Times Chennai E-paper, March 11, 2009

VOL: 2 ISSUE 54

March 11, 2009

Courts starts functioning in TN, section of lawyers boycott Chennai, March 11: After a gap of nearly three weeks, the Madras High Court and other courts of Tamil Nadu have started functioning,

clashed with the police on February 19, inside the High Court complex. L e d b y Association president R

even as a section of lawyers continued their boycott of courts, demanding action against police officials, responsible for lathicharge on lawyers on February 19. Besides the High Court, City civil court, Mahila Court and Family Courts inside the High Court complex and other Magistrate Courts in the city started functioning as Government advocates and DMK lawyers turned up to resume work. The DMK lawyers as decided by the party's legal wing last evening, ended their boycott of courts and returned to work this morning. The legal wing had appealed to them to resume work, following the request made by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Chief Justice H L Gokhale. H o w e v e r , lawyers of various associations, including the Madras High Court Advocates Association, under the banner of Joint Action Council, continued their boycott of courts. After obtaining police permission, these lawyers held a demonstration in front of the Memorial Hall, demanding action against police officials, responsible for the lathicharge against lawyers, when they

C Paul Kanagaraj, the lawyers came in a procession from the High Court to Memorial Hall and staged a protest demonstration. They resolved to continue the stir and decided to form a human chain around the High Court tomorrow. Meanwhile, two cases-one pertaining to contempt of court case filed by lawyers against police officials and the case relating to the hurling of rotten eggs on Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy in a court hall, were adjoured in the absence of Justice S J Mukhopadhya, heading the bench. The judge is admitted to a hospital. In a related development, the First bench, comprising Chief Justice H L Gokhale and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifullah, rejected a plea by advocate R Vaigai to file a lunch motion, allowing lawyers to file petitions against individual police officials in connection with the February 19 clash. The bench suggested that Ms Vaigai file the petition through the Registery and it be listed on a routine basis. There was no need for a lunch motion, it said. The bench also rejected a suggestion by

senior counsel T V Ramanujan, who submitted that the two

cases, which is to be heard by benches, headed by Justice

Mukhopadhya be posted before some other bench as the judge was

undergoing treatment in hospital. -Agencies

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Times Chennai E-Paper

March 11, 2009

TN poll scene hazy as alliances remain to be finalised Chennai, March 11: As two small but significant outfits -- PMK and DMDK -- keep the two fronts led by DMK and AIADMK guessing on whom they would court for the May 13 Lok Sabha elections, the poll scenario in Tamil Nadu remains hazy. After sweeping all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2004 polls, the DMK-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is aiming at replicating the spectacular show this time too. While DMK seeks a poll tie up with its estranged partner PMK, which has significant sway among most backward Vanniyar community in northern parts, the Congress is working all out to bring DMDK, floated by actor Vijaykant, in its fold. However, both PMK, which is a partner in the ruling UPA at the Centre, and DMDK are yet to reveal their minds. In the AIADMK front, which includes Va i k o ' s M a r u m a l a r c h i Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and the Left parties, seat sharing arrangements are

yet to be completed and the alliance leader Jayalalithaa is apparently awaiting a positive response from the PMK. Being the chief architect of the Democratic Progressive Alliance formed for the 2007 assembly elections, DMK President M Karunanidhi has reportedly offered PMK founder S Ramadoss six Lok Sabha seats and a Rajya Sabha seat for his son and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. DMK sources said Ramadoss wanted seven Lok Sabha seats and a Rajya Sabha seat but Karunanidhi had expressed his inability to concede the demand. AIADMK is said to have offered eight Lok Sabha seats alone to the PMK, known to shift its loyalties ahead of every other election. Ramadoss had been highly critical of the DMK Government over the last two years saying his party wanted to highlight people's issues. Conscious that

the tally from Tamil Nadu would be an important element if UPA is to retain power at the centre, AICC President Sonia Gandhi had spoken to Ramadoss a fortnight ago to convince him to keep the alliance intact. Karunanidhi, after easing out the PMK from the DPA in July last year, had entrusted the job of wooing it back to Congress, whose leaders are in regular touch with Ramadoss. The Congress has also been negotiating with the DMDK, which proved its worth securing around eight per cent popular vote in the assembly elections contesting on its own. Party sources said DMDK would not be part of the UPA in the state. "It will be only a seat sharing agreement and not an alliance. Congress will share seats with DMDK," said a senior Congress leader. Congress is keen on roping in the DMDK as the fledgling party has a vote share of five per cent or more in e v e r y c o n s t i t u e n c y,

which would help it to fill the vaccum created by the absence of the Left parties and MDMK from the 2004 line-up. Vijaykant, who had let his aversion to both the DMK and the AIADMK be known, had been vowing to chart his own course since the

formation of the party four years ago. Although the party did well to secure healthy vote share, Vijaykant alone emerged successful in the Assembly elections, w i n n i n g f r o m V r i d a c h a l a m constituency in

