Back to Main Page                                                                       Archives

Tickets for Indo-Pak cricket series online: http://pcbtickets.cricket.org, http://pcb.cricket.org, www.cricinfo.com.

26 policemen killed in Jharkhand mine blasts

          Ranchi: Twenty-six policemen were killed in a series of landmine blasts in Jharkhand a day before the arrival of Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's Rath Yatra, while one Naxalite was shot dead in the ensuing encounter in West Singhbhum district. Suspected outlawed MCC ultras triggered the explosions when a police officer and his men were on a combing operation in the dense forest near Gua, 100 km from the district headquarters of Chaibasa. A couple of police vehicles were also blown up in the explosions killing 26 personnel and injuring three others, police sources said.

          The incident, which took place a day before Advani's Yatra was to enter the state on Thursday, was the biggest strike after Bitkilsoya ambush on December 19, 2001 when 19 policemen were killed. Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who rushed to Gua, told reporters that Advani's security following the incident, had been in place and there was nothing to worry about as the incident had taken place in a dense forest.

9 die, 2 JK ministers injured in attack on rally (Go To Top)

          Srinagar: Nine people were killed and 56 injured, including finance minister Mussaffar Hussain Beg and tourism and housing minister Ghulam Hasan Mir, when militants lobbed grenades on an election rally organised by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the border town of Uri, about 100 km from here, on Thursday. The venue of the rally was a Government school. The rally was also held to focus attention on the need to expedite work on the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad Road. The Save Kashmir Movement has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were opposed to the elections. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti who was on the stage also had a narrow escape.

New Miss India (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Putting an end to the controversy, Sayalee Bhagat was today declared the first runner-up of Femina Miss India contest and crowned Miss India-World. She replaces Laxmi Pandit who relinquished the crown following the controversy over her marital status.

Arms shipment for Indian insurgents seized in Bangladesh (Go To Top)

          Chittagong: In a major haul, the Bangladesh police last week seized a huge shipment of arms and ammunition near the port city of Chittagong. The weapons were intended to be used in India. While investigations are still on, the arms haul further goes on to confirm the fears of the Indian security forces that elements in Bangladesh have been supporting cross-border militancy in India's north-east. The cache included 10,000 weapons, 5000 grenades and 300,000 rounds of ammunition, all packed in boxes bearing "Made in China" labels. This is one of the many hauls the Bangladesh police have made in the past few months - of weapons intended to be used by insurgent groups in India's northeast.

          Bangladesh has become a major gun-running point for shipment of arms by anti-India elements. These weapons end up killing innocents all across the country's north-eastern states. These weapons come by the sea route and then terrorists in Bangladesh attempted to get them into Indian territory. Bangladesh State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, said, "From Karnaphuli river the police seized these weapons which were carried by two boats. Getting information from a source police seized the boats with weapons." Indian security forces have maintained their stand that north- east insurgent groups are finding refuge in Bangladesh and are being supplied with arms from across the border. However, the neighbouring country strongly denies these statements.

          According to media reports there are over 150 Indian north-east militant camps operating in Bangladesh. Ajay Raj Sharma, BSF IG, said: "Well, when we give them the list or the necessary information about the camps there might be some change. So far no positive action has been taken. The list seems to be going up, there may be more than 150 camps (Indian rebel camps)." The recent seizure of arms confirms the fact that elements in Bangladesh were out to support and encourage terrorism in India's north-east. Though the Indian security forces have been able to break the foothold of many insurgent groups such as the ULFA, a full commitment from the neighbouring country is much-needed to put a full-stop to the menace of cross-border militancy in the northeast.

Hillary to co-chair new US-India caucus (Go To Top)

          Washington: A new US-India caucus would be soon formed with Senator Hillary Clinton, the wife of former US President Bill Clinton, set to co-chair it. The formation of the new body is seen as recognition of India's growing clout in the US. Senator John Cornyn of Texas announced this decision at a dinner organised by the American Physicians of Indian Origin on Capitol Hill, the Daily Times reported on Thursday.

          Some law-makers expected to join the Indian lobbying group include a number of the most influential congressional leaders in this country. They are: Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Thad Cochran, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, besides eminent congressional figures as Senators Edward Kennedy, Joe Lieberman, Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski.