89-year-old temple bell discovered

Municipal workers engaged in removing silt in a drainage canal in Nellithope stumbled upon an ancient metallic bell dating back to 89 years on Wednesday. The bell has been handed over to the police.

The workers attached to Puducherry Municipality were engaged in clearing accumulated silt in a drainage canal when they stumbled upon a hard object covered in a gunny bag.

They immediately cleared the silt and pulled out the bag to find a large metallic bell in it.

Inscription

The bell weighing nearly 48 kg had inscription on its side that it belonged to Sri Muthu Vinayagar Sri Muthukumarasamy temple in Kosapalayam and it was made in 1927.

The municipal officials took possession of the bell and later handed it over to the Orleanpet police for inquiry.

Municipal officials said the bell belonged to a temple in Kosapalayam.

Renovation on

The renovation of the temple was going on for the past six months and authorities could have removed the bell to facilitate the renovation work.

Miscreants could have stolen the bell and dumped it in the drainage canal, he also said.

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Tata Steel puts U.K. operations on the market

With Tata Steel rejecting a two-year £100-million rescue plan proposed by steel unions to save Port Talbot, the biggest of its steel manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom, and deciding instead to put its entire U.K. steel operation on the market, the country’s beleaguered steel industry has been plunged into crisis.

Thousands of workers at Port Talbot, and in plants at Rotherham, Corby and Shotton face imminent job losses should the company opt for closure before a buyer can be found.

Corbyn calls for parliament recall

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for parliament, currently in recess for the Easter break, to be re-called to discuss the “strategic risk to the United Kingdom if it loses its steel making industry,” BBC has reported.

The government is looking at the option of a management-worker buyout of the operation, a plan that the unions had put forward to Tata Steel, and which the company had rejected.

De-nationalization demand

With the livelihoods of 15,000 of steel workers and their families, and another 45,000 in the supply chain at risk, the call for re-nationalising the steel industry has been raised by the unions and several parties across the political spectrum.  The British Steel Corporation was de-nationalized in 1988.

Group Executive Director of Tata Steel Limited Koushik Chatterjee told BBC that the decision to sell came after a nine-year period in which the company made losses of two billion pounds. “It would be difficult to continue to support it in the same manner. If somebody is will[ing] to look at the business we are happy to sell,” he said.

‘Deteriorating financial situation’

Tata Steel in a statement attributed its decision to “deteriorating financial performance of the U.K. subsidiary in the last twelve months.” In a statement the company said that global steel demand has remained “muted” following the financial crisis of 2008.

In addition, the global oversupply of steel – a reference to dumping of steel by China – and “significant increase in third country exports into Europe, high manufacturing costs, continued weakness in domestic market demand in steel and a volatile currency” are behind the decision to sell.

Selling spree

Only last week Tata Steel sold its two Scottish plants at Clydebridge and Dalzell to the Scottish government, from whom Liberty House will buy them. Tata Steel is already in the process of selling its business in Scunthorpe to Greybull Capital, an investment firm.

Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary of the steelworkers’ union Community, the largest in the steel industry has called upon the Tata management to act as a “responsible seller.” He said: “It is vital that adequate time is given for a new investor to be found. Tata has a moral and social responsibility to steel communities and families across the U.K. and must cooperate with the unions and the U.K .government,” he said.

‘U.K. govt. must intervene’

Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite, has said that the U.K. government must step in to save the industry. “This is the time for the government to say categorically, without hesitation, that these assets will be taken into safe-keeping by the nation because without them, our economy will not flourish,” he said. “We are already seeing jobs going in the supply chain because of the uncertainty over Tata’s future –- our fear is this will snowball if insecurity is allowed to swirl around our steel sector.”

No time-frame, but willing to hold on

Tata has made no commitment on a time-frame to sell, but has indicated that it cannot hold on to its loss- making steel operations for much longer. 

