Hindustan Times: November 2008

The age of suicide fighters

The clean-shaven, lithe young men ravaging Mumbai are suicide fighters — planned, armed and committed for long battles — not the shadowy hit-and-run suicide bombers with which India is so familiar.

The detonation of a taxi on Wednesday seemed a diversion: the real teeth of the attack lay in small teams of highly trained commando-like fighters capturing buildings, taking hostages and preparing for a siege.

The Mumbai terror strikes fit neatly into the paradigm of jihad international. For the first time, the targets are no longer random markets or innocent Indians, but westerners.

Mumbai 26/11, said an Indian intelligence official, was executed by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyeba. Luxury hotels where westerners stay have become a popular target — assuring deeper fear and global publicity.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: fighters capturing buildings, global publicity, Mumbai 26/11, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, suicide bombers, suicide fighters, trained commando

67 Pakistanis in Tihar who don’t want to return home

A group of 67 Pakistani nationals, including 12 children, lodged at Tihar jail for the past 19 months are in no mood to return home.

Last week, the inmates, who belong to the Ahmadiyya community, approached the Delhi High Court, requesting it to stop the execution of the Home Ministry’s decision to “withdraw” cases against them and “repatriate” them.

According to the petition filed on the Pakistanis’ behalf by the Mehdi Foundation International Organisation, they are unwilling to return home because they fear they will be “persecuted in Pakistan on religious grounds”. They face “blasphemy charges” that are “punishable by either life term or execution”.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Ahmadiyya community, blasphemy charges, Delhi High Court, Mehdi Foundation International Organisation, Pervez Mushar raf and Osama Bin Laden, protest at Jantar Mantar, Tihar jail

China slowing to 19 year low, watches India

Both India and China may grow at almost the same pace next year, when the global slowdown triggered in the US and Europe will hit home harder.

On Tuesday, the World Bank in Beijing forecast that China would grow at a 7.5 per cent rate next year — China’s lowest since 1990 and a drop from 9.4 per cent growth projected for this year. There is no Bank figure for India, but Prime Manmohan Minister Singh has predicted a 7 to 7.5 per cent growth.

China is the world’s fastest-growing economy and had expanded in double digits for the last five years, touching 11.9 per cent last year.

“More than half of our GDP growth forecast of around 7.5 per- cent for 2009 is coming from government influenced spending,” said main author Louis Kuijs in Beijing.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: author Louis Kuijs, china, China is the world’s fastest-growing economy, GDP growth forecast, India, World Bank in Beijing

Stocks shock drives MBAs to kidnap for ransom

The global financial meltdown is not only hurting people in the corporate world, it is also turning some investors into criminals.

Stock-market losses drove two desperate MBA students to kidnap a 15-year-old Class IX student from Saket in south Delhi last Thursday, say the Delhi Police.

Piyush Jain (24) is an MBA correspondence student with IMT, Ghaziabad and Rohit Chopra is doing his MBA from the Indira Gandhi National Open University .

The police said Jain, Chopra and four others planned and orchestrated the kidnapping of Arjun Verma, a student of Gyan Bharti School. The main accused in the case is Bharat Jhamb (21), a cousin of Arjun.

Jain, Chopra and Jhamb pooled in Rs 1 lakh to buy cellphones, SIM cards, rent a godown and pay a man whose help they took for the crime. They bought used cellphones and used fake identification to buy SIM cards.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: corporate world, hurting people, Indira Gandhi National Open University, kidnapping of Arjun Verma, MBA correspondence student, MBA students to kidnap, turning some investors into criminals

Of Viagra and misplaced 'performance'

Aced with increasing antidoping tests, athletes and sportspersons may have a new performance enhancing drug Viagra.

Marywood University is conducting study, financed by the World Anti-doping agency, whether the pill, used for ereetile dysfunction among men, could help enhance performance in sports fields also.