Cuddalore District. The keenness of Congress to woo the DMDK stems from the hope that Vijaykant, who is juggling between politics and celluloid world - just returning from a shoot of his new film in Australia would help consolidate the UPA vote share if he joins

TN Cong wants VCK out of DMK-alliance Chennai, March 11: Congress in Ta m i l N a d u o n Wednesday indicated that it no longer wanted the pro-LTTE Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) to be part of an alliance in which it is a member. "There is no place for anybody who burns portraits of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," TNCC president K V Thangkabalu told reporters here. M r . Thangkabalu's reaction came in a response to a question about reports that Congress wanted the

VCK out of the DMK combine in Tamil Nadu. He warned against politicising the Lankan Tamils issue," saying it would backfire on parties which tried to do so. Despite being in the DMK-led combine, the Congress and VCK h a v e b e e n a t loggerheads over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. The VCK has blamed the Congress-led UPA for the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils, by "failing to ensure a ceasefire." Besides trying to burn effigies and portraits of Ms. Gandhi a n d M r. M a n m o h a n

Singh, VCK followers also allegedly attacked Congress headquarters Sathyamurthy Bhavan, and the residence and offices of some of its MLAs and MPs. Asked if AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa had "raked up" the Lankan Tamils issue after failing to woo Congress, he said "politicisation of the Sri Lankan Tamils issue is not proper." On the party's preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, he said the Election Committee formed to discuss seatsharing, would hold talks with the DMK on Thursday. -Agencies

March 11, 2009

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National

Patnaik govt. wins trust motion by voice vote Bhubaneswar, March 11: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik won a trust vote in the State Assembly on Wednesday amid pandemonium caused by the Congress objecting to the motion on a technicality. The motion was passed by voice vote. The Congress

maintained that the timing of the motion was not correct because the model code of conduct had come into force ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha elections. The trust vote arose after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew legislative support to Patnaik's Biju

Janata Dal (BJP), reducing it to a minority in the 147-member house following the breakdown of seat-sharing talks between them. Barring the Congress, smaller parties and some i n d e p e n d e n t s immediately came to the rescue of Patnaik.

Kandhamal, seat muddle led to BJD-BJP split Bhubaneswar March 11: The disquiet over the Kandhamal riots, mutually acceptable seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls and the poor show of the saffron ally in recent civic elections could have contributed in equal measure to the parting of ways between the BJD and BJP after 11 years. Forty three people were killed and scores of villages set ablaze in the August 23 riots in Kandhamal district following the assassination of VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati. Patnaik's image

as a "secular" leader took a beating as thousands of people fled their villages and took shelter in relief camps as mobs allegedly owing allegiance to the Sangh Parivar attacked churches and houses in Kandhamal district. Over 2,500 people are still living in the camps. In further embarrassment to the chief minister, Sangh Parivar decided to observe a statewide bandh on Christmas day and the BJP supported the call. Patnaik had to speak to BJP central leaders before the issue

could be resolved. Besides, a section of the BJP legislators even caused a ruckus in the assembly on the killing of the Swami demanding that the party should withdraw support to the Patnaik government. “ T h e s e incidents could have prompted the BJD supremo to weigh his options and part ways with a party which had tried to embarrass him on several occasions," political analyst Rabi Das said.

Goa begins international campaign to woo tourists Panaji, March 11: With two months left for the curtains to come down on the international chartered tourist season, Goa tourism department is busy canvassing for the next season. The season that began in October last year has seen almost 20 per cent drop in the chartered flights. "Last year by February end, 499 chartered flights had arrived bringing in 1.31 lakh tourists, while this year till February end 448 chartered flights brought in 1.13 lakh tourists," Travel and tourism association of Goa president Ralf de Souza told PTI. The dwindling numbers have forced the state tourism officials to look forward for the international trade fairs to woo the tourists. "Goa's tourism industry should consolidate their market position in existing strongholds and than try to reach out to the

other destinations," De Souza said. Goa pavillion at Moscow's international tourism trade fair is an attempt to introduce the beach state to countries surrounding Russia. The State is participating in the Berlin trade fair which is currently underway while the delegation is ready to showcase the state in four day long Moscow fair begining from March 18. "We are getting good response from these countries. The tourists from there either come via Russia or Finland," the TTAG president said. Goa's tourism industry was not spared from the ill-effects of global meltdown and fear factor post-Mumbai terror attack. The experts concede that these two issues damaged the industry to a larger extent. "There was initial panic but later the

season bounced back," state tourism minister Fransisco Pacheco told PTI. He said that the state government's appeal to the hotel industry to slash the tariff was respected by the trade, which saw tourism salvaged from crisis. Pacheco said that the state government has also initiated steps to ensure upgradation of infrastructure, which is mandatory to cater the huge inflow of tourists. “The industry in Goa itself contributes for Rs 1,500 crore to the country but we have meagre budgetory allocation of Rs 35 crore. This time, we expect it to be doubled," he added. The tourism industry experts feel that although the season that went by was not promising, the forthcoming season will bring in good news.

