Tatas pull out Nano project from Singu

Tatas on Friday pulled out of West Bengal for its Rs one-lakh car Nano project, blaming it on continuing agitation by the opposition parties, spearheaded by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.        Addressing the media after meeting with Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharjee, Ratan Tata, however, said that Nano will come out as per the committed time.

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'Nano will come on time. We will make make-shift arrangement to meet deadline,' Tata said. 'There was little choice but move out of Singur, he said. The move has been prompted after taking into account issues such as well-being of its employees at the project and safety of contractors as well as that of its vendors.  The persisting agitation by the opposition parties has been the sole reason behind the decision to pull out the project, he said. The company is exploring offers from three-four states about the new site of the project and the new location would be announced soon, Tata said. 'I am extremely pained. It has been an extremely painful decision. It has been a great disappointment for the people working on the ground, more than me,' Tata said.       Talking about the vendors of the project, he said, 'I think vendors will also move with us. They are an integral part of the project. We will try to protect the interest of the vendors.'       On the question of process of acquiring land for the Nano project, he said, To the best of my knowledge, the land was acquired legally... it was done transparently and the compensation was based fairly.' 'We have not been a party to any land dispute. It is between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress,' he added.       Talking about the future association of Tatas with the state, he said the group already has considerable presence in the state and would open a cancer hospital in the next few months.      'I hope West Bengal prosper in the future. In the future we will be here again. We don't believe that we have lost our enthusiasm in investing in West Bengal and assure that we will invest in the state for new projects,' he said, adding that he has assured the chief minister that as far as further investment in the state is concerned, this project would have no bearing.

UN seeks new fight against Somali pirates

A proposed new UN resolution calls on all countries with a stake in maritime safety to send naval ships and military aircraft to fight piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia, according to a draft obtained.

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The draft Security Council resolution would also call on ships and planes to use "the necessary means" to stop acts of iracy. It was drafted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which means its provisions can be enforced militarily. The French-drafted resolution was expected to be put to a vote in the Security Council early next week, council diplomats on Thursday said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions are taking place in private. The draft resolution expresses grave concern at "the recent proliferation of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia." It also notes with concern "that increasingly violent acts of piracy are carried  but with heavier weaponry, in a larger area off the coast of Somalia" using mother ships and more sophisticated methods of attack. On Thursday, Somali pirates holding a hijacked Ukrainian argo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons said they will not release it for less than USD 20 million and warned they ould fight back against any commando-style rescue attempts.  A half-dozen US navy warships have surrounded the MV Faina, which was seized last Thursday off the central coast of Somalia. The new draft resolution only applies to pirates off Somalia, whose 3,025-kilometer coastline is the longest in frica and near key shipping routes that connect the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea.