Statesman (India) articles from December 2009

Statesman (India) archives from December 2009

Rlys avert major mishap.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News service KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE, 30 DEC: The Maoists removed the pandrolclips from a 400 metre stretch of railway track, on both up and down lines near Ghatkhurahalt station, between Jhargramand Gidhniin Kharagpur-Tatanagarsection...

Slain mans kin feel unsafe.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: Chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today instructed police to provide security to the family of the slain Congress leader, Bapi Choudhury, of Habra in the North 24-Parganas after his family (in...

Mamata invited to inauguration of Bedi Bhavan plot.
December 31, 2009... ;Anindita Chowdhury KOLKATA, 30 DEC: The land and land reforms department has sent out invitations to the Union railway minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee and two of her MLAs Mr Javed Khan and Mr Sovandeb Chattopadhyay for the inauguration of the...

Didi names six trains.
December 31, 2009... KOLKATA, 30 Dec: A section of employees, who are members of a particular railway employees union, purposely create problems to delay train services, the railway minister Miss Mamata Banerjee alleged today. Miss Banerjee was speaking at an...

Government steps up battle against HIV.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA 30 DEC: The state health minister, Dr Surya Kanta Mishra, said that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the School of Tropical Medicine (STM) and Manchester University for conducting...

No seniority norm in appointment of dean.
December 31, 2009... KOLKATA,30 Dec:A fresh controversy has cropped up at the Bidhan Chandra KrishiVishwavidyalayaover the selection of the new dean for agriculture department. It is being alleged that the university authority has ignored seniority norms and...

Rallies take a toll on city.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: Senior officers of the city police said consensus among political parties is required to maintain smooth flow of traffic in the city. Traffic movements along Chittaranjan Avenue was affected for...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... ;BiswabrataGoswami HALDIA,30 DEC: Even after a round of talks between the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjeeand Prime Minister, Dr ManmohonSingh over the navigability issues at Haldia dock two ships, loaded with iron-ore, again got...

Paradise that suffers under Maoist threat.
December 31, 2009... ;Kanchan Siddiqui MUKUTMONIPUR, 30 DEC: Unabated threat by the Left wing ultras along with the changing climate have brought trouble for Bengals paradise, Mukutmonipur. The continued Maoist menace since about a decade back has made people so...

New path for fiscal prudence.
December 31, 2009... ; SNS & PTI NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The Finance Commission, which makes recommendations on sharing of tax revenues by the Centre and States, has suggested a new path for fiscal prudence in its report submitted to the President, Mrs Pratibha...

Biz Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Indo-Asean trade NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: Imports of several items like fish, apparel, cheese, tyres and construction equipment from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand will become cheaper from Friday as India-Asean free trade agreement comes into force...

Govt clears 9 FDI plans worth Rs 524 crore.
December 31, 2009... ; Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The government has cleared nine proposals that will bring in foreign investments worth Rs 524 crore, more than half of which would be contributed by Japanese Mitsui and Company in setting up...

Iron ore exports set to decline.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The mineral industry body FIMI today said iron ore exports were set to decline by about six million tons during this financial year on account of the recent five per cent hike in export duty. The industry has set a...

Centre shelves UTN introduction.
December 31, 2009... ; Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The government has decided to shelve the introduction of the Unique Transaction Number (UTN), which tax payers need to quote along with Permanent Account Number when tax is deducted/collected at...

Pranab against withdrawal of stimulus now.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The Union finance minister, Mr PranabMukherjee, has virtually ruled out any hasty withdrawal of stimulus packages, bringing some cheer to India Inc. ahead of the New Year. Exiting from the stimulus packages now may not be...

5th N-E biz summit to be held in Kolkata.
December 31, 2009... ; Press Trust of India AGARTALA, 30 DEC: The fifth North-Eastern Business Summit to woo investment from outside, organised by the ministry of development of north-eastern region (DoNER) would be held in Kolkata. It will be a two-day event...

Special Article.
December 31, 2009... Year-end thoughts Foreign Policy Establishment In Good Shape By Salman Haidar 2009 was a much less dramatic year for the countrys external relations than were the previous few. There was no high drama, like that associated with the...