The aim of the study the New York Times says, is to determine whether it creates unfair competitive advantage in dilating an athlete's blood vessels and unduly increasing oxygen-carrying capacity and if the agency should move to ban the drug which being currently widely used to enhance performance in the bed room.

Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, was devised to treat pulmonary hypertension in arteries of the lungs, the paper notes, explaining that it works by suppressing an enzyme that controls blood flow, allowing the vessels to relax and widen.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: antidoping tests, arteries of the lungs, controls blood flow, drug Viagra, enhance performance in sports fields, pulmonary hypertension, World Anti-doping agency

In downturn, India looks for uranium bargain

In every crisis, there's an opportunity. As India hopes to stitch up its first purchase of uranium from Kazakhstan in January, prices have fallen from a high of $138 (Rs 6,900) in 2007 to about $48 (Rs 2,400) per pound now. It's time to buy.

India, which ended its nuclear pariah status in September, can now stock up on cheap uranium- at a time its nuclear plants are running at about half capacity due to fuel shortages.

With an eye on purchasing uranium from Kazakhstan, which has the world's second largest reserves and is the third largest producer of nuclear fuel, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will be the chief guest at the 2009 Republic Day celebrations.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: 2009 Republic Day celebrations, fuel shortages, India, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan, nuclear pariah status, nuclear plants, uranium bargain, uranium from Kazakhstan

Engineer dies 'eating pastry'

A pastry-eating competition in the canteen of a multinational IT company in Udyog Vihar cost a young engineer his life on Wednesday afternoon. Twenty-two-year-old Saurabh Sabharwal, who reportedly choked to death, was found unconscious in the washroom after having eaten many pastries. He was rushed to a private hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

R.K. Sabharwal, father of Saurabh who was a solution engineer with Nokia-Siemens Network, blamed the company for organising the competition. "Why did they have to organise such a competition?" he said. An official from Nokia-Siemens Network present at Max Hospital refused to speak to HT.

In his statement to the police, R.K. Sabharwal said he received a call at 2.35 p.m. that his son was not well and had been rushed to Max Hospital in Gurgaon. "When I reached the hospital, I was told he had died.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: canteen of a multinational IT company, gurgaon, Nokia-Siemens Network, pastries, pastry-eating competition, Udyog Vihar cost a young engineer

Yang’s done heading Yahoo, will turn Chief Yahoo again

Jerry Yang, the chief executive of Yahoo Inc, will step down from his role as soon as the board finds a replacement for the Internet company, Yahoo said on Monday .

Yahoo co-founder Yang, who took on the CEO role in June 2007 in an effort to turn the company around, will return to his former role as Chief Yahoo once a successor has been found.

“From founding this company to guiding its growth into a trusted global brand that is indispensable to millions of people, I have always sought to do what is best for our franchise,” Yang said in a statement.

Yahoo has hired Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm, to look for both internal and external candidates.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: CEO role, Chief Yahoo, Internet company, Jerry Yang, the chief executive of Yahoo Inc, Yahoo, Yahoo co-founder Yang

In daylight heist, four men rob bank and walk away with Rs 24 lakh

In A daring daylight robbery, four armed men robbed a bank of Rs 23.78 lakh in Samaipur Badli in Outer Delhi on Monday morning. The State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) in the Badli Industrial Area was cleaned out shortly after it opened at 9.30 am. A call reporting robbery was made to the police at 10.10 am.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer Delhi) Atul Katiyar said the bank’s branch in Badli Industrial Area had opened as usual when four men entered. They did not wear masks. They robbed the bank and locked all the persons inside a room before leaving. “We have formed security teams and are now scouting around for suspects. Cases have been registered,” Katiyar said.

Just like the UCO Bank in Hauz Khas robbed on November 10, SBBJ did not have CCTV cameras and the guard was on leave.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Badli Industrial Area, CCTV cameras, daring daylight robbery, Outer Delhi, Samaipur Badli, security teams, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, UCO Bank in Hauz Khas robbed

Common Admission Test throws up a mixed bag

As usual, this year's Common Admission Test (CAT) threw up its share of surprises.

