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India, China accord to boost trade ties
-by Vikas Khanna

          Beijing, June 23: India and China signed two documents on Monday aimed at promoting the continuous development of bilateral relations and giving a fillip to boost the trade and economic ties. The declaration on principles for relations and comprehensive cooperation was signed by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee. Another memorandum on expanding border trade was signed by Chinese Commerce Minister Lu Fuyuan and Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. No immediate details were available as to what are the routes the two countries have identified for border trade. Beijing is keen to begin border trade by reviving the old Silk route between Sikkim and Tibet through Nathu-La. But Indians are wary as China had used the same route in 1962 to supply its troops invading India. The bilateral trade between the two countries has jumped sharply from about 200 million dollars in early nineties to five billion dollars. The two countries are eyeing to at least double the trade by 2005. The documents are being billed as important confidence building measures.

China appreciates India's hand of friendship to Pak  (REPORT)
China, India to ease visa curbs (REPORT)
No more a Forbidden City for commoners (REPORT)

23 killed as Mumbai-bound train derails near Kankavali (Go To Top)

          Sindhudurg (Maharashtra), June 23: Four coaches of a train jumped the tracks on Monday and crashed at the entrance of a tunnel, killing 23 people. The train, bound for the financial hub, Mumbai, from the port city of Karwar, crashed late on Sunday near Kankavali in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, about 575 km south of Mumbai. Passengers said the accident occurred around 9 am IST when the train hit some boulders that had rolled down on to the track due to heavy rains and landslides. At least three coaches of the train jumped the tracks ramming against the mountainside. Rescue teams rushed to the site within hours of the accident but were slowed down by a steady downpour, slippery rocks and the inaccessible terrain. Fifteen of the 25 people injured in the accident are in critical condition and more bodies are being taken out of the wreckage.

           India has one of the world's largest railway networks with almost 14,000 trains carrying more than 13 million passengers a day. It has a poor safety record with about 300 accidents a year. Monday's accident was the most serious to take place on the western coastal rail corridor, called the Konkan Railway, built across treacherous hills and touted as a major engineering feat when it opened five years ago.

US-made equipment seized from militant hideout in Srinagar (Go To Top)

          Srinagar, June 23: Paramilitary forces on Monday seized highly sophisticated U.S-made communications equipment from a militant hideout in Srinagar. Officials say the equipment, which includes a fully developed advanced communication centre, was being used by the militants to keep in touch with their accomplices across the border. Brigadier AS Negi of the Rashtriya Rifles said the seizure would deal a big blow to the terrorist groups. "In a joint operation the Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group recoverd these major communication equipment from one of the localities of Nagina in Srinagar. This is a major catch as far as we are concerned. These are very important communication equipment with all in-built secrecy devices and things like that....This has deliverd a major setback to the terrorist setup here," Negi said. Negi said the kind of equipment seized is not available off the shelf but custom-made for specialized clients. In this case the eqiupment was supplied by the DATOTEK, a California-based communications equipment firm.

Chenab formula can be a way out, says PoK premier (Go To Top)

          Islamabad, June 23: Sardar Sikandar Hayet Khan, Prime Minister of PoK, hopes that Kashmiris will not raise any objection to settling the Kashmir issue through the Chenab formula if India and Pakistan agree to use it. Taling to the Nation, he also demanded that leaders of both parts of Kashmir must meet to develop a consensus over the future strategy for the "liberation of Kashmir". "It's our demand that Kashmiri leadership of both sides would be provided an opportunity for sitting together in a third country so that they could reach a conclusion. Definitely, they (leadership) would find a solution to the dispute because they had suffered enormously," Khan said. He hoped that Kashmiris will be included in any negotiation between India and Pakistan, and said, in answer to a question, that neither Pakistan nor Kashmiris will accept plans to make the LoC a permanent border.

Dalai Lama in Kargil, to address public meetings (Go To Top)

          Kargil, June 23: The Dalai Lama is now in Kargil as part of his three-week visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier on June 12, he arrived in Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region where a large number of Tibetans living in exile gave him an warm welcome. On Sunday, the Shia community members of Khangral village in Kargil region hosted a tea party to honour the spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama is expected to address several public meetings during his visit which lasts till July 3. Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama to be the 14th reincarnation of Lord Buddha. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and established a government-in-exile at Dharamsala in Himacahal Pradesh.

Police kill two Chhota Shakeel gang members in Ahmedabad Ahmedabad, June 23: Two members of the Pakistan-based Chhota Shakeel gang was shot dead by the police in a pre-dawn encounter on Monday. The duo, identified as Ganesh Khote and Mahendra Jadhav, were allegedly planning to kill Gujarat Law Minister Ashok Bhatt. According to reports, the police opened fire after the gangsters threatened to lob a hand-grenade at them. The Chhota Shakeel gang is involved is numerous cases of extortion, murder and kidnapping. Recently, the police made public a taped conversation of a Hindi film actor asking Shakeel to kill a rival in the industry.