March 11, 2009

Political crisis in Meghalaya Shillong, March 11: Crisis on We d n e s d a y g r i p p e d politically volatile Meghalaya with the NCP led-Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) losing majority after withdrawal of support by a senior m i n i s t e r, w h i l e t h e Opposition Congress stated it was being "contacted from all sides". Urban Affairs Minister and the lone KHNAM MLA Paul Lyngdoh and two independents, Limison Sangma and Ismail R Marak, pulled out from

the MPA coalition in the last three days, reducing MPA's strength to 30 in the 60-member assembly. Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, however, said he would not resign and favoured a floor test in the House. The chief minister said he lodged a complaint with Speaker B M L a n o n g f o r disqualification of the two independents who had switched allegiance to the Congress. T h e M P A partners went into a huddle at the Chief

Minister's residence, with Roy claiming that neither the UDP, which he leads, nor the NCP would go with the Congress. NCP leader and Finance Minister Conrad Sangma also maintained that P A Sangma had held no talks with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, as claimed by Opposition leader D D Lapang. The Congress, meanwhile, was keeping its options open, with its leader Lapang not ruling out the possibility of a tie-up with the NCP. -Agencies

Threat to blow up Bhopal railway station proves to be hoax B h o p a l M a r c h 11 : Security was stepped up at the Bhopal railway station following a threat to blow it up on Holi Wednesday, the police said, but the call turned out to be a hoax. "The railway police received the anonymous threat in Delhi, following which the

alert was sounded here and subsequently the police launched a search operation. The call, however, turned out to be hoax as no bomb was recovered," a police officer said. “ T h e Government Railway Police (GRP) passed on the information to the

police control room and soon a bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs were rushed to the station for search operations, which continued for over three hours. But nothing could be found," Bhopal Superintendent of Police Jaideep Prasad told IANS. -Agencies

TC towards forging alliance with Cong in Tripura Agartala, March 11 : After West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress is working towards an electoral alliance with the Congress for the two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura. " O u r l e a d e r, Mamata Banerjee has taken the initiative for an electoral alliance with Congress for fighting the ruling Left Front in Tripura," Tripura Pradesh Trinamool Congress president, Arun Chandra Bhowmik said. "We are hopeful that we will be able to share seats with the

Congress in the two Lok Sabha constituencies in the state," he said. His party was also holding talks with two tribal-based parties, National Council of Tripura (NCT) and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) for giving unconditional support to Trinamool Congress for the elections, Bhowmik said. The polls for the two seats would be held on April 23. The LF and the BJP have declared their candidates. Khagen Das and Bajuban Reang, the

two sitting CPI(M) MPs have been renominated from West Tripura and E a s t T r i p u r a c o n s t i t u e n c i e s respectively. State BJP president Nilmani Deb will contest from West while veteran tribal leader Pulin Dewan will be the party candidate from East Tripura. Sources in the Congress said, AICC would declare the names of candidates in the state soon. -Agencies

Third Front to take shape tomorrow Bangalore, March 11: All is poised for the launch of the third front, which is seeking to emerge as an alternative to the combines spearheaded by the Congress and BJP, at a rally near here on Thursday. The Third Front, an amalgamation of CPI, C P I - M , Te l a n g a n a Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam, AIADMK, Forward Bloc and RSP, besides founding member JDS, is likely to take shape in this BJPruled state which has

seen many a watershed in the country's political history since the formation of nonCongress government at centre in 1988. Gowda had claimed yesterday that BJD led by Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, which had broken ties with BJP, had agreed to join the Front. But BJD had made it clear that it had not made up its mind on the issue. The JDS chief, who is playing a key role in cobbling up the third front, had said yesterday

that BJD would not take part in the rally. Another major absence is likely to be that of AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa. Party sources said she would depute AIADMK parliamentary party leader V Maitheriyan to attend the rally on her behalf but did not cite any reason for staying away. To ensure that the event did not suffer from any shortcomings, Gowda himself has been supervising the arrangements. -Agencies

March 11, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper

World

Gunman goes on the rampage in U.S.; kills 9, himself Samson Alabama, March 11: A gunman on a terrifying rampage across two southern Alabama counties killed at least nine p e o p l e o n Tu e s d a y, including members of his own family and apparent strangers, and burned

down his mother's home before shooting himself at a metals plant, authorities said. Police were investigating shootings in at least four different locations in several communities, all of which were believed to be the work of a single gunman who had not yet been identified by investigators. The afternoon of bloodshed began in Kinston, near the AlabamaFlorida border, where the shooter burned down his mother's house, according to the Coffee County coroner, Robert Preachers. Officials located the woman's body inside the house, but they had not been able to get inside the still-burning house to determine if he shot her first. The gunman then headed east, into Geneva County, where he shot and killed five people — four

