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Mumbai airport shooting: CISF cop in police custody

          Mumbai, May 25: The CISF policeman, who shot dead his commanding officer and took six constables captive at Mumbai airport on Saturday, has been remanded to police custody till May 31. Twenty-two-year-old Namdeo was produced before a Metropolitan Magistrate in Bombay on Sunday. He has been charged with murder, attempt to murder and wrongful confinement, besides offences under Arms Act.

           The policeman, who apparently had a row with his superior over leave, had holed himself up along with the hostages in a guard room just inside the departure lounge of the city's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Police say he fired more than five rounds from his self-loading rifle at the deputy commandent who succumbed to the bullet injuries while he was being taken to a hospital.

          Police assisted by Namdeo's parents held three rounds of talks before he surrendered peacefully ending the seven-hour-long drama. His parents have, however, accused the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), responsible for guarding airports across the country, of harassing their son.

Vajpayee leaves on foreign tour on Tuesday (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, May 25: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is leaving on Tuesday on an eight-day three-nation tour of Europe. Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Vajpayee will visit Germany and Russia as also the French Alpine town of Evian on the last leg of his tour to participate in the G-8 meeting.

          The visit is being considered significant, coming as it does soon after the Prime Minister extended his hand of friendship to Pakistan, a move widely appreciated by the world community. Almost all top world leaders, including the US President and Chinese President Ho Jintao, will be at St Petersburg and then at Evian. This will certainly provide Vajpayee an opportunity to interact with them on bilateral and international issues.

          Vajpayee, who is scheduled to reach Berlin on Tuesday evening, will meet German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder the next day. He is also due to meet German President Johanne Rau and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. The next day, Vajpayee will leave for Munich where he is scheduled to address a meeting of the captains of the German industry, being organised by the CII and the local chamber of commerce.

          Vajpayee will reach St Petersburg on May 30 to participate in its 300th anniversary functions. There he will also hold his annual bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last summit between the two leaders was held in New Delhi in December last year.

Srinagar-Ladakh highway re-opened to traffic (Go To Top)

          Zojila Pass (J-K), May 25: The crucial highway passing through Zojila, one of the highest mountain passes of the world, was re-opened on Sunday. A convoy of Indian army formally crossed over after the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) declared it traffic-worthy. Brigadier Mahadev, Chief Engineer, BRO, said the difficult task was accomplised without any accident. BRO undertakes snow clearance operations on all border roads in the tough Himalayan range every year to facilitate movement of residents and military personnel to remote regions, usually cut off due to snow from the rest of the country.

          The strategic Srinagar-Ladakh highway passes through the 11,578- foot high Zojila Pass which lies on the lower depression of the Himalayan ranges, about 100 km from Srinagar. The pass attracts the heaviest snowfall during winter and as such it remains closed to traffic for nearly six months in a year. The accumulation of huge quantities of snow over Zojila Pass, which was unprecedented this year, presents the biggest hurdle to traffic on this road. The 434-km long highway is Ladakh's lifeline and after Kargil skirmishes in 1999 with Pakistan, the government has stepped up the pace of road construction because of the strategic significance of the area.

Tamil Nadu reeling under severe heat wave (Go To Top)

          Chennai, May 25: A severe heat wave has gripped Tamil Nadu with temperatures reaching more than 44 degree Celsius in some places. Areas like Nungambakkam recorded 44.4 degree Celsius, the highest temperature so far of the season and the second highest in the last hundred years. The period of 'Agni Natchatram' as per the Hindu Almanac is considered the hottest season, which starts from the beginning of May and goes on till the end of the month.

           "For the last three days, it has been very very hot. I had to travel a very short distance to meet my son, but I couldn't do that also," said Steetal, a resident of Chennai. The areas, where temperatures have crossed the 40 degree mark are Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Madurai, Palayakottai, Pondicherry, Salem, Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Tirupattur. People have been thronging sea beaches to beat the heat. Due to the sweltering heat, fruit juices and other coolants have become a favourite among the people.

          Shortage of water supply has added to people's woes. "I have to go to the junction of my street and wait for the water tankers. If I am a minute late, I will not get water for the day, as the rest of the streets' residents will have emptied it," said Siva, a local resident. Siva also said that while some stand in queues for hours, there are some unfortunate ones who have to walk a few km to get their daily water supply. Weather officials say the high temperatures were expected to persist for at least two more days in Tamil Nadu and other coastal areas before the arrival of the monsoon due in the first week of June.

