Thursday, July 31, 2008

Indian Americans call home 7 minutes a day


Indian Americans make calls to their families and friends back home for an average of three and a half hours in a month, more often on their mobile phones, the first ever study on their international communication habits has found.The top five US cities from where calls to India originate are Princeton in New Jersey, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Dallas, says a statement from Rebtel, a global calling service for individuals and business based in Stockholm, which carried out the study.The top five most-called Indian cities are Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Kolkata and New Delhi come lower down the order.The study is based on Rebtel's calling volume from January to July this year. The firm found more callers use cell phones than landlines for the 210 minutes a month they spend talking to India on an average, which works out to seven minutes a day. Sunday, when the call rates are lower, is the most popular day for the Indian Americans call home. The study concludes that more Indian Americans are calling India more often due to lower costs, call quality improvements and cell phone access. "Low rates combined with the most reliable and clear connections are driving the increase in international calling to India," Rebtel chief executive Hjalmar Winbladh said in the statement. Rebtel was recently ranked No 1 in international calling by Technology Appraisals, an independent market research and publishing company based in London

Inflation continues upward march again

The annual inflation rate rose marginally to 11.98 per cent for the week ended July 19, from 11.89 per cent the previous week.This is the seventh consecutive week in which inflation has stayed in double digits. The inflation for the week ended May 24 was revised to 8.9 per cent. In the inflation break up, manufactured index was up 0.2 per cent, while prices of basic metals, alloys and metal products group went up marginally. The index for fuel, power, and light index remained unchanged. The textiles group went up by 0.9 per cent. The government said the inflation remains stable week-on-week basis. Concerned over the high inflation levels, the Reserve Bank of India in its July review increased both the cash reverse ratio and the repo rate by 25-50 bps. It also indicated that more tough measure would be taken in future if the money supply levels don’t come down to the required level. The central bank Governor, YV Reddy, indicated that inflation would stay at high levels in near future, before stating to moderate from the third quarter. Reddy expects inflation to drop to 7 per cent levels in the fourth quarter of this fiscal.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I didn't inspire terrorists: Ramgopal Varma

Ram Gopal Varma may have been nowhere near Ahmedabad when 17 blasts rocked the city last Friday, but the maverick filmmaker is still trying hard to distance himself from the dastardly act. Denying reports that his film Contract inspired the terrorist plan, he says such a modus operandi is common across the world. Contract is third in Varma's trilogy of gangster films. As the maverick director himself writes in his introductory note on the film's website, if Satya in 1998 gave audiences an inside view of the underworld and in 2002 Company provided an overview, Contract moves to the next level where the underworld meets terrorism. In the film, terrorists are shown planning a series of low intensity bomb blasts, which would be followed by much larger explosions in the vicinity of hospitals once victims were moved there. This bears an uncanny resemblance to what actually happened in Ahmedabad on Friday and has led people to draw unsavoury parallels between Contract and the terrorist strike. Varma however is categorical that this is not a case of real life imitating reel life. "When I was planning Contract, I did a lot of research on terrorist activities around the world. The film's writer Prashant Pandey and I studied in detail the situation in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. I have in fact borrowed a lot from real life incidents. In Afghanistan, for example, it's quite common for a series of blasts to take place, followed by other explosions outside hospitals in the immediate area so that victims, their relatives and the general populace is completely terrorised. Therefore it is I who am inspired by real life, and not the other way around. I don't subscribe to the idea that things would have happened otherwise if I hadn't made Contract," he says. Actor Zakir Hussain, who plays a notorious terrorist Sultan in Contract, endorses his director's viewpoint. "Sure, like any other Indian I am sad to hear about the tragedy in Ahmedabad. But I don't think Contract gave terrorists the idea of carrying out the serial blasts," he says.Hussain acknowledges that there is at least one sequence in the film that inspires a sense of deja vu. According to him: "At one point in Contract, I am telling my people to plant bombs in public places and then target nearby hospitals where victims will be taken for treatment. I believe this is what happened in Ahmedabad too. A bomb was planted outside the hospital and it exploded causing considerable damage."The actor insists this was a mere coincidence and the media has been guilty of using his footage from Contract to make their point again and again. "A number of TV channels kept showing my character from the film. If you keep reinforcing an idea, it tends to create a certain perception. What if I go out tomorrow and people think of me as a real life terrorist? This is what I am now afraid of," he admits. Despite the all negative publicity, Hussain is not apologetic about his role in Contract. "I have no regrets about doing the film. What's regrettable are the blasts and the loss of life that happened in Ahmedabad," he says. Sakshi Gulati, who plays Sultan's sister Iya in Contract, is willing to stand up for the film as well. "Had any other film about the underworld or terrorism been released just before the blasts, people would have found some similarity. Therefore it is just a sad coincidence that the Ahmedabad blasts took place within a few days of my film's release. I have always believed that it is reel life that imitates real life and not vice versa," she says.

