Arundhati Roy chosen for US Prize
NEW DELHI: Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy has been selected by the US-based Lannan Foundation for its fourth annual 350,000 US dollars Prize for Cultural Freedom.

"As both an artist and global citizen, Arundhati Roy writes about civil societies that are adversely affected by the world's most powerful Governments and corporations. We are honoured to celebrAte heb life and her ongoing work in the struggle for freedom, justice and cultural diversity," Foundation President J Patrick Lannan, Jr, said in a release from Santa Fe in the US.

Roy will receive US dollars 350,000 in prize money, and she has announced that the money will be shared by 50 people's movements, publications, educational institutions, theatre groups and individuals in India, the release said.

The Prize for Cultural Freedom was established to recognise people whose extraordinary and courageous work celebrates the human right to freedom of imagination, inquiry and expression.

Roy first gained international recognition in 1997 with her first and only work of fiction to date "The God of Small Things". Later, in "The Cost of Living", she condemned the Pokhran II nuke tests and displacement of the poor and tribals by the construction of massive hydroelectric dams.

Her recent book "Power Politics" discusses privatisation of the country's power sector and the politics of writing. She was sentenced to one day in jail by the Supreme Court on contempt of court charges last year.

Chargesheet filed against Nedumaran
KANCHEEPURAM: Tamil National Movement leader P Nedumaran and three other party members, arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), have been chargesheeted by Tamil Nadu police in the case relating to their alleged support to banned LTTE. The police filed the chargesheet in the designated Pota court of Judge L Rajendran on Monday evening, police sources here said on Wednesday.

Police have charged Nedumaran, Subaveerapandiyan, Thyappan and Pavanan, arrested on August 1 last, under Section 21 (2) (extending support to a terrorist organisation) and 21 (3) (addressing meetings to encourage support to a terrorist organisation) of the Pota.

Incidentally, the mandatory period of 180 days for filing the chargesheet under Pota ends on January 27.

Judge Rajendran had on January 13 extended the remand of Nedumaran and others till January 24. This is the second case under Pota in which chargesheet has been filed by the state police. Chargesheets were filed against MDMK Chief Vaiko and eight other party colleagues on December 31.

Lottery traders go on hunger strike
CHENNAI: Nearly 5,000 representatives of the lottery trade in the state, including street hawkers and selling agents, on Wednesday began a nine-hour hunger strike to urge the state government to reconsider its blanket ban on sale of lottery tickets, including the ones sold online. The call for the strike was given by the All India Federation of Lottery Trade and Allied Industries.

According to industry sources, the ban, imposed a fortnight ago, had rendered nearly 25 lakh people, including 75,000 physically handicapped, unemployed.

Two more Veerappan aides held
BANGALORE: In another major catch, the Karnataka Special Task Force has arrested two more men allegedly linked with the Veerappan gang and in their "conspiracy" to kidnap slain JD(U) leader H Nagappa, police said on Wednesday.

Basava and Nanjegowda of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajnagar district, nabbed in the forest near Kenchaganahalli on Tuesday, were present in front of Nagappa's house when he was abducted to attack police in case of any movement by them, they said.

The two also stood guard there at the command of Veerappan to give some directions to the gang after leading it to the residence of Nagappa, police said, adding that they received Rs 5,000 each in return.

Both had also shown the residence of minister of agro-processing Raju Gowda, who was on the list of the bandit's kidnap targets.

Earlier too, police said, Basava and Nanjegowda had supplied food to Veerappan and his associates several times when they had camped in Lokanahalli forest area.

Both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka STF had made a series of arrests of alleged associates of Veerappan since early in January.

TRAI flays 'pressure tactics' by cellular operators
NEW DELHI: Denouncing the 'pressure tactics' adopted by cellular operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday said it would announce revised tariffs for basic telecom services within three days.

Lambasting cellular operators for "trying to put pressure on the regulator and even trying to influence the judicial proceedings", TRAI Chairman M S Verma said the regulator could only be influenced by the consumer interest and would work for the betterment of the telecom industry.

"We are announcing revised tariffs for basic services in next two-three days. Regulation over interconnection user charge (IUC) is part of overall exercise and cannot be determined in an isolated manner," Verma said in an interview.

Verma's comments come in the wake of the wrangle between the regulator and cellular operators who had accused TRAI of favouring service providers offering WLL-based limited mobility services.

Verma said new tariffs have been worked out and these would be announced in the next two-three days.

BJP threatens to pull down Mayawati govt
ETAWAH: Taking a serious view of party workers' complaints of "partisan and non-cooperative attitude" of the officials in the Mayawati administration, BJP on Wednesday threatened to pull down the government if they were not shown enough respect.

"The BJP was not prepared to continue in the government at the cost of self-respect of its workers", BJP state President Vinay Katiyar told reporters here.

Katiyar said that after listening to the grievances of the party workers he would take up the matter with the BSP leadership and if needed will also speak to the BJP high command.

"The double standard of the officials would not be tolerated by the BJP", said Katiyar, who was flooded with complaints from BJP workers regarding partisan attitude of the administration.

Stating that BJP still stuck to its Hindutva agenda, he said the Ram temple issue, Uniform Civil Code and its opposition to article 370 (granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir) was very much on the party's manifesto.

"These would be made a poll plank in the forthcoming parliamentary elections", he added.

Katiyar said the existing Ram Temple at Ayodhya "would soon be given a grand shape" adding "Kashi Vishwanath and Mathura temples would also be freed soon".

The BJP leader claimed that "cultural nationalism, which started from Gujarat, had become a topic of discussion through out the country".

Trust vote puts Shinde ministry firmly in saddle
MUMBAI: The Congress-NCP-led Democratic Front government in Maharashtra on Wednesday won the vote of confidence in the state Assembly, putting the Sushil Kumar Shinde ministry firmly in the saddle.

The motion of confidence, moved by Congress leader Rohidas Patil, was adopted by the lower house by a voice vote. "The house expresses full confidence in the Sushil Kumar Shinde ministry", said the one-line motion.

Speaker Arun Gujrathi announced that the motion has been adopted by the house.

The victory of the multi-party ruling coalition on the floor of the assembly on Wednesday was a foregone conclusion as Shinde had listed support of 148 MLAs in the lower house. The DF was assured support from the two-member CPI (M) while the five-member Peasants' and Workers' Party (PWP) had stated that it would maintain its "neutral stance" in the Assembly.

The news of Shinde ministry winning the trust vote was welcomed by the supporters of the ruling coalition with bursting of crackers outside the Vidhan Bhavan.

The party-wise position in the 289-member lower house is as follows: Congress-74, Shiv Sena-69, NCP-56, BJP-56, PWP-05, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (B)-03, CPM-02, Janata Dal (Secular)-01, Gondwana Gantantra Party-01, Native Peoples' Party-01, Republican Party of India (Gavai)-01, Samajwadi Janata Party-01, Independents-12 and one nominated member.

Six MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker under the provisions of anti-defection law on June 13 last year.

PM takes a dig at Musharraf
NEW DELHI: Apparently taking a dig at Pakistan's military leadership, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday said even rulers in khaki felt the need to seek some kind of democratic legitimacy.

"Coups, bloody power struggles and military take-overs have come to be seen as anathema to the ethos of our times. Even rulers in khaki have felt the need to seek some kind of democratic legitimacy," he told the inaugural function of the three-day International Parliamentary Conference here to mark the Golden Jubilee of Indian Parliament.

Observing that just as the international community has cherished India's successes along the path of democratic development since independence, Vajpayee said "we too have greatly valued the victorious march of democracy around the globe".

Recalling that the closing decades of the last century had seen collapse of totalitarian systems, he said the dogmas that sustained dictatorships of various stripes, and advertised their superiority over democracy in development and human welfare, had collapsed.

"If the 10th century saw the global growth of democracy, the new century should see its further expansion and enrichment," he said.

