Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from July 2002

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from July 2002

Legislature Puts Hold On Plans for Four New Toll Roads.
July 1, 2002... (From African Eye News Service (South-East Africa) - AAGM) Byline: Craig Bishop KwaZulu-Natal residents have breathed a sigh of relief after the provincial legislature voted unanimously against four new toll plazas in the province. ...

NZEALAND RUGBY PLAYERS CRY RACISM.
July 1, 2002... New Zealand colts rugby players involved in a scuffle outside a South African nightclub may have been victims of racial slurs, the rugby union said on Sunday. New Zealand Rugby Football Union chief executive David Rutherford said while the team...

NZEALAND RUGBY PLAYERS CRY RACISM.
July 1, 2002... New Zealand colts rugby players involved in a scuffle outside a South African nightclub may have been victims of racial slurs, the rugby union said on Sunday. New Zealand Rugby Football Union chief executive David Rutherford said while the team...

SA AGULHAS PREPARED FOR FINAL HELICOPTER FLIGHTS.
July 1, 2002... Two final helicopter flights on Monday, from the polar supply ship SA Agulhas to the Magdalena Oldendorff, trapped in Antarctic pack ice, will rescue the eight Russian scientists and 11 "non-essential" crew left on board. SA Agulhas' captain...

BOYFRIEND STABS GIRLFRIEND TO DEATH.
July 1, 2002... A 49-year-old man who asked members of his church to help mend his failing relationship with his girlfriend, allegedly later stabbed his girlfriend to death, police said on Monday. Inspector Percy Morokane said Emma Makhubela, 35, from...

Saha Group makes more international alliances - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... Saha Group held its sixth annual export and trade exhibition to expand exports and make alliances with international partners, a report in Krungthep Turakij said. The 140 companies in the Saha Group set up 450 booths to exhibit their...

Exports rose in May - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... The dollar value of exports in May was 4.3 per cent higher than in the same period last year, a report in Krungthep Turakij said. The BOT reported that many economic indicators in May appeared promising. Thailand had a trade surplus...

Visa aims to double the number of card holders in the next three years - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... Visa Asia Pacific hopes to increase the number of Visa credit and debit card holders in Thailand to ten million by 2005, a report in KrungthepTurakij said. There are now three million holders of Visa debit cards and two million holders of...

CPF will increase its investment in stocks - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... The Central Pension Fund (CPF) plans to increase the percentage of its investments in stocks from seven per cent to nine per cent, a report in Krungthep Turakij said. The CPF plans to invest more in stocks since the interest rate on...

Provincial chambers will run the government's Strong Retail Joint Company - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... Chambers of commerce all over the country will help run the joint company formed by the government to help small-scale retailers compete with multinational discount store chains, Krungthep Turakij reported. Deputy Commerce Minister Newin...

Safe-T Cut sets annual growth target at 20 per cent - Krungthep Turakij 29/6/02.
July 1, 2002... The revival of the real estate market will help Safe-T Cut increase sales of electricity cutting equipment this year, a report in Krungthep Turakij said. Safe-T Cut has an 80 per cent share of the electricity cutting equipment market. Last...

A Jasmine executive has started up a new net company - Krungthep Turakij 1/7/02.
July 1, 2002... Mono Technology is a new company founded to invest in Internet companies, mobile entertainment, and online games, according to a report in Krungthep Turakij. Pitch Potaramik, an executive at Jasmine International, is the major shareholder...

Kim Eng predicts the SET index will reach 500 points - Krungthep Turakij 1/7/02.
July 1, 2002... Several positive factors will help the SET index rise to about 500 points by the end of the year, Krungthep Turakij quoted a report from Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) as saying. Analysts at Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) believe the SET...

BBL spends more on improvements - Krungthep Turakij 1/7/02.
July 1, 2002... Bangkok Bank (BBL) is updating its branches and spending more on its computer system, a report in Krungthep Turakij said. Under its business transformation programme, BBL will renovate 152 branches and 32 business offices in Bangkok and 183...

RAMOKGOPA SAYS NO INITIATION SCHOOL CLOSURES ON THE CARDS -- FOR.
July 1, 2002... NOW Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa said on Monday she would wait for a report from health officials before closing down any further initiation schools in the Heidelberg area where five boys died and more than 30 injured after botched...