Unlike the past two years, when the exam consisted of 75 questions for 300 marks, this year's paper was of 90 questions - an increase of 15 questions in the English section. However, experts believe this made the exam more balanced.

Surbhi Seghal, a final-year student of Philosophy (Hons) at Lady Shri Ram College, said the increase in questions in the verbal section did not make it tougher "Though the reading comprehension section had lengthy passages, the level of difficulty was lower. A lot of the vocabulary in the verbal ability section consisted of words of daily usage," she said.

Students found the logic and data interpretation sections difficult, especially those from non-mathematics backgrounds, as they focused more on "higher maths", like functions and series, and less on arithmetic. "The maths questions were quite difficult for me," said Preeti Talreja, a B.Ed student from Sonepat.

T.I.M.E. coaching institute director Ulhas Vairagkar, who has been analysing the exam for the past 20 years, took the test. "The logic and direct interpretation section was tricky, but quite similar to last year The quantitative ability section was tougher and the most difficult part.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: CAT, comprehension section, English section, IIM Calcutta, Indian School of Business, Lady Shri Ram College, logic and data interpretation sections, T.I.M.E. coaching institute, verbal section

India loses $63 billion in six months

India's richest are not the only ones who have lost billions in net worth amid the global meltdown. The country's central bank has seen its foreign exchange reserves shrink more than $63 billion - enough to fund 600 Moon missions - in less than six months as exports slumped, trade deficit widened on a surge in the oil import bill and foreign investors pulled out of the stock market.

Lately the reserves are falling at an alarming pace, squeezing much of the room for manoeuvre that India had in the face of the ongoing financial turmoil. The fall was a staggering $31 billion in October; or almost half of the decline since May 23, when reserves touched a record $316 billion.

The fast depletion has serious implications, as it could bring more pressure on the rupee, which has already depreciated about 20 per cent this year and made everything from imported machinery to foreign travel and education more expensive.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: country's central bank, exports slumped, foreign exchange reserves shrink, lost billions in net worth, Moon missions, ongoing financial turmoil

Political and religious Television channels may shut down

Television channels run by religious and political entities may not stay on air for long, if the government accepts the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

TRAI is the policy recommending body for the broadcast sector.

TRAI chairperson Nripendra Misra, in his letter to Information & Broadcasting Secretary Sushma Singh, said restricting religious and political organisations from running TV channels "will ensure the... medium is used for advancing public interest" and "for greater realisation of the common man's right to be informed fully and fairly".

TRAl has recommended that such channels be phased out in three-four years.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: broadcast sector, political entities, shut down, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Television channels, Television channels run by religious, TV channels

Desi techies turn to trade unions to save jobs

'Das Kapital' would probably not be on their reading lists, yet in their hour of crisis, India's information technology professionals have turned to collective bargaining techniques that Marx would laud.

Stunned by the recent wave of lay-offs in the sector as a result of the global financial crisis, the country's hitherto dormant Union for information and Technology enabled Services has enlisted the help of the mighty Switzerland based Global Union Federation and Union Network International, which has 15 million members belonging to 900 unions from all over the world. The Indian union is now a chapter of the global union.

A group of top officials from the global union is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on December 5 to meet Nasscom officials and Indian ministers to talk about how best the sector can safeguard employees' interests. After these discussions, once bearers of the Indian union will tour the country, talking to company managements about alternatives to firing employees.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: bargaining techniques, Desi techies, firing employees, global union, India's information technology professionals, lay-offs in the sector, Nasscom officials, save jobs

Business down in Mumbai

That Mumbai is a rising international business hub is known. But a report released by MasterCard on Emerging Markets Index reveals that while Mumbai tops the chart when it comes to financial services network and trading in shares and bonds, it performs miserably where security, infrastructure, technology penetration and quality of urban life are concerned.

