Oppn for more relief to Bhopal gas victims

Dubbing as "paltry" the relief announced recently for Bhopal disaster victims, the Opposition on Wednesday demanded a substantial increase in it and asked the government to become a party to a petition filed in a US court to extract compensation from American firm Dow Chemicals.

Initiating a debate in the Lok Sabha on the 1984 gas tragedy, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj charged the then Rajiv Gandhi government with allowing Warren Anderson, then chief of Union Carbide in whose Bhopal plant the gas leak occurred, to "escape".

Demanding that Parliament pass a resolution scrapping the 1989 out-of-court settlement between Union Carbide and the government, she said what has been witnessed in Bhopal was "a case of corporate manslaughter" and not of "mere negligence".

She wanted India to take a cue from the Rs 90,000 crore compensation secured by the US from British Petroleum due to the recent oil spill in Gulf of Mexico to strengthen the case in a US court for more relief to the Bhopal victims.

India should become a party in the suit filed by some NGOs from Bhopal in the New York South court to get "thousands of crore as compensation" for the victims from Dow Chemicals, which now owns the assets of the Union Carbide, she contended.

In an hour-long speech, Swaraj said the victims of the tragedy have suffered "several betrayals" since the disaster struck 25 years ago and it was strange that some concerned judges, who handled the case, were "compensated adequately".

"One judge went on to become a member of the International Court of Justice, while another became head of several commissions and even a member of the Rajya Sabha. The gas victims were only deceived," she said.

She was also critical of former Chief Justice A S Ahmadi for a judgement that limited the punishment to the accused to only two years.

While a demand for compensation of Rs 3,900 crore was made, the government agreed for only Rs 615 crore in the 1989 settlement, Swaraj said.

Countering the charges, Manish Tewari (Cong) said the government had moved the US courts, which had ruled that the cases be pursued in India.

He charged the BJP with "doing politics over the dead bodies" of the victims of the tragedy.

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BJP seeks PM's explanation over J&K autonomy remark

Slamming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Kashmir peace formula in the Rajya Sabha today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said autonomy for the state will not be tolerated because it would mean a reversal of Kashmir's integration with India and sought an explanation. "We are not in favour of giving

independence to Kashmir under the garb of autonomy. We are against disintegration of Kashmir from India. Do you think autonomy is a step in the right direction?" BJP Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"Whatever is possible within the Constitution of India without compromising the sovereignty of India and without compromising on Kashmir being a part of India, BJP is open to discussion on any other issue," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.

The principal Opposition party in Parliament targeted the Prime Minister to explain thoroughly the meaning of autonomy and termed the comment as unfortunate.

On Tuesday, during a meeting of representatives of different political parties from Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said, "If there is consensus among political parties on autonomy for the state, then it can be considered within the ambit of the Constitution."

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Observing Ramadan? There's an app for that

The most ancient traditions of Islam are going high-tech, with a slew of modern offerings for those observing the holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week.

Cell phone applications such as "iPray" or "iQuran" offer a beeping reminder of requisite prayer times, while the "Find Mecca" and "mosque finder" programs help the Muslim traveler in an unfamiliar city find the nearest place to pray.

"When I saw these applications for the first time, I thought: this is amazing," said James Otun, who has several Islamic applications on his Apple iPhone and iPad. "Whoever came up with this idea: God bless him or her."

The applications aren't just for Ramadan; there are Islamic-themed programs that help users find the nearest Costco offering foods prepared according to Islamic dietary rules, learn the correct Arabic pronunciations in a daily prayer, or count how many pages of the Quran they've read that day - all on a mobile phone.

There also are applications, or apps, for the holy books of several other religions, from the Catholic Holy Bible to the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture.

The first time Sumeyye Kalyoncu heard the Adhan - or call to prayer - through surround-sound speakers on her iPhone dock, she was overcome with nostalgia for her native Turkey. Such applications are especially popular in the U.S., Kalyoncu said, as U.S. mosques do not broadcast daily calls to prayer from external loudspeakers, as they do in Muslim countries.

"These are traditions and these have been in our lives for ages, like almost 15 centuries, so they seem very old," Kalyoncu said. "I think this is like combining together the technology and the things that we do daily."

Kalyoncu uses an iPhone app called iPray Lite, keeping track of requisite daily prayers with a program that simulates the clicking sound of prayer beads or the turning wheel of a handheld metal counter Muslims use to keep count of prayer repetitions. Using headphones, the 24-year-old says she can now fulfill her daily spiritual obligations by counting prayers on her iPhone on the commuter bus to Manhattan from her Edgewater home.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company doesn't track the more than 225,000 apps for its phones by category so she doesn't know how many are Islamic-themed. The programs aren't just offered by Apple; Nokia has a Ramadan suite for its cell phones that consolidates everything worshippers need to know to observe Islam's holiest month, in which Muslims worldwide observe daily daylight fasting.

Some apps are free. Those that are not generally range from about 99 cents to $2.99, although some are more expensive.

The dates of Ramadan still are determined by the lunar calendar, and calculations can differ among Islamic communities around the world. In North America, many Muslims will mark the first day of Ramadan on Wednesday.

But Islam never has been at odds with innovation, said Zinnur Tabakci, who runs an Islamic religious book and gift shop in Paterson, N.J..

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Solutions available on a country-to-country basis: RIM to US

Canadian company RIM, the manufacturers of BlackBerry device, has told the United States that there are solutions available on a country-to-country basis to address security concerns regarding its service.

Research In Motion (RIM) officials conveyed the message to the US State Department at a meeting on Monday.

