Rain rain go away, is what Mumbaiites seem to be chanting every monsoon. A single shower sends the city into a tizzy with waters flooding roads, rails and every nook and corner of the city. A wake up call for the city to wake up to an impending ecological disaster???
Cartoon by: News24
Indo Asian News Service
Mumbai, July 24: Nearly 200 people have been evacuated from coastal areas, warnings have been sent out to those in low-lying regions and schools have advised students to stay at home as India`s financial capital braces for a massive 5.5 metre high tidal wave, billed as the highest in 100 years, to lash it on Friday afternoon.
The high tide is expected to hit Mumbai and the surrounding Konkan region at 2.05 pm. The waters will ebb only after three to four hours, met officials said.
In the past two days, as waves measuring 4.85 and 5.1 metres lashed Mumbai, civic and disaster management authorities evacuated people - mostly shanty dwellers - from vulnerable areas like Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Andheri, Jogeshwari and even parts of neighbouring Thane.
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has issued warnings to people in low-lying areas to watch out for the gigantic tide on Friday and take adequate precautions.
On Thursday, sea water rushed into several buildings in Cuffe Parade, Worli, Dadar, Prabhadevi, Andheri, Juhu, Khar and Malad.
Even mayor Shubha Raul`s official bungalow at Shivaji Park in Dadar was not spared. The huge waves knocked down a compound wall.
In Thane, the district adjacent to Mumbai, waterlogging attributed to the high tide was reported from residential areas in places like Uttan, Palghar, Boisar and Dahanu but there have been no casualties so far.
Some schools have advised students to stay at home in view of the high tide, but there has been no official announcement of closure by the government.
However, for many Mumbaikars, the tides offered a rare view of a natural phenomenon after clouds obscured the solar eclipse on Wednesday.
Thousands of people excitedly saw the tides from a safe distance at places like Colaba, Marine Drive, Girgaum Chowpatty, Worli Sea-Face, Bandra Bandstand, Juhu Beach, Gorai Beach and Marve Beach yesterday. Today, greater numbers are expected.
Crowds had assembled even at the Thane Creek and commuters were seen craning their necks to see the swirling waters as the trains crossed the railway bridges at Bhayander Creek.
Last week, the MCGM had inserted big and small advertisements in newspapers, warning people of the potential damage that could be wreaked by the high tides and contact details for emergency services.
As many as 11 hotlines have been established and 34 rain gauges have been installed from where round-the-clock information is being collected. Control rooms have been set up at all the 24 civic wards.
Officials said that MCGM would also monitor the situation in flood-prone areas through CCTVs.
London, Feb 25: An Indian-origin woman faces jail along with her partner after sailing around the world in a 100,000 pound yacht while claiming government aid meant for the disabled and jobless.
Shashi Bacheta,52, and Jeffrey Coles 58, spent nearly two years sailing around the world on the 70ft vessel, living off the proceeds from their post office and property businesses.
At the same time they defrauded the government of a range of allowances meant for the severely ill.
Bacheta claimed she was so ill she could not get out of bed - entitling her to the government`s `disability living allowance` as well as unemployment benefit - when in fact she was scuba diving off the Kenyan coast.
By the end of the sailing trip the mother of one had claimed nearly 50,000 pounds in housing benefits, disability living allowances, local `council tax` relief and income support.
Partner Coles helped her to obtain an extra 12,000 pounds in a benefit scam that ran from 2002 to 2008.
The benefit scam came to light in 2007 after a retired policewoman and her husband, who were also sailing around the world, came across Bacheta and Coles in the Canary Islands.
Months later, a fraud investigator, found references to Bacheta and Coles on an internet blog being written by the policewoman and her husband.
Investigator Jeff Fish said,"We later carried out a search of their home and found PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructor) records relating to Bacheta scuba diving off Mombasa, Kenya”.
"We also found they had been in their yacht off the coast of South Africa."
They were arrested in January 2008.
Bacheta and Coles, who were due to begin a 15-day trial on Monday, changed their plead at the last minute to guilty to a variety of benefit fraud charges, and were granted bail.