adults and a child — at a home in the nearby town of Samson. Then he killed one person each in two other homes. The identities of all the victims were unknown, but Preachers said they

included other members of the shooter's family. ``He started in his mother's house,'' Preachers said. ``Then he went to Samson and he killed his granny and granddaddy and aunt and uncle.'' ``We don't know what triggered it,'' Preachers added. The gunman also shot at a state trooper's car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass. He then killed someone at a Samson supply store, and another person at a service station. S a m s o n contractor Greg McCullough said he was pumping gas at the station when the gunman opened fire, killing a woman coming out of the service station and wounding McCullough in

the shoulder and arm with bullet fragments that struck his truck and the pump. ``I first thought it was somebody playing,'' he said. He said the gunman roared into the

parking lot and slammed on his brakes. Then he saw the rifle. He said the gunman fired and the rifle appeared to jam, then he ``went back to firing.'' Then he drove off. Police pursued the gunman to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, about a dozen miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Samson, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds from a semiautomatic weapon, the Alabama safety department said. One of the bullets hit Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, who was saved by his bullet proof vest. The gunman then went inside the plant and shot himself, according to the safety department's statement. - Agencies

Indian woman dies in road accident in Australia Melbourne, March 11: A 33-year-old Indian woman died after being hit by a speeding truck in Melbourne's north. The woman identified as Aman Preet Sanhotra was hit by a truck on Tuesday night, which dragged her to the next intersection, stopped momentarily, and

then sped away, city police said quoting an eyewitness. The 45-year-old driver of the truck has been charged this morning for failing to stop and to render assistance to the victim, according to media reports. Distressed

family members of the victim told police that Aman Preet was here for a hair dressing course. Paramedics said the woman died soon after they arrived at the scene. - Agencies

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Sri Lanka tightens security after suicide blast Colombo, March 11: New security measures will be implemented across Sri Lanka in the aftermath a suicide bombing that killed 14 people and critically wounded a government minister, the government said on Wednesday. Media Minister Anura Yapa said the attack, in the southern town of Akuressa, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Colombo, showed that even remote parts of the country far from the civil war raging in the north, were vulnerable to terror attacks. ` ` N o o n e believed that this kind of attack could take place in a remote area like Akuressa,'' he said. ``Definitely, police will implement new security measures to prevent these kind of attacks.'' He did not elaborate on what the

new security measures would entail, saying that senior police officials would make those decisions. The suicide bomber targeted six government ministers as they led a religious procession Tuesday morning. The blast, blamed on the Tamil Tigers, came as government forces battled for the last rebel stronghold in the north and appeared poised to defeat the group after more than 25 years of civil war. The attack killed 13 people and badly wounded Minister of P o s t s a n d Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Mahinda Wijesekara, who was flown to Colombo for surgery and remained in serious condition Wednesday, according to Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, director of Colombo National Hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. But an attack by the Tigers would highlight their capability to strike far from their traditional strongholds in the north and east even as they face battlefield defeat. Meanwhile, fighting surged in the northern war zone, with the rebels and troops locked in heavy battles in Puthukkudiyiruppu, the last town under rebel control, the military said Wednesday. Human rights and aid groups have voiced concern for the fate of the tens of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians trapped in the shrinking sliver of land still under rebel control. Heavy artillery attacks Tuesday killed at least 49 civilians and wounded hundreds, according to the top government health official in the war zone. - Agencies

24 Indians make it to ‘World's Richest' club Washington, March 11: Tw o d o z e n Indians made it to the Forbes list of "World's Richest" with four of them among the top 10, as Warren Buffett dethroned Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who held the top slot for 13 straight years. Steel czar Lakshmi Mittal, heading the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal, is in the fourth place with a personal fortune of $45 billion. A long-time resident of London, he is also Europe's richest resident, notes the US business magazine. Next comes Mukesh Ambani, "Asia's richest resident, who heads petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap" with $43 billion. The year's biggest gainer, Anil Ambani, is in the sixth place with a fortune of $42 billion. He is up $23.8 billion in the past year, and is closing the gap with his estranged brother Mukesh. K.P. Singh, now the world's richest real estate baron after listing his real estate development company

DLF in 2007, takes the eighth place in the list with $30 billion. Declaring Buffett as the richest man on the planet, Forbes said: "Riding the surging price of Berkshire Hathaway stock, America's most beloved investor has seen his fortune swell to an estimated $62 billion, up $10 billion from a year ago." That massive pile of scratch puts him ahead of Gates, who is now worth $58 billion and is ranked third in the world after Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú with an estimated net worth of $60 billion. The other 20 Indians in the billionaires list are Shashi and Ravi Ruia (43), Azim Premji (60), Sunil Mittal and family (64), Kumar Birla (76), Ramesh Chandra (86), Gautam Adani (91), Savitri Jindal and family (110), Anil Agarwal (164), Adi Godrej and family (178), G.M. Rao (198), Indu Jain (236), Dilip Shanghvi (260), Jaiprakash Gaur (277), Shiv Nadar (277), Uday Kotak (288), Cyrus Poonawalla (307), Anand Jain (327), Chandru Raheja (368), Tulsi Tanti

