PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd. articles from May 2003

PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd. archives from May 2003

Kumaon University professor gets 'man of the year' award.
May 22, 2003... Dehradun, May 22 (PTI) A professor of Kumaon University has been chosen for 'man of the year-2003' award by the Biographical institute of United States for his outstanding contribution in academics. Ajay Rawat, head of the History...

Punjab to soon introduce new cooperative Act.
May 22, 2003... Chandigarh, May 22 (PTI) Punjab Government will soon introduce a new Co-operative Act to make the cooperative societies independent and vibrant business enterprises, state finance minister Lal Singh said here Wednesday. He said State...

French govt honours Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
May 22, 2003... Thiruvananthapuram, May 22 (PTI) Renowned Malayalam film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has been chosen for the `Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters' award, the second highest honour to a civilian by the French government. Adoor, whose...

Let militant killed in South-West Delhi.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Foiling an attempt of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Toiba to set up a base in the national capital, police shot dead a militant belonging to the outfit in South-West Delhi early Thursday morning. The militant, identified as...

Veerappan's close aide held.
May 22, 2003... Salem (TN), May 22 (PTI) In a major catch, Tamil Nadu police have arrested "Kutti" Veerappan, a close associate of elusive sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, at the hill town of Yercaud near here. "Kutti" Veerappan, who has several allies, was...

US resolution on Iraq set to get unanimous support.
May 22, 2003... Dharam Shourie United Nations, May 22 (PTI) The United States sponsored resolution to lift sanctions against Iraq is expected to get near unanimous support when it is put to vote Thursday with France, Russia and Germany announcing support...

Explosion at Yale University.
May 22, 2003... New York, May 22 (PTI) Within hours of US coming under elevated terrorism alert, an explosion damaged part of the law school of the prestigious Yale University, in the northeastern state of Connecticut early Thursday, police said. The...

Congressman Hensarling Joins US India Caucus.
May 22, 2003... Washington, May 22 (PTI) Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas has joined the India Caucus, raising its strength to 163. "As the world's largest democracy India remains an important economic and strategic ally of the United...

US, Bahrain planning Free Trade Agreement.
May 22, 2003... Washington, May 22 (PTI) United States and Bahrain will seek to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement, the White House has announced. It said the agreement would be a major step towards achieving the Middle East free trade area proposed by...

N Korean officials indulged in drug trafficking : US official.
May 22, 2003... Washington, May 24 (PTI) As tension between Washington and Pyongyang persists over the latter's nuclear programme, a Senior US Narcotics department official has accused the North Korean officials of indulging in drug trafficking and criminal...

UN providing humanitarian assistance to flood-hit Sri Lanka.
May 22, 2003... United Nations, May 22 (PTI) The United Nations inter -agency teams are struggling alongside local relief workers to feed and shelter 171,000 survivors of the worst floods and landslides to hit the island in half a century which have taken a...

Six dead in chemical factory explosion in north China.
May 22, 2003... Beijing, May 22 (PTI) At least six people were killed and 15 injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in north China's Hebei province. The accident occurred when a reaction tower exploded yesterday killing one and leaving five people...

Indian students outshine at Preston University.
May 22, 2003... London, May 22 (PTI) NRI and Indian students outshown their counterparts in the first Graduation Ceremony of Preston University Middlesex campus held here Wednesday night. Out of the 150 graduates who passed out from ten countries,...

S Korean Jong-Wook Lee is the the new WHO Director General.
May 22, 2003... United Nations, May 22 (PTI) Jong-Wook Lee of South Korea has been elected the next Director General of the World Health Organisation to succeed Gro Harlem Brundtland. Lee is the first person from his country to head a United Nations...

IAEA discussing visit of experts to Iraqi nuclear sites.
May 22, 2003... United Nations, May 22 (PTI) Concerned over reports of looting and destruction at Iraqi nuclear sites, International Atomic Energy Agency is discussing with the US the modalities for a visit by its experts to the country to deal with the...

Air controller did not receive any May day call from AI pilot.
May 22, 2003... Vancouver, May 22 (PTI) An Irish air traffic controller has told the British Colombia Court hearing the Air India trial that he did not receive any emergency call from the pilot of the ill-fated Kanishka flight which exploded off the coast of...