Strengthen democracy to fight terrorism, PM tells legislators
NEW DELHI: Asserting that terrorism posed a "big threat" to peace, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday asked parliamentarians of the world to strengthen mutual cooperation to combat the menace and called for further empowerment of institutions of democracy.

"How can parliamentarians strengthen mutual cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism, which have become a big threat to peace, democracy and civilized world order," he asked while addressing the opening session of the three-day International Parliamentary Conference to mark the golden jubilee of the Indian Parliament.

Addressing legislators from over 85 countries, including India, the Prime Minister asserted that in a democracy there are bound to be differences among political parties, but the vitality of democracy also demanded discipline, constructive approach and readiness to contribute to consensus-building on pressing issues as also adherence to rules.

The conference will discuss four themes--combating terrorism, parliamentary practices and procedures and need for reform to secure greater executive accountability, parliament as a vehicle of social change and parliament in the era of globalisation and liberalisation.

Observing that in several countries, firm decisions remain pending as some election or the other is taking place all the time, the Prime Minister wanted an opinion from legislators whether elections should be scheduled for all tiers simultaneously.

Maintaining that parliamentarians with their wealth of experience had to devise solutions to challenges, Vajpayee said they should meet often and engage in substantive exchanges about diverse experiences to strengthen parliamentary democracy across the globe.

President A P J Abdul Kalam, Vice President Bhairon Singh Sekhawat, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, former Presidents R Venkataraman and K R Narayanan, former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao and I K Gujral, leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers and parliamentarians attended the inaugural function at the Central Hall of Parliament.

CVC to concentrate on nearly a dozen "suspect" defence deals
NEW DELHI: Scaling down the number of "suspect" defence deals it would like to probe, the Central Vigilance Commission will be concentrating on not more than a dozen deals, considered as "serious" and would ask the Defence Ministry for additional information on these cases.

"At the most ten to 12 cases which are serious, we will concentrate", Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P Shankar told on Wednesday.

Stating that Defence Minister George Fernandes himself had sent the files to the CVC in the wake of the Tehelka episode, Shankar said "there are certain files which really require further investigation".

A scrutiny of a large number of files pertaining to defence deals during Kargil period and before showed that most of the allegations were simply repetition of audit observations made by Comptroller and Auditor General, the CVC said.

Keen on changing the public image that a case referred to CVC would mean delay, the CVC said that he would be writing to the Defence Ministry by February 15 clearly stating that these were the cases where the Commission would like to carry further study.

"We are really cracking whips in our own organisation", Shankar said.

The Defence Ministry had submitted as many as 1,200 files to the CVC on the defence deals and the then CVC N Vittal had submitted an interim report to the Government in 2001.

Stating that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was already seized of the issue, he said that the Commission would only concentrate on those where there was something really wrong and needed explanation by the Government.

Shankar said that he would convene a meeting of other Vigilance Commissioners and top officials of the Commission to scrutinise the files before writing to the Defence Ministry.

The CVC said that his letter to the Defence Minister would also emphasise the fact that unless urgent action was taken by the Government, such an exercise would not result in anything.

LeT threats to intensify attacks ahead of 'Republic Day'
SRINAGAR: Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) has threatened to intensify suicide attacks across Kashmir valley, where security has been beefed up ahead of the Republic Day to ensure peaceful celebrations.

The threat to intensify Fidayeen (suicide) attacks was made by the self-styled divisional commander of the outfit, Abu Asa in a statement which appeared in local newspapers on Wednesday.

"The suicide attacks will be carried out on security camps across the valley to force the withdrawal of the troops from Kashmir", the statement said.

The threat comes at a time when the authorities have stepped up security arrangements in the wake of looming threats of escalation of violence in the state.

Meanwhile, Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday searched the SMHS hospital for nearly two hours as part of an intensified vigil to keep away militants from engineering any major trouble.

The hospital was cordoned off by the troops and all the rooms were thoroughly searched. However, no one was arrested during the operation, official sources said.