(368) and Rakesh Wadhawan and family (428). The Forbes list also mentions two Indians, Gautam Adani ($9.3 billion) and Sameer Gehlaut ($1.2 billion), as "notable billionaires". "Adani is a college dropout who spurned his father's textile trading business to seek his own fortune... Today he is Asia's richest newcomer thanks to two big public holdings, Adani Enterprises, and Mundra Port, one of India's first private-sector ports," it says. "India's youngest self-made billionaire, Gehlaut" is an engineer from the elite Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He started online brokerage Indiabulls with two college friends in 1999. He still heads the company and is its largest shareholder. A few young tycoons were able to make money this past year in the face of financial turmoil, Forbes said. Among them Indian pharmaceutical kings Malvinder and Shivinder Singh added $100 million to their combined net worth. -Agencies

Times Chennai E-Paper Business

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BSNL sets up infrastructure at Estancia Chennai, March 11: BSNL will set up an exclusive Telephone Exchange BSNL @ Estancia at Estancia Integrated Township on GST Road which is being

jointly developed by L & T & Arun Excello. Announcing this to the media, Mr. P. Suresh, Managing Director, L & T Arun Excello Realty Pvt. Ltd. said that the company has signed an MOU with BSNL for setting up the telecom infrastructure at the Estancia Integrated Township. With a view of providing the best facilities to the residents, the company is going all out in establishing the required infrastructure ahead of the residents moving into the township. The school Vidya Mandir @ Estancia will start functioning by June this year. Along with developing the road infrastructure and now the BSNL @ Estancia Exchange are the steps in the direction of providing

Mr. P. Suresh further said that the BSNL Exchange at Estancia is already ready. As per the MOU, BSNL will give the 1900 residents a deposit free telephone connection with S T D f a c i l i t y. BSNL will also supply the r e q u i r e d t e l e p h o n e instrument free of cost. The Centrex facility that they will be providing will enable the occupants to contact the security room, the club house and the maintenance office within the township through the intercom Photo S. Mohan without the need of making a local telecom solutions to the call. apartments, and all the It may be noted occupants of ‘Project that Estancia Integrated Estancia”. The services Township is coming up on will be provided through a a 82 acre land consisting state of the art new of Residential Zone with telephone exchange 1900 apartments, a club installed inside the house, 3 Million Sq. ft. of complex. IT SEZ space, Holiday BSNL would Inn Estancia Hotel, Mall, extend copper / optic Multiplex and the school fiber connectivity with Vidya Mandir @ 100% redundancy to all Estancia. The site is the buildings inside located at Vallanchery on Estancia to deliver its GST Road (NH-45 bouquet of services Expressway) with easy including voice and data access to suburban services, high speed railway stations. SRM broadband, centrex University and SRM facility, mobile services, Medical College and wi-fi hotspots, MPLSHospital are located VPN and Internet lines. adjacent to the project. New technologies like Chennai Airport is only 19 Mobile-3G, IPTV, Wikms away, with an easy Max, FTTH, etc would access. also be covered for the -Agencies benefits of Estancia occupants. state of the art facility. Explaining the details of the MOU, Mr. M. P. Velusamy, CGM, BSNL Chennai Telecom District said that BSNL will be offering total

Scotch brand eyes bigger pie of Indian liquor market New Delhi, March 11 Recession it seems has not dampened the spirits of followers of Bacchus with foreign brands eyeing a bigger share of the Indian market. The Famous Grouse, one of Scotland's best selling label is planning to entice more Indian customers. "We have got data that after Scandinavians Indian nationals are the second largest purchasers of whiskey. Also Indian fliers at Bangkok, Dubai and Singapore have been seen to be the biggest c o n s u m e r s a n d purchasers," Geoff Kirk, area director (SE Asia, Africa and Indian subcontinent) of the Edrington Group from

Scotland told PTI. The domestic market for Scotch whiskey in the country currently stands at an estimated 1.2-millioncases and grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent from 2003-08. "We will launch our premium single malt whiskey brands Macallan and Highland Park - priced over Rs 3,500, soon," says Mr. Kirk. High taxation and an increase in the frequency of flyers has led to a spurt in foreign made brands making an entry in the country. Most imported liquor labels attract central and state excise

levies to the tune of almost 300 per cent of the cost of a bottle. Mr. Geoff Kirk who has overseen the company's operations in China says the dinner culture of India and China are completely opposite. "In China people head to a restaurant immediately after work. You can ask for a drink and it will not arrive until there is food on the table." G e r r y O Donnell, director, of the same company says, "We might be exploring ways to use different fragrances based on Indian spices to attract people from this country." "During the last four or five years we have

