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Three killed, 27 injured in landmine blast
Srinagar, Apr 16 (ANI): At least three people were killed and 27
wounded on Tuesday when suspected Muslim rebels set off a
landmine in a crowded market in the strife-torn Kashmir.
The explosion took place as an army convoy was passing through
the market in Aawntipora town on Kashmir's main highway south of
Srinagar.
"We were on our way to school, when somebody hurled a grenade at
the army convoy. But it exploded on road. As a result we were
injured," said an injured child.
Seven soldiers were also wounded in the blast. No militant group
claimed responsibility. The injured are undergoing treatment at a
local hospital in the city.
Separatist violence has escalated in recent weeks in the disputed
region which has been at the centre of a military confrontation
between India and Pakistan since a December attack on Parliament
which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based guerrillas.
Police say more than 700 people, mostly militants, have been
killed in the state since January.
About a dozen Muslim rebel groups are fighting India's rule in
the Muslim-majority region where authorities say about 33,000
people have been killed in 12 years of rebellion. Separatists put
the death toll closer to 80,000.
India and Pakistan have massed troops along their border, scaled
back diplomatic ties and cut transport links, fuelling fears of a
fourth war between the nuclear-armed neighbours who have already
fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. One killed in police firing in AhmedabadGo to
top Ahmedabad, April 16 (ANI): Firing was resorted to by the police
to break up cla- shes in Gujarat and one man died in the process,
police officials said on Tuesday.
The killing overnight in the western Ahmedabad was the latest in
a wave of religion-related deaths across the state that has left
more than 800 people dead.
"Hindus and Muslims were throwing petrol bombs and stones at each
other, forcing police to open fire," an official said. Another
stated that violence would continue to simmer with the state
government expected to dissolve the legislature on Wednesday to
pave the way for a possible June election. (ANI)
T'Nadu House urges PM to seek Prabhakaran's extradition
Go to
top Chennai, Apr 16 (ANI): In a rare instance the Tamil Nadu Assembly
passed a resolution on Tuesday urging Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee's federal government to seek extradition of Velupillai
Prabhakaran, chief of Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE).
The resolution, initiated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.
Jayalalitha who has strongly opposed any leniency towards the
LTTE, was adopted by a voice vote in the assembly, where
Jayalalitha's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (AIDMK)
party commands a two-thirds majority.
Moving the resolution Jayalalitha said if Sri Lanka fails to
capture Prabhakaran, who has led a two-decade long bloody
conflict in the island nation, then Colombo must allow Indian
forces to nab him.
"We think it is essential for us to take steps to capture
Prabhakaran. Just as America has launched an operation to nab
Osama bin Laden for spreading terrorism in their country so we
should also take steps to arrest Prabhakaran," said Jayalalitha.
But the resolution overlooks the fact that Tamil Nadu and
neighbouring Karnataka have been unable to capture forest
brigand Veerappan, an LTTE sympathizer, in their own territory
for several years.
New Delhi is reluctant to involve itself in Sri Lanka's ethnic
conflict after a bitter experience in peacekeeping in the late
eightees in LTTE's stronghold Jaffna peninsula, having lost more
than a thousand troops in trying to disarm the LTTE.
Jayalalitha demanded the federal government pronounce a clear
policy on not allowing ailing LTTE spokesman Anton Balasingham
into India for any reason whatsoever.
The resolution was supported by Congress while AIADMK's rival
Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) party remained neutral.
G.K.Mani, leader of Paatali Makkal Katchi (PMK), said the
resolution is against Tamil interests.
"This is a propaganda against ethnic Tamils. This resolution
cannot be implemented without the consent of all the Tamils. The
resolution needs to be discussed," said Mani.
Vajpayee said last week New Delhi could consider granting medical
facilities to Balasingham on humanitarian grounds only but ruled
out lifting the ban on LTTE or any role for India in the peace
talks between LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.
India outlawed the LTTE after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
was blown up in 1991 at an election rally in Tamil Nadu by a
woman suicide bomber and accused Prabhakaran of ordering his
death.
Rajiv Gandhi, when he was prime minister, had brokered an
abortive peace pact between Tamil rebels and Colombo in
1987.(ANI)
Opposition, BJP stick to their guns Go to
top New Delhi, Apr 16 (ANI): Opposition parties, sensing a wedge in
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's fragile coalition over the
country's worst religious riots in a decade, are turning up the
heat on their political rivals.
The main opposition Congress said it would insist on a debate in
the lower house of parliament followed by a vote on a censure
motion in the wake of the massive violence in Gujarat in
which more than 800 people have died.
If it loses the motion, the 30-month old, BJP-led coalition would
not have to resign but would lose moral authority to govern,
constitutional experts say.
Gujarat is one of only three states in which the BJP still holds
power after a recent slew of regional defeats and one it
desperately needs to shore up its credibility at the national
level. The state has been hit by a wave of religion-related
violence since February.
