Those interested (or whacky enough) can log on to www.LunarRepublic.com and www.LunarRegistry.com. Of course, you have to pay the money in US dollars. Rajeev V Bagdi (now Rajzeev V Baagree for reasons of numerology) of Hyderabad is the owner of five acre of land on the moon. The Lunar Republic Interactive issued him the 'Registered Claim and Deed for Lunar Property' on July 27, 2003. According to the manual registration and claim deed, his registration has been recorded simultaneously in the registry at Paris and New York and legally certified.

The deed was signed by the "Legal Public Registrar on behalf of the Lunar Republic". He has also enrolled with the site to play a role in chain marketing sites on the Moon. The site offered him 20 per cent commission on the cost of the site purchased by the first link. It will go on and on in diminishing amounts. Rajzeev told this correspondent that he had taken a "laughable risk" while buying lunar land. "I was prepared for two things," he said. "I will forget it if the deal falls through and I don't mind being a laughing stock." The bold investor said he remembered icons such as Satyam Ramalinga Raju and Wipro Premji while making the deal. "They took risks and made it big," he said.

Rajzeev is into the cement business and the whole of his 28-member joint family laughed at him when he disclosed to them his plans to buy a piece of land on the moon. Of course, when he got the registration certificate, some of them hailed him as a clever guy. Interestingly, Rajzeev used the money he got from an Internet lottery to pay for the site. "I had $39 left and I decided to invest it on this," he said. "If this venture brings fortunes to me, I will be very happy. If I end up losing money, I have no regrets. One should be enterprising."

According to the document issued by the company, the property Given to Rajzeev is located within an exclusive subdivision near Imbrium's (Sea of Rains) northern shore, south of the Montes Teneriffe mountain range. Slightly farther north of the property, is one of the Moon's most notable formations, the immense 'Crater Plato'. We will wait and see if it is all moonshine.

Hyderabad, March 25: Jaundice, which was widespread in the old city, is now officially an epidemic. The total number of jaundice patients admitted to Fever Hospital has risen to 139 from 121. On Friday, as many as 18 new patients were admitted at the hospital. This pushed Health officials to take immediate measures to check the disease. They launched an Epidemic Control Programme in old city, forming special teams which fanned out to spread awareness about jaundice control and prevention.

Talking with this correspondent, the Director of Health Mr G. Mastan Rao said, “Last year, there were only 10 jaundice cases and that too in the whole of summer. Now, we already have 79 cases in one week and are waiting for test results to arrive in a few more cases. Obviously, it is an epidemic. We have launched a major drive to spread awareness, and taken several other steps to meet the crisis situation.”

Meanwhile, the Director of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, Mr B. P. Acharya has announced that the Board will take up repair works of domestic water pipes in all the jaundice-affected areas of old city. Acharya said, “Several ice-cream and dairy product factories have been caught using unsafe water. But this does not mean that we are shrugging off our responsibility.

We will conduct a survey of all the regions and start repairing old and rusty domestic pipelines although it is the house-owner’s job to maintain it.” Water Board officials have already taken up repair works of rusty pipelines in Moinabagh area. “Almost 600 metre of domestic pipelines in Moinabagh are rusty and drainwater seeps into them. We are repairing the pipelines,” Acharya added. As part of the Epidemic Control Programme, the Health officials are distributing chlorine tablets in parts of old city. They are also advising people to avoid using water from pit taps.

A widespread surveillance programme has been taken up to identify the epidemiology of old city. This will include identifying pockets of old city where viral fevers have been reported. “Curbing water contamination and spreading awareness is vital. Immediate medical intervention is of utmost importance. Our office will work overtime to give support to patients,” said Mastan Rao.

Pointers to check jaundice:
1. Boil water before utilising it. Report suspect water to the Director of Health  (Phone No. 24656988).
2. Contamination takes the faeco-oral route. Avoid open defaecation.
3. Avoid using water from pit taps. If left with no option, then collect water and then boil it.
4. Rush to the nearest health centre or call the Directorate of Health office if anybody is unwell.
5. Use chlorine tablets to purify domestic water.

New Delhi, March 25: Options for a solution to Kashmir will be top on the agenda of the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, when he meets the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, here next month. The General made it clear in a television interview in Pakistan that there was need now to start discussions on options for Kashmir, “otherwise how are we going to move forward”.

Dr Manmohan Singh has taken the position that he is quite willing to listen to all proposals that Gen. Musharraf might have to suggest on Kashmir but that any option suggesting a religion-based division of Jammu and Kashmir or a compromise on the territorial integrity of India will not be entertained.

Gen. Musharraf had earlier spoken of the division of the two Kashmirs into seven regions, with a start being made in any one of his defined regions with demilitarisation. This had not been accepted by New Delhi at that stage as a basis for discussion. Nor had the General presented it as a formal proposal to the Indian government.

Dr Singh is prepared, according to sources, for “substantive discussions” on all issues with Gen. Musharraf, including options on Kashmir. The Pakistani leader, while applauding the “flexibility” shown by India in clearing the path for the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus, has been categorical that this was just a confidence-building measure and not a substitute for a solution on Kashmir. 

He said that there had been more movement on CBMs and less on the resolution of real issues. He has been referring repeatedly to the New York statement issued after his first meeting with Dr Singh, which had clearly stated that “options for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the issue should be explored in a sincere and purposeful manner.”