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Vijay Mallya offers to repay Rs. 4,000 crore to banks by September

Businessman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday offered his debtor banks Rs. 4000 crore as partial settlement of his dues, even as he confirmed in the Supreme Court that he does not want to come home yet due to "surcharged atmosphere" against him fuelled by media reports.

In a proposal handed over to a Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman, Mr. Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines said they would part with Rs. 4,000 crore by September 2016 as an initial offer to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India. Mr. Mallya owes over Rs. 9000 crore to the consortium.

The proposal, Mr. Mallya's lawyers led by senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan told the court, was a result of negotiations held through video conferences with the businessman, who is now abroad, as late as yesterday.

According to the consortium's lawyers, the proposal also mentions a payment of over Rs. 2000 crore on the basis of a pending suit filed by Mr. Mallya's businesses. Taking the proposal on record, the Bench gave the consortium a week's time to respond. "It is for you to tell us whether you reject this or not," Justice Nariman told the banks. Justice Kurian then asked whether Mr. Mallya is back in India or not. "Where are you? Are you back in India?" Justice Kurian asked.

"No. Media has vitiated the atmosphere. The atmosphere is so surcharged against me... There are cases in which media created such a surcharged atmosphere that even beatings have taken place... the less said the better," Mr. Vaidyanathan responded.

"Media ultimately stands for the public interest. They just want the money taken from the banks to be brought back..." Justice Kurian shot back.

Banks had approached the apex court earlier this month seeking to impound Mr. Mallya's passport and restrain him from the leaving the country.

But on the first day of hearing, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi informed the court that Mr. Mallya had left the country. The apex court posted the matter for hearing on April 7.

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EgyptAir hijack drama: How it unfolded

An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday but the passengers and crew were freed unharmed and the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery, was arrested after giving himself up.

This is how the drama unfolded:

5.36 pm: Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker was an Egyptian national who had asked to meet European Union officials or to fly on to another airport. Mr. Ismail told reporters that authorities would question the hijacker to ascertain his true motives, which remained a mystery. “At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific,” he said. (Reuters)

5.30 pm: Cyprus official says hijacker of EgyptAir plane has been arrested and the situation is “over”.

5.29 pm: It’s over. The hijacker arrested, tweets Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

5.24 pm: Egypt Prime Minister said Egyptair hijacker was Egyptian, had asked to meet EU officials, go to other airports. (Reuters)

5.21 pm: The suspected hijacker of an EgyptAir airliner surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, Cyprus's state broadcaster said. The hijacker emerged from the aircraft with his hands in the air, state TV said. (Reuters)

5.18 pm: Hijacker emerging from aircraft with hands held up, Cyprus Broadcasting reports

5.16 pm: Local TV: 7 more people get off hijacked Egypt plane, man seen climbing out of cockpit window. (AP)

4.10 pm: Cairo airport has delayed the departure of a New York-bound airplane due to security fears related to a hijacked EgyptAir aircraft diverted to Cyprus, said two security officials. Earlier the Cyprus state broadcaster reported that the hijacker had demanded the release of female prisoners in Egypt, where the government is facing an Islamist militant insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula. (Reuters)

4 pm: Cyprus’ Foreign Ministry on Tuesday identified the hijacker of an EgyptAir flight forced to land in Cyprus as Seif Eldin Mustafa in a tweet. It did not provide further details.

“The situation is still ongoing,” it said. Earlier, two Cypriot broadcasters reported the hijacker had dropped a letter on the apron of Larnaca airport that appeared to be demanding the release of prisoners in Egypt.