The report, released on Monday, ranked 65 cities across the globe. Eight Indian cities Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Coimbatore made it to the list. This was only second to China, which had 15 cities.

Mumbai took the lead among Indian cities at rank 19. But nine Asian cities occupied higher positions than Mumbai out of which six were from China. New Delhi came second at 28 followed by Bangalore at 38, Chennai at 39, Hyderabad at 46, Kolkata at 48 and Pune at 52. Last year, the Prime Minister set up a task force to make Mumbai an international financial centre.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: china, Indian cities, MasterCard Emerging Markets index, nine Asian cities, occupied higher positions

20 die on Russian submarine

At least 20 people have died in a freak accident aboard the K-152 Nerpa, a Russian nuclear attack submarine that was undergoing trials in the Sea of Japan before being leased to the Indian Navy, according to officials and media reports.

A faulty fire extinguisher spewing deadly freon gas is blamed for causing the deaths, plus a further two dozen injuries, aboard the Akula-II class attack sub. The ship’s nuclear reactor was completely undamaged, officials said.

“During sea trials of a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet the firefighting system went off unsanctioned, killing over 20 people, including servicemen and workers,” Russian naval spokesman Captain Igor Dygalo told journalists.

“The submarine is not damaged, its reactor works as normal, and background radiation levels are normal,” he added.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: firefighting system, freon gas, Indian Navy, Russian nuclear attack submarine, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russian submarine, Sea of Japan, ship’s nuclear reactor, submarine

2 girls shot for 'honour' in Greater Noida

In a suspected case of honour knings, a 21-year-old man allegedly shot dead his two teenaged female cousins. The provocation? They had eloped with their respective lovers on Sunday from Surajpur in Greater Noida.

One of the victims, 17 year-old Pinki, was a Class XII student in Greater Noida's Mihir Bhoj College. Her 14-year-old cousin Sonam studied in Class X at the local Vidya Public School.

The police arrested accused SonuPal on Thursday from Dadri. Police said they have recovered the countrymade pistol used in the crime. The weapon has been sent for forensic tests.

Pal, who runs a mobile shop in the Surjapur locality, told investigators the girls had eloped with their lovers, who were tenants at the victims' residences.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Aligarh railway station, countrymade pistol, forensic tests, Greater Noida, Greater Noida's Mihir Bhoj College, shot dead, Surajpur, teenaged female cousins

Hindustan Times is No. 1

Hindustan Times has consolidated its position as the most read English news daily in the Capital and the adjoining National Capital Region (NCR).

Data from the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS) carried out by the Media Research Users Council shows that both in the core city and the larger NCR, Hindustan Times is the reader's newspaper of choice.

The IRS data showed that Hindustan Times'daily readership in the NCR (including Delhi) for the year ending June 2008 stood at 22.33 lakh - up by a healthy 1.67 lakh from the previous round's readership figure of 20.66 lakh in December 2007. This represents a jump of more than 8 per cent in Average Issue Readership (AIR)or Daily Reach. In the same period, HT's nearest rival, The Times of India, lost significant ground.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Daily Newspaper, Hindustan, Hindustan Times, HT media, Indian Readership Survey, Mint, National Capital Region, The Time of India

Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.

"The President is pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqub said on Tuesday.

Born on February 4, 1922 at Gadag in the state of Karnataka, he is also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan (1999), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Padma Shri (1972).

A descendant of 'Kirana Gharana (stream)', Bhimsen Joshi is known for khayal form of singing and also for his bhajans.

His first live performance was at the age of 19 and his debut album, containing a few devotional songs in Kannada and Hindi, was released a year later.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: bhajans, Bharat Ratna, country's highest civilian award, Gadag, Hindustani classical vocalist, Karnataka, khayal form, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, singing

20 Hindu couples tie the knot in Karachi

Twenty mandaps were arranged around a raised platform. The purohit spoke into a public address system while the bride and groom followed his instructions.

