| Female bodyguards now up for hire - Nov 23, 2004 15:38 IST |
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Equality of the sexes is reaching new levels in India. You can now hire female bodyguards, well trained in martial arts and weaponry, for your protection.
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| Kaizad Gustad robbed before car rally - Nov 23, 2004 15:37 IST |
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Filmmaker Kaizad Gustad’s jeep was stopped and robbed at gunpoint 120 km outside Guwahati.
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| Congress, BJP meeting ahead of parliament session - Nov 22, 2004 13:40 IST |
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A meeting between senior Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders has been called by the Lok Sabha Speaker Monday to ensure a smooth parliament session that begins Dec 1.
This is the fourth in a series of five meetings and the first between Congress and BJP leaders called for by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to enable smooth transaction of business in parliament.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad would represent the Congress.
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| Manmohan offers support for tea industry - Nov 22, 2004 13:38 IST |
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said his government will offer generous help to bail out India’s beleaguered tea industry facing a slump in exports and falling prices.
I assure you that we will work to rejuvenate the tea industry which is a sector of the economy, he told a rally in Assam’s main city Guwahati organised to inaugurate the new capital complex building.
Manmohan Singh was responding to a plea by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who exhorted New Delhi to come to the aid of the ailing tea industry.
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| Mega ASEAN car rally to start Monday - Nov 22, 2004 13:37 IST |
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An estimated 25,000 people will gather at a stadium Monday where 1,500 performers will dance and sing as one of India’s biggest ever diplomatic and trade campaigns begins in the shape of a car rally.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will flag off the first India-ASEAN car rally at the Nehru Stadium here. The rally will last 20 days and traverse 8,000 km across eight ASEAN countries.
This is a massive trade and culture campaign of India, said Ajay Khanna, deputy director general of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), which is organising the rally with the ministry of external affairs.
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| Car rally to push regional trade, ties - Nov 22, 2004 13:36 IST |
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A car rally starting here Monday and winding through eight countries in southeast Asia could boost trade between India and southeast Asia in a major way.
The India-ASEAN car rally is expected to push ties in three key areas: investment from southeast Asian tigers like Singapore and Malaysia, boost Indian exports of manufactured goods to countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand and surge tourism potential in the entire region.
These three key areas are where India is really looking to make a significant difference in the coming years, said Ajay Khanna, deputy director general of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), which is organising the 20-day rally.
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| Priests in short supply for auspicious Nov 28 - Nov 22, 2004 13:34 IST |
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There will be no dearth of anxious couples Nov 28, but there sure will be a shortage of priests as some 14,000 weddings are expected to be solemnised in the capital on what is thought to be an auspicious day for Hindus.
Not just priests, even services of marriage contractors, caterers and florists will be available at a premium Nov 28, thanks to the rush of couples who have chosen to get married that day.
With each wedding expected to cost an average Rs.1 million, inclusive of rent for marriage halls and food, the total cost of the weddings is likely to touch Rs.14 billion.
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| Centurion Hall puts South Africa in driver’s seat - Nov 22, 2004 13:33 IST |
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Stopgap opener Andrew Hall scored his maiden Test century and debutant Zander de Bruyn made 83 Sunday to give South Africa a vice-like grip on the second day of the first Test against India at the Green Park Stadium.
South Africa finished the day at 459 for seven in 182 overs as India’s three-pronged spin attack looked largely ineffective on a pitch that offered little assistance, turn or bounce, though Anil Kumble completed his 28th five-wicket haul.
Shaun Pollock was batting on 31 (118 balls, 3x4s) and debutant wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile was on five when play ended under floodlights, which were switched on after the winter fog set in early and made it difficult for the batsmen to sight the ball.
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| BJP relay hunger strike continues - Nov 22, 2004 13:33 IST |
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) observed its relay hunger strike for the second day Sunday, protesting the arrest of Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi.
Senior BJP leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj, participated in the sit-in protest near Jantar Mantar. The protest concludes Monday.
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| Board politics puts pressure on players: Azhar - Nov 22, 2004 13:32 IST |
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Political manoeuvring in the Indian cricket board has impacted on the team’s performance, former captain Mohammed Azharuddin said here Sunday.
It is very sad that politics in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was putting the team under pressure, Azharuddin told reporters.
They are under heavy pressure, a creation of their own, he said.
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| Manmohan confers Srimanta Sankardeva Award - Nov 22, 2004 13:31 IST |
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Sunday conferred the prestigious Srimanta Sankardeva Award on the country’s four prominent cultural personalities.
The award, instituted by the Assam government in memory of 16th century saint and reformer Sankardeva, is for promoting India’s art and culture and is conferred on personalities for excelling in their fields.
The award for 2004 was presented to two leading Assamese cultural stalwarts, noted Indian classical singer Parween Sultana and exponent of Satriya culture and Sanskrit scholar Narayan Chandra Goswami.