Eygptian state media had earlier identified the hijacker as a different man. (Reuters)

3.30 pm: Cyprus state broadcaster reports hijacker asking for release of prisoners in Egypt, reports Reuters

3.00 pm: Egypt civil aviation minister says 7 people remain on plane with hijacker — 4 crew and 3 passengers: AP

2.10 pm: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades says Egypt plane hijacking not related to "terrorism": AP

2:00 pm: EgyptAir hijacker is professor of Veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, according to university website, Reuters reports

1:31 pm: Flight-tracking website official says EgyptAir plane showed no signs of distress

1:30 pm: Cyprus Broadcasting reports hijacker may have personal motives, has an ex-wife in Cyprus

01:20 pm: Egyptian media identifies one hijacker of EgyptAir plane as Ibrahim Samaha: ANI

01:15 pm: Egyptian hijacker is an Egyptian national, says Egyptian state news agency: AP

01:05 pm: Cyprus official says 56 people on board the hijacked EgyptAir plane have been released and have left the aircraft

12: 50 pm: EgyptAir says negotiated release of all aboard hijacked plane except four foreigners and the crew- EgyptAir

12:47 pm: Between 30 and 40 passengers of hijacked EgyptAir plane released in Larnaca: Cyprus state media

12:43 pm: Cyprus foreign ministry Secretary General says hijacker has indicated intention to free a certain no. of passengers

12:40 pm: Cyprus foreign ministry Secretary General tells French TV that the hijacker is yet to make demands

12:30 pm: The hijacker is thought to be strapped with explosives, Cyprus broadcaster CYBC said on Tuesday.

12:22 pm: A Cypriot official said that the hijackers have allowed women, children to leave. A few passengers are now disembarking

12:15 pm: A Cypriot government official says the hijacked plane landed on Tuesday morning at the airport in Larnaka and that there are suspicions of a bomb on board.

12:10 pm: A second Cypriot official says there “seems like there’s more than one hijacker.” He says there have been no demands other than that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.

12:08 pm: The statement from the Egyptian aviation authority says the MS181 is an Airbus and that it has 55 passengers on board and five crew members.

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ISRO set to launch 22 satellites on one rocket

When the PSLV C34 rocket blasts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Srikarikota in May this year, it will signal another giant leap for India’s space mission. The trusted launch vehicle will inject 22 satellites into orbit, a first in the history of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Apart from the Indian remote sensing satellite, Cartosat 2C, which constitutes the primary payload, the rocket will carry on board four micro-satellites weighing 85 to 130 kg each and 17 nano-satellites weighing 4 to 30 kg.

As many as 18 satellites are being launched for foreign agencies including those from the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Indonesia. Two of the nano-satellites have been developed by the Pune Engineering College and Sathyabhama University.

“The PSLV rocket, in its XL version, will be used for the mission,” VSSC Director K. Sivan said here on Monday. “The injection of so many satellites into orbit increases the complexity of the mission many fold,” he told reporters.

The micro-satellites include the M3MSAT of Comdev, Canada, to be used for collection and study of automatic identification system signals from low earth orbit, the Indonesian satellite LAPAN A3 for earth surveillance and magnetic field monitoring, the German satellite BIROS to be used for remote sensing of high temperature events and SKYSAT Gen2-1 of Skybox, U.S., for earth imaging.

The nano-satellite payload includes three quadpacks of four earth imaging technology demonstrator satellites each of Spaceflight, U.S., and a package of two Canadian satellites designed to measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

In April 2008, ISRO had launched 10 satellites into orbit using the PSLV C9 rocket.

RLV-TD test flight in May

The first test flight of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) developed by ISRO is also scheduled for May. The technology demonstration version named RLV- TD is undergoing extensive tests at the VSSC complex here. “It will be transported to Bengaluru next week for acoustic tests before being taken to SHAR for the launch in May when atmospheric conditions are most favourable,” Dr. Sivan said.

Designed to drive down the cost of placing satellites in orbit, RLV is expected to enhance India’s competitive edge in the launch vehicle market. The first trial involves the hypersonic flight experiment during which the RLV resembling a small winged aircraft will be launched up to an altitude of 70 km from atop a solid booster rocket and released. The thermally insulated RLV will re enter the atmosphere and travel back to earth in a controlled descent, splashing down in the Bay of Bengal.

