Bullet proof cars for CM
Hyderabad Dec. 21: The Tamil Nadu chief minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, will get two bullet-proof cars that are being fabricated at Hyder- abad. The Ambassador cars that he currently uses will be replaced by Tata Safari SUVs which are being bullet-proofed by a private firm in Hyderabad. Sources said that the Tamil Nadu government had opted for an upgrade as the Ambassador cars were found to be “inconvenient”.
“It takes 70 days to bullet-proof a vehicle,” an official said. “They are built according to the standards of the Bureau of Police Research.” The car can withstand fire from revolvers and automatic weapons. The tyres can also withstand firing. The Medak Ordnance Factory bullet-proofs vehicles but it is loaded to capacity and the government and private citizens are looking to private firms for the job. The police also buys some bullet-proofed vehicles directly from automobile firms. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh former chief minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has bullet-proofed his Tata Safari on his own at Real Cars, which is also doing up Mr Karunanidhi’s vehicles.
AP has the largest number of bullet-proofed cars after Jammu and Kashmir; the Police Transport Organisa- tion has around 200 such cars for the chief minister and other VIPs. The demand for reinforced cars has increased after the Mumbai attacks. An IG rank police officer said that the government plans to buy up to six Tata Sumos or Safaris and get them bullet-proofed. Source : Deccan
Taj, Trident open their doors
Mumbai Dec. 21: The Trident, Nariman Point and the Taj Mahal Hotel’s Tower wing at Apollo Bunder both resumed partial services on Sunday, but with markedly different approaches. While the Trident management seemed keen to stress a feeling a normalcy by welcoming any guests who wished to visit the site of the 26/11 attacks, the Taj’s “inauguration” was a high-profile do for select invitees only.
The newly-renovated lobby of the Trident was buzzing with activity as guests were let in on Sunday morning. The now-routine baggage and body check was in place, with added security officials present as well. Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and the deputy chief minister Chaggan Bhujbal also attended this meeting. Source : Deccan
Rajini loved cart rides, says uncle
Chennai Dec. 21: Nachikuppam, a sleepy village 25 km from Krishnagiri, bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was unknown till Karthikeyan, an ardent fan asked ‘superstar’ Rajinikanth if he would construct a memorial for his father Ramoji Rao and mother Ram Bai in the village. After Rajinikanth promised Karthikeyan during an interaction with his fans last month that he would consider erecting a memorial for his parents at Nachikuppam, the village was buzzing with the media in search of stories.
A media shy T. Saraswathi Bai, widow of late Thukkaram Rao who was the maternal uncle of Rajinikanth, shifted to Bengaluru. Now she has returned to Nachikuppam and lives in a small tiled house, where Rajinikanth stays during his visits to the village.
“Lack of opportunities to earn a livelihood in Nachikuppam forced Rajini’s father to shift to Bangalore to work as a policeman.” said Saraswathi Bai recalling the past. Rajini, the third male child in the family, used to visit the village with his family often and would spend time with her and her husband Thukkaram Rao, whom Rajini loved a lot, she said. According to Saraswathi Bai, the superstar was mischievous during his childhood and would often pester people to take him for a ride in a bullock cart. Source : Deccan
60 Lankan troops killed, claims rebel web
Colombo Dec. 21: Tamil Tiger rebels killed 60 Sri Lankan troops advancing toward their de facto capital, a pro-rebel report said, but the government denied on Sunday that many soldiers had died. Meanwhile, the government said that its troops captured the strategic village of Nedunkerni in the northeast on Sunday. Clashes have intensified in recent weeks as the military continues a major push to capture the rebel headquarters and fulfil a promise to end the 25-year civil war.
The insurgents struck on Saturday as the soldiers were preparing an assault in Iranamadu village, just south of the militant headquarters of Kilinochchi, and forced the troops to retreat from recently seized territory, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet website reported. The militants recovered 12 bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers, and 150 other troops were wounded, the report said. It did not provide the number of rebel losses. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said there were a “few” deaths and some soldiers were reported missing. But he dismissed the casualty figures reported by TamilNet and said soldiers were not in retreat. “We have not pulled back. We are in the same locations,” Brig. Nanayakkara said.
It was not possible to verify the rebel report because journalists are not allowed in the war zone. Both sides are known to exaggerate enemy casualties and underreport their own losses. Soldiers trying to capture the rebels’ northeastern stronghold seized Nedunkerni town, a key crossroads that connected three of the rebels’ main supply routes, Brig. Nanayakkara said.
He said soldiers inflicted “damages” to the rebels but did not give details. Government forces have seized a large area of rebel-held territory in recent months and forced the Tigers into territory in the northeast. However, troops have been locked in heavy battles at the edge of Kilinochchi for nearly two months amid heavy monsoon rains and stiff resistance by the rebels. The militants have claimed at least three major battle successes in recent weeks, the last being the reported killing of 170 soldiers near Kilinochchi on Tuesday. Source : Deccan
Sonia, Shah Rukh in list
New York Dec. 21: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan have been ranked among the 50 most powerful people in the world by the prestigious US-based magazine Newsweek in a list topped by President-elect Barack Obama. Pakistan Army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who controls the the country’s nuclear weapons, is placed 20th on the list of the global “power elite” at the beginning of 2009 in the magazine’s January issue.
Obama, who scripted history by becoming the first Black-American to be voted to the White House, is followed by Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Markel and powerful Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. A surprise inclusion in the list, which the magazine admits is subjective, is Osama bin Laden, whom the Newsweek describes as “global terrorist.” North Korean dictator Kim Jong II also finds a place in the list. Placing Sonia Gandhi at 17th spot, the magazine says though Indian political scene is riven by factions, the Congress remains the strongest national force and rules unchallenged. “In the world’s largest democracy, she is the queen.” The magazine describes Shah Rukh Khan, who occupies 41st spot, as the “King of Bollywood”. Source : Deccan
Jackson ‘close to death’
London, Dec. 21: Pop legend Michael Jackson is suffering from a rare lung condition and is “close to death”, a British newspaper has claimed. Jackson needs to undergo an emergency transplant operation but he is too weak to be rushed into surgery and may even be fighting for his life, the Sunday Express quoted Ian Halperin, who is penning a biography on the singer, as saying. According to Halperin, 50-year-old Jackson has been diagnosed with Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic condition that can be fatal in severe cases, and the singer is now so ill he can barely speak and has lost as much as 95 per cent of the vision in his left eye. He needs a lung transplant.
“He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding which is not stopping and could kill him,” Halperin said. He has also claimed that Jackson’s lung conditions — which affects only one in 5,000 Americans — has been difficult to treat due to its associated health problems. “For years, Michael has been working with his own doctors to try to make sure it doesn’t progress. He has been on many medications that have stabilised him,” he was quoted by the British newspaper as saying. Source : Deccan
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