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Sonia wishes ailing Pak leader

          Islamabad: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has conveyed her best wishes for the speedy recovery of ailing veteran Pakistani leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan. According to sources here, Sonia is said to have telephoned the 87-year old leader on Thursday after she heard that he had been admitted to a private hospital in Peshawar for treatment of a lung infection. She is also said to have briefed him about the ongoing Indo-Pak dialogue and other regional and world affairs.

India, Pak agree to take Siachen talks forward (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: India and Pakistan will hold more talks in a bid to resolve the row over the world's highest battleground, the Siachen Glacier, a spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said today. Pakistan Defence Secretary Lt. General (retired) Hamid Nawaz Khan, who led an eight-member delegation, held two-days of discussions with his Indian counterpart Ajai Vikram Singh. The two sides are looking for ways to build on a ceasefire that has held since November. "Frank and candid discussions were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere aimed at taking the process forward. Both sides assessed positively the ceasefire that has been in effect since November 25, 2003. The military experts of the two sides also met to discuss the modalities for the disengagement and redeployment of troops and agreed to have further discussions. The two defence secretaries agreed to continue their discussions with a view to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner," MEA spokesman Navtej Singh Sarna told reporters here. The nuclear rivals have been fighting since 1984 for control of Siachen, laying claim to a region that until then had been so desolate and so remote that no one had bothered even to demarcate it properly on a map. Thousands of Indian and Pakistan troops, often deployed at heights above 18,000 feet above sea level, have died mostly because of avalanches, altitude-related diseases by falling into crevasses. The two sides spend huge sums of money each year to maintain the soldiers on the frozen wastes.

11 killed in Kashmir landslide (Go To Top)

          Jammu: A t least 11 people were killed today in a landslide on the route leading up to the Vaishno Devi shrine. At least seven were still reported trapped under debris when reports last came in. The victims were porters helping thousands of devout Hindus undertake a 14 km trek to the holy shrine. The injured have been admitted to a government hospital in Jammu.

SC transfers Bilkis rape case to Mumbai (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Supreme Court today shifted the trial of Bilkis Yakub Rasool gangrape case from Ahmedabad to Mumbai after the victim and the CBI expressed apprehension about witnesses being harmed if the trial was held in Gujarat. This is the second case to be transferred to Maharashtra by the apex Court after it had directed on April 12 this year the trial of Best Bakery case be shifted to Mumbai from Gujarat. The order was passed by a three-Judge Bench comprising Justices Ruma Pal, S B Sinha and S H Kapadia on a petition filed by Bilkis who had alleged that the police was hand-in-glove with the accused and that she expected no fair trial in Gujarat as witnesses were being systematically threatened. CBI, while it supported the claim of the victim, had arrested six police officials as accused in the case for causing disappearance of bodies. The case pertained to an incident near Panivela village in Dahod district, where Bilkis and her family was attacked by a mob during the riots. The court, while transferring the case, observed that it was not a reflection on the judiciary of the State and the case was being shifted keeping in mind the apprehensions of the investigating agency and the victim. It requested the Bombay High Court Chief Justice to assign the case to an appropriate Court. The Court also directed CBI to appoint a public prosecutor to avoid the controversy as to who should make the appointment as has arisen in the Best Bakery case pending before a Mumbai court.

Incessant rains continue to disrupt life across the country (Go To Top)

          Ahmedabad/ Mumbai: Incessant rains have thrown life out of gear in many western parts of the country. At least 30 people have died in the region, including 25 in southern parts of Gujarat. Residents of Surat, which is inundated by flood waters, said they were afraid of an outbreak of water- borne diseases. "The locality is quite dirty. There is mud all over the place...we have asked the authorities to clean up the area, and spray insecticides. If people fall sick then it will be an uncontrollable the situation," said Vijay, a resident of Surat. "We want all the mud and dirt to be cleaned. It could spread diseases," said Ramesh, another resident. In Ahmedabad, residents faced a harrowing time even as a major road remained waterlogged. Disruption of road links have sent vegetable prices soaring. "Due to heavy rainfall there have been landslides. As a result, no trucks are coming here, so there has been a 30-40 percent increase in the prices. Vegetables which cost 30 rupees per kilo is now selling at 50 rupees per kilo," said S.Y. Sasane, Assistant Secretary of Mumbai Agricultural Food and Vegetable main market. In eastern parts of South Asia, flood situation relented after four weeks of the worst flooding in 15 years killed nearly 1,350 in India's Bihar and Assam states and neighbouring Bangladesh. The disaster has caused billions of dollars damage as it destroyed bridges, homes, roads, rail lines, communication links and businesses. The annual monsoon, vital for South Asia's farm dependent economy, also wreaks havoc as floods inundate vast swathes of low-lying land.