Politics In Your Genes?
December 31, 2009... WASHINGTON, 30 DEC: Is there politics in your genes? Your answer may be negative, but American scientist believe that genetics play a pivotal role in shaping how individual's identify with political parties. According to an article published...

Edits.
December 31, 2009... Death in China Ruthless suppression of drugs and dissent China has had its way with the execution of AkmalSheikh, a British citizen, for drug smuggling, ignoring eleventh hour appeals for clemency from the British Prime Minister, Gordon...

Socialist trio humbled in 2009.
December 31, 2009... ;Nirendra Dev NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: For the socialist trio of Mr MulayamSingh Yadav,Mr LaluPrasadand Mr Ram VilasPaswan,2009 was not a very good year. The once prominent members of the secular brigade and benefactors of post-Mandalpolitics were...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... UGC chairman New Delhi, 30 DEC: The University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Sukhadeo Thorat would be the new president of Indian Economic Association (IEA). His name was nominated for the post for the year 2010 by the general body of IEA...

Tribal woman rape case: Govt issues order to arrest Tandon.
December 31, 2009... Jaipur, 30 DEC: Under intense media pressure, the Rajasthan government today asked the Special Operation Group of the police to find and arrest former DIG Madhukar Tandon, who had allegedly raped a tribal woman 13 years ago and had been...

CBSE to issue guidelines after Ruchika case.
December 31, 2009... New Delhi, 30 DEC: In a fallout of the Ruchika molestation case in which she was expelled by her school, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will soon issue guidelines to ensure that other schools do not take such steps against the...

Rosaiah wary of industries pullout.
December 31, 2009... HYDERABAD, 30 DEC: Chief minister Mr K Rosaiah today said that various sectors of the industry were apprehensive about continuing in Andhra Pradesh, particularly Hyderabad, because of the continuing unrest over statehood for Telangana region. ...

Vishnuvardhans death marks end of an era.
December 31, 2009... ;Indo-Asian News Service Bangalore, 30 DEC: The sudden death of Kannada movie icon Vishnuvardhan has devastated millions of Kannadigas around the world. Well-known cricketer Anil Kumble, a big fan of the late actor, described his demise as a...

Sena warns revellers, dampens spirit.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service MUMBAI, 30 DEC: The Shiv Sena today warned revellers to stay within limits during New Year celebrations. Partys deputy leader Ms Nilam Gorhe said members of the student-wing Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena would be keeping...

Cong ends 2009 on triumphant note.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: After sweeping to power at the Centre in the May general elections this year for the second successive term as the lead player of the UPAalliance, the Congress party, which also managed to retain power in...

Most people in Tibet are Ethnic Tibetans.
December 31, 2009... ;Kavita Suri JAMMU, 30 DEC: Saying that it was wrong to cast aspersions on a census conducted by Chinese government in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) with regard to the Tibetan population in the area, well known author and senior IAS officer...

Soren takes charge for third time.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service RANCHI, 30 DEC: The arduous election process of electing the 81-member third Jharkhand Assembly, which began on 25 November, ended today with the swearing-in of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Mr Shibu Soren as...

When SC prioritised public interest.
December 31, 2009... ;Ajita Singh NEW DELHI, 30 DEC; The year 2009 has been a challenging year for the Supreme Court and judicial activism of the Courts judges. The most sacrosanct Court at the pinnacle of the Indian judiciary passed several significant...

CM: More for minorities.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: Not just reservations but equal opportunities in the field of education and employment along with land reform measure are essential for the development of minorities, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, chief...

Two more ships run aground at Haldia.
December 31, 2009... ;BiswabrataGoswami HALDIA,30 DEC: Even after a round of talks between the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjeeand Prime Minister, Dr ManmohonSingh over the navigability issues at Haldia dock two ships, loaded with iron-ore, again got...

No seniority norm in appointment of dean.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA,30 Dec:A fresh controversy has cropped up at the Bidhan Chandra KrishiVishwavidyalayaover the selection of the new dean for the agriculture department. It is being alleged that the university authority has...

