Indian Space Research Organisation hopes tricolour on moon by October 28

Indian Space Research Organisation scientists are sitting pretty, preparations done and fingers crossed. The rocket PSLV-C11 is ready, the satellite Chandrayaan 1 is ready as well, and the country is waiting for the launch of what will be the first Indian step towards the moon and beyond.

Scientists are confident they will be able to launch India’s first mission to the moon — mainly an orbiter but also a 30-kg moon impact probe piggyback satellite — that is expected to hit the moon’s surface and unfurl the Indian flag between October 22 and 28. The only worry is that the north-eastern monsoon is expected to be more severe than usual. But Isro chairman Madhavan Nair was on Monday gung-ho about India’s entry into the elite club of space-faring nations.

Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, Dr Nair called upon the nation’s scientific community to rise to the opportunity and come up with innovative science studies by going to Venus, Mars, and other planets and their satellites in the solar system.

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Jetlite returns passengers with valid tickets from Srinagar airport

The passengers flying by the Jetlite airways had to face a tough time when the Jetlite staff available at the Srinagar airport did not allow them to board the flight on tickets issued by the same counter airways counter.

Due to indefinite curfew relatives and friends accompanying the passengers urged the Jetlite authorities for the Xerox copy of the same ticket so that they could reach home safely, which according to the DC Srinagar was to be treated as curfew pass. Earlier the Jetlite authorities refused to provide the Xerox of the ticket but later on issued a temporary ticket for the passenger which according to them was valid.

An eyewitness told The Kashmir Times, “That none of the passengers was allowed to check in at the airport which caused a mess at the Jetlite counter. And unfortunately all of the passengers had to call back their relatives or friends to get back the main ticket.”

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Glory in Africa

With Indian Air Force helicopter gunships kning hundreds of rebels and infantry combat vehicles punching through rebel positions, India's largest-ever deployment of soldiers on foreign soil has taken on a muscular new turn in the heart of Africa.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's internal conflict - whose resolution is a test case of strong global intervention - has led an Indian brigade under the United Nations mission (known by its French acronym MONUC) to rework its peacekeeping strategy from a velvet glove to an iron fist.

The first signs of the changed Indian posture were visible late September in Masisi in the collapsing eastern province of North Kivu, the epicentre of the conflict between rebels and government troops.

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United States Congress okays Nuclear Deal

The India-US civil nuclear deal is finally done, with the US Senate giving a resounding 86-13 approval to the historic accord visualised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W. Bush over three years ago.

The Senate approval, allowing resumption of nuclear commerce with India, four days after an equally emphatic 298-117 endorsement from the House of Representatives, clears the way for President Bush to sign it into law, possibly later Thursday.

Mr Bush, who had hoped to seal the accord when Dr Singh visited him at the White House a week ago, had made the India deal a “very, very high priority” of his administration even in the midst of America’s great financial crisis.

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who led efforts to secure passage of the deal with numerous meetings and endless phone calls to legislators, is expected to carry the deal package to New Delhi Saturday.

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