Explosion rocks Yale University.
May 22, 2003... Dharam Shourie New York, May 22 (PTI) A bomb exploded in the law school building at the prestigious Yale University campus in Connecticut State sending security agencies into a tizzy, hours after the US went on a heightened alert against...

China arrests farmer for intentionally spreading SARS.
May 22, 2003... Beijing, May 22 (PTI) China has arrested a farmer, a former SARS patient who fled hospital treatment twice, on the charge of intentionally spreading the killer disease SARS for which he could even face death penalty under revised laws. Liu...

Pak police arrests 3 Hizbul militants for displaying weapons.
May 22, 2003... K J M Varma Islamabad, May 22 (PTI) In what appears to be a "measured" crackdown against Pakistan-based militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, security officials have arrested three aides of the outfit's leader Syed Salahuddin on grounds of...

Mt Everest scaled by Indo-Nepalese joint army expedition.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Within a span of 24 hours, India Thursday put sixteen climbers atop the world's highest peak, the 8848 metre high Mount Everest, to mark in a befitting manner, the first ascent of the peak by Sir Edmund Hillary and late...

Three ultras killed in encounter.
May 22, 2003... Jammu, May 22 (PTI) Three ultras were killed and a police constable injured in an encounter between security forces and militants in Surankote area of Poonch district Wednesday night, official sources said here Thursday. A joint party of...

NHRC seeks info from govt on "blacklisted" Sikh NRIs.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Taking note of a complaint sent by National Commission for Minorities on some Sikh non-resident Indians being denied visas after being allegedly blacklisted by Indian Home Ministry for shouting slogans outside Indian...

Technology to extract oil from fresh ginger developed.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Scientists in the southern Indian city Thiruvananthapuram have developed a technology for extracting oils and oleoresins (products used in pharmaceutical industry) from spices that does away with the need for drying...

French Army delegation visits AWC.
May 22, 2003... Indore, May 22 (PTI) A French delegation headed by Maj Gen Roland Badie, Deputy Commandant, Army Doctrine and Higher Military Education Command of French Army visited the Army War College (AWC) at Mhow, near here in western India. The...

Chinese, South Koreans reach Mt Everest summit.
May 22, 2003... Beijing, May 22 (PTI) A second Sino-South Korean mountaineering expedition to Mt Everest Thursday reached the summit of the world's highest peak. The group consisted of two Chinese climbers - Jiala and Pingcuo, both from Tibet autonomous...

Indians bow out in first round in World Table Tennis C'ship.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The Indian challenge at the World Table Tennis Championship being played in Paris came to a tame end when all four paddlers, who made it to the main draw, bowed out to higher ranked opponents in the first round. ...

Govt fixes 2003-04 export target at 12 % to reach $57.88 bn.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Indian Government Thursday pegged the export growth target for merchandise goods at 12 per cent which will translate into 57.8 billion dollar exports in 2003-04 as against 51.7 billion dollars last year. According...

Final testing of cryogenic engine in October: ISRO.
May 22, 2003... Nagercoil (TN), May 22 (PTI) The testing of indigenously developed cryogenic engine would be completed by October, according to Indian Space Research Organiastion (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Kasturirangan. The preliminary tests of the engine had...

20 killed in Orissa mishap.
May 22, 2003... Baripada (Orissa), May 22 (PTI) Around 20 persons, including three women and two children, were killed and 30 others injured when a trekker collided head-on with a bus near Baiganapadia in eastern India, about 10 km from here Thursday morning,...

US approves Israeli Phalcon sale to India.
May 22, 2003... Harsh Dobhal Jerusalem, May 22 (PTI) The United States has given the green signal to Israel for the sale of Phalcon airborne radar systems worth one billion dollars to Indian Airforce without any conditions or limitations, a media report...

Thiruvananthapuram, May 22 (PTI) Saraswathy Amma, a widow.
May 22, 2003... hailing from Manamboor in Chirayinkizh, near here, has urged Chief Minister A K Antony to order an inquiry into the alleged "police torture" on her son. Saraswathy alleged that the Kallambalam police had implicated her son Gireesh Kumar in...

SC dismisses petition of UP govt on Mulayam Singh Yadav.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The Supreme Court of India Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Uttar Pradesh Government challenging an Allahabad High Court order staying investigations into cases against former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and...

Russia hails PM's grant of Rs 10 mn to Roerich Art Gallery.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Russia has hailed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's recent gesture to grant Rs 10 million for setting up an international school of art at Roerich Art Gallery in Naggar village of Kullu in the northern Indian state...