STANDARD CORPORATE AND MERCHANT BANK FOREX OPENING INDICATION RATES FOR 01 JULY 2002 AS AT 09:00.
July 1, 2002... Rates for amounts up to R 140 000 Bank Buying | Bank Selling Country Cur T/T Cheques Foreign | Cheques Foreign Notes | and T/T Notes QUOTATIONS ON BASIS RAND PER UNIT FOREIGN CURRENCY BRITISH STERLING GBP 15.5671 15.5308 15.5246 | 16.0330...

MERCANTILE BANK RSULTS DOMINATED BY NEW PROVISIONS FOR CREDIT.
July 1, 2002... LOSSES Mercantile Bank's results for the year ended March 31 were dominated by new provisions for credit losses. The bank's interest income was R353,8-million and its interest expense, R235,3-million. In addition to the provision for credit...

TELKOM REPORTS EIGHT PERCENT RISE IN REVENUE.
July 1, 2002... Telecommunications utility Telkom on Monday reported an eight percent growth in revenue and 15 percent in headline earnings per share for the year ended March. There was also a 16 percent rise in group operating cash flow, Telkom said in a...

JHB AIRPORT UPS SECURITY AHEAD OF AFRICAN UNION MEETING.
July 1, 2002... The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) said on Monday it was heightening security ahead of the African Union (AU) meeting later this month and the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development. ACSA said the AU meeting in Durban would...

TELKOM TO BE FINED FOR MISSING NEW LINE TARGET.
July 1, 2002... Telkom expected to pay a fine of between R8-million and R12-million for failing to meet government targets for new telephone lines, the telecommunications utility said on Monday. Announcing its group results for the year ended March, Telkom...

109 PEOPLE ARRESTED IN KATLEHONG.
July 1, 2002... A total of 109 people were arrested on various charges in Katlehong on the East Rand at the weekend, Gauteng police said on Monday. Eight firearms, seven pistols, a .38 special revolver, two stolen vehicles, and a television set were...

FIRST NATIONAL BANK PUBLIC EXCHANGE RATES.
July 1, 2002... Published at 11:10:40 against the Rand on Mon 1 Jul 2002 for amounts up to R50 000 Bank Bank Bank Bank Currency Selling Buying Buying Buying Rate Rate TC's Notes Rand per Foreign Currency Unit USD US DOLLARS 10.3472 10.1232 10.0672 10.0422 GBP...

New clot-busters are on the way.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Vithal C Nadkarni : Since Reliance chairman Dhirubhai Ambani had his first stroke in the mid-80s, significant advances have been made in the treatment of strokes. Earlier, doctors had little to offer to stroke victims except...

Kanchi seer flays govt for allowing FDI in print.
July 1, 2002... Byline: S Balakrishnan : The Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Sri Jayendra Saraswati has criticised the Union government's decision to permit 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the print media. Talking to this...

HRD ministry plans to impose gurudakshina.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Sakina Yusuf Khan : The ministry of human resource development wants to turn the clock back, to ancient times. So what if it can't turn universities into gurukuls, it can at least impose a gurudakshina tax. That's exactly what...

The babel of voices on J&K.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Mohua Chatterjee There is utter confusion on important issues - with Union ministers expressing contradictory views - within the Vajpayee government and the bureaucracy doesn't know what to go by. What is the goverment's stand on...

'India's defence spending to shoot up'.
July 1, 2002... : India is going in for major procurement of military hardware and software, as also upgrading its surveillance, defence and strike capabilities, in keeping with its ''expanding'' strategic role as a ''super regional power''. ''Our defence...

Thakur quits, Naidu, Jaitley also resign.
July 1, 2002... : Senior ministers, BJP functionaries and NDA allies made a beeline for 7, Race Course Road on Saturday in the hope of influencing matters at the margins, even as the broad contours of Prime Minister Vajpayee's proposed cabinet shuffle remain...

C P Thakur's men ransack BJP office.
July 1, 2002... PATNA: About 100 people, believed to be supporters of Union health minister and Patna MP C P Thakur, on Sunday, ransacked the Bihar BJP headquarters amid reports that Thakur was likely to be dropped from the cabinet in the reshuffle to be...

Deadline delay makes rain go down drain.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Saurabh Sinha : The Central Ground Water Authority's (CGWA) delay in issuing a fresh notification on the deadline for installing rainwater harvesting structures has created confusion among people. The deadline for installing the...

Sporty spirits will watch soccer final in style.
July 1, 2002... : Get ready to cheer and kick-up the sporty spirits for the grand finale to the football mania. And thank God it's a Sunday. Boon for football freaks who are gearing up to enjoy the Brazil-Germany clash. An official from Coke said: "Some of...