What made the occasion momentous for 20 Hindu families who had travelled to Karachi for Saturday's mass wedding at the Swami Narayan Mandir was the incentive- they didn't have to pay a single paisa. The Pakistan Hindu Council picked the tab.

Eighteen years after social worker Shamji Bijalo married off his Karachi-born daughter to cousins in Jamnagar, Gujarat, she was back in the port city.

This time, Bijalo's grandson Manesh Manoharlal Dru, a daily wages labourer, was accompanying her Dru was in Karachi to marry 18-year-old Kanda Bai, a distant cousin. "My daughter was looking for a Karachi girl for a bahu," says Bijalo, a former employee of the Karachi Water Board.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePapers, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: bride, groom, Gujarat, Hindu families, instructions, Jamnagar, Karachi, Karachi girl, Karachi Water Board, mandaps, mass wedding, Pakistan Hindu Council, port city, Swami Narayan Mandir

Videocon fires CEO before he can join

From Finance and airlines, the human cost of the financial meltdown is spreading to other sectors.

On October 6, Bharat Business Channel Ltd, the direct-to-home (DTH) television wing of Videocon, issued a letter offering a job to a Indian non-resident (NRI) working as the CEO of a company in a South-East Asian country .

He was invited to join Bharat Business Channel as its chief of technology division in Noida, on an annual salary of Rs 48 lakh.

The man, whose name has been withheld on request, was to join work on October 20 when Videocon withdrew the offer on October 18, hours before he was to board a flight to India on October 19.

“Due to internal rationalisation, we are currently holding all recruitments,” said the email sent by Videocon’s human resources department.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: Bharat Business Channel Ltd, CEO, DTH, DTH project, Job, NRI, offer letters, salary, South-East Asian country, television, Videocon

Jet fuel price to come down

In an effort to bail out ailing airline companies, the government on Friday abolished the 5 per cent customs duty on aviation turbine fuel that will have a direct impact on domestic ATF prices.

“The aviation sector is experiencing financial stress, which is partly due to high price of ATF,” the official statement said. “In order to give relief to this sector, the basic customs duty of 5 per cent has been abolished.”

Oil companies have already announced a cut in jet fuel prices by 16 per cent from Saturday.

ATF prices in India are currently 60-70 per cent higher than the international prices and constitute about 40 per cent of the cost of airlines. High crude prices in the past six months led to a substantial jump in ATF prices, which ate into the profitability of all major airlines in India.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the epaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com

Labels: airline companies, ATF prices, aviation turbine fuel, crude prices, impact, Jet fuel price, Oil companies

Hindustan Times

Friday, November 28, 2008

The age of suicide fighters

Thursday, November 27, 2008

67 Pakistanis in Tihar who don’t want to return home

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

China slowing to 19 year low, watches India

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Stocks shock drives MBAs to kidnap for ransom

Monday, November 24, 2008

Of Viagra and misplaced 'performance'

Friday, November 21, 2008

In downturn, India looks for uranium bargain

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Engineer dies 'eating pastry'

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Yang’s done heading Yahoo, will turn Chief Yahoo again

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

In daylight heist, four men rob bank and walk away with Rs 24 lakh

Monday, November 17, 2008

Common Admission Test throws up a mixed bag

Friday, November 14, 2008

India loses $63 billion in six months

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Political and religious Television channels may shut down

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Desi techies turn to trade unions to save jobs

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Business down in Mumbai

Monday, November 10, 2008

20 die on Russian submarine

Friday, November 7, 2008

2 girls shot for 'honour' in Greater Noida

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hindustan Times is No. 1

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

20 Hindu couples tie the knot in Karachi

Monday, November 3, 2008

Videocon fires CEO before he can join

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Jet fuel price to come down

About Me

Links

Previous Posts

Archives