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Sachin turns 30, but quietly

          Mumbai: Star Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his 31st birthday privately with family at his Bandra residence today. Tendulkar, who had cut a cake in the presence of media persons and his fans on Friday, explicitly said that on Saturday he would be spending it with his family. Meanwhile, 'Tendulkar's', the restaurant owned by Sachin, is offering a 31 per cent reduction on cuisine as part of the birthday celebrations. Last year, Sachin had celebrated his birthday at the restaurant.

Assam violence leaves three students dead (Go To Top)

          Golpara: At least three persons were killed and one was injured in insurgency-plagued Assam when a shutdown call by a students union on Friday turned violent. The incident took place in Krihnai market in Golpara district, 100 km west of Guwahati, when the striking students reportedly forced some shopkeepers to close shops. The All Rabha Students' Union (ARSU) had given the 72-hour shutdown call to protest the arrest of one of their leaders. "A 72-hour shutdown had been called by our organisation. The police have arrested one of our student union leaders without any cause. We want the police to him unconditionally. Some miscreants also attacked four of our youths and three of them died on the spot," Depen Chandra Rabha, finance secretary of Rabha Hajong Students' Union, said. Media reports said a violent mob attacked the students with sticks and crude weapons.

          An indefinite curfew has been clamped in the district. The tribal Rabha and Hajong communities in the state have been demanding greater autonomy for the two ethnic groups. India's remote northeast is home to dozens of insurgent outfits fighting for a separate homeland. They accuse the federal government of plundering the region's natural resources and turning a blind eye to their development needs.

Sikhs' plea for UN probe into 1984 massacre (Go To Top)
by Trevor Barnard

          London: The Sikh Federation (UK) is urging all British members of the European Parliament to support a declaration tabled in the Parliament calling on the United Nations to mount an investigation to decide whether the slaughter of Indian Sikhs in 1984 should be regarded as genocide. The declaration was tabled last week by four British members of the Green Party. It urged the European Union to study reports of the events of 1984, including those compiled by the American-based Human Rights Watch and the British-based Amnesty International, and called for a "Commission of Truth and Justice under the auspices of the UN to comprehensively investigate whether the slaughter to which Indian Sikhs were subjected in 1984 constitutes genocide as defined in the Genocide Convention and the relevant international law". One of the UK MEPs behind the declaration, Caroline Lucas, said that although the Sikhs themselves described the slaughter as genocide, a full UN investigation had never taken place. Her colleague Joan Lambert said: "Many of those affected and their families have sought refuge in England, and we must ensure truth and justice prevail."

         The Sikh Federation was set up last year as a "political" party and is committed to work for the establishment of Khalistan. It is organising a series of promotions to mark the 20th anniversary of the events of 1984. MPs sympathetic to its cause have tabled motions in the British Parliament drawing attention to the issue, and the Federation claims that about 50 MPs have signed the motions, while several members of the Government, including ministers, have written expressing their support. The Federation has written to every British MEP urging support for the "genocide" declaration, and is appealing to Sikhs across Europe to canvass the support of their MEPs.

Curfew partially lifted in Haridwar (Go To Top)

         Haridwar: Curfew in this holy city was lifted partially on Saturday, three days after violent clashes broke out between residents and the police over the alleged molestation of a trader's wife by police personnel. Television reports said that people were only moving freely in the Kotwali area of the city, as the situation there was found to be normal. "Curfew was finally lifted at 7 a.m. after a complete review of the situation," Director General of Police, P D Raturi was quoted, as saying. Curfew was imposed on Wednesday after one person was killed during police firing on a mob of agitators. The molestation case and clashes prompted Uttaranchal Chief Minister N D Tiwari into ordering a judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge. On Friday, normal life across Uttaranchal was disrupted by a shutdown call given by the state's trading community. Meanwhile, traders here are reluctant to resume their business as they feel that it might reduce their chances of securing compensation from the state government. Various political parties here are reported to have already demanded an ex-gratia compensation of Rs.10 lakh for the traders.

Two killed, nine hurt in Haridwar bus mishap (Go To Top)

          Haridwar: Two persons were killed and nine were injured after a collision between a tractor and a bus here today. The bus driver and a 17-year old boy were killed in the accident. The injured have been admitted to hospital.

J-K shifts civil sectt to Srinagar for summer (Go To Top)

          Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday shifted its civil secretariat from Jammu to Srinagar, amidst heavy security. With this "Darbar Move" or the "shift of the royal court", government offices will start functioning in Srinagar from May 4. More than 6,000 government officials will move to the summer capital during next ten days. "High security is in place in sensitive areas, like every year. The only difference is that this time we had made the reservations in advance, to avoid the heavy tourist rush," said S.L. Bhatt, Principal Secretary to the government of Jammu and Kashmir.

          Srinagar is 300 km north of Jammu. The state government secretariat shifts every spring and autumn between the two capitals in conformity with changing weather patterns. The shifting of the Darbar has been in vogue since the days of the Maharajas. The practice was started in 1882 by the then Maharaja Pratap Singh to meet the aspirations of the people living in far flung areas of the state. There have been isolated moves by successive governments to stop this over a century-old practice which is a drain on the exchequer, but the tradition continues.

Fire engulfs forests in Uttaranchal (Go To Top)

          Dehradun: Authorities in Uttaranchal are battling a massive fire that has spread across the dense forest surrounding Dehradun. An abnormally-early heat wave which has sent temperatures soaring to as high as 41 degrees, fuelled the crisp summer winds, sending the thousands of acres of forests up in flames. Authorities are working round the clock making "Fire lines", which are drawn by burning all the forest waste and dry leaves along the roads in the park to prevent spreading of the blaze.

          Officials are, however, particularly worried about ill-informed villagers setting up smaller blazes to clear land for herb cultivation. Forest officers are now going village to village conducting an awareness campaign amongst the people about fire prevention and control. "In the Sal and teak forests to remove the fallen leaves, the villagers often set them on fire. This clears the land, making it easy for them to find small herbs. They have no idea of how dangerously the fire can spread and think that only small areas will burn," said S.S Rasaili, Divisional Forest Officer. Forests in Uttaranchal comprise 66 percent of the area forming an important natural resource. Most of the forest fires break out in April, May, June and July every year and destroy the varied flora and fauna. Authorities say less rains last winter poses more threat as huge patches of the jungles are extremely dry making them susceptible to fire outbreaks.

Jamali meets Jintao (Go To Top)

          Hong Kong: Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali today met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of an Asian economic conference in Boao. Reports reaching here said the two leaders exchanged views on issues of bilateral, regional and international interest, besides agreeing that the Boao Economic Forum should be made more effective. Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar and the country's envoy to China Riaz Mohammad Khan were also present at Saturday's meeting.