SEBI approves Maruti IPO.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The much-awaited public offering of shares of auto major Maruti has cleared another major hurdle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India approving the draft prospectus for the Initial Public Offer, slated to hit...

IMPACT FOR PTI CORRESPONDENTS IN DELHI MORNINGERS.
May 22, 2003... ON THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2003 LONDON: SINHA-INDOPAK (HT, ST, TRI, BS; OWN-IE/TOI/AA/HIN) WASHING: SIKH SHOT AT (PIO-BL, ST, HIN; OWN-HT; AP-IE/AA) -DO- : MOVIE ON TAJ MAHAL (IE, TOI, HT, ST; SHARED-PIO) -DO- : MCDONALDS...

Riaz Khan unlikely to be nominated as Pak H Comm to India.
May 22, 2003... Islamabad, May 22 (PTI) Pakistan is unlikely to nominate its present Ambassador to China Riaz Mohammad Khan as High Commissioner to India even though he has been named by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as a probable nominee. ...

Another terror attack imminent, air defence stepped up.
May 22, 2003... New York, May 22 (PTI) US officials have warned that another terror attack may be imminent especially in the Persian Gulf region even as Pentagon raised the "air defence posture" in Washington DC area by deploying anti-aircraft missiles and...

Schools reopen in Beijing, WHO extends Taiwan travel advisory.
May 22, 2003... Anil K Joseph Beijing, May 22 (PTI) Thousands of Beijing students returned to schools Thursday after a month-long break as the SARS virus loosened its grip on China but in neighbouring Taiwan the WHO extended its travel advisory to cover...

Five killed, 37 hurt in Orissa road mishap.
May 22, 2003... Baripada (Orissa), May 22 (PTI) Five persons were killed and 37 others injured when a trekker collided head on with a bus at Baiganabadia, about ten km from here in eastern India, Thursday morning, official sources said. The five persons...

One injured in crude bomb blast.
May 22, 2003... Ahmedabad, May 22 (PTI) One person was injured when a crude bomb exploded in Gaikwad Haveli Police Station area of the walled city Thursday in western India. "The injured, Pratap Jamaji Thakor (24), received injuries on the hand and was...

India's growing public debt squeezing out investment: WB.
May 22, 2003... Bangalore, May 22 (PTI) World Bank Thursday warned India's growing public debt was squeezing out investment, making it difficult to achieve the targeted annual eight per cent economic growth. "Eight per cent growth is difficult without...

Stalin arrives from US to attend Kiruttinan's funeral.
May 22, 2003... Chennai, May 22 (PTI) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Youth Wing leader M K Stalin Thursday accused the AIADMK Government of "sidetracking" the murder of senior party leader T Kiruttinan by blaming it on the DMK and arresting his elder brother M K...

Karnataka all set to endorse organic farming.
May 22, 2003... Bharathi Raghunath Bangalore, May 22 (PTI) Organic farming is all set to gain momentum in Karnataka with a Rs 200 million project on organic production of under utilised Medicinal, aromatic and dye Plants (MDAPs) for sustainable rural...

Vajpayee to participate in Evian Summit.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be among the world leaders who will meet at the Evian Summit in France early next month to strengthen measures against international terrorism and have an open discussion on...

NCM asks govt to take up hate crime issue with US.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Expressing concern over the latest incident of hate crime in US where a Sikh was shot at by a group of white men in Phoenix, National Commission for Minorities Thursday asked the government to take up the issue with...

D-company-Lashkar-ISI nexus behind assassination of Pandya.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) A criminal nexus between ISI, Lashker-e-Toiba and Dawood Ibrahim gang, which authorities suspect was instrumental in the killing of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya, has come to notice. During...

Tigers say peace talks a waste of time, but no return to war.
May 22, 2003... Colombo, May 22 (PTI) Tigers rebels Thursday said they were committed to peace through a negotiated settlement but termed the six rounds of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government "a waste of time". The LTTE's political wing leader S P...

Failure to resolve market access issue will hit trade parleys.
May 22, 2003... Bangalore, May 22 (PTI) World Bank Thursday warned that failure to break the "logjam" over the issue of market access in agriculture at the coming G-8 meet in France will seriously hit trade negotiations at WTO ministerial summit in Cancun...