Surprise search operations, frisking, checking of vehicles and erection of road-blocks were a part of the strategy adopted by the security agencies to ensure trouble free Republic day celebrations, the main function of which is being held at Bakshi stadium in Srinagar, they said.

The stadium has been virtually sealed by the security forces with roads leading to it blocked for vehicular traffic and civilian movement.

Instrument landing system at all airports: Shahnawaz
KISHANGANJ (Bihar): Union Civil Aviation minister, Sayed Shahnawaz Hussain, on Wednesday said that Instrument Landing Systems would be introduced at all airports in the country by the end of this fiscal to avoid the typical winter hazard of fog-delayed flights.

"We are going to introduce the ILS to provide proper visibility for take-off and landing of flights even if there is thick fog," Hussain told a press conference here. An estimated Rs 100 crore is likely to be spent for the ILS.

Admitting that the civil aviation ministry was incurring heavy losses due to rescheduling or cancellation of flights following thick fog, Hussain said that this had forced the ministry to take such measures to minimise air travellers' misery.

He said that Mumbai and New Delhi international airports would be further modernised to match the world standards. "All modalities for the purpose had been completed and the proposal was likely to be okayed by the Union cabinet soon."

A whopping sum of Rs 3,500 crore would be spent for the modernisation, he said.

Though the Delhi airport had the latest CAT 3-a facility for visibility, the flight services were being affected as the pilots were not fully trained, he said adding a lot of money was required to be spent on training the pilots in the use of CAT 3-a facility.

After putting Gaya, the key Buddhist pilgrim centre in Bihar, on international air map, efforts were afoot to connect Chunapur airport in Purnea with international flights.

He said his ministry had already allowed the Sahara airlines to introduce its flights between Purnea-Kolkata, Purnea-Patna and Purnea-Delhi.

Man killed, vehicles torched by PWG in Andhra Pradesh
HYDERABAD: Naxalites of the outlawed People's War Group killed a man, torched two vehicles and set afire copies of a leading vernacular daily in different districts of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

The naxals killed a 25-year old man in Narsapur village of Warangal district, suspecting him to be a police informer, police said.

G Srinu, a native of Kantayapalem, 65 km from Warangal, was woken up by extremists after midnight and shot dead, police said. Srinu was on a visit to his relatives' house in Narsapur village, where the incident occurred.

In a separate incident, a group of PWG ultras burnt a private taxi and later a car carrying copies of Telugu newspaper 'Eenadu' on the outskirts of Anupalem village in the district.

They raised slogans protesting the arrest of their colleagues and set afire copies of the newspaper, which were meant for circulation in Piduguralla town.

The extremists earlier waylaid a lorry and took out diesel from the vehicle after threatening its driver at gunpoint, police added.

India acquires 40 Russian-made multi-role helicopters
NEW DELHI : India has acquired 40 Russian-made multi-role helicopters capable of attacking targets with great accuracy, defence sources said on Wednesday.

The all-weather MI-17 IV choppers, which are capable of flying at very low altitudes at speeds upto 240 kms per hour, can carry 80 mm rockets that can destroy enemy bunkers, radars, convoys and bridges.

The delivery of the 40 MI-17 IV was completed by the Russians last year and they have been inducted into the Air Force, the sources said.

Powered by two turbine engines and latest avionics, these war machines are being extensively used in Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, for air maintenance of troops deployed there, they said.

Besides rockets, the MI-17 IV can also carry 500 pound bombs, including Napalm explosives, and are equipped with 7.62 mm machine guns which can be used effectively against aerial as well as ground targets.

The choppers, which can fly upto a height of 16,000 feet comes in very handy in providing succour during natural calamities, the sources said, adding "flying the machine at tree-top heights is never a problem." This would be the first time that the chopper would be displayed as part of IAF's contingent at this year's Republic Day parade.

Indo-Lanka ferry service to resume in March
NEW DELHI: Recording over 102 per cent growth in Indian tourists arrivals in 2002, Sri Lanka on Wednesday said the long-awaited ferry service linking Tuticorin and Colombo would resume operations in March this year after a gap of 20 years.