The censure bid comes as the coalition's largest ally, the Telugu
Desam, kept up calls along with the opposition for the sacking of
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for failing to rein in Hindu
mobs who killed Muslims in the state.
The BJP has rejected demands to sack Modi, saying he did a fine
job of controlling the violence.
The lower house of Parliament was adjourned for the second
consecutive day on Tuesday following an uproar on the issue.
Opposition lawmakers vowed to keep up the pressure on the
coalition, saying it was jeopardising India's secular
foundations.
"The government is not accepting the adjournment motion proposed
by the opposition. We are adamant that we will maintain our stand
till Narendra Modi is removed from office. Prime Minister
Vajpayee and Home Minister Advani are not taking any actions
against the Modi government. Now, we will wage a final fight in
which the entire opposition is united," said Raghuvansh Prasad
Yadav, lawmaker of the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal party.
Margaret Alva, of the Congress, said: "As regards the Modi
government, there are constitutional provisions. Any place where
there has been a breakdown in law and order, where the state
government is not deemed fit to administer, there the option is
to remove that government and install some other government
instead," said Alva.
The speaker has the final say on whether parliament should debate
the censure motion and his decision is expected later on Tuesday
or Wednesday.
The BJP adamantly opposed any more discussion on Gujarat where it
said the situation was fast returning to normal.
"There is no question of removing Modi. The situation is normal
there. The way elections were conducted in 1700 panchayats and
the way school examinations were held indicate things are normal.
It is the opposition which is trying to make things appear
chaotic," said BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
The Telugu Desam and the opposition have also denounced the BJP's
calls for an early election in Gujarat as an attempt to make
political hay out of the violence.
Political analysts say the BJP was likely to win re-election on
the back of revived Hindu sentiment in Gujarat which is deeply
polarised along religious lines.
Police said on Tuesday one person was killed in police firing
overnight as they sought to quell a Hindu-Muslim clash in
Ahmedabad.
The Gujarat government says around 750 people, most of them
Muslims, have died in the state since a Muslim mob attacked a
train carrying Hindus, burning to death 59 passengers. But human
rights and opposition groups put the toll at around 2,000.(ANI)
Gangaur festivities bring Jaipur to life
Go to
top Jaipur, Apr 16 (ANI): The festival of Gangaur in which married
women pray for long life and prosperity of their husbands was
celebrated in Rajasthan with traditional enthusiasm on Monday.
Until recently the festival used to be a private affair with
women offering prayers in the relative privacy of their homes.
But, of late, the festival has been included in the state's
tourism calendar.
"The main idea of organising such festivals publicly was to
educate foreigners on how festivals are celebrated in Rajasthan
and in India as a whole and what their significance is. Gangaur
seemed a good opportunity to begin with," said Bhawani Singh, an
official of the City Palace where women held traditional prayers
for marital bliss.
The heritage behind the festival comes from the mythical legend
of "Gan" or Lord Shiva and "Gaur" or Gauri, his consort Goddess
Parvati.
Legend has it that Parvati, in one of her forms as Gauri,
underwent intense meditation and penance in order to win Shiva as
her consort.
Gangaur symbolises marital happiness achieved by Gauri. While
married women evoke the blessings of Gauri and pray for the long
life of their husbands, unmarried girls pray for a good husband.
The highlight of the festivities is a colourful procession which
virtually brings Jaipur to life. An elaborate palanquin of the
Goddess Parvati is an integral part of the procession which
passes through the city's main thoroughfares.
Women dressed in their colourful traditional attire with their
palms decorated with henna presented colourful dances to the
delight of foreign tourists who were left spellbound.
"It's very elegant. It's very nice. Brilliant to see all the
colours. I'd definitely like to come back if I had the chance, of
course," said Katarina, a tourist from Finland.
The procession was led by caparisoned elephants, camels, horses,
musicians, palanquins, chariots and bullock carts.
"I think the festival is very beautiful. I have got a brilliant
seat here and all the elephants and the camels...It's beautiful,
really beautiful," said Robert, a tourist from Netherlands.
The Gangaur procession culminates with the immersion of images of
the deity in the city lake.(ANI)
Air China ordered to inspect its fleet
Go to
top Hong Kong, Apr. 16 (ANI) : A day after an Air China plane crashed
in South Korea, the authorities have ordered the domestic
airlines to inspect their fleet to pre-empt any such tragedy in
future.
The aviation regulator of the Civil Aviation Administration of
China has also asked it to conduct aircraft checks to ensure the
safety of passengers.
The CA 129 crash has cast a shadow over its plans for a global
share listing which, experts believe, will take place this year
or next. The airline has been seeking international investment
for restructuring and modernisation and preparing to list in
Hong Kong and New York.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji reportedly said in
Turkey that the crash which killed 119 travellers would not
affect the modernisation and restructuring of the state-owned
civil aviation sector. (ANI)
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