MTNL officials will pay for data error.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Snigdha Sen : If an official errs with data and the company is taken to court, who pays for deficiency in service? In a recent judgment against Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), a consumer court has asked the service...

MCD chief conducts surprise raid in hospital.
July 1, 2002... : Municipal commissioner Rakesh Mehta conducted midnight raids at Singhu Border Toll Tax Post and Hindu Rao Hospital. Mehta was accompanied by vigilance officials of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) and the anti-corruption branch. Mehta...

Noida TV unit gutted.
July 1, 2002... NOIDA: A large quantity of television sets, picture tubes, accessories and packaging material was destroyed when a television producing unit in Sector 60 caught fire on Saturday afternoon. Two persons were hurt. On preliminary examination,...

3 held for pilfering medicines.
July 1, 2002... : The police have arrested three persons, including two employees of Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital in east Delhi, for allegedly pilfering medicine and equipment from the hospital. Third person to be arrested is the man who was allegedly...

5 held for killing boy in East Delhi.
July 1, 2002... : With the arrest of five minor boys, the police claimed to have worked out the murder of Mehboob (10) in Mayur Vihar on Wednesday. The accused allegedly sodomised the victim before killing him. The sodomy-cum-murder committed by such young...

Businessman shot dead in Naraina.
July 1, 2002... : A commission agent was shot dead in Naraina Loha Mandi on Friday night. Manmohan Dhadani (40), a resident of Inderpuri, was shot dead at about 8.15 pm. He received four bullet injuries, one each on the chest and abdomen and two in the...

Okhla police to be probed for land grab.
July 1, 2002... : A probe into the Tughlakabad Fort land scam has cast a shadow on the Okhla police amid suspicions that they played a role in the construction of an illegal colony inside the fort. The government land was illegally encroached between year...

BSES, Tata Power begin power supply today.
July 1, 2002... : Finally Delhiites can have a good night's sleep. From Monday, when the two private firms - the Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES) and the Tata Power - begin distributing power, complaint centres may become more responsive and billing...

Waterlogging helps water harvesting.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Sudeshna Chatterjee New Delhi: Even bad planning has its advantages. Take waterlogging, for instance. Clogged drains and the absence of a proper drainage system will result in the collection of rain water at 135 places in the city...

Consumer is king: Mantra of Tata Powers, BSES.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Shubhajit Roy New Delhi:The consumer is king. This is the mantra being promised by the two private companies, Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES) and Tata Power, who take over the reins of Delhi Vidyut Board's three...

4 new Janshatabdi trains.
July 1, 2002... New Delhi: Northern Railway released a new time table on Sunday to be effective from July 1. Four new Janshatabdi Express trains will run between Varanasi-Lucknow, New Delhi-Dehradun, Chandigarh-New Delhi and Kota-Nizamuddin. The...

Drive against pollution begins today.
July 1, 2002... New Delhi: The Delhi state government will launch a drive to check pollution under control (PUC) certificates of all vehicles from Monday, while the traffic police will carry out a drive to enforce the new licence-plate norms. While...

Delhi Police constable guns down kin.
July 1, 2002... New Delhi: A constable went berserk on Sunday and sprayed at least 17 bullets at his relative at the Mayur Vihar police station. At about 11.45 am, constable Surinder (40), who was on guard at the police station, opened fire from his...

CM seeks Rs 75 cr central aid for rain-hit.
July 1, 2002... THANE: Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has sought immediate assistance of Rs 75 crore from the Union agriculture ministry to deal with the extensive loss of life and property in the torrential rains on Wednesday. Mr Deshmukh has also...

Dhirubhai's condition remains critical.
July 1, 2002... : Ailing Reliance group chairman Dhirubhai Ambani's condition remained critical but stable on the fifth day of his hospitalisation. In an evening briefing to the media, Breach Candy Hospital officials said that a second CT scan showed no...

Azad Maidan police station opened.
July 1, 2002... : Visitors to the 113-year-old Azad Maidan police station will no longer have to sit on wooden benches as they wait their turn to be heard. They will be greeted at a reception desk and led to a waiting room with sleek furniture and sofas....

Treasure Island: Where dreams come true.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Ambarish Mishra : Since last Tuesday, Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani has rocked Mumbai's emotional Richter scale. While the stock market skipped a beat and VVIPs made a beeline to Breach Candy Hospital to call on the ailing business...

Ahmedabad is still a city divided, say activists.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Shabnam Minwalla : Newspaper headlines may have moved on to golden goals and ailing industrialists. But in the makeshift camps and charred shanties of Ahmedabad, life remains frozen at that sickening moment when the mobs...