Two killed, 33 hurt in blast in Kashmir town (Go To Top)

          Srinagar, June 23: A powerful explosion at a crowded bus stand in Shopian township of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday morning has left two dead and 33 injured. The deceased were identified as Abdul Rashid Nengroo and Nazir Ahmed, according to official sources. They were killed on the spot. The condition of some of the injured are stated to be critical. Whether the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) or a grenade hurled by militants is being ascertained. So far no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Bottomlines

Eminem prays for ex-wife backstage (Go To Top)

          London, June 23: So rapper Eminem does have a softer side! The singer said an emotional prayer for estranged wife Kim minutes before going on stage in Milton Keynes, with all his crew members, including 50 Cent and D12. According to a report in the Sun, Kim was arrested in Michigan last week by traffic cops. They found what they believed was cocaine in her car and took her to the police station at a town called St Clair Shores to have mugshots taken. She was released on bail pending possible charges if analysis proves the white powder found by police to be drugs. "The pre-gig prayer has become very important to Eminem and all the rest of the crew. He prayed she would be OK while he is on the road and that she should not be punished. They clearly can't bear to be with or without each other. He would be devastated if she were to get into serious trouble", said a backstage source.

          Although Kim and Eminem's marriage is famously rocky, the couple still speak regularly for the sake of their seven-year-old daughter Hailie. After attempting a reconciliation, Kim and Hailie had moved into Em's sprawling mansion in his hometown of Detroit. But it is believed that Kim has now moved out again after a series of bitter bust-ups between the former childhood sweethearts. Em's heartfelt prayer comes as a bit of a shock because the fiery relationship between the two is well documented. He narrowly escaped jail two years ago after pistol-whipping a man he accused of kissing her outside a Detroit nightclub. And he has developed a bitter feud with Ja Rule, who called Kim a "slut". The rivalry has got so bad that the rapper and 50 tell DJs at any club they visit not to spin Ja Rule tunes or any others from his Murder Inc label.

50 Cent dons bullet-proof vest onstage! (Go To Top)

          London, June 23: Who can blame 50 Cent wearing a bullet- proof vest at Milton Keynes onstage when the rapper has been shot at an incredible nine times? The protection was hidden under a baggy white T-shirt as the rapper appeared for his fans. But after calls from the ladies in the crowd to show off his trademark six-pack stomach, 50 stripped off his outer layers and revealed his secret, says a report in the Sun. Only after being given the all clear by his security staff, did he ditch his vest having already performed part of 'Love Me' still wearing it. 50 Cent has round-the-clock security to head off any possible attack. He and crew member Eminem are currently in a war of words with fellow chart star Ja Rule. "Everyone was screaming for him to get his top off and he duly obliged. But no one expected to see a bullet-proof vest underneath. A few people were pretty shocked. He is obviously a bit paranoid about his personal safety", said an onlooker.

Bruce warns Kutcher to treat Demi respectfully (Go To Top)

          New York, June 23: Hollywood hardman Bruce Willis has warned ex-wife Demi Moore's young lover Ashton Kutcher to treat her with respect, following reports that the '70s show' star is cheating on her. 'Die Hard' star Willis told Kutcher that if he doesn't mend his ways, he will have the tough guy himself to answer to. "Bruce told Ashton he should be so grateful to have the chance of dating a class act like Demi", Scotland's Daily Record newspaper quoted an insider as saying. "When Kutcher protested it wasn't his fault if bimbos chase him, Bruce is said to have warned, `Kiddo, if you don't behave you will have me chasing you", the newspaper added.

'It's my duty to be king': William (Go To Top)

          London, June 23: Birthday boy, Prince William, turned 21 with a pledge to one day serve his country as king. "All these questions about 'do you want to be king?' It's not a question of wanting to be, it's something I was born into and it's my duty," said William in an unprecedented interview with the Press Association of Britain. According to a report in Herald Sun, second in line to the throne after his father, the young prince added: "The monarchy is something that needs to be there. I just feel it's very, very important. It's a form of stability and I hope to be able to continue that." He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his parents by doing charity work for the homeless. However, his immediate task is to concentrate on completing the last two years of his history of art course at St Andrews University in Scotland.

          Rated as one of the world's most eligible bachelors, William denies the presence of a steady girlfriend. "There's been a lot of speculation about every single girl I'm with and it actually does quite irritate me after a while," he said. "More so because it's a complete pain for the girls." Recently royal officials have denied a flurry of reports that Jessica Craig, daughter of a conservationist in Kenya, was William's first proper girlfriend. Rocked by scandals for 15 years, the monarchy might just look forward to a fresh lease of life in the way of the handsome and photogenic William.