Indo-Pak
dialogue from June, says Menon
Peshawar:
The much awaited composite dialogue between India and
Pakistan will start in June, Indian High Commissioner Shiv
Shankar Menon said on Monday. According to a report in the
News, the Indian envoy said that the composite dialogue
would also be held at the level of commerce secretaries
of both countries, to discuss the means of promoting trade
relations. Menon said this while addressing a meeting of
the traders and businessmen of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (SCCI) here. Expressing satisfaction over the
confidence-building measures (CBMs) between the two countries,
he said that the business community could play a key role
in further cementing the atmosphere of amity and cohesion.
He suggested that the process of restoration of trust and
confidence building should continue before holding composite
dialogues.
Jogi
showing signs of improvement (Go
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Mumbai:
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi is showing
signs of improvement, Dr CE Deopujari, a neuro-surgeon attending
on him, said on Tuesday. Jogi was seriously injured when
the car carrying him on campaigning dashed against a tree
at Gariabandh, about 130 km from Raipur. He suffered fractures
and head injuries. PCC general secretary Mehttar Lal Sahu,
accompanying Jogi in the car, and the driver were also critically
injured in the accident. Jogi was admitted in Bombay Hospital
for major operations. After the operation he is improving
and is fully conscious, Deopujari said, adding, he is talking
and "willing to get out of bed". Deopujari said they had
removed the life support system completely as "all his health
parameters are fine". "We hope to mobilise him as soon as
we can," he said. The movement of his hands have improved
and the sensation on his legs also showed good improvement.
Nine
new RS members take oath (Go
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New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Kerala
Chief Minister K Karunakaran, former Chief Election Commissioner
MS Gill and party spokesman and candidate from Himachal
Pradesh Anand Sharma were among nine new members who took
oath as Rajya Sabha members on Tuesday. Others who took
their oath in the Chambers of Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat were Ashwani Kumar and Dharam Pal, both
Congress candidates from Punjab. Karunakaran, a member of
the dissolved 13th Lok Sabha and a former Rajya Sabha member,
told reporters it was "good to be back" in the Upper House.
IIM-A
moves SC against fee cut (Go
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New
Delhi: IIM-Ahmedabad on Tuesday filed an affidavit before
the Supreme Court, opposing the unilateral decision of the
HRD ministry to drastically reduce the fees. The institute
claimed the move violated the time-honoured process of the
fee being decided by the board of governors of the business
school. It said: "It's is not necessary to reduce fees to
achieve the stated objective of making management education
more affordable to the less well-to-do sections of society."
"We strongly feel that a notification of fee reduction from
the ministry is an incorrect solution to the affordability
problem. It subsidises rich students who can easily afford
the current fee of Rs 1.5 lakhs per annum," IIM-A added.
The top business school in its affidavit said the fee reduction
order has to be seen, not in isolation, but in the larger
context of many other decisions by the ministry that threatened
the autonomy of the institute.
SGPC
call to observe Turban Day (Go
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Amritsar:
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has urged
its community, spread worldwide, to observe Tuesday as the
World Turban Day.The call comes in a bid to spread international
awareness about Sikhism, especially their religious binding
to wear turbans and long beards, which have often led to
hate crimes against the community. On many occasions since
the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, Sikh men have
been mistaken for Islamic fundamentalists, sometimes even
leading to them being killed. The SGPC believes the aggression
against the community would be greatly reduced if people
would come to know about their separate identity. At the
Golden Temple in Amritsar, clerics and SGPC members initiated
youngesters into the habit, encouraging them to tie the
full traditional turban rather than the casual under-turbans
and the readymade cap-style ones. April 13 is especially
auspicious for the Sikhs as it marks the birth of the Khalsa
order and also heralds the harvest season. Sikh men wear
the turbans to cover their long hair, which their faith
says should never be cut.