Judge Huw Davies postponed sentencing until next month, but warned the couple they faced jail sentences.
Bacheta`s 28-year-old daughter, Anju, had already pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming to be her mother`s full-time carer.
Melanie Surridge, a government official dealing with the case, said, "It was quite staggering. This lady, while claiming to be bedridden, was in fact regularly able to go scuba diving with her boyfriend`s yacht."
Tal Davies, the investigations manager at Swansea council, said, "They were stealing from all those people who pay their taxes to help provide important public services. It was an affront to those who can`t afford the lifestyle they had been enjoying."
Indo Asian News service
New Delhi, July 30: India's annual rate of inflation fell marginally to minus 1.54 per cent for the week ending on July 18 from minus 1.17 the week before, according to official data released on Thursday.
The rate turned negative for the week ended June 6 for the first time since the new wholesale price index (WPI) series started in 1995.
The inflation rate had last turned negative in 1977. Negative inflation implies that the average wholesale price level was lower during a given week, than it was in the corresponding week a year ago. It does not necessarily reflect retail prices.
The price index for primary articles rose 0.3 per cent to 261.1 (provisional) from 260.3 (provisional) the week before, while that for manufactured products declined 0.1 per cent.
The price index for fuel and power declined 0.1 per cent to 338.2 (provisional) from 338.4 (provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of aviation turbine fuel (7 per cent).
The final data for the week ended on May 23 showed that the revised annual inflation rate actually stood at 1.34 per cent
Indo-Asian News Service
New York, July 30: The partisan stand adopted by India's petroleum ministry in the dispute over natural gas between two corporate houses will erode investor confidence and goes against the government's reforms direction, industrialist Anil Ambani has said.
In an interview to the Wall Street Journal, Ambani, whose Reliance Natural Resources is fighting a legal battle with brother Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries over supply of gas from fields off the Andhra Pradesh coast, said the oil ministry's position also violated the sanctity of contracts.
"Clearly, the petroleum ministry's unfortunate intervention in a corporate commercial dispute in this manner, if permitted to continue, will erode investor confidence and thwart the government's efforts to attract investments into India," said Anil Ambani.
"In complete reversal to the entire direction of economic reforms being implemented by our respected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the petroleum ministry is regrettably pursuing a different path," he charged.
Ambani also said that the oil ministry was seeking a return of the erstwhile regime of command and control, often referred to as the "licence permit raj", when all business decisions had to be authorised by the government on an ad-hoc basis.
He said by intervening in the dispute, the ministry was aiming to re-write a valid production-sharing contract after nearly 10 years, and also seeking to cancel a bonafide agreement between third party corporate entities.
"What then is the sanctity of a contract, which is the fundamental cornerstone of any law-abiding, market-driven economy? And will this not set a precedent, allowing any ministry to alter any contracts in the future at will?" he queried.
"This will also naturally have adverse policy implications for private investments in all natural resources, which are subject to similar considerations."
He said he was deeply concerned by the oil ministry's stand that tantamounts to deciding who should sell gas, to whom, at what price and in what quantity without any heed to commercial considerations or contractual provisions.
Reliance Natural Resources and Reliance Industries are fighting a bitter battle over the price and supply of natural gas from what is called the Krishna-Godavari basin, off the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Last month, the Bombay High Court had asked Reliance Industries to supply 28 million units of gas from the fields to Reliance Natural Resources for 17 years at $2.34 per unit after assigning 12 million units to a state-run power utility NTPC.
But Reliance Industries challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which heard the case on July 20 and fixed September 1 as the next date of hearing. It also asked all parties to file their replies on the government position on the matter by then
Indo Asian News Service
Kuala Lumpur, Feb 24: Zookeepers in Malaysia`s southern Johor state have named two new African lion cubs after US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a news report said on Tuesday.
“Obama and Hillary, along with another female cub yet to be named, were born in captivity at the Johor Zoo on January 16th”, zookeeper Mohamad Sham said.
"Obama, the president, and Obama, the lion cub, can both trace their ancestry back to Africa, so there is a definite connection there," Sham quoted.
The cubs were born to Siti and Sarip, nine-year old African lions.