Moon Mission gets Par Review Committee nod: Kasturirangan.
May 22, 2003... Kolkata, May 22 (PTI) In the face of doubts being raised about India's financial capability and the necessity for the ambitious Moon Mission, ISRO chairman Dr K Kasturirangan Thursday said the project has been given the green signal by the...

BJP for national concensus on population issue.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Favouring incentives and disincentives to address the problem of population growth, the BJP on Thursday said a national consensus has to be evolved on the issue. "The entire development effort is eaten away because...

HC dismisses PIL against Bush, Blair.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking direction to the Federal Government to ensure the trial of U.S. President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for alleged...

Exports to China double; iron & steel clock 3823.98% growth.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) India's exports to China have doubled to 1,662.86 million dollars in the eleven months (April-February) in 2002-03 from 828.68 million dollars recorded in 2000-01. Primary and semi finished iron and steel emerged as...

Jaitley hopeful of attaining one pc share in world trade.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) India's Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday expressed hope that Medium-term export strategy's goal of achieving one per cent of the world trade by 2007 could be attained much earlier. Commenting...

12 militans killed while trying to cross LoC in J and K.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) The Army on Thursday foiled a major infiltration bid by gunning down 12 militants near the Line of Control in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said here. The militants were...

No possibility of SARS epidemic in India: WHO official.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) There is no possibility of a SARS epidemic in India owing to its "very good" disease surveillance system but small outbreaks may occur, a World Health Organisation official said on Thursday. "India has a very good...

30 Pak militants killed since Operation Sarp Vinash.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) About 30 Pakistani militants have been killed, permanent cement bunkers built by them taken over and a large quantity of arms and ammunition recovered by the army since it began 'Operation Sarp Vinash' in the higher...

Armenia invites Indian investments.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Armenia on Thursday said it was keen on promoting economic ties with India and invited investments even as industry chambers of both countries - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Union of...

Nasscom chief requests Govt to renegotiate DTAT with Japan.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Apprehending serious trouble for the Indian software and service exports to Japan due to high tax rate there, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has requested Indian government to...

Lone tells Hurriyat to give up rigid stand on Kashmir.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, on Thursday called on the separatist conglomerate to give up its "rigid" stand on the Kashmir issue in the wake of Prime Minister Atal...

Police bust inter-state video piracy racket.
May 22, 2003... Hyderabad, May 22 (PTI) Police have busted a major inter-state video piracy racket with the arrest of 26 persons and seized VCDs of latest Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English movies in raids on 15 centres. "We have seized 5,571...

Kerala sees 21 pc increase in ST revenue.
May 22, 2003... Kottayam, May 22 (PTI) Kerala government collected Rs 64 billion in sales tax revenue last fiscal, the highest ever and an increase of 21 per cent over the previous year's, the state finance minister K Sankaranarayanan said here on Thursday....

ISRO tie-up with 11 nations to let out Indian launch vehicles.
May 22, 2003... Kolkata, May 22 (PTI) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has clinched commercial agreements with 11 countries to hire out Indian launch vehicles for putting foreign satellites in orbit, the space agency chairperson Dr K Kasturirangan...

Damien Fleming retires from international cricket.
May 22, 2003... Neena Bhandari Sydney, May 22 (PTI) Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming, whose best performances came against India, on Thursday retired from cricket and took over as a senior coach at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (CBCA) in...

India very hopeful of winning bid for 2010 Commonwealth Games.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Eyeing its best chance of hosting the Commonwealth Games, India is sending a strong delegation to make a powerful bid in London on May 30 for the 2010 edition. Sports Minister Vikram Verma will lead a six-member...

Another prosecution witness turns hostile in Salman's case.
May 22, 2003... Jodhpur, May 22 (PTI) Causing a setback to prosecution in the poaching case involving Salman Khan, yet another witness on Thursday backtracked from his statement that he had seen the cine star bringing the body of the hunted blacbuck to a farm...

Pakistani trade delegation to visit India from June 27.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Close on the heels of Pakistani Parliamentarians' visit to the country, a Pakistani trade delegation would arrive here for a meeting with industry chamber FICCI on June 27-28. "The delegation's visit has been...

Hizbul Militant killed, 3 injured in Kashmir.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in an inter-group clash while ultras shot at and injured three persons including a woman in separate attacks in Kashmir valley on Thursday, official sources said. The...

