The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Corrections and clarifications

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Tuesday, Jul 04, 2006

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Opinion - News Analysis

Corrections and clarifications

A reader says the article "Slums are cities of the future" (Editorial page, June 3, 2006) mentions that "at the present rate of growth, there will be 1.4 billion slum dwellers by 2020, comprising roughly 80 percent of the world's population." The present world population is more than six billion and will increase further by 2020. So 1.4 billion cannot be near 80 per cent of the 2020 population, the reader says. Kalpana Sharma clarifies: "It is an error. Eighty per cent of the world's population, that is four billion people, will be living in cities in the developing world by 2030, predicts UN-Habitat. Their estimate for the slum population, at the current rate of growth is 1.4 billion by 2020."

* In "The Pacific and the Indian monsoon" (Op-Ed, July 3, 2006), N. Gopal Raj clarifies: "The paragraph `One worrying sign is the warming that has been occurring in the western and central Pacific. Since the end of May this year, surface waters of the equatorial Pacific from east of Indonesia to well beyond the International Date Line have warmed by more than 0.5 degrees Centigrade above the average' should have been `One worrying sign ... have warmed to more than 0.5 degrees Centigrade above the average.'"

* The word "Whish" should have been "which" in "Whither enlightened moderation?" (The Hindu-Magazine, July 2, 2006, page 1). The error was in the quote by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, "Let me say that moderation is strongly advocated by Islam. Muslims are enjoined to follow the middle course and to avoid extremism ... If we deliver on this, we shall be in a better position to demand from the West the just resolution of political disputes in whish Muslims are involved."

* A reader points out that in "Hamas rejects deal to end crisis" ("International", July 3, 2006), "campaign" has been misspelt as "camping". The sentence was: "Israel has so far avoided a full-scale ground offensive, but has stepped up its air camping in Gaza in order to secure Mr. [Gilad] Shalit's release." The reader adds that the soldier who has been taken hostage, has been referred to as "Mr. Shalit." All military men (and women) are addressed by their ranks. The soldier in question is a corporal in the Israel Defence Force.

* With reference to "India set to launch GSLV in July second week" (June 30, 2006), a reader says that the lift-off weight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is 400 tonnes, and not "over 40 tonnes", as published. It has the capacity of injecting two-tonne class satellites in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The error was corrected in later editions. The lift-off weight is 401 tonnes.

* In the report "A first for St. Xavier's in West Bengal" ("Variety", June 29, 2006), on how St. Xavier's is the first college in West Bengal to be granted autonomy, the concluding paragraph said it has a strength of 45,000 students with a teaching staff of 135 members (a teacher-student ratio of 1:333.33). A reader pointed out that the correct figure should be 4,500. He is right.

* Wrong name! Many readers have pointed out that in "Southern Railway timetable released" (July 1, 2006), the name of Southern Railway General Manager was incorrect in the caption of the accompanying photograph. It is Thomas Varghese, and not Thomas Abraham, as was published.

* A few readers say that Ted Corbett got the date of birth of England fast bowler Fred Trueman wrong in "Fred Trueman is no more" ("Sport", July 2, 2006). It went as February 6, 1939. The correct date is February 6, 1931. Also, the Mantri who was one of his victims at Headingley was wicketkeeper Madhav, whose initials were M.K., and not R.S., as published.

* In "Dravid quickest to 9,000 runs" ("Sport", July 3, 2006), readers point out that the table "The fastest five to cross 9,000" mentions Brian Lara's highest score as 375, and it should have been 400. The Sports Desk clarifies that when he crossed 9,000 runs, his score was 375, and he scored 400 after breaching 9,000 runs.

* French skipper Zinedine Zidane's age was incorrectly stated in some editions to be 24 in the AFP report "Zidane misses training" ("Sport", June 30, 2006). He is 34, as a few readers have pointed out.

* In "West Indies makes early inroads" ("Sport", July 1, 2006), a report on the West Indies-India Test at Kingston, a reader points out that Jaffer's pull shot was responsible for Sarwan's injury and not Laxman's.

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page.

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