Eden report under wraps.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: The much-awaited report by Kolkata Police on the power failure during the India-Sri Lanka day-night one day international held at the Eden Gardens last week cannot be made public till the chief...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Man burnt to death KOLKATA, 30 Dec: A 48-year-old man was burnt to death when a fire broke out in his residence at Bantra in Howrah this evening. Police said Gautam Gharui, a daily wager at a factory was drunk when he returned home this...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Security beefed up for New Years eve KOLKATA, 30 DEC: The city police has made elaborate plans to beef up security on the New Year's eve. Two thousand additional policemen will be posted to maintain law and order in the city. Officers of...

Government steps up battle against HIV.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA 30 DEC: The state health minister, Dr Surya Kanta Mishra, said that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the School of Tropical Medicine (STM) and Manchester University for conducting...

Rallies take a toll on city.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: Senior officers of the city police said consensus among political parties is required to maintain smooth flow of traffic in the city. Traffic movement along Chittaranjan Avenue was affected for over...

Raiganj to get its own AIIMS soon.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service RAIGANJ, 30 DEC: Very soon the construction of a hospital in the pattern of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) will start in Raiganj of North Dinajpur district, Union health minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi...

Cop image makeover: Newest agenda on states list.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service BALURGHAT 30 DEC: Conforming to the state governments commitment to transform police into a public-spirited force, the South Dinajpur police are doing yeomens service for the needy in the district. This might look as...

DGHC workers upset over Gurungs remarks on jobs.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News service KURSEONG, 30 DEC: The Jan Mukti Asthai Karmachari Sangathan leadership has expressed disappointment over of the GJMM presidents Mr Bimal Gurungs recent statement where he claimed that the DGHC casual workers should...

Dissident MLAs driver held for possessing drugs.
December 31, 2009... Gangtok, Dec 30: Police have arrested a man, stated to be the driver of a dissident leader of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), for possession of drugs. Acting on a tip-off, police searched Bikash Bhujel, driver of SDF leader Mr Bhoj...

Students polls end peacefully.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service SILIGURI, 30 DEC: The election to the Siliguri College students union today ended peacefully. However, re-polling to two seats would be held tomorrow, followed by the counting. Voting for the seats was cancelled today...

Traffic: EBM chairman seeks DMs help.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service MALDA, 30 DEC: The chairman of the English Bazaar Municipality (EBM) has sought help from both the district magistrate and the sabhadhipati of Malda Zilla Parishad to overcome the problem of traffic congestion by...

Police-BSF joint raid to recover firearms from N Dinajpur.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service RAIGANJ, 30 DEC: The North Dinajpur police and the Border Security Force would conduct a joint raid to recover unauthorsed fire arms from the villages near Indo-Bangladesh border in places like Chopra, Goalpokhar and...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Seven hurt in CPM-Cong clash RAIGANJ, 30 DEC: Seven persons were injured in a clash involving the CPI-M and the Congress activists at Marwa Vasti under Islampur police station this afternoon. Five of the injured were admitted in Islampur...

14 hurt in CP-SFI clash in Malda.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service MALDA, 30 DEC: The Mangalbari area under Malda police station turned into a battle field today due to a clash between the activists of Student Federation of India (SFI) and Chhatra Parishad (SFI) over the issue of...

Bhandare wants Red Cross members in health, sanitation programmes.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR, 30 DEC: Governor MC Bhandare today stressed on the need of involving youth Red Cross members in awareness generation activities, service and training programmes. Youth volunteers can achieve great results...

2009 was a mixed bag for Jagatsinghpur.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service JAGATSINGHPUR, 30 DEC: Jagatsinghpur district witnessed yet another eventful year in 2009 which brought both joy and sorrow for the people. The about-to-end year also witnessed many ups and downs in political arena....

Congress councillors lock up Sambalpur municipality.
December 31, 2009... Statesman News Service SAMBALPUR, 30 DEC: Protesting the alleged corruption going on in Sambalpur municipality with tacit support from the chairperson, the Congress councillors locked the main gate of the municipality office here yesterday....

VVJM core committee members arrested.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service JAJPUR, 30 DEC: Kalinga Nagar police have arrested two core committee members of Vistapan Virodhi Jan Manch (VVJM), the anti-land acquisition brigade, from Gadhapur village late last night. The arrest, ahead of...

Woman Maoist gives up as leaders attempt to play Cupid.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service Rayagada, 30 Dec: A fearsome woman Maoist who was involved in violence for the last three years in Orissa, today surrendered because her seniors were attempting to play Cupid. The woman, Pidikaka Laxmi alias Sunita...