Announcing this here, Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Prathap Ramanujan said, "Sri Lanka is eyeing India as a top market for its tourism industry after recording an increase of over 102.8 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka last year."

"We had discussions with Indian shipping ministry on the issue of resuming ferry service from March this year," he said, adding the service which will connect Tuticorin and Colombo, will cover the distance in eight hours and will be priced at around Rs 8,000.

Sri Lanka, which received around 68,796 Indian tourists in 2002, has been initiating several steps to tap the Indian outbound tourism which was growing fast at over 15 per cent annually.

"We have introduced visa-on-arrival facility for Indian tourists and we are also holding a travel mart in May this year which will showcase various aspects of Sri Lankan tourism industry," he said.

"We have invited Indian Tourism Minister Jagmohan and other southern state tourism ministers to participate in this mart," he added.

Apart from this, Sri Lanka was also offering low-priced tour packages for Indian tourists, he said, adding, India accounted for 17.5 per cent of its total tourism.

India expels four Pak High Commission officials
NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday expelled four officials of the Pakistan High Commission, including two diplomats, for indulging in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.

The officials are Mansoor Saeed Sheikh, counsellor, Mian Mohammad Esif, first secretary and Muhammad Tasneem Khan and Sher Muhammad, both staffers.

India has declared all the four persona non-grata and asked the Pakistan government to withdraw them within 48 hours.

The decision to expel the Pakistani mission officials was conveyed to its Charge d' Affaires here Jalil Abbas Jilani who was summoned to the foreign office.

The officials have been found "indulging in activities incompatible with their official status", an euphemism for spying.

Asked whether this was a retaliatory move by India for the harassment of its CDA in Islamabad Sudhir Vyas by the Pakistani intelligence officials, an external affairs ministry spokesman said, "this is on the basis of the fact that we have evidence that they were indulging in activities incompatible with their official status".

On what charges had been levelled against the Pakistani officials, he said, "I am not at liberty to share that with the press".

Indian scientists build sensors that generate electric current
BANGALORE: Indian scientists have come out with carbon nanotube flow sensors that can work as energy conversion device, a finding that promises to have enormous applications in the biomedical field.

The scientists based in Bangalore say the tiny sensors, made out of bundles of carbon nanotube generate electric current when placed in moving liquid which can be used for various therapeutic purposes.

"If you have a flowing environment and if you put the sensor, you get voltage/current out of it. If you put it in a biomedical environment, the voltage/current can be used for the body's therapeutic purposes," says Prof. Ajay K Sood, a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science here.

The sensors, which do not incorporate any moving parts and considered a possible advance for the lab on a chip, were built by Prof. Sood, along with N Kumar of the Raman Research Institute and IISc student Shankar Ghosh.

The research team's papr was published by reputed "Science express" last week.

Prof. Sood told here on Wednesday that the team had applied for patent in the US and India as they believed that "all the indications are that it (sensor) has immense potential". "Whomsoever we have talked to, we have got that feeling. I think it's exciting", he said of the "physics-driven experiment".

Cell-to-cell free but with a fixed cost of Rs 50 a month
NEW DELHI : Cellular-to-cellular incoming calls are free but with a catch: subscribers would have to shell out about Rs 50 for availing the benefit.

As an interim measure pending final announcement of Interconnect User Charge (IUC) by the telecom regulator, consumers will have to shell out about Rs 50, one of the private cellular operator told.

The fixed amount of about Rs 50 was not declared at the time of announcement of free calls yesterday as the pricing of services was an individual operators's matter and it could vary from operator to operator, a Bharti official said.

Post paid customers of AirTel would have to pay Rs 49 per month for the facility of free incoming calls from cell-to-cell, while for pre-paid customers this charge will vary.

Hutch official Harit Nagpal said they would charge Rs 49 for offering cell-to-cell free incoming calls.

A COAI representative said there was no industry decision to charge this amount but if individual operators wanted to charge, they could do so.