Canadian PM visits 26/11 target Chabad House

Mumbai, Nov 16: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday visited the Chabad House, a Jewish community centre at Colaba that was one of the targets of the 26/11 terror attacks here last year.

Harper, who arrived here on the first lap of his three-day trip to India late on Sunday, went to the Chabad House and went around the six-storeyed building. Harper was taken around the building by a rabbi and shown the rooms and floors on which the attacks took place, killing at least six people including the then rabbi and his pregnant wife. He spent a few moments of silence in memory of those killed during the brutal attacks.

Later, he also interacted briefly with a few of the assembled Jews and condemned the 26/11 attacks. The Chabad House is barely a kilometer away from Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Colaba. These two places were under siege for most part of the 60-hour long terror attacks in which a total of 166 people lost their lives. The security forces also gunned down nine terrorists during the operations. The visit was organised under tight security with limited access to Indian mediapersons though some Canadian journalists in Harper’s entourage were permitted inside.
Canadian PM gives Olympic Torch model to Akshay Kumar

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday presented a model of the Olympic Torch to Bollywood star Akshay Kumar at a special function here. Accepting the torch, Akshay - who will run with the Olympic Torch in Toronto on December 17 - said that his heart is close to Canada, which he has visited several times. “I am happy to be chosen as one of the 14 international bearers of the Olympic Torch,” Akshay said at the brief event held in Hotel Trident-Oberoi. Akshay, who had donned the official uniform of the Olympic Torch relay, held up the torch model as scores of schoolchildren assembled there clapped and cheered. (IANS)

Sensex rises 183 points to close above 17,000

Mumbai, Nov 16: Strong global sentiments, the positive weekend numbers on industrial output and cues from the government on its divestment plans helped Indian equities make handsome gains on Monday, with a key index rising 183 points to close above the 17,000-mark.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 16,893.11 points against Friday’s close at 16,848.83 points and ended trade at 17,032.51 points, up 183.68 points or 1.09 per cent. The index had seen an intra-day high of 17,083.2 points, but shed some gains in the last 30 minutes.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty breached the 5,000-point mark to shut shop at 5,058.05 points, with a gain of 1.18 per cent, over the previous close at 4,998.95 points. Broader market indices also closed in the green, with the BSE midcap index ended trade at 1.14 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 1.22 per cent up.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,758 stocks advancing, 1,017 declining and 89 remaining unchanged. Out of 30 stocks on the Sensex, 20 ended on the gainers list. Prominent among them were Maruti Suzuki, up 5.45 per cent, DLF, up 4.54 per cent; Hero Honda, up 3.82 per cent; Sterlite Industries, up 3.55 per cent and Reliance Communications, up 3.05 per cent. Among losers were TCS, down 0.63 per cent; Infosys, down 0.34 per cent and NTPC, down 0.16 per cent.

The government had Friday said all ministries had been asked to compile a list of state-run firms for sale of stake and listing on stock exchanges, even as it expected partial divestment in at least three such firms by the end of this fiscal. Disinvestment Secretary Sunil Mitra said as per data available for 2007-08, there were 10 listed state-run firms with less than 10 per cent public holding, while 50 others met the criteria for divestment in terms of profits and net worth. Statistics on India’s industrial production a day earlier showed a 9.1-per cent growth in September, compared to 6 per cent in the corresponding month last year, in yet another sign of economic recovery in the country.

Other Asian markets also ended on a firm note.

The primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, was 390.35 points or 1.73 per cent higher at 22,943.98 points. The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed at 9,791.18 points, up 20.87 points.

In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index shut shop at 3,275.05 points, up 2.74 per cent. European markets were also trading in the green.

Britain’s FTSE 100 index was ruling 61.77 per cent higher at 5,358.15 points, while its French peer, CAC 40, was trading 34.89 points up at 3,840.9 points. The German index, DAX, was ruling 62.32 points up at 5,749.15 points. (IANS)