Following the concerns being raised by countries like India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the United States is in discussion with both RIM officials and these countries on the security related issues and uninterrupted access to the BlackBerry devices by people across the globe.

"It was very helpful for RIM officials to help us understand their global perspective. They indicated that their services are offered in almost every country in the world. There might be a handful that they do not have a presence,"State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at a daily news conference.

"So they were giving us that kind of global perspective on the issues that have been raised in negotiations with multiple countries. They did not go into details of any specific negotiation," he said.

"It was very useful for us and I think at the end of the meeting, their perspective was that they believe that there are, again broadly speaking, solutions available that on a country-by-country basis can satisfactorily address and balance the regulatory security and access issues that are at stake," Crowley said.

The US and RIM recognise that there were a range of interests and it is important to balance these competing interests, the senior official added.

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Human error suspected in Mumbai oil spill

Investigators probing the collision between MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia III off the coast of Mumbai on Saturday suspect that human error on the part of one or both navigators of the vessels was responsible for the incident.

MSC Chitra had moved out of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on Saturday while Khalijia III was moving to dock at the Mumbai Port Trust for repairs, when the incident happened.

"The exact cause of the mishap would be known only after a detailed investigation instituted by the Director General of Shipping, but it appears that it was human error on the part of thenavigators," a senior official said.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as state departments in Raigad district have advised people not to consume fish for some time, as they might be contaminated due to the oil spill near the Mumbai harbour.

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And now CEOs becoming models

Sorry, you are wrong if you think that only bollywood stars and cricketers can become models to promote particular brands. Fact of the matter is that some of the country’s respected CEOs of big ticket companies are now getting into the game, often as brand ambassadors for

their own ware.Pawan Goenka, the president of auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra’s automotive unit, turned a model himself to promote the multi-utility vehicle Scorpio from his stable. A PHD from IIT,Mumbai, Pawan was recently visible in the ad of Scorpio.

Mukesh Gupta, head of Delhi based Graphiads ad agency, feels that Ceos as models carry a much-needed credibility and assurance to the consumers.“If Ratan Tata campaigns for Nanoor Sunil Mittal campaigns for Airtel mobile phones, it would definitely make huge inroads. After all they are very respected among even the masses of the country.“If Harish Mahindra modeled for Scorpio, it would have been even better.

He is a suave and very well-known face in urban India,” he added. Now take the case of Dharam Pal Gulati, the 80 plus turbaned and bespectacled chairman of spice brand MDH, short for the quaint Mahashayan Di Hatti, has chosen to appear on the television commercials. "I was told by various senior officials of our group and friends that if I act in the ad campaigns of MDH, it would go a long way in establishing the image of our products. I accepted their suggestion. Since then the demand for MDH masalas has gone up manifold,” Gulati once said.

A few years ago, Rajeev Bakshi, the former Ceo of PepsiCo India, was also spotted in Pepsi ads after the cola maker faced charges from voluntary groups that the company’s soft drink products contained

harmful pesticide residue.” It was a conscious decision.

I sipped Pepsi in that particular ad so that that the nation should get the message that it is safe to drink it,” Bakshi said. Corporate watchers say that Vijaypat Singhania was the first corporate personality in recent memory to figure as a model, when he appeared in Raymonds suiting ad campaigns a few years ago. As he was known for his love of aviation, it fitted in.In the recent times, liquor baron Vijay Mallya also turned model for his Kingfisher Airlines. Earlier, the colourful chairman had campaigned for safe driving – something that went with the head of a liquor company.

Rohtas Goyal, the youthful chairman of the Omaxe group, can be seen endorsing the premium real estate that his company sells. But he has restricted himself to print campaigns. So far, my ad agency has given my pictures in a few campaigns. I do not think that I would ever act as a model in the ad campaigns of Omaxe in future,” Goyal said, without elaborating.

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Govt can consider inquiry in CWG corruption charges after 15 Oct: Gill

Government is ready to consider any kind of inquiry after 15 October on the alleged corruption charges against all those who are involved in staging the commonwealth games, Union sports minister MS Gill told the parliament on Tuesday.

Congress member Suresh Kalmadi, who is chairman of the CWG Organising Committee and is in the eye of the storm over corruption charges, was not present during the reply.

Defending the government over the allegations of corruption and the delay in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, Mr. Gill on reiterated that no attempts were being made to hide anything and said that government was open to full public scrutiny.

Replying to questions raised by the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gill said, “I am aware of your concerns for the Commonwealth Games. I will take the parliamentarians and press to the stadiums in a week-ten days, we have nothing to hide.”

"Nothing will be hidden or covered up," he said in his hour-long reply which was repeatedly interrupted by Opposition members, who continued to pose queries on allegations of corruption and diversion of funds.

Stressing the point further, Gill said that the government is also of the view that ‘full public scrutiny ensures public confidence’.

Gill did not openly defend IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi and said that CWG OC member TS Darbari was sacked due to the Sports Ministry’s request. “We are not covering up for anyone, we did our best to make it possible for the RTI act to come in place for the IOA.”

Gill said that the stadiums were ready and the final touches were being given. “Test events of over ten countries have been conducted in the stadiums, the debris will be cleared in a week.”

Congress member Suresh Kalmadi, who is chairman of the CWG Organising Committee and is in the eye of the storm over corruption charges, was not present during the reply.

Dissatisfied with the reply of the Sports Minister, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj led a noisy walk out of members of BJP and its allies, who chanted "we want JPC" while leaving the House.

Swaraj took offence to Gill`s remarks asking members to take recourse to the RTI route to obtain details of the expenditure for CWG projects.

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