HC orders ASI to change leader of excavating team at Ayodhya.
May 22, 2003... Lucknow, May 22 (PTI) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Thursday directed the Archaeological Survey of India to replace the leader of its team excavating the disputed site in Ayodhya and report the findings every fortnight. ...

Bangladesh agrees to India's proposal for FTA.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Bangladesh on Thursday agreed in principle to India's proposal for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost economic cooperation and overcome existing problems of tariff and non-tariff barriers. This was...

India under no pressure to start dialogue with Pak: Gupta.
May 22, 2003... Gurgaon, May 22 (PTI) India on Thursday said that talks with Pakistan could only start when there were clear signs that it had closed down terrorist training camps operating there and there was an end to cross-border terrorism, Junior Minister...

Success of Indian films lauded at Cannes.
May 22, 2003... London, May 22 (PTI) Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and several other film personalities attended a gala reception at Cannes to celebrate Indian films and their contribution to internathional cinema. Aishwarya, who is a member of Cannes...

12 Militans killed while trying to cross LoC in J and K.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) Foiling a major infiltration bid in Kupwara this summer, the army Thursday gunned down 12 militants near the Line of Control in Nowgam sector of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said here. The encounter took...

HC directs state museum to keep inscription in Babri case safe.
May 22, 2003... Lucknow, May 22 (PTI) The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court hearing Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits Thursday directed the director of the state museum to keep in safe custody an inscription bearing number 53.4 said to have been...

LeT terrorist killed, associate held in Delhi.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Thwarting a possible terrorist strike in the national capital, Delhi Police Thursday claimed to have neutralised a module of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) by killing one Pakistani ultra and apprehending his Indian...

India asks New Zealand to do proper grading of wool.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) India has asked New Zealand to do proper grading of their wool to facilitate Indian imports and invited technical assistance from the Kiwis to develop the domestic wool industry. Stating that bilateral trade has been...

Kazakhstan seeks Indian investment.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan Thursday sought Indian investment for developing a wide range of sectors including textiles, leather and plastics. Speaking at a seminar here, Counsellor of Kazakh Embassy Ruslan...

None-too-happy start for Yuvraj Singh in county debut.
May 22, 2003... London, May 22 (PTI) It was a none-too-happy county debut for India batsman Yuvraj Singh as he made just 11 runs for Yorkshire on the opening day of its four-day Frizzell County Championship against Glamorgan at Headingley. Batting at...

Five militants among six killed in Jammu and Kashmir.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) Five militants were among six people killed and three others injured in militancy related incidents, while security forces recovered a big cache of arms and ammunition in Jammu and Kashmir since Wednesday night, a police...

Jaswant Singh offers all financial support to BSF.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Honouring 50 Border Security Force (BSF) officers and soldiers for gallantry, federal Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday assured the force of all economic support as and when it required and hailed its...

Hurriyat should not miss peace bus now: People's Conference.
May 22, 2003... Srinagar, May 22 (PTI) In a virtual rebuff to Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, a constituent of the amalgam, on Thursday asked the conglomerate to give up its "rigid" stand on the Kashmir issue in the wake of Indian...

17 ULTRAS KILLED IN KASHMIR.
May 22, 2003... SRINAGAR, MAY 22 (PTI) SEVENTEEN MILITANTS, INCLUDING 12 INFILTRATORS, WERE KILLED AS SECURITY FORCES ON THURSDAY FRUSTRATED A MAJOR ATTEMPT BY PAKISTAN TO PUSH ARMED MILITANTS INTO JAMMU AND KASHMIR DESPITE ITS CLAIMS OF PUTTING RESTRICTIONS...

HC tells ASI to change Excavating team leader in Ayodhya.
May 22, 2003... Lucknow, May 22 (PTI) In a significant decision, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court hearing the Ram Janam- hoomi-Babri Masjid title suits on Thursday directed the Archaeological Survey of India to replace the leader of the team...

EU welcomes re-establishment of Indo-Pak political contacts.
May 22, 2003... New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Commending the leadership of India and Pakistan for initiating and fostering peace moves, the European Union has said it "encourages" the two countries to seize this opportunity as the first step in a process of building...

Conversions under "conceived plan" along border: BJP.
May 22, 2003... Chandigarh, May 22 (PTI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in northern Indian state of Punjab on Thursday alleged illegal migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh were being settled along the state's International border who were indulging in...