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| Peace process will take time: Natwar Singh - Nov 22, 2004 13:29 IST |
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Contending that the India-Pakistan peace process would take time, India’s External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh Sunday advised Pakistan to be patient on the question of resolving the Kashmir dispute.
It is an old question. It is not possible that results will come in a day or two, he told reporters here.
Hoping that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s sharp comments would not affect talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz, who is arriving here Tuesday, Natwar Singh said New Delhi and Islamabad should look at the issue holistically.
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| Ambani family to meet Monday - Nov 22, 2004 13:28 IST |
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The Ambani family, promoters of India’s largest private business conglomerate Reliance Industries, is likely to meet here Monday to sort out a reported feud over the ownership of the company.
Kokilaben Ambani, wife of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, who created the corporate behemoth with Rs.800 billion in annual revenues, has called the meeting, NDTV reported quoting family sources.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is expected to return from the US late Sunday to participate in the meeting. Anil Ambani, vice chairman of Reliance, is also likely to participate in the meeting.
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| Indo-Pak Punjab games from Dec 5 - Nov 22, 2004 13:26 IST |
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Players from Punjab - in India as well as from Pakistan’s Punjab province - will participate in the first ever Indo-Pakistan Punjab Games that kicks off here Dec 5.
Traditional sports like kabaddi, wrestling, tug-of-war and hockey would be the flavour of the weeklong games that would see over 750 players from both countries participating.
Other sporting events would include polo, handball, basketball, volleyball,
shooting, cycling and athletics.
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| India is for Hindus alone: RSS chief - Nov 22, 2004 13:25 IST |
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Hindustan (India) is for Hindus alone, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) said here Sunday.
Hindustan is the only Hindu nation on earth. This is a matter of faith for us, K.S. Sudarshan, currently on a four-day tour of Bihar, told workers of the RSS, the premier Hindu nationalist outfit that is the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sudarshan also condemned the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, saying that Hindus had been reduced to second class citizens in their own country.
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| India, Latin America business meet Nov 26 - Nov 22, 2004 13:24 IST |
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More than 40 leading buyers and prospective trade partners representing major companies from Latin American Countries (LAC) will attend an engineering exporters’ meeting here Nov 26.
The Indo-LAC Business Meet, being organised by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), will provide an opportunity to Indian engineering good manufacturers to cater to the requirements of Latin America-based manufacturers.
EEPC chairman Rakesh Shah, in a statement issued here Sunday, said the meet would enable the visitors to assess the quality and competence of Indian manufacturers dealing with industrial castings in iron and steel, valves, pumps, automobiles, bicycle, small cutting tools and precision machine parts.
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| Shankaracharya arrest: trade to remain closed Monday - Nov 22, 2004 13:23 IST |
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Trading activity across the country is likely to be crippled Monday with the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) calling a national shutdown to protest the arrest of Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi.
All commercial markets and trade activities will be closed to protest the arrest and treatment meted out to the Shankaracharya, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal told IANS here Sunday, announcing the Bharat Bandh.
The CAIT is an apex body of trade associations and federations representing millions of traders in the country.
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| Extended festivities for cine buffs - Nov 22, 2004 13:22 IST |
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Connoisseurs of good cinema are in for an extended festival season with the 35th edition of the International Film Festival of India getting underway even as the dream merchants of Mumbai flood the marquees with this year’s biggest ever productions.
India has hosted 34 International Film Festivals since 1952, both competitive and non-competitive. These festivals became annual events from 1975.
The next festival, which includes a competition for feature films by Asian directors, will be held in Goa from Nov 29.
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| Manmohan Singh extends ’open invitation’ to rebel groups - Nov 22, 2004 13:22 IST |
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday extended an open invitation to insurgent groups for talks in the restive northeastern region and said his government was willing to meet any outfit that shunned violence.
This is an open invitation to all those who have taken to arms to give up the path and to work with us to bring about peace and prosperity in all the northeastern states, the prime minister said while winding up a 24-hour visit to Manipur with a press conference at Raj Bhavan here.
The government is willing to talk to any group which shuns the path of violence and seeks a peaceful resolution of all outstanding problems.
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| Fears of split in Reliance group premature - Nov 22, 2004 13:21 IST |
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As millions of Indians are held in thrall by reports of a family feud in Reliance Industries, the country’s largest company, experts say it would be premature to talk about a split as yet.
India’s stock markets were badly wrecked on reports of ownership differences between the two brothers who control Reliance Industries, which logs about nearly $23 billion in annual revenues and has significant weightage in the benchmark share index.
At this point of time, no one is rushing to press the panic button or thinking of a split in the management of the company, said Sudhir Rao, a senior equity market analyst with Pranav Securities, a leading brokerage firm here.
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