Ban puts fishermen in distress.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service JAGATSINGHPUR, 30 DEC: Imposition of ban on fishing within 20 km radius from coast for seven months inorder to protect Olive Ridley Turtles has adversely affected the livelihood of fishermen here. The government...

NPR survey halted in Kendrapara.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KENDRAPARA, 30 DEC: Hit by bureaucratic red-tape, the National Population Register (NPR) survey of infiltration-hit coastal villages has come to an abrupt halt in Kendrapara. Though head-count of settlers has been...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Fiscally wise NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The Finance Commission, which makes recommendations on sharing of tax revenues by the Centre and States, has suggested a new path for fiscal prudence in its 13th report submitted to President Pratibha Patil...

SIT to probe Rathore FIRs.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service PANCHKULA, 30 DEC: Haryana police today set up a seven-member Special Investigation Team for the two fresh cases registered against former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore and others in connection with the Ruchika Girhotra...

Rathores snub the media.
December 31, 2009... Panchkula, 30 DEC: Facing fresh charges in the Ruchika case, former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore today mocked at the media, saying that the day you can satisfy me you are a constitutional power on judicial matters, I will speak (to you). "We will...

Tharoors OSD opens second front.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: The Twitter drama is far from over. Even as the minister of state for external affairs, Mr ShashiTharoor,today met his boss, Mr SMKrishna, to explain his tweets objecting to the change in visa rules, Mr Tharoorsoffice opened a...

Court relief for Vijayan.
December 31, 2009... Kochi, 30 Dec: CPI(M) Kerala secretary Mr Pinarayi Vijayan (in photograph), listed as an accused in the Rs 100 crore graft case relating to awarding of contract to a Canadian firm during his tenure as Power Minister in 1998, today got a...

Centre calls Telangana meet.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD, 30 DEC: Union home minister Mr P Chidambaramtoday called a meeting of eight recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh in the national capital on 5 January for discussions on the contentious Telangana statehood issue. ...

This time, Ill make a real difference: Shibu.
December 31, 2009... ;Dipankar Bose, RANCHI, 30 DEC: A few minutes before he took oath as the seventh chief minister of Jharkhand, Shivcharan Manjhi aka Shibu Soren spoke to The Statesman. Excerpts: Jharkhand is barely nine years old and you are the states...

Making a memorable lyric.
December 31, 2009... Lyricist, Songwriters Hall of Fame-inductee and Oscar winner Don Black stands beside the snooker table in his plush Holland Park apartment and presses play on a CD player. The words to "Diamonds Are Forever", for which Black wrote the lyrics in...

Amid dark times, the inspiring people of 2009.
December 31, 2009... It was a dark year, 2009, sealing a dark decade. It began with the world in economic free-fall and the Gaza Strip being bombed to pieces (again). We watched the vicious crushing of a democratic uprising in Iran, a successful far-right coup in...

Way of all flesh.
December 31, 2009... ; Sunrit Mullick A couple of weeks back, Diana Schack wrote me from Michigan, I have a very important question! I assume you would prefer a vegetarian lunch at the conference luncheon but could you verify that? The other options are chicken...

100 YEARS AGO TODAY.
December 31, 2009... News Item A sad case of hydrophobia has occurred in the 70th Battery Royal Field Artillery, Bangalore, which has just returned from the practice camp at Birsandra. Gunness Collins and MacLaughlan were bitten by a mad dog. Collins who...

Genetic jigsaw.
December 31, 2009... DNA cycles maintain a continuous evolutionary process despite mutations and recombinations, writes Tapan Kumar Maitra GENETIC properties are possessed not only by the nucleoid DNA but also by the cytoplasm DNA elements called plasmids which...

Decoding Darwin.
December 31, 2009... Some of the most startling discoveries of 2009 ~ the 200th birth anniversary of the biologist and the 150th anniversary of his seminal book ~ showed him in a new light. Steve Connor explains a few of the most vital CLIMATE change, stem cells...

Starving the enemy.
December 31, 2009... The Influenza virus is found to use collaborators within the infected cell to work its horror and conventional defence is thus viewed as useless. But a new discovery by a group in California is being viewed with interest and hope, says S...

