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Bharti,
Singtel to invest $ SINGAPORE, Oct 24: Bharti Enterprises and Singapore Telecommunications will invest dlrs 650 million to build an undersea cable network linking Singapore to Mumbai......more Hindus popularise SYDNEY, Oct 24: About 15,000 people lit candles to the tune of ‘Jyot Se Jyot Jalate Chalo’ as part of the ...more Bollywood craze hits ALGIERS, Oct 24: Algerians may not be much aware of the economic and scientific....more |
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Lesbians not immune to sexually transmitted infections: Researcher LONDON, Oct 24: Lesbians are just as likely as heterosexual women to get sexually transmitted diseases such as hepatitis and genital herpes,....more China planning nuke blasts for giant hydro project WASHINGTON, Oct 23: China is drawing up plans to use nuclear explosions to blast a 15 km tunnel .......more COLOMBO, Oct 24: Sri Lankan authorities today began probing security lapses that led...more |
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Bharti, Singtel to invest $ 650 mln in undersea cable SINGAPORE, Oct 24: Bharti Enterprises and Singapore Telecommunications will invest dlrs 650 million to build an undersea cable network linking Singapore to Mumbai and Chennai, the companies said today. Each party will own a 50 per cent share of the venture, which will build and operate a cable network 11,800 km long between the island-state and the two Indian cities. It will be India’s first undersea fiber-optic cable. It also will be the world’s largest cable network in terms of capacity, able to carry more than 100 million conversations simultaneously. The investment is Singtel’s second in the potentially lucrative Indian market. In August, Singtel said it would pay dlrs 400 million for stakes in two units of Bharti Enterprises, India’s largest privately-owned telecommunications company. Singtel owns 20 per cent of Bharti Telecom and 30 per cent of Bharti Televentures, which hold the group’s telecommunications assets. The India-Singapore cable will give Bharti access to Singtel’s planned 17,000-km C2C cable network linking Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore. The C2C cable is expected to begin carrying traffic in late 2001. (AP) |
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Hindus popularise Diwali in Australia SYDNEY, Oct 24: About 15,000 people lit candles to the tune of ‘Jyot Se Jyot Jalate Chalo’ as part of the Diwali celebrations held at the fairfield showgrounds here. Organised by the Hindu Council of Australia, a Diwali fair the second consecutive year as the event found place in the annual calendar of Sydney’s fetivals and fairs. "This is a significant event for us. There is no substitute for the rich display of indian culture. It is a tribute to Australia, a country where one has the capacity to choose one’s religion and the freedom of worship," Federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Phillip Ruddock said on the occasion. "We can share and learn from each other. From our indigenous settlers to new arrivals, we have a tolerant and harmonious society welcoming all faiths," he said, adding "the Diwali mela follows many such celebrations held during the last few weeks providing an opportunity to see and participate in the diversity of cultures here." The Hindu Council of Australia with its chapters in every state has been promoting and pursuing the legitimate religious, social and educational needs of Hindus here. "Our thrust is to popularise diwali as the main festival of the Hindu community. It is not just an occasion for the people from the sub-continent, but Hindu migrants from South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Fiji, and Singapore also participate in the fair," a Balasubramaniam, chairperson of the council said. (PTI) |
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Bollywood craze hits Algerians as Indian film week opens ALGIERS, Oct 24: Algerians may not be much aware of the economic and scientific strides made by India, but surely they know the bollywood and stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit and the list is endless. As Hindi films are quite a passion in this mediterranean port city, Arabic and French speaking youngsters have picked up the language just by watching them. "My desire is to visit India and meet the cinestars. I have been watching Indian films right from my childhood and I can speak Hindi now," a 31-year-old smalltime businessman Boutaleb Athmane Ahmed said. He even sang Kishore Kumar’s number "Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka" from the film "Abhimaan". And so was Redduane Quaet, 30, echoing a similar feeling and maintained that this hero was Rajesh Khanna. All this came to the fore when External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh opened Indian film week last night at the packed Palais De Culture here with the screening of "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge". Sensing the enthusiasm in the crowd, Singh made a short speech and hoped that such programmes would go a long way in strengthening ties between the two countries. Singh is on a three-day visit to this country. (PTI) |
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Lesbians not immune to
sexually transmitted LONDON, Oct 24: Lesbians are just as likely as heterosexual women to get sexually transmitted diseases such as hepatitis and genital herpes, Australian researchers said today. Women who have sex with other women were thought to have a small chance of acquiring Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) but a study by scientists from the sexual health unit in alice springs showed their risk is just as high as other women. "We demonstrated a higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (vaginal disease), Hepatitis C and HIV risk behaviours in women who have sex with other women compared with controls," Dr Katherine Fethers said in a report in the journal sexually transmitted infections. The researchers compared the medical histories and sexual behaviour of 1,408 lesbians and 1,423 heterosexual women who attended a sexual health clinic in Sydney between March 1991 and December 1998. "All women with a history of sex with a woman were compared with women who denied ever having sex with another woman," Fethers explained. She and her colleagues said only seven percent of the women who had female sex partners said they had never had sex with a man. But they were more likely to have had a relationship with a gay or bisexual man and to have had more partners than the other women during their lifetime. "These data argue strongly for increased measures to improve our understanding of the sexual health of women who have sex with women," Fethers added. She also called for more basic research into STIs, including the HIV virus that causes aids, and targeted intervention strategies for women with female sex partners. (REUTERS) |
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China planning nuke blasts for giant hydro project WASHINGTON, Oct 23: China is drawing up plans to use nuclear explosions to blast a 15 km tunnel through the Himalayas for the world’s biggest hydro-electric plant, which may affect the ganges among other rivers, media report said. The project, which also involves diverting Tibetan water to arid regions, is due to begin as soon as construction of the three gorges dam is completed in 2009, a report on "electronic telegraph" published on the internet said. The report said that use of nuclear explosives will violate the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and China will also have to overcome fierce opposition from neighbouring countries who fear that the scheme could endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of their people. In addition to the Brahmaputra river, development plans on the Tibetan plateau are set to affect the flow of water out of China into the Mekong, Irrawaddy, Ganges and Indus Rivers, it said. Critics say that those living downstream would be at the mercy of Chinese dam officials who would be able to flood them or withhold their water supply. The new focus on the South and West as a source of energy, the report said, has infuriated China’s neighbours. Dam projects under way or proposed have prompted protests from countries as far apart as Kazakhstan and Vietnam. (PTI) |
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COLOMBO, Oct 24: Sri Lankan authorities today began probing security lapses that led to a major suicide bombing of a strategic naval base, as divers recovered the bodies of two airmen shot down by Tamil Tiger rebels. Naval authorities launched the investigation into yesterday’s bombing against the Trincomalee naval facility, which was considered to be one of the most tightly-guarded military bases, to identify where the security lapses occurred, officials said. "There would be an investigation not only at the navy’s own initiative, but by the Defence Ministry too," a military source in Colombo said. Meanwhile, chief military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said navy divers today found the bodies of two airmen whose helicopter was shot down by Tamil Tiger rebels during the attack on the Trincomalee base. The remains were pulled out of the Koddiyar bay in Trincomalee where heavy fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and navy troops yesterday left at least 17 people dead on both sides and many more wounded. "The divers are confident of recovering the other two bodies as well as salvaging the helicopter," Karunaratne said. Military officials said parts of the Mi-24 helicopter that was shot down by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) yesterday had been found by divers. The Tamil Tigers said they deployed six "black tiger" suicide bombers for the operation. (AFP) |
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