Family of Indian hostage in Poland fear for his life (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Rekha Hitange, the wife of an Indian immigrant abducted in Poland Harish Hitange, reached here Friday. Harish (37) was kidnapped by a gang posing as police officers on April 20 while he was on his way to office in Warsaw. Rekha's father B.K. Nepali said that he did not disclose news on Hitange's abduction so that his life was not jeopardised. "We received a letter from Poland, Warsaw as my daughter's passport shows this place in her address. His (Hitange's) parents received information through some sources and we were asked not to pass it on to anybody as my son-in-law's life could be in danger. That's why we were quiet and did not tell anybody," he said. The Hitanges belong to Nasik. Hitange's abduction has shocked the 1000-strong Indian community in Poland after his abductors chopped off three of his fingers to press for the reportedly huge ransom of two million Euros. Indian embassy in Warsaw has advised Indians in Poland not to step out of their vehicles and instead report to the nearest police station.

Deal struck for hostages' release: KGL (Go To Top)

          Kuwait: The Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Company (KGL), which is at the center of the hostage crisis in Iraq, involving seven individuals, including three Indians, has said that a deal has been finalized for their release. KGL officials gave this information after their first face-to- face meeting with the Iraqi negotiator Sheikh Hisham Al Dulaimi in Baghdad. The abductors have reportedly demanded a large sum of money as ransom in exchange for the hostages. KGL has also said that it would compensate the hostages after their release.

Compromise canditate as Kumaratunga's replacement (Go To Top)

          Colombo: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party today avoided infighting within by selecting a compromise candidate as its new leader. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party named former premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, 71, as the new leader of their Freedom Alliance coalition with the Marxists, JVP or People's Liberation Front. Though Kumaratunga's brother, Anura Bandaranaike, had said that he was ready to lead the party, and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse was also viewed as a strong contender for the post, the party decided to opt for Wickremanayake. Reports indicate that Kumaratunga, quit from her post following differences with the JVP over revival of peace talks with the LTTE.

Anju Bobby George to carry tricolour at Olympics (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Ace long jumper Anju Bobby George will be carrying the Indian flag at the Athens Olympics. "The flag bearer of the Indian team this time rightfully would go to athletics and Anju Bobby George will be carrying the Indian flag at the Olympics," IOA president Suresh Kalmadi told reporters here. Anju, a bronze medallist in the Paris World Championship last year, has been training in Paris as part of Olympic preparations. Anju, currently ranked fourth in the world, was indeed below her best after she won her first Super Grand Prix gold with a 6.82 metres leap in June in Doha, Qatar. The closest India had come to winning an athletics medal was at the 1960 Rome Olympics, when sprinter Milkha Singh finished fourth in the 400 meters race, missing a medal by a tenth of a second and bettering the then existing world record. Former sprint queen P.T Usha made the 400m hurdles final at Los Angeles in 1984, but she also came fourth, in a photo finish, even though she set a personal best of 55.42 seconds. When asked about the preparations for the Athens Olympics, Kalmadi said that this time the teams have been working hard on their fitness and training. "This time we have sent the team much earlier. Formally we used to send the team two days before the event. Because of that the players could not acclimatize. This time this problem is not there. The teams are already abroad, they are coaching since a month before the event. We have sent them for training and for fitness. This time they are very much well prepared," he said. Last month, the IOA released a list of 74 sportspersons for the Athens Olympics.

First Indian woman football referee for Olympics (Go To Top)

          Cochin: A woman here has become the first Indian to become an international football referee in the Olympics. Bentla D'Coth will be the only referee selected by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) from Asia to participate in the Athens Olympics. D'Coth (34) said she found it hard to believe it. "I could not believe when I heard that my name is there in the Olympic list, it was hard to believe for a girl from an ordinary family to think of Olympics, it was unbelievable," she said. D'Coth's collegues said her dedication paid rich dividends. "I have been knowing Bentla for the past five years and we have been practising together since then. It's all Bentla's dedication and hard work which got her into the Olympics and we all pray for her to get selected in the World Cup World Cup," said Shaji Kurien, assistant referee in FIFA. D'Coth, who began as a left-winger, went on to play in three Asian Championships, apart from making regular national appearances. In the last three years she has appeared as referee in more than 20 international matches including the Asian Championships and Asian Games.