March 11, 2009

World markets extend global rally on Citi news Hongkong, March 11: Asian stock markets stormed higher Wednesday after Wall Street rallied on news Citigroup was turning a profit, but the upbeat mood was clouded by signs the region's biggest economies were still struggling amid the global slowdown. European markets gained modestly in early trade. Asia's lurch higher, led partly by financial shares, was a welcome reprieve from the depressing declines in global equities over the last few weeks. But the relief was likely to be temporary as the economic slump continued to ravage Asia's export-driven nations. Wednesday's figures showing another sharp drop in Chinese exports, as well as a fourth straight month of lower spending by Japanese companies, were just the latest grim reminders of how severe the downturn is. With the outlook still miserable, the bear market would continue to grind toward a new bottom in the coming months, analysts said. ``What you've seen today is mostly a technical bounce in markets after falling steeply recently, and I don't think this rally can be sustained,'' said Arjuna Mahendran, the Singapore-based head of Asian investment strategy for HSBC Private Bank, which manages some $494 billion in assets. ``It's still far too early to predict that the global recession is over ... The fundamentals are simply not in place.'' The catalyst for the rally on Wall Street was a letter from Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit

to employees saying the bank had operated at a profit for the first two months of this year, logging its best performance since the third quarter of 2007, the last time it booked a quarterly profit. Investors, desperate for any positive signs about the ailing financial system, cheered the news about the banking giant, which has lost so much money the federal government has been forced to extend billions in aid and take a 36 percent stake. As trading opened in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent, Germany's DAX advanced 0.9 percent and France's CAC 40 was up 0.8 percent. Stock futures pointed to solid gains on Wall Street Wednesday. Dow futures rose 93, or 1.4 percent, to 6,980 and S&P 500 futures advanced 11.4, or 1.6 percent, to 727.40. Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average shot up 321.14 points, or 4.6 percent, to 7,376.12, rebounding from a 26-year closing low hit this week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng leaped 236.61 points, or 2 percent, to 11,930.66. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 35.31, or 3.2 percent, to 1,127.51. Benchmarks in Australia and Taiwan were up 1.9 percent; Singapore's gained 1.3 percent. Banking shares were especially strong, with leading Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gaining 4.1 percent. HSBC, which like Citi, gave reassurances this week that it was performing better than expected so far this year, advanced another 2.3 percent in Hong Kong, continuing its recovery form a 24 percent plunge

on Monday. The upbeat mood, though, belied more evidence that Asian countries were still suffering from the drought in Western demand that drives their export-reliant economies. In China, exports plunged 25.7 percent last month as overseas appetite for goods made in the world's third-largest economy continued to deteriorate. Imports also fell. A string of monthly export declines is undermining hopes among many investors that China can boost its economy, at least in the near term, with a 4 trillion ($586 billion) stimulus package. Also in Asia, Japanese machinery orders, an indicator of how much the country's companies are spending, fell 3.2 percent in January, though was still better than expected. In the U.S., Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned the U.S. recession wouldn't end this year unless the government bailout of banks succeeded and financial markets were restored to working order. On Tuesday, Wall Street posted its best performance of the year, with the Dow Jones industrials surging 379 points, or about 5.8 percent, to 6,926.49. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 43.07 points, 6.4 percent, to 719.6. Oil prices were lower in Asian trade, with light, sweet crude for April delivery down 26 cents at $45.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.36 to settle at $45.71 a barrel overnight. The dollar weakened to 98.47 yen from 98.80 yen late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.2714 from $1.2702.

seen a significant and stronger proportionate growth in India than in other markets. We know our brand has a lot of consumer appeal in the UK and also recently in India," he says. The brand plans to include whiskey tasting sessions for its staff when they bring their products to India later this year with promotions planned in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh among other cities.

“We also plan to focus a lot on the beneficial experiential market and try to bring more people to Scotland. There is a lot of air traffic on the Amristar Birmingham sector and we are hoping to tap that market too," says Mr. Kirk. Mr. Kirk adds that his company is participating in the special events in Scotland throughout 2009 celebrating the 250th anniversary of poet

Robert Burns' birth and Scottish contributions to the world. Famous Grouse is part of the month long Whiskey event in May which encourages tourists to explore the country through distilleries across Scotland's several regions, in the Highlands, the Lowlands, Speyside, the Islands, Cambeltown and Islay. Each region invests its whiskey with its own unique flavour.