BDA razes three-storey building.
July 1, 2002... : The Bangalore Development Authority on Sunday carried out a demolition in Jayanagar IV Block. Unauthorised shops had come up in the area in addition to a basement and a three floor building which was illegally constructed and rented out to...

2 women hurt in acid attack.
July 1, 2002... : A woman and her 19-year-old niece were the victims of an acid attack near Attiguppe bus stop in Vijayanagar on Saturday night. Four unidentified youths came on motorcyles and splashed acid on them and fled. The women suffered burns on...

RTO declares war on touts.
July 1, 2002... Byline: BANSY KALAPPA : It's war, and it has sent touts scurrying. At some of Bangalore's Regional Transport Offices, touts are a rare sight. Check out the Koramangala RTO office: tables and chairs once occupied by waylaying but...

E-governance plan aims to cut red tape in govt.
July 1, 2002... Byline: SEETHALAKSHMI S : To ensure speedy decision-making and cut the red-tape out of administration, the state government is in the process of formulating a governance-strategy action plan which, among other things, envisages the setting...

Kalam's autobiography in Kannada soon.
July 1, 2002... Byline: ANANTHA KRISHNAN M : `Agniya Rekkegalu', the Kannada version of President-to-be A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's autobiography `Wings of Fire', will hit the stands this October. The man who is chasing the trajectory of Missile Magician's...

CM gives thumbs up to 3 flyovers.
July 1, 2002... : Chief Minister S.M. Krishna on Sunday took stock of infrastructure projects which have not taken off in the city and gave the go ahead for the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to take up three flyovers intersecting either the inner or...

Allum continues to be KPCC chief.
July 1, 2002... : The Congress high command has decided against going in for frequent changes of the KPCC President, thereby indicating present incumbent Allum Veerabhadrappa's continuation. AICC sources told The Times of India over telephone here on...

Patil likely to meet Cong leaders in Delhi.
July 1, 2002... : An ```upset and hurt'' Water Resources Minister H.K. Patil is likely to meet the Congress high command sometime during this week to apprise them of his feelings on the recent cabinet reshuffle. Congress legislators---ministerial...

NCW to look into sexual misconduct cases.
July 1, 2002... Byline: PAAWANA POONACHA : The Supreme Court judgment of 1997 rules that every workplace is expected to set up a complaints committee to inquire into cases of sexual harassment against women. With practically no tangible outcome of...

State to unveil agro-food policy soon.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Sowmya Aji Mehu : Karnataka ``wastes'' Rs 3,000 crore worth horticulture and agriculture products every year. - Only 2 per cent of agriculture produce is processed as against 30 per cent in developed countries. -...

Date with Del Piero... Beckham for dessert.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Dhiman Chattopadhyay Cricket is played round-the-year and Grand Slam tennis, every two months. Yet what is it about World Cup Football that drives even women - from offices and kitchens - to cheer their favourite hunks for 90...

HS results a phone call away.
July 1, 2002... : The West Bengal Higher Secondary Council has announced two telephone numbers through which candidates or their guardians can know results after giving details like the roll number. Council president Jyotirmoy Mukherjee announced on...

Man on Metro track saved.
July 1, 2002... : Bikash Mukherjee, 60, a retired municipal employee from Gariahat had a narrow escape when a Metro train passed over him at Kalighat station on Saturday morning. Though Metro officials claimed that Mukherjee had attempted suicide, the...

Channels wars blank out cricket matches.
July 1, 2002... ROBIN ROY : The good news is cricket is back. And the bad news is that Kolkatans will not see the action. RPG and Siticable, the major operators in the city, have joined hands to "teach Entertainment and Sports Network and Star Sports a...

Rs 10 lakh for a feathered friend.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey : As a child Arpan Mitra fed crows and watched sparrow chicks hatch in his study. While an undergraduate commerce student in St Xavier's College, a strange cackle emanating from a dilapidated...

BSF offers to train BDR.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Nirmalya Banerjee : Officers of the Bangladesh Rifles have been offered training facilities at Border Security Force training institutes, additional DIG BSF South Bengal range Ramesh Singh said in Kolkata on Sunday. Besides...

CR cancels six Lonavla locals.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: The Pune division of Central Railway has cancelled six local trains running between Pune and Lonavla on Sunday due to major repair works. The trains to Lonavla which have been cancelled are L-12 leaving Pune at 11.35 am, L-14 at...