Surat terrorised: 17 live bombs found

A total of 17 live bombs have so far been found in Surat on Tuesday. Earlier, the bomb disposal squad defused three bombs. Discovery of these bombs give a clear indication that the Saturday's blasts that shook Gujarat could have caused much more destruction and claimed many more lives.The bombs were found in the Varachha Road area of Surat. Earlier, a bomb was found near housing society and another in a market area. The third bomb was discovered in the Matavadi area of Varachha Road.On Monday, one bomb was found and defused and on Sunday two explosive laden WagonR's were also found in the city.Initial examination suggest these bombs are identical to the ones seized earlier.Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has said the government will issue regulations for the sale of ammonium nitrate.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Big B bowled over by LA audience


Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has been down with fever and cold, sounds super excited after The Bachchans Unforgetttable tour received a thunderous applause in Los Angeles.Big B, who performed inspite of his illness, is generous in his gratitude for his fans.Writing on his blog, Big B exclaims " What an audience ! What a show ! What response ! Simply incredible !"Calling it one of the best live show experiences for him, Bachchan says,"All the credit goes to the utterly fantastic fans and audience at the LA Sports Arena, that packed the venue right up to the rafters and just egged and shouted and screamed us into a performance that all of us will remember for a lifetime."Inpite of his continuing ailment, Bachchan sounds jubilant "My chest still whirs, my nose still runs and my voice seems to be coming from some other sound box, but I just do not care. Last night took care of everything."Crediting his fans with his power packed performance, Big B sounds completley bowled over by the LA audeince, " I don t know how it all happened, but it happened. I stand up in salutation to the people at the venue, to the people of Los Angeles, to all the fans and well wishers. You did it ! And I humbly bow down to you with the deepest respect and love. Thank you !!"Well, that's some humility indeed.Not just his audience, Big B remembers his well wisher bloggers also, and thanking them for their get-well-soon messages, he has posted some pictures of rehearsals and his room where he has been recuperating.Bachchan's The Unforgettable Tour was flagged off in Toronto, and after traveling to Trinidad and LA,it goes to San Francisco this week.

U.S.: Iraqi civilians killed by soldiers were unarmed

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Investigators have determined three Iraqi civilians were unarmed and attacking no one when U.S. soldiers fatally shot them in western Baghdad last month, the U.S. military said Sunday.
U.S. military officials initially said at least one of the three Iraqis, who were riding in a car approaching the soldiers, started shooting, and that the soldiers returned fire. The military also initially said a weapon was later found in the car, and bullet holes were found in two of the soldiers' humvees.
But an investigation found the soldiers shot and killed three "law abiding citizens of Iraq," and that no weapon was found in the vehicle, a military release stated.
Also, the investigation determined only one humvee had a bullet hole, and that the bullet hole's source isn't known, said Lt. Steve Stover, a military spokesman.
Still, investigators determined "neither the soldiers nor civilians involved in the incident were at fault," the release said.
"This was an extremely unfortunate and tragic incident," said Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff for Multi-National Division-Baghdad. "Our deepest regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the family.
"We are taking several corrective measures to amend and eliminate the possibility of such situations happening in the future."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

India on alert after two days of bombings kill 46


NEW DELHI, India, July 27 (Reuters) - India's major cities were put on high alert on Sunday, with fears of more attacks after at least 46 people were killed in two days of bombings that hit a communally sensitive western city and a southern IT hubAt least 16 bombs exploded in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state on Saturday, killing at least 45 people and wounding 161, a day after another set of blasts in Bangalore killed a woman.Two more unexploded bombs were found in the city of Surat on Sunday, one of the world's biggest diamond-polishing centres, located in Gujarat state, police said.A little-known group called the "Indian Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad attack on Saturday. The same group said it carried out bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the western city of Jaipur in May.It is unusual for any group to claim responsibility, but India says it suspects militant groups from Pakistan and Bangladesh are behind a wave of bombings in recent years, with targets ranging from mosques and Hindu temples to trains."The entire nation, including major metro cities in India, have been put on high alert and they have been asked to step up security in vital installations," a home ministry spokesman said