments in balkans and in other member countries. In the earlier meetings, the EU had raised the issue of India’s accession to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty while stressing the importance of international co-operation to combat international terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking. Though India and the EU maintain good bilateral relations it did not transform into healthy commercial ties. In the past few years, the eu has dragged India to the WTO with its anti-dumping measures. The disputes included anti-dumping duties on Indian textiles and automobile imports. In a recent verdict, the dispute settlement body of the WTO ruled that EU’s anti-dumping measures on imports of cotton-type bed linen from India violated free trade rules. The DSB said that EU failed to explore possibilities of constructive remedies before slapping anti-dumping duties on the Indian products. New Delhi has voiced concern on several occasions at various high level meetings that EU’s imposition of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions on a variety of Indian imports adversely affected Indo-EU trade. But the EU is yet to respond in a positive manner. (PTI) |
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Russia, India to develop 100-seater passenger plane MOSCOW, Nov 5: India and Russia have agreed to jointly develop a new generation 100-seater passenger aircraft and expand their cooperation in the field of civil aviation. The decision was taken at the first session of a Indo-Russian working group on civil aviation in Moscow held from November one to three. The two sides have also agreed to explore the possibility of cooperation between Indian and Russian enterprises on production of aircraft parts and units. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russian Ilyushin Aircraft Corporation will also continue discussions on the joint design and production of new generation 100-seater ‘IL-214’ passenger plane in India. New Delhi has also shown keen interest in co-development, co-production, maintenance and support of Russian origin civilian commuter and cargo aircraft in India, including the modernisation of soviet built helicopters under service in the country. The session was co-chaired by A H Jung, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Deputy Director General of Russian Space and Aviation Agency Y A Bardin. Russia has also shown interest in marketing its various civilian aircraft in India, including Ilyushin IL-96, IL-114, Tupolev TU-204 and Antonov AN-38. Indian Civil Aviation Ministry has agreed to provide assistance in the presentation of Russian civil aviation industry in New Delhi prior to its participation in ‘Aeroindia-2001’ air show near Bangalore in February next. In a major step towards closer Indo-Russian cooperation in civilian aviation, Jung and chairperson of Moscow-based CIS Interstate Aviation Committee Tatyana Anodina have initiated an agreement on promotion of aviation safety. This would, if approved by the Governments of the two countries, provide for mutual recognition of air-worthiness certificates issued by the national civil aviation authorities. The working group on civil aviation was set up in January this year by the decision of Indo-Russian inter-Governmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation. With the opening of its aircraft industry for foreign participation, Russia today is able to supply new generation aircraft with western avionics and engines, but due to cash-crunch is unable to market them at home. (PTI) |
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Former Fiji PM Rabuka denies any part in mutiny SUVA, Nov 5: Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka today said he had been banned from entering military facilities after being accused by Fiji’s fractured military of involvement in a failed Army mutiny. A nightly curfew was lifted at 1800 gmt) and searches continued for the remnants of a group of 20 rebels who escaped after Thursday’s mutiny. Rabuka, leader of a coup in 1987 and former head of the south pacific nation’s armed forces, acted as a negotiator with rebel special forces soldiers during bloody gunbattles at Fiji’s military headquarters which left eight soldiers dead. "I deny any involvement in the planning of the attempted takeover," Rabuka told Reuters. "I am aware that I am not allowed into military premises, and this could mean that I am a suspect," he said. The military put down the mutiny by the elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) unit, members of which had backed a May coup which toppled the Government of Mahendra Chaudhry. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Canberra had received details on the deaths of eight people during the mutiny. Three regular soldiers loyal to military commander Frank Bainimarama and five CRW rebels died. "Apparently three of them were regular members of the Fiji military force who were shot in fairly cold blood by the mutineers," Downer told channel ten television. "Five of the mutineers were killed in a fairly brutal way in retaliation for that shooting." Fiji Human Rights Commissioner Justice Sailosi Kepa said in a statement on Sunday he would investigate how the rebels died. More than 20 people were wounded in the gun battles, including several civilians hit by stray bullets. (REUTERS) |
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Pirate attacks on Singapore ships soar SINGAPORE, Nov 5: Pirate attacks on Singapore vessels more than doubled during the first nine months of this year in the worst escalation of piracy in almost a decade, news reports said today. Thirty-one Singapore ships fell victim from January to September, compared with 15 during the corresponding period of 1999, the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre said. The centre also detected a "sudden rise" in piracy and armed attacks in Indonesia and the straits of Malacca. "We have not seen figures like this since 1991," Noel Choong, manager of the centre in Kuala Lumpur, told the Sunday Times. "We have asked the relevant authorities to step up patrols." The Bureau also warned of pirate attacks being reported off Indonesia’s resort island of Bintan near Singapore. From January to September, there were 122 attacks in the straits of Singapore, the straits of Malacca and off Indonesian islands. "Strict anti-piracy watches should be maintained when transiting these areas," the Bureau said. It noted that Indonesia remained the most piracy-prone country in the world. Pirates have become bolder and more violent, Chong added. For example, the captain of a container vessel that departed from Singapore August 29 was slashed on his hand while pirates made off with more than 20,000 dollars in cash and valuables. The master of a Taiwanese fishing ship was killed earlier that month 224 km northeast of Singapore when gunmen dressed in military uniforms fired at the vessel. The boat the pirates were using was disguised as an Indonesian naval ship. (AFP) |
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Families of crash victims demand
apology, TAIPEI, Nov 5: Bereaved families of the 25 Taiwanese killed in Tuesday’s air crash today demanded an apology from the pilots and a local record amount of compensation from Singapore Airlines as an investigation into the tragedy continued. Lin also demanded a full explanation from the air carrier so that those people killed in the crash would be aware in the heaven how they died. Eighty-one people were killed when SIA Flight SQ006 with 179 people on board crashed while taking off from Chiang Kai Shek Airport during a typhoon. Reports here today said some families of the 25 Taiwanese killed have turned down a compensation offer of 400,000 US dollars for each victim by SIA. The unforgivable error made by the SIA pilots pushed the group to seek higher compensation, it said. An SIA official here said the company had informed the families of the dead, who are due to receive the notification in two weeks. We have not had an initial response to our offer, she told AFP. Sia would also pay medical expenses for those who were injured and discuss a compensation payout with them at a later date. (AFP) |
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