-Agencies

-Agencies

March 11, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper

Sports

'Hamilton Hurricane' Sehwag wins series for India Hamilton, March 11: They rightly say records are meant to be broken. When Mohammad Azharuddin slammed a ton off just 62 deliveries, it was

there to stay, but not forever. Sehwag, the Delhi dasher, tore apart the New Zealand bowling to become India’s fastest centurion of all times. He scored his third ton against New Zealand off just 60 odd balls. India were declared the winners by 84 runs (D/L method) and they now have an unassailable lead of 3-0, which means they have won a series in New Zeakand for the first time in 33 years. Virender Sehwag was declared the man of the match without a doubt for his breath taking innings that set the Seddon Park on fire. New Zealand had finished their innings at 270/5 off 47 overs, the spectators were sure they had a thrilling encounter in store. However, when the swashbuckling Viru unleashed his array of lethal shots, maneuvering his willow with ease, Hamilton looked like a park

in a residential colony and the Kiwis had to run for cover. Choosing to bat first for a change, New Zealand had started off cautiously s a v i n g wickets and later Ryder and McCullum l e t themselve s loose to take the Black Caps to a flying start. Some s l o p p y effort in the field by the Indians ensured Ryder scored 46 and McCullum went on to score a flamboyant 77. Dhoni had missed a stumping chance early on in the innings and later Sehwag dropped a sitter to give McCullum two l i v e s . H o w e v e r, t h e bowler to suffer remained the same – Yuvraj, who later dismissed Jesse Ryder who looked set for a consecutive century. McCullum survived scare after scare to carve out 77 runs without much support from Ross Taylor (5), Jacob Oram (1) and Martin Guptill (25). Zaheer finally broke the McCullum jinx and caught the dashing right hander plumb in front of the wickets. Just when the Kiwis seemed to have lost t h e i r w a y, P e t e r McGlashan (56 off 42) and Grant Eliott (35 off 27) joined hands to bail the hosts out of trouble with a 95 run sixth wicket

partnership posting a total of 270 in 47 overs. The overs were reduced due to the rain interruptions. Amidst rain interruptions and revised targets, Sehwag did not stop. He went on and on firing all cylinders to all corners of the park. Rain interrupted Sehwag’s fireworks and the target was revised 263 in 43 overs after the second time rain played spoilsport and then to 220 in 36 overs after the rain Gods obliged again. Riding on Sehwag’s blitzkrieg, India had scored 201 for no loss before the drizzle began again in the 24th over thereby making it definite for a result to be declared in case the game could not continue further. And that exactly happened. India were declared winners after 23.3 overs were bowled with India’s scorecard reading a fabulous 201/0. A m i d s t Sehwag’s slam-bang, Gambhir’s contribution could not be ignored. The left hander scored 63 runs off 67 deliveries and played an anchor role to provide perfect support and cushion to the Hamilton Hurricane Sehwag whose final score read 125 off 74 deliveries which was studded with six thunderous hits into the stands and 14 shots that rolled into the fence. The fifth and final ODI of the series will be played at Eden Park, Auckland on March 14. -Agencies

Chasing frequently revised target was not easy: Dhoni Hamilton, March 11: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made it look like a stroll in the park but with the victory target being revised after every rain interruption India's chase in the fourth ODI against New Zealand was far from easy, said victorious captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sehwag (125) and Gambhir (63) starred in an unbeaten 201-run stand in the tie which witnessed five rain interruptions, three during Indian innings alone. "It was a difficult chase with the rain interruptions. The way Viru and Gautam batted, it looked easy but it was never easy," Dhoni said after India's seriesclinching win here. The India captain said conditions were not easy to bat on but the spectacular start by Sehwag and Gambhir tilted the match in India's favour. "The wind was very strong all through. Overall, we got a good start and

capitalised on it later on," Dhoni said. Dhoni once again lauded his team for not relying on individual performances while establishing a series-clinching 3-0 lead. Dhoni said the team no longer relied on individuals to do the job as every member "chips in". "We are not relying on individuals. For instance, we were without Sachin ( Te n d u l k a r ) o n Wednesday but still

performed well. That's the plus point that we are not relying too heavily on individuals," he said. Man of the Match Sehwag, who gave away 500 dollars from his prize money to the local H a m i l t o n S t a r Wa r s Cricket Club, said the tracks turned out to be more batting-friendly than he thought. "I know the wickets here but they are flatter this time. It's easier to score now," he said.

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WC aspirant Afghanistan preparing in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, March 11: A deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team's convoy at Lahore last week that sent shockwaves around the cricket world has not perturbed at least one team with World Cup aspirations from traveling to Pakistan. The national team from neighboring Afghanistan has been quietly practicing in the capital of North West Frontier Province at Peshawar since March 5, selecting it as an alternate venue last week after gunmen ambushed a convoy taking officials and Sri Lankan players to a test match in Lahore, killing six police officers and a driver. ``We were supposed to train in Lahore but after whatever happened there last week, we immediately shifted the training camp to Peshawar,'' Afghanistan cricket coach and former Pakistan test bowler Kabir Khan told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Six Sri Lankan cricketers and an assistant coach sustained injuries in the ambush, but none were life-threatening. The team was evacuated immediately and the test series against Pakistan _ the first in 14 months on Pakistani soil _ was canceled. Reaction from around the globe suggested it will be a long time before any top-flight cricket team tours Pakistan again, with even the country's status as co-host of the 2011 World Cup in doubt. That the Afghan team feels more safe in Peshawar than Lahore speaks volumes. Peshawar is one of the most dangerous cities in Pakistan. It lies next to the tribal border area between the two countries and is regularly hit by suicide bombers. A f g h a n i s t a n ' s ambassador designate to Pakistan was kidnapped there last year and remains captive. T h e