Three burglaries in city.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: Cash and valuables worth Rs 96,000 were stolen in three cases of burglary in the last 48 hours. The Swargate police said unidentified men entered the house of one Raju Punekar at Laxminagar in the Parvati area between 12.30 am and...

Pune awaits a Klose World Cup final.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: With only few hours left for the grand football finale between Brazil and Germany, the city is all set for the big kick. For fans, both who are swaying to the samba tune and who are hoping for another Klose Ball(ack), the feeling is...

Cops lack resources to protect women: IG.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: Special inspector-general of police (protection of civil rights) Shridevi Goyal on Saturday attributed the failure of the police to prevent atrocities against women to lack of resources. She urged the Maharashtra State Women's...

Pune most polluted city in Maharashtra.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Abhijit Atre PUNE: In 1995-96, the Pune municipal corporation received the honour of becoming the first and only municipal corporation in the state to prepare an environment status report for the city. Seven years down the...

Cable operator's premises sealed.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: Thousands of Pune Associated Cable subscribers had to make do without TV programmes as the control room of the PAC was sealed by an entertainment duty official on Saturday morning. PAC network director Vasant Patwardhan said, "We...

Police fail to get stamp racket kingpin Telgi.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: The court of the metropolitan magistrate in Bangalore refused to hand over the kingpin of the fake stamp paper racket, Abdul Telgi, to the Pune police on Saturday. It may be recalled that the Pune police had secured a transfer...

Centre, state silent on airport security.
July 1, 2002... PUNE: Friday afternoon's incident at Lohegaon airport where three unauthorised people were found approaching a Jet Airways flight waiting on the tarmac for take-off, has once again exposed the lethargic attitude of the state and central...

Paradise lost: Citizens breathless.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Abhijit Atre PUNE: In the decades gone by, this rapidly expanding city was known as a "pensioner's paradise" and as "Oxford of the East" in recognition of its famous educational institutes. Its label today reads: "Most polluted...

Kids get four-wheels to toy with.
July 1, 2002... Sajid Shaikh & Amarendra Jha SURAT/VADODARA: If you have it, flaunt it. And youngsters are doing so in style and on four wheels. Cool curves and hot styling, fully loaded cars have caught the fancy of youngsters across the state. From...

Kurien threatens to promote Dhara.
July 1, 2002... VADODARA: A day after the chairman of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union, Ramesh Patel, goaded farmers at its AGM to raise their voice against the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) over the issue of use of...

6 held for abducting industrialist.
July 1, 2002... : A city-based doctor was arrested by Satellite police on Saturday evening on the charges of allegedly kidnapping a local industrialist. Sources in the Satellite police station said, "A local medical practitioner, Dr Rakesh Gupta, is among...

101 couples to wed at Dariakhan relief camp.
July 1, 2002... : As many as 101 more couples would enter wedlock at a glittering ceremony to be held at Dariakhan Gummat relief camp on Sunday. The couples, mostly from the camps of the riot-affected, would take part in the mass marriage being conducted...

Naidu's elevation shot in the arm for Modi.
July 1, 2002... Byline: Anil Pathak : With Venkaiah Naidu set to be the BJP president and Arun Jaitley the general secretary, Chief Minister Narendra Modi's political fortunes seem to be looking up. He is expected to emerge more powerful in organisational...

Six detained under Pasa.
July 1, 2002... JAMNAGAR: Six persons were detained under Pasa on charges of land grabbing and sent to different jails at Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad and Vadodara on Sunday. The detained persons have been identified as Ala Mulu, Amritlal Jeram, Shiva...

Family planning programme yet to reach 9% couples.
July 1, 2002... VADODARA: The state health department's family planning programme has not reached 9 per cent of married couples in Gujarat who say that they would have opted for family planning methods if these were made available to them. This finding...

Rajamata's sister passes away.
July 1, 2002... VADODARA: Almost a month after the death of Rajamata Shantadevi Gaekwad, her sister Devyanidevi Gaekwad passed away on Saturday at the Bhailal Amin general hospital where she was under treatment for some weeks. Devyanidevi Gaekwad was 82....

Protest organised by Youth Congress.
July 1, 2002... : The Gujarat Pradesh Youth Congress organised a protest against hike in edible oil prices in Ahmedabad on Saturday. A large number of youth workers of the party gathered at the Town Hall in the city and shouted slogans against the price hike...

Four-month-old dies in house collapse.
July 1, 2002... VADODARA: A four-month-old baby died when a house in the Ladwada area of the city collapsed due to heavy rains on Saturday morning. According to sources in the fire brigade, a house in the Moti Khadki locality of Ladwada partially collapsed...