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SC deadline to Pepsi, Coke to file replies

       New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday gave soft drink majors Pepsi and Coca Cola a month's time to give their replies on allegations that their drinks still contained contaminants. The two notices were issued by Justices S B Sinha and Justice Dalveer Bhandari in response to a PIL filed by the NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigations (CPIL). CPIL claimed that soft drinks marketed by Pepsi and Coke contained some kind of chemical ingredients that were dangerous to health. Earlier, a notice was also issued to the Centre. On Wednesday, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that the pesticide level in carbonated beverages like Coke and Pepsi continued to remain at a very high level. That disclosure led a furore in Parliament with the Opposition staging a walkout on Thursday after the Government said that it had no plans to ban soft drinks marketed by these two companies. CSE reported on the matter for the first time in 2003. It said then that pesticide levels in aerated drinks contained a cocktail of life threatening toxins. In 2003, the levels were at a national average of 34 times higher than the normal level as stated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in the cola samples, and now, the levels were still 24 times higher. Cola samples from Kolkata, Mumbai, Nainital and Gorakhpur also remained at an exceptional high in the range of 52 times to 42 times higher than the normal level. The study tests conducted on 57 samples of 11 soft drink brands, from 25 different manufacturing plants of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo found pesticide residues in all samples; and a cocktail of 3-5 different pesticides in all samples.

    The report said: "The pesticides levels in some samples - for instance, Coca-Cola bought in Kolkata - exceeded the BIS standards by 140 times for the deadly pesticide Lindane. Similarly, a Coca-Cola sample manufactured in Thane contained the neurotoxin Chlorpyrifos, 200 times the standard." The report also alleged that the directions of the Joint Parliamentary Committee were also disregarded by not notifying the norms, which have been blocked due to the cola companies' opposition. The three main pesticides out of the six pesticides found in the aerated drinks are: first is Lindane -a confirmed carcinogen whose levels were over 54 times above the BIS standard. In one Coca-Cola sample from Kolkata, it was 140 times higher. Second is Chlorpyrifos -a known neurotoxin whose levels were 47 times higher. A Coca-Cola sample from Mumbai had a 200 times higher level. The third is Heptachlor, banned in India, was found in 71 per cent of the samples, at levels 4 times higher than BIS standards.

Ramadoss: Cola statement in Parliament

    New Delhi: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday refused to speak on the recent report of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that showed presence of pesticides in soft drinks. Refusing to comment on the issue at a press conference, Ramadoss said: "I will be making a statement about it in the Parliament on Monday, then I will tell you". On being asked whether he was going to ban soft drinks the minister said he has always "said that it is detrimental to the health of children". "There shouldn't be any pesticides and the onus lies on the manufacturers", he added. Earlier, Ramadoss announced that a Health Awareness Camp for Members of Parliament would kick off on Monday. "Health Awareness Week begins on Monday in Parliament. It is for the MPs and is not mandatory", he said. A similar camp was earlier organised in December 2004.

Paswan's supporters break cola bottles  (Go To Top)

      Ahmedabad: Supporters of Union Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan smashed bottles of Coke and Pepsi on Friday to register their protest over the reported existence of pesticides in these popular soft drinks. Demanding a ban on the marketing of these soft drinks, Lok Janshakti Party leader Mohammad Arif said "Pepsi and Coca Cola are making people drink poison in the form of theses drinks and we will throw them out of this country. Our protest is even against those shopkeepers who will continue selling poison to the general public. These companies are even trying to end our revolution by bribing the police." The protest was a fall out of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study that exposed the presence of a high quantity of pesticides in them. They accused the Government, particularly the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, of "bowing" to pressure from the multinational companies to delay notification of the norms for the manufacture of soft drinks. The protestors damaged shops containing the cold drinks and shouted slogans against the owners of the soft drinks companies. The Centre for Public Interest Litigation, an NGO, has convinced the Supreme Court to give these soft drink majors a month's time to reply to the charges levelled against them.

Three Lashkar ultras, one soldier killed (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: A violent gunbattle in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda District led to the death of three Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) ultras and one soldier. According to sources, the encounter began last night in the Gundana area of the district when the Army and the police launched a joint operation based on prior information. The gunbattle, which continued till this morning, left four soldier injured. All of them are being treated at a district hospital. The soldier who died was identified as Sepoy Subhash, while the three militants were identified as Abu Zubair, Ashraf Ganai and Mubarak Ali. AK rifles, magazines, and explosive material were recovered from the site along with the body of only one of the three militants.

Orissa's Balasore district battles floods (Go To Top)

      Balasore/Bhubaneswar: After creating havoc in several parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, the monsoon rains and floods have now inundated nearly 350 villages in Orissa. The worst hit is Orissa's Balasore district, where many houses have been submerged almost to their roofs. The major rivers in the State are flooded with highways, linking the villages to bigger cities, continue to be submerged. Locals, who are fast running out of food and fearing snakes and diseases, said they were in desperate need of relief. "For the past four days, we are suffering due to the floods. Houses are damaged and we can't go out either as floodwaters might be more severe elsewhere. No government relief has yet come to us. We are hoping that the God will help us," said Harikrishna Mandal, a villager in Balasore. "There is fear of snakes and other insects. Till date, no relief has reached us. We are spending our days in misery," added another villager Sitakant. However, officials said that they have rushed relief to the displaced people. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured that food and medicines would reach all those affected at the earliest. "We are monitoring the situation very much. All adequate relief will be given to those who have been affected in various areas by the floods. Also, the Chief Secretary will review flood situation on a daily bases. Matters are being very thoroughly followed up," Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneswar. Across the country, more than 300 people have been killed since the start of the monsoon season in June.

No tax on Mumbai blasts victims (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Centre on Friday decided that the victims of the recent Mumbai train blasts would not have to pay their income tax on the compensation that they have received. Earlier, media reports suggested that the compensation for the blast victims would be taxed. "The victims of recent Mumbai bomb blasts would not be subjected to income tax on the compensation received from the Central or State Government", said a government release. However, this relief only would be limited to Central and State Government compensations. Terming the blasts as a disaster, the Government notification stated, "disaster would have the same meaning assigned to it under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the necessary amendments to the Income-tax Act, 1961 would be made at the appropriate time." The 7/11 serial blasts had killed close to 200 people and left nearly 800 others injured.

Tamil civilians flee to India fearing attacks

      Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu): Tamil civilians from East Sri Lanka have fled to neighbouring Tamil Nadu to escape being caught in artillery crossfire between Tamil Tiger rebels and the Army. Sri Lankan civilians have taken the risk of crossing the Gulf of Mannar that divides the island nation from neighbouring India. "It is very difficult to live there. Even food is barely available. That is why we have come crossing the sea, taking the risk of drowning, to save the lives of our children. We have sold everything. We have nothing left now. The boat owners normally charge eight to ten thousand rupees, but they have shown some sympathy and charged us seven thousand," Anton Raj, a refugee said. Until now, 5,678 refugees have sought asylum in India and are being accommodated in refugee camps. "We could not dare to go out even to get daily essentials. No one can ever be sure of life there. Even, if two or three families stay together, there is no security. That is why we left everything and ventured to come here, crossing the sea," Mary, a refugee said. Most of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers head for Tamil Nadu that has helped Tamil refugees since 1983 when large-scale violence broke out in the island-nation between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. At least 20 civilians, 12 Tigers and one soldier were killed on Thursday. The Sri Lanka Army says it has killed over 70 LTTE rebels over the past week. The Tigers say they have the bodies of 40 Sri Lankan soldiers. Each side dismisses the others claims. The fighting between the two sides has been at its most intense now, in-spite of an over four-year-long truce. Analysts say the island's protracted process for peace is coming apart at the seams. Norwegian special peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer flew to the island on Friday to discuss how to preserve a Nordic truce monitoring mission after Denmark, Finland and Sweden pulled their staff out in the face of a rebel ultimatum. The Tigers gave monitors from European Union nations a September 1 deadline to quit the island after the bloc listed them as a terrorist organization alongside the likes of al Qaeda, reducing the 54-member mission to just 20 people.

126 American interns at Infosys Mysore (Go To Top)
by KG Vasuki

       Mysore: A batch of 126 American interns have started their Global Talent Program (GTP) at the Infosys Mysorecampus. These new hires, the largest group of foreign nationals recruited to work in India , will be at the campus for six months, and will be provided a customized education program at the Infosys' Global Education Center here. Chief Mentor of Infosys, N R Narayanamurthy told reporters here earlier this week that the aim of the group was to leverage the power of talent in different parts of the world. He described this new venture as a new challenge to Indian corporates keen on acquiring a globalised status. Commenting on the training being imparted to Chinese students, Narayanamurthy said that the main purpose was to promote both trust and goodwill between New Delhi and Beijing. In 2005, the software giant had trained 100 Chinese students, spending over a million dollars. Infosys Technologies,which is spending over Rs 1200 crore on its education centre in Mysore, proposes to train over 300 US students. This will be in addition to the 100 Chinese that it plans to train, taking the total number of such students from the neighboring country to 300. The American students said that they were looking forward to familiarising themselves with the new environment. Out of the 58,000 persons on Infosys roll, almost three per cent are from countries other than India. Talking to ANI one of the interns from US, Joao Paulo Almeida said he was very impressed with the track record of the company and excited to be part of this experiment.

No Ten Sport feeds for Prasar Bharti (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Government broadcaster Doordarshan will not be able to telecast some major sporting events in the coming months, including the cricket tri-series in Sri Lanka, following a Supreme Court directive. The apex court today asked Prasar Bharti not to interfere with the telecast feed of Ten Sports for the Sri Lanka cricket tri- series, involving India and South Africa as the two other teams, the US Open tennis, hockey World Cups for men and women, and hockey Champions Trophy. A Bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Markandey Katju observed that Ten Sports has the exclusive telecast rights for these sporting events, thus Prasar Bharti should not interfere with its telecast. The Dubai-based sports broadcaster in its application said that it has the exclusive telecast rights of these events but the Prasar Bharti may insist on sharing the feed of some of the events. Acting on it, the court further directed the government broadcaster not to adopt any other means against the private television channel to telecast these events. The triangular cricket series in Sri Lanka will be played from August 14 to 29 and the US Open tennis from August 28 to September 10. Mvnchengladbach, Germany, will host the men's Hockey World Cup from September 6 to 17, while the women's Hockey World Cup will be played from September 27 to October 8 in the Spanish capital Madrid.

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