Preparations are also underway for the launch of the last of the seven satellites constituting the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation to be used for navigation. A PSLV rocket is scheduled to launch the satellite in April, Dr. Sivan said.

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Pathankot authorities struggle to preserve terrorists’ remains

It is 80 days now, but constable Dalbir Singh cannot afford to lower his guard even for a minute. His job, along with 11 of his colleagues, is to protect a morgue in the only government hospital in Pathankot.

Also referred to as the “Dead House” by local policemen, the morgue can be tracked from a distance because of the unbearable stench emanating from it. It has been provided security since the bodies of the four terrorists killed at the Pathankot airbase on January 2 were brought here.

With only two freezers available, two bodies are sharing space in each compartment. On Monday, a day before Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team is to visit the airbase, officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) collected the post-mortem reports and briefed the doctors, in case the JIT examines them. All the four have been identified by the NIA.

Decomposing bodies

When the bodies were brought here they were perforated with bullets. The encounter took place on January 2 but we were handed over the bodies only on January 7. By this time, it had started to decompose. It was a challenge keeping it intact as grenade explosion had also caused much damage to the bodies. There was dry blood and holes all over the bodies,” said Chaman Lal, the attendant at the morgue at Pathankot Civil Hopsital. Lal has been assisting the doctors in conducting autopsies at the hospital since 1991. This is the first time he is seeing anything like this.

“There are maggots all over the body. I have to clean them at regular intervals. There is a special chemical which comes for the purpose and we have to ensure no damage is done to the bodies as it is also a piece of evidence. Itne din ho gaye hain, badi mushkil hoti hai keedon ko saaf karne mein (its been so many days, difficult to clean the maggots),” said Lal.

A policeman posted at the morgue said that the stench becomes unbearable when the power goes off. “It is difficult to even stand here then. When there is no electricity, the freezer stops working. The ice in the freezer melts and stinking water comes out, forget the stink it is also harmful for health as it contains hazardous fluid of the dead bodies,” the policeman said.

NIA asked hospital to preserve bodies

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has written to the Pathankot Civil Hospital not to dispose of the bodies of the four terrorists killed at the Pathankot airbase on January 2 till it issues an order.

“We have given clear instructions to the hospital authorities not to dispose of the bodies as they are evidence for us,” said an NIA official.

Head constable Vinod Kumar is on alert whenever anybody approaches the morgue.

“We have clear instructions not to allow anyone near the room. If terrorists could come till the airbase, then this place cannot be beyond their reach. Our senior officers conduct daily rounds to check on the bodies and a van from the police control room is also stationed near the boundary wall every night,” Mr. Kumar said.

Senior medical officer at the hospital, Dr. Bhupinder Singh said, “since we got the bodies four-five days after the encounter, there were some changes in it. They are being preserved in deep freezers and the temperature is between minus three to four degrees Celsius. There is no embalming done as no shifting had to take place.”

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Pak. team denied access to airbase

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday that no permission was granted to the Pakistani joint investigation team to visit the Pathankot airbase, which was attacked by terrorists in January.

Answering a question at a press conference at the DefExpo 2016, he said the Ministry had denied the team permission to go anywhere in the airbase. The site where the attack took place had been handed over to the National Investigation Agency, and “it was up to them [the NIA] to decide who should be allowed and who should not.”'

“The Defence Ministry has issued instructions that the spot where the crime had taken place should be barricaded and no visual allowed. The area has already been separated from the airbase, and is non-functional. Therefore, whether the joint investigation team will be taken to the crime scene or not is to be answered by the NIA. As far as our Ministry is concerned, we have issued directions that the crime scene be barricaded and visually obstructed and external entry given to the NIA alone. If I do not permit them this freedom to investigate, any failure of the investigation will be blamed on us,” he said.

Mr. Parrikar said the Pakistani team was denied permission to land at the airbase, to use defence vehicles and speak to defence personnel. “Now what the NIA shares with the investigation team and where it takes it is their decision,” he said.

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