Convincing win for Oz.
December 31, 2009... ;Agencies MELBOURNE, 30 DEC: Ricky Ponting described Australia's crushing 170-run win today over Pakistan as "one of our best Test wins in quite a while" and challenged his side to again be a dominant force in world cricket. Ponting...

Better Poms than Proteas.
December 31, 2009... ;Agencies DURBAN, 30 DEC: India will be happy. The team that threaten to pull them down from Test cricket's top perch took a nasty toss today. Graeme Swann took five for 54 as England wrapped up victory by an innings and 98 runs on the...

Jayasuriya finds himself dropped.
December 31, 2009... ;Agencies COLOMBO, 30 DEC: The world's most experienced one-day batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya, has been axed from next month's limited-overs tri-series in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Cricket said today. Jayasuriya, 40, was not named in Sri Lanka's...

The blow that changed Gambhirs outlook.
December 31, 2009... ;Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 DEC: Gautam Gambhir may be among the world's premier batsmen but the International Cricket Council's Test Player of the Year believes he did not get the kind of backing early in his career which some others...

Briefs.
December 31, 2009... Ronaldo will be historys best Cristiano Ronaldo told sports daily Marca on Wednesday he was determined to become "the best player in history." The Real Madrid megastar also made it clear that he aimed to regain the...

Lajong FC pull it off.
December 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 DEC: Lajong FC's Federation Cup fairytale has had a chapter added to it. And it reads fine. They made a really big day of it, knocking Churchill Brothers out of the competition at Guwahati's Nehru...

England deny pullout plan.
December 31, 2009... LONDON: England's Commonwealth Games officials insisted late on Tuesday they had received no security warnings to indicate the team must withdraw from the New Delhi event next year because its athletes could be targeted by terrorists. England...

Indian board trying to lessen pitch fiasco punishment.
December 31, 2009... NEW DELHI/MELBOURNE, 30 DEC: The Board of Control for Cricket in India, sometimes described as more powerful within the International Cricket Council than all its peers put together, was today said to be trying its best to ensure Ferozeshah...

Wife broke Woods teeth with golf club.
December 31, 2009... ;Indo-Asian News Service LONDON, 30 DEC: Furman Bisher, one of America's most respected sports journalists, claims Tiger Woods (in photo) needed his face rebuilding after his angry wife, Elin Nordegren, hit him with a golf club, reports The...

Making our country proud.
December 31, 2009... India has carved a niche in the sports arena, says Saikat Bhattacharyya India achieved many highs during this year in the sports arena. The credit goes to all those sportspersons who have brought laurels and made our country proud. Indian...

For a brand New Year.
December 31, 2009... Resolutions and promises are like eggs ~ they are meant to be broken, says Debadrita Bhattacharya It's 2.30 at night (actually morning) of a very fine day (umm night) and I've finally managed the time to switch on my laptop to write my New...

Ring in the new!
December 31, 2009... New Year celebrations on 1 January is one of the oldest phenomena in the world which is held in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. But do you know during the Middle Ages, most European countries celebrated the New Year on 25 March as per...

Flashback 2009.
December 31, 2009... Just see how quickly a whole year has passed! In fact today is the last day of the whole decade. So, how do you feel on the last day of 2009? I wonder what makes time run so fast. It was only a few days back 2009 had begun and today is the last...

ROCKET SINGH SALESMAN OF THE YEAR.
December 31, 2009... Cast Ranbir Kapoor (Harpreet Singh Bedi) Shazahn Padamsee (Ritu) Mukesh Bhatt Prem Chopra Shabaz Shahab (Chipta Gunda) Director: Shimit Amin Producer: Aditya Chopra Writer: Jaideep Sahni Music Director: Salim &...

Avatar.
December 31, 2009... 3D Thrill Avatar marks the birth of a new breed of action film and a cinematic experience in so much so that several Indian cinema halls have installed 3-D screens. Avatar is the movie of the 21st century and 3-D just takes it to a different...

Hear the New Year bells.
December 31, 2009... Ring out wild bells to the wild sky The flying cloud, the frosty light, The year is dying in the night, Ring out, wild bells, and let him die... Lord Alfred Tennyson Did a shiver run down your spine? Only 24 hours left to begin a...