MIPTV (International Television Program Market) has announced that award winning documentary producer Brian Lapping is MIPDOC 2002‘s special guest. MIPTV claims to be the spring‘s leading international television program market.

He will appear in MIPDOC‘s interview Talking with. The interview session will be held during the MIPDOC documentaries screenings at Cannes from 13-14 April. This will be followed by MIPTV from 15-19 April.

At MIPTV Brian Lapping will look to tie up with broadcasters for Tackling Terror, an official release states. This is a new two-hour documentary investigating the political decisions made in the wake of 11 September events.

The principal shooting of Tackling Terror will commence in April. The UK‘s Channel 4 originally commissioned the program. Since then 15 networks around the globe have signed up as co-producers, the release states.

The documentary is scheduled to be broadcast on the first anniversary of the attacks. The program examines the change in the American psyche, and its allied governments following the attacks of last September, the fall of Kandahar in Afghanistan and the creation of an interim government in Afghanistan.

Lapping‘s has an impressive resume that includes producing The Second Russian Revolution, Watergate and the Death of Yugoslavia.

In 1988, Lapping set up his own company, known as Brook Lapping Productions. Its first production, Countdown to War, a drama based on letters, memoirs and official papers, starred Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (Gods And Monsters) as Hitler.

In 1994 the company‘s Watergate won for Discovery Channel in the US its largest audience ever for a documentary series. In 1995, the The Death of Yugoslavia series was broadcast in more than 30 countries and won over a dozen prestigious awards.

Last year MIPTV featured 11,049 executives, 2,827 companies from 90 countries including 1,228 exhibiting companies on 481 stands, and 2,167 buyers the release states.

MIPTV is organised by REED MIDEM a world class organizer of top-level international trade events in Cannes and overseas which have become essential business platforms for key industry players.

The development of Cryogenic Upper Stage for Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) has crossed another milestone (on 30 March) with the successful test firing of the indigenous cryogenic engine for a duration of 12 minutes. The test was carried out at the Mahendragiri complex in Tamil Nadu. This hot test was preceded, in the last few weeks, by four shorter duration tests of 10, 40, 40 and 200 seconds.
The cryogenic engine development has been a challenging task with breakthroughs needed with respect to many disciplines including analytical tools, material characterization, fabrication processes, test facility establishment, handling of cryogenic fluids and finalisation of test sequence.

Fifteen months after big-time film financier and diamond trader Bharat Shah was incarcerated due to his alleged connections to the underworld, the Supreme Court garanted him bail yesterday.

Shah was arrested on 8 January 2001 for his alleged links with underworld mafia don Chhota Shakeel under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The Supreme Court directed Shah to furnish a bail bond of Rs 100,000 and two sureties of like amount and directed him to surrender his mobile phone to investigating agencies. Shah‘s passport, which was surrendered to the trial court, will not be released without the court‘s permission.

The Supreme Court has ordered an expeditious trial in the case.

At that time of his arrest, the Mumbai police exposed his alleged connections with Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel in the making of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke.

Shah‘s links to B4U Multimedia, in which he had a 92 per cent stake, forced B4U to transfer all its assets and functions to another group company B4U Television Networks on 1 April 2001.