World
MUSHARRAF'S EXIT: ANOTHER BLOW TO BUSH FOREIGN POLICY
Bush will leave behind a disastrous foreign policy legacy for his successor after the Nov 4, 2008 presidential elections. The debacle in Iraq alone would have been a profoundly daunting challenge for any new president. Once the mess in Afghanistan, instability in Pakistan, threat out of Russia and sabre rattling out of Iran are factored in, together they constitute a challenge of harrowing proportions. Unless some breathtaking miracle solves all four major crises in the next five months, the new US president would have his work cut out from the get go.
For the sheer variety of the crises no other US presidency has perhaps been as mishap-laden as the Bush administration. From 9/11 to the Hurricane Katrina, from the devastation of the financial markets caused largely by the mortgage meltdown to the soaring gas prices and from Iraq to Russia via Afghanistan and from North Korea to China and Myanmar, the Bush administration has had to spend a majority of its time on fire fighting. -By Mayank Chhaya |
|
|
Society
KASHMIR NOW: A THROWBACK TO THE EARLY 1990S
Lal Chowk, the business hub of Srinagar, was empty.
I started my trek home - still six kilometres away. I saw a mob of around 200 people charging towards nobody in particular, shouting pro-freedom slogans. As they moved on, fear also started catching up with me.
As I walked into downtown Srinagar, what was once a hub of militancy and pro-freedom sentiments, demonstrations and slogan shouting became more frequent.
At Bohri Kadal, in the heart of old Srinagar, a huge mob reminded me of mass celebrations in 1989 when five militants of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) were set free in exchange for the release of Rubaiya, daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.-by Sarwar Kashani
| Business/Trade
OUTSOURCING INDUSTRY WILL CONTINUE TO GROW: COGNIZANT HEAD
Cognizant is the second company in India to have been accorded the honour of ringing the Nasdaq (US stock exchange) bell for the start of trade March 5, 2007.
"In 2006, we grew 60 percent but the rising rupee, the global slowdown and competition have trimmed it almost by half. Yet, our profits are close to $2.8 billion and we are India's fastest growing services company in IT," Chandrasekaran said.
Asked about the company's efforts to reverse brain drain, Chandrasekaran said he was one of those who started the process successfully. "Roughly 70 percent of our top people are the best examples of reverse brain drain," he said.
|
Sports
DOES SEX SELL AT THE OLYMPICS?
Athletics, for instance, is cool and erotic per se, with athletes showing off their bodies and skills on the Beijing track and field to rock music from Pearl Jam or Green Day blaring over the sound system.
Many remember the long fingernails of the late Florence Griffith Joyner or of Gail Devers.
But it is Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva, who has taken the art of flirting, and the sport of pole vaulting, to unsurpassable heights.
The 26-year-old Russian loves to flirt with the crowd. She blows kisses, smiles, summersaults after world records and just loves all the attention without being arrogant.-
By John Bagratuni
| Society
WHY ARE MUSLIM ZEALOTS THE MEDIA FAVOURITES?
History has proved that reservations on communal lines are not in the interest of national unity. Muslims should understand that the ostrich mentality is never going to help them.
Muslims today are aware that their leadership has lost its voice and its utility. Because of their leaders and the petty politicians who represent them, Indian Muslims live today in a system of unofficial apartheid.
Hindus and Muslims have developed separately - very often wholly ignorant of what is in the other's mind. This ghetto existence has allowed the rise of a class of political middlemen who serve as interlocutors between the Muslim masses and the rest of Indian society.-By Firoz Bakht Ahmed
| Terrorism/Insergency
DIALOGUE AMONG NAGAS MUST SUCCEED
But the standstill agreement between the Indian armed forces and the two factions has not translated into peace in the field, as was widely hoped. The guns did not fall silent because Naga fighters turned on each other, seeking to establish supremacy. For several years, it appeared that the K group was getting the worst of the exchanges but from the end of last year, amid charges of central involvement, a new factor emerged: the Unification faction, which had broken away from the parent group, the I-M, and allied with the K. Pitched gun battles followed in the district headquarters and the largest urban centre of Nagaland, Dimapur, and its surrounding areas were the scene of some protracted and bitter fighting; in one incident, an outraged mob ransacked and torched an entire colony where many Tangkhuls, members of Muivah's tribe, lived.
-by Sanjoy Hazarika
|  Business/Trade
FOR INDIA-BORN VIGNERON, THE GRAPES ARE SWEET!
Wine exports from Australia to India have gone up four times to 1.4 million litres from 360,000 litres just a year ago. Australian wine exports to India total A$800,000 (Rs.28 million), mainly through tie-ups. Australian companies such as Jacob's Creek and South Corp have also entered into distribution tie-ups for their wines.
"Our focus is consistent quality and depth of flavour rather than quantity. The strategy is to use traditional Burgundian wine-making methods (for example, low yields per vine, open vat fermentation) to produce wine that best represents the meso-climate of green hills on the western side of the vineyard and the ocean to the south," says Ghumman, who feels "women are more discerning and appreciative of wine flavours".
-by Neena Bhandari
| Entertainment
HOME ENTERTAINMENT BOOM TAKES WORLD CINEMA TO INDIAN HOMES
The fact that prices of DVD players have declined has also helped usher in exponential growth in the home entertainment sector over the last two to three years. Earlier, a branded DVD player cost Rs.6,000. Now you can get one for Rs.1,999.
A report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said revenue models in the film entertainment industry have changed with the emergence of new streams that go beyond the box office.
Different platforms like home video, merchandise, re-make rights and several branded entertainment opportunities have pushed up the growth of the entertainment industry, which now stands poised at Rs.96 million. It is expected to reach Rs.176 billion by 2012, the FICCI projections for 2008 said.
-
by Madhusree Chatterjee
|
 Entertainment
I WANT TO DO A BALLET ON THE GANGES: HEMA MALINI
Talking about her other works, Hema Malini was very enthusiastic about another ballet she has developed, called "Draupadi".
"I have 12 actors playing the roles of the Kauravas and Pandavas. I play the role of Draupadi. Our great epic 'Mahabharata' is then told from Draupadi's point of view," she said.
The classical dancer also has big plans for a dance institute, Natyavihar Kalakendra, which she was planning to set up but lamented the fact that she was yet to get land for it.
When pointed out that there were reports in the media that authorities in Maharashtra have approved a plot of land measuring 2,000 sq mts at Jogeshwari in Mumbai for her institute, she was pleasantly surprised.
|  Sports
I CAN'T THINK OF LIFE WITHOUT CRICKET: SANATH JAYASURIYA
"I regained my touch towards the end of the IPL and was happy to be part of the Asia Cup squad. It was a pleasant experience to win the tournament in Pakistan. We hadn't won any major competition in Pakistan since winning the World Cup," Jayasuriya remarked.
The left-hander says he is now looking forward to the upcoming five-match series against India that starts Monday.
When asked what went wrong with the Indians in the Tests, Jayasuriya admitted being lost for words.
"It's hard to understand. They are such a strong batting side, for me the best in the world without any doubt. But Sri Lanka gave India no chance. They kept the pressure on and it's not easy when Ajantha (Mendis) and Murali bowl in tandem. I thought Sri Lanka had a good plan, which they executed to perfection. There was someone to rise to the occasion at every crucial point."
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
August 19th
Weather