Sehwag becomes fastest Indian centurion in ODIs Hamilton, March 11 : Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag eclipsed Mohammad Azharuddin to become the fastest Indian to score a hundred in an ODI when he hit a 60-ball 103 against New Zealand in the fourth one-dayer here on Wednesday. At an individual score of

97, Sehwag danced down the pitch and plundered a Daniel Vettori delivery over his head to bring up his hundred in the 18th over of the rain-truncated match to better Azharuddin by two balls. The Indian is now has the seventh fastest hundred in ODI history, with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi

topping the chart with his 37-ball 102 against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996. A former Indian captain, Azharuddin's 62-ball 108 had also come against New Zealand in Baroda in 1988. Sehwag's second fastest century (100 off 69 balls) is also against the Kiwis in Colombo in 2001.

Afghanistan team, with their own country in turmoil since the ousting of the Taliban and their hardline Ismlamism by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, is happy to train in Peshawar, but is taking precautions. ``We are also staying away from the media as security around the ground (Arbab Niaz Stadium) is also very tight and there are dozens of policemen guarding our team,'' Khan said. Afghanistan is warming up for next month's International Cricket Council qualifying tournament in South Africa, where four teams can qualify for the 2011 World Cup. The 34-year-old Khan, a left-arm fast bowler who played four test matches and 10 l i m i t e d - o v e r s internationals for Pakistan, said his players traveled in small groups to the stadium for practice to avoid any incidents. The players wear shalwar kamiz _ the traditional pants and top worn by men and women in South Asia _ while they travel to the stadium and change into cricket clothes when they get there. ``It's all part of the security measures,'' Khan said. The fact Afghanistan is still in training, with World Cup hopes alive, surprises Khan, because they've advanced from the lowest rung of qualifying. So far, they've moved through the division 5 event in Jersey, Division 4 i n Ta n z a n i a a n d Division 3 in Argentina. ``To be honest with you, I was not expecting such a brilliant performance from my team,'' Khan said. ``The problem in winning these three tournaments was that we knew nothing about our opponents, but we didn't (succumb to) the pressure and took it match by match.'' Afghanistan has been bracketed with Denmark, Bermuda, Kenya, the Netherlands and United Arab Emirates in Group B for the South Africa tournament. Group A comprises Ireland, Scotland, Oman, Uganda, Canada and Namibia. ``No doubt experience wise our group looks tough as it has four teams which had previously participated in the World Cups (Kenya, B e r m u d a , t h e Netherlands and UAE),'' Khan said. ``But in oneday cricket you need fitness, you need young and athletic players and our team fulfills this criteria.''

Last month, hundreds of fans cheered and threw confetti when the Afghan cricketers returned home from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Khan believes cricket has become the national sport. ``I met quite a few Afghanis who said they fast and prayed for seven days while we played in Argentina,'' Khan said. ``People there not only want us to qualify for the World Cup, they now want us to beat teams like India, Pakistan and even Australia, so the hopes are very high. ` ` T h e r e ' s definitely extra pressure on all of us.'' Khan recently supervised an under-19 tournament in Kabul and was highly impressed with the talent _ especially in the fast bowling department. ``It's still too early to field these players in the event like World Cup qualifiers, but certainly what I've seen, the future of Afghan cricket is very bright,'' he said. K h a n h a s targeted Denmark as the must-win match in his group and expects his side to upset at least one other team to qualify for the Super 8 stage _ four teams from each group progress to the next round. ``The way we are training and planning for the tournament, we have set a goal to finish among top four in the event so that we could play in the World Cup in two years,'' Khan said. Batting was the main concern for Khan when the team began its World Cup journey last year, but now the coach said his ``main headache'' is over. ``Fielding and bowling was never a worry for us, and we struggled in our batting,'' Khan said. ``But now with the likes of Riffatullah Momand and Mohammad Shehzad in our batting lineup, I think we have solved this problem.'' The Afghanistan squad will wrap up its training camp March 17 and return to Kabul before flying to South Africa on March 20. A warmup match against Oman will precede the qualifying tournament. ``We'll have at least 11 days before the tournament begins and with a warm-up game against Oman, it will give an ideal preparation for the mega event,'' Khan said. Squad: Norooz Mangal (captain), Khaleqdaad Noori, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Nabi, Hasti Gul, Rais Ahmadzai, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Mohammad Shehzad, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Riffatullah Momand, Noor Ali, Asghar Stanikzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Shafiqullah Shafaq.

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March 11, 2009

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