"It is curious, playful and hates being caged up," Sham said of little Obama.
Obama and Hillary have been the major draw at the zoo since their birth, with tourists and visitors flocking to have their pictures taken with the namesakes of the US politicians
Indo Asian News Service
New Delhi, July 30: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources moved the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking an early settlement of the dispute with Reliance Industries over gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin, even as the government withdrew its affidavit as an intervener on the matter.
According to Mahesh Agarwal, Counsel for Reliance Natural Resources, the Supreme Court admitted his client`s petition and asked all the parties to appear before it on September 1. The court also said an earlier date may be fixed for final hearing.
Both the government and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries supported the petition that seeks early resolution of the dispute over natural gas from the fields off the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The government, meanwhile, withdrew its special leave petition, which wanted the court to quash the production-sharing contract between the two companies. A modified version is expected later this week.
Last month, the Bombay High Court had asked Reliance Industries to supply 28 million units of gas from Krishna-Godavari basin to Reliance Natural Resources for 17 years at $2.34 per unit, after assigning 12 million units to the state-run power utility NTPC.
But Reliance Industries challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which heard the case on July 20 and fixed September 1 as the next date of hearing. It also asked all parties to file their replies on the government position on the matter by then.
Wednesday had seen the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, adjourn more than once when some members, led by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, asked for Petroleum Minister Murli Deora`s resignation over the matter.
Their main contention was that the petroleum ministry was unable to ensure gas supplies from the Reliance gas fields to the crucial Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh on the outskirts of the national capital.
Asin Thottumkalbegan her career in 2001 with an unsuccessful Malayalam filmNarendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka. In 2003 she came back with a bang in the Telugu filmAmma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi opposite Ravi Teja. Her role in the film subsequently fetched her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The same year she did her second Telugu movie titledShivamani opposite Nagarjuna for which she bagged the Santosham Best Actress Award.
Her following two Telugu films in 2004 were, Lakshmi Narasimha and Gharshanaand they proved to be two more solid hit films for her. Asin'sfirst Tamil film was M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi, in which she co-starred with Jayam Ravi. The movie subsequently went on to become one of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema, during 2004, introducing Asin to Tamil film industry.
The Tamil film Ghajini, opposite Vikram provided the breakthrough for Asin to become the leading South Indian actress. Asin secured the Tamil Filmfare Award for Best Actress again, for Ghajini. Sify.com praised her portrayal in Ghajini as "magical".
Later that same year in 2006Asin also starred in another Telugu box office hit Pawan Kalyan's Annavaram. This film enabled Asin to keep her popularity in Telugu films intact. In January 2007, Asinappeared opposite Ajith Kumar and Vijay in two different films,Aalwar and Pokkiri. Aalwarwas a failure but Pokkiribecame a super hit. Asin's role in Aalwar was criticized, but her performance in Pokkiriwas lauded by critics. In 2007 her final project was Her final project of the year was Vel opposite Surya(co-star of Ghajini).Asin's role as a TV anchor, was appreciated in the film.
In 2008 Asin's first dual role film Dasavathaaram opposite Kamal Haasan which was under production since 2006 released. The film was made by K. S. Ravikumar and had Kamal Hasan portraying ten roles. This film became Asin's largest film till date.Asin's portrayals in the film were praised as her "best-to-date" performances. Dasavathaaram became one of the biggest blockbusters in South Indian film history.
After establishing herself as the leading actress in South India,Asin opted to move into Bollywood, to get nationwide fame. Her first Bollywood film isGhajini opposite Aamir Khan. This film is the remake of her breakthrough film of the same name. The film has garnered positive reactions from critics and masses. Asin has been singled out for her "fabulous" portray. Critic, Taran Adarsh also has appreciated her acting skills.
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By Gurmukh Singh, Toronto, July 30 : Taking protectionism and nationalism to absurd levels, the Canadian media has now joined opposition parties to pressure the government to stop sale of Nortel assets to Ericsson. The Swedish telecom major acquired Toronto-based Nortel's wireless business for 1.3 billion dollars at a court-supervised auction in New York Friday.
