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Harivanshrai Bachchan, Doyen of Hindi Literature, Passes Away MUMBAI: Harivanshrai Bachchan, a doyen of Hindi poetry and megastar Amitabh Bachchan's father, who died at his residence in Mumbai late on Saturday night after a prolonged illness, was cremated on Sunday afternoon in Juhu. He is survived by his wife Teji Bachchan and sons Amitabh and Ajitabh. The 96-year-old poet had been suffering from respiratory problems for some time and was in a critical condition for the last few days. (Earlier Report) (Details) PM
Slams Pak Harassment of Indian Diplomat (Go
To Top) PORT BLAIR: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sunday condemned the alleged harassing of Indian Charge d'Affaires Sudhir Vyas in Islamabad by Pakistani intelligence officials. Recalling the "act of provocation" on Saturday, when the Indian diplomat's vehicle was stopped several times, Vajpayee said, "What does Pakistan want? Will diplomatic norms won't be followed ? We have differences with Pakistan . We expect Pakistan to give up terrorism , cross-border terrorism." The Prime Minister was on a three-day visit to the Andaman and Nicobar islands to attend the tenth meeting of the Island Development Authority. Biggest Anti-war Rally in Washington(Go To Top) WASHINGTON: Braving freezing cold at minus 12 degree Celsius and chilly winds, thousands of protesters began their march in Washington on Saturday to complete a chain of protest sweeping across world Capitals against the Bush administration's plan to declare war on Iraq, reports Dawn. Meanwhile, Pakistanis staged protest demonstrations across their country from the town of Multan, Karachi, Rawalpindi to Lahore. In Multan, amid tight security, protesters marched through the streets of city holding banners and placards. The demonstration in Multan comes on the heels of angry protests on Friday. In Rawalpindi, some 15 kilometres away from Islamabad, a few thousand people formed a human chain to protest against what they saw as a pre-set US plan to attack a fellow Muslim State. These demonstrations come as UN arms chiefs headed to Baghdad to tell its leaders co-operation was the only way to avoid war. Pakistan Could Be Next US Target: Musharraf (Go To Top) ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf has expressed apprehension that Pakistan could be the next target of US-led attack on Iraq, reports the News. Addressing a meeting of businessmen and industrialists in Lahore on Saturday, he said it was being speculated that Pakistan would become the target of "Western forces" after Iraq crisis. "We will have to work on our own to stave off the danger. Nobody will come to our rescue, not even the Islamic world. We will have to depend on our muscle," Musharraf was quoted as saying. US Deported 1,000 Pakistanis (Go To Top) WASHINGTON: The US authorities had detained 1,256 Pakistanis since September 11, 2001, when the current campaign against illegal immigrants began, a Pakistani diplomat said on Saturday. About 1,000 of these detainees had already been deported to Pakistan while the rest were still in detention, he said. Pakistan's deputy chief of mission in Washington, Mohammad Sadiq, told Dawn that so far only six Pakistanis had been detained during the current registration. Pakistanis living in the United States are required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, along with their photographs and fingerprints, from January 13 to February 21. Those detained during registration include Khurram Ali, a 22-year old student of Hunter College, New York, who was detained last week apparently for failing to pay his tuition. But his friends say he has been detained because he was studying aeronautics, a subject American authorities do not want Muslims to learn. Some of the hijackers who caused the September 11, 2001 tragedy were training here as pilots. Dense Fog Persists, Toll Crosses 600 Mark (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Dense fog descended across large parts of northern India on Sunday bringing road, rail and air traffic to a standstill. Met office says the three-week long cold wave which gripped parts of sub-Himalayan northern plains, western and eastern India on new year's eve, is the longest sustained cold spell in the last five years. Road traffic snarled in New Delhi as power breakdowns affected traffic signals. Power cuts and load-shedding made winters only worse for many of the city's 10 million people. But the cold wave had devastating effect on the homeless, aged and sick as toll attributed to cold conditions climbed to over 600 during the current winters. The prolonged cold-wave spell also threatened standing crops in many States, including Rajasthan. Salman Ordered to Appear Before Court on Jan 21 (Go To Top) MUMBAI: Actor Salman Khan has been summoned by a magistrate to appear before the court on January 21 in a hit-and-run case with a warning that his absence would compel the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him. Magistrate SY Sishode will give his ruling on January 21 on the actor's plea for return of his vehicle Toyota Land Cruiser, which rammed a pavement on September 28 last year, killing one person and injuring four others. On the same day, the court will refer this case to the sessions court for trial. Opposing Salman's plea, prosecutor Rajan Khandekar argued that a magistrate did not have powers to decide on returning property involved in a mishap as he was presiding over a remand court. Lyngdoh Do's and Don'ts for Tripura Polls (Go To Top) AGARTALA: Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh has said that Tripura State Rifles would not be used in the upcoming Assembly elections in Tripura. He said electronic voting machines would be used in all the polling booths and that borders with Bangladesh will be sealed by Army and BSF personnel. The CEC arrived here on Saturday alongwith election commissioners, TS Krishnamurthy, BB Tandon and deputy election commissioner Sayan Chatterjee to take stock of the situation ahead of polls. The CEC said that voter I-cards would be compulsorily, and that the number on each Identity Card must match with that on voter list. Himachal BJP Irked by EC Order (Go To Top) SHIMLA: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday resented the Election Commission's order to remove hoardings highlighting development work in Himachal Pradesh ahead of polls. The State ruled by BJP goes to the polls on February 26. The commission has ordered the State Government to immediately remove hoardings or any other banners highlighting development work carried out by the party during its tenure. The Government has mounted 60 such hoardings across the State. Ganesh Dutt, the State BJP spokesman, said the commission order was in poor taste. The polls will be a testing ground for the BJP whose federal coalition faces national elections in 2004. The BJP, campaigning on a platform of Hindu revivalism and a vow to crush Islamic militancy, was swept back to power in December in Gujarat where more than 1,000 people, mostly minority Muslims, died in the country's worst religious violence in a decade. Rivals accuse the BJP of trying to exploit religious divide to win elections. -ANI |