          The monsoon season was expected to set in at least 10 days in advance this year. The June-September monsoon rains are vital to Asia's third largest economy as farming contributes around 25 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

BJP asks Muslims to help build Ram temple (Go To Top)

          Ghaziabad, May 25: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday called upon the Muslims to help in the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Addressing a gathering during a 'Jagaran' rally in Ghaziabad town in Uttar Pradesh, BJP state unit chief Vinay Katiyar said any such move by Muslim brethren would strengthen relations between Hindus and Muslims in the country. Ayodhya has been a flashpoint for Hindu-Muslim tensions in India since a Hindu mob tore down a 16th-century mosque there in 1992, triggering nationwide riots in which some 3,000 people died.

           "I want to tell Muslim brethren to help in the construction of Ram temple at the birth place of Lord Ram. Opportunity has come, don't miss it. Move towards Ayodhya and if you help in the construction of Ram temple, a relation of brotherhood will be established. On one hand a message of goodwill will go across the world and at the same time the relation between two brothers (Hindus and Muslims) will get consolidated," said Katiyar. BJP's awakening rally aims at reviving the temple issue in the hope to recover its vote bank in the crucial state, ahead of general elections in 2004.

          Katiyar criticised political parties for not backing their proposal of enacting a legislation for the temple construction. Parliament passed a legislation in 1951 which led to the reconstruction of Somnath Temple in Gujarat. "We wrote a letter to parliamentarians of different political parties that when a legislation can be made in Lok Sabha on the construction of a temple at Somnath then why not in Ayodhya? Help us. But if you (political parties) are not going to help us, we will go to the people and we have come before you through this rally and want your blessings. Now, not only Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya but temples will also be constructed at 5,000 different places in the country," said Katiyar.

          Temple issue has dragged on for decades in different courts in the country with both Hindus and Muslims laying claims over the disputed site. The Supreme Court has banned a permanent structure on the land until the dispute is resolved. BJP wants an early settlement of the issue. BJP along with other Hindu organisations is spearheading the agitation demanding that it be handed over the disputed land in Ayodhya, they claim, is the birthplace of Lord Rama. Analysts say BJP might exploit Hindu sentiments by whipping up the issue ahead of crucial Assembly elections and general elections in 2004.

25 injured in film set collapse (Go To Top)

          Mumbai, May 25: Around 25 people were injured as a portion of the film set of the movie, 'Funtoosh', collapsed in Bollywood city on Sunday afternoon. The crew was shooting a fight sequence for famous TV serial director Imtiaz Punjabi's film starring Iqbal Khan, Anuj Sawhney and Natanya Singh when the accident occurred. When all the people collected on one side for a shot, the planks gave way. The injured have blamed the art department for poor construction. "I have a complaint against the set decorators. The sets were not good. They do not care. Today this happened to us. In future this should not happen. The sets are very weak. Even the staircase was not good enough", complained Prakash, a victim of the accident.

US' pressure sees Pak rein in terrorist outfits (Go To Top)

          Lahore, May 25: After the US' direction that funding of banned terrorist organisations operating on Pakistan's soil be immediately stopped, hectic activities have begun here to please the "big brother". On Saturday, Pakistan's interior (home) secretary Tasnim Noorani reportedly held a crucial meeting with the provincial authorities to devise a strategy to ensure activities of such terrorist organisations are checked. The US' advice is also understood to have hinted at stopping cross-border acitivities of such terrorist outfits targetted against India. Quoting highly placed official sources, a report in the Nation said Noorani discussed several "harsh steps" which the adminsitration contemplates taking against such organisations.

Algeria quake toll exceeds 2,000 (Go To Top)

          Algiers, May 25: A devastating earthquake that rocked northern Algeria last week has killed at least 2,047 people, the official news agency reported Sunday. Some 8,626 were injured in Wednesday night's quake that flattened villages east of the capital. The number of dead could rise as bodies are being pulled out of the rubble. Hakim Mohand, of the Algerian civil protection unit in Algiers, said Saturday he believed the death toll could be around 3,000. Hope of finding survivors was quickly evaporating. Officials said further rescue operation was unlikely more than 72 hours after a quake, and British officials said they would soon pull out rescue workers and replace them with relief and recovery experts.