Gen. Musharraf will keep the discussions on possible solutions for Kashmir at the highest level and as security experts in  Islamabad told this correspondent earlier, “There is no question of this very sensitive issue being handled by any one else but him.” There was some discussion on options between the late national security adviser J.N. Dixit and his Pakistani counterpart Tariq Aziz.

Gen. Musharraf has been unable to meet Dr Singh since their first meeting in New York, and has used the pretext of the cricket series to make a quick, and from his point of view, a highly significant trip to India. It will also be his first visit after the Agra fiasco, with both sides keen to avoid a repeat performance.

The former deputy prime minister, Mr L.K. Advani figures prominently on the list of leaders Gen. Musharraf is likely to meet during his visit to New Delhi. Mr Advani, in fact, had been invited to visit Pakistan, but has now postponed this with a view to meeting the general here. A meeting with the former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, is certain, with Mr Brajesh Mishra in close attendance.

The Pakistan Pres-ident is also reportedly keen for a meeting with Mrs Sonia Gandhi, having been among the first world leaders to invite her to visit Pakistan, after the UPA came to power. Protocol as to who will call on whom has placed this meeting in the category of “uncertain.”

New Delhi, March 25: The Prime Minister’s Office made it clear that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “did not ask Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to cancel his trip to the UK for security reasons.” It said that it was, in fact, the Gujarat chief minister who had informed the Prime Minister about the cancellation of his trip on the advice of Union home minister Shivraj Patil. The PMO said that the cancellation of the visit was Mr Modi’s own decision.

However, the Gujarat government said that the cancellation was decided through consensus with the Centre. It then went on to describe as “unfortunate” the statement of the PMO that Dr Singh had not called up Mr Modi to advise him to call off his trip. The statement added: “It is highly unfortunate that denials are made of facts that led to the cancellation of the visit. It is highly regrettable that a matter like this should be tackled in this manner especially when then state government has fully respected the feelings of the Government of India on a sensitive issue like security.”

“Based on mutual consultations between the chief minister of Gujarat, the Union home minister, Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani and the Prime Minister, a decision was taken by consensus to postpone the visit of Narendra Modi to Britain.” The Prime Minister’s spokesman, Mr Sanjaya Baru, issued a clarification: “The Prime Minister did not call up Mr Modi. It was Union home minister Shivraj Patil who did so.” He maintained that after accepting Mr Patil’s “adv-ice, Mr Modi called up the Prime Minister to inform him about the cancellation of his three-day trip, which was to begin today.”

Mr Baru said the Union home minister had told Mr Modi that since he was going on a private visit, the British government had made it clear that it could not provide “official” security to him.  Defending its position, a statement issued by the Gujarat government gave what it claimed to be the sequence of how phone calls were made from and to the PMO in New Delhi. It said: “The home secretary, when contacted, enquired about Mr Modi’s visit and informed about the threat perception.

The home secretary also talked to Mr Modi and alerted the director-general of police, Gujarat, and advised him to coordinate with the Army for the bandobast as he apprehended serious developments in case Mr Modi chose to go ahead with his visit.” The Gujarat government went on to claim: “Soon after, Union home minister Shivraj Patil called up Mr Modi and enquired whether he had talked to the Prime Minister.” It was claimed that following this call, Mr Modi tried to contact the Prime Minister, but the PMO said that it would call back. After 10 minutes, a call came from the PM, when the Prime Minister mentioned the security concerns. The statement added: “Hence, the chief minister decided to respect the same and postponed the visit.”

The row arose a statement from the CMO late on Thursday night stating that Singh and Patil had called up the Chief Minister.

Hyderabad, March 25: A housewife killed her husband with the help of her man friend, a graduate. Learning from crime serials on TV, they carefully wiped out all evidence, and made it appear as if the man was accidentally killed during a robbery attempt. Or so they thought.

They were caught out by the State forensics department, which found the breakthrough  clue from the fingernail of the dead man: A few strands of the killer’s hair. B Sarita, 27, a resident of Yellareddyguda in Panjagutta, conspired with her lover Sridhar, 23, and his friend Venkatesh and stabbed to death her husband Madan.

“They told the police that robbers had forcibly entered into house and killed Madan and made away with Rs 30,000 and four tolas of gold,” said West Zone Deputy Commissioner of police N Sanjay. But they were once arrested, the story came out.

Sarita, who is now in Chanchalaguda mahila prison, told this correspondent: “As I have seen in crime serials about police catching criminals with the help of fingerprints and blood stains, Sridhar and I decided to carry out leave no clues. I mixed two sleeping tablets in his food. We used gloves to avoid fingerprints. When we stabbed him, blood spilled over on our clothes. 

I handed over the clothes to Sridhar and he burnt them up in Adilabad.” But, DCP Mr Sanjay, said Ma-dan, in his dying throes, managed to pull at the killer’s hair. A few strands stuck under his fingernails. “Madan was a heavy drinker and the pills were not enough to put him to sleep. When the trio attacked him, he woke up and resisted. Madan caught hold of the hair of the attackers. Some of the hair got entangled in his nails. The CLUES team of the AP Forensic Science Labor-atory noticed the hair and collected it,” said a forensics expert.

Police ran a routine check on Madan’s phone calls. No clue. Then, the police got the DNA fingerprint from the hair follicles. As a routine measure, they ran a DNA mapping of the wife Sunita and her friend Sridhar. It matched. “We had similar cases earlier too. A burglar broke into a house in Osmania University police station limits and he wiped out the fingerprints. While doing so, he received a small cut injury. We collected the blood and tallied it with the habitual offenders list in the same area. And we got the man.”