Kuwait
claims making all efforts to secure hostages in Iraq
New
Delhi: Kuwait on Thursday said it is making all efforts
to secure peaceful resolution of the ongoing hostage crisis,
where seven truck drivers, including three Indians have
been kidnapped in Iraq. Seven foreigners including, three
Indian truckers, working for the Kuwait and Gulf Transport
Link Company (KGL), were kidnapped in Iraq last month by
a little-known group "Holders of the Black Banners". Kuwaiti
Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Sabbah al-Salem al-Sabbah termed
the abduction as a criminal act saying his government was
doing all to secure their release. "This is a humanitarian
issue. It is not only Indians and other nationalities, -
Indians, Egyptians, Kenyans, a host of other nationalities
that have been abducted and kidnapped for ransom so this
is a criminal act actually. We are dealing with it in a
way that we are making more than 100 percent efforts in
trying to find a peaceful resolution to this. No stone is
not going to be unturned as far as Kuwait is concerned.
We will knock all doors to find a peaceful resolution to
this," al-Sabbah, who is on a three-day official visit here,
told ANI here.
There
has been a great deal of confusion over the progress of
negotiations between KGL and an Iraqi tribal negotiator
as they have failed to reach an agreement over the demands
of the captors. The kidnappers have demanded the Kuwaiti
company leaves Iraq and provide compensation to families
who suffered in air strikes on the rebellious Iraqi city
of Fallujah. India has sent a special envoy to Baghdad to
help secure the release of the three men and imposed restrictions
on its nationals who want to visit or work in Iraq. al-Sabbah,
who is leading a high-level delegation of officials, called
for a Free Trade Area between the two countries.
"It is a source of productive labour force in the Gulf countries
but also we would like to see it as a source, also as destination
for investments. We would like these economies to open for
Gulf investments and for that reason establishing a Free
Trade Area will enable us to to effect this complimentarity
between our two regions. This is a productive labour-rich
region and we have abundancy of capital so we can mesh the
two and we can benefit our two regions," said al-Sabbah.
India and Kuwait have signed a memorandum of understanding
for setting up of a strategic consultative group between
the two countries.
Vajpayee
joins other NDA leaders in attacking PM (Go
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New
Delhi: The former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
today attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged
"impolite" and "unbecoming conduct" towards an alliance
delegation and asked the government to build bridges with
the opposition during Parliament's intersession recess.
Talking to reporters here, after a 90-minute long meeting
of NDA Parliamentary group, he deeply regretted that Opposition
MPs had to stay away from Parliament. "He (Singh) has certainly
not set a good example by being impolite with the NDA delegation
and not showing the basic courtesy of receiving their memorandum,"
Vajpayee, flanked by NDA Convenor George Fernandes, Leaders
of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha L K Advani and
Jaswant Singh, said. Pointing out that Singh had "only the
other day" exhorted the political class about the "code
of conduct", the BJP leader said "I have regards for Singh
as a person but he does not seem to be aware of the unwritten
code of political conduct that should guide the interaction
between the Prime Minister and senior leaders of Opposition."
"I urge the government to utilise the period between the
present and the next session of the Parliament to engage
the Opposition parties in a constructive dialogue. Let both
the government and Oppostion shoulder their respective responsiblities
to ensure that the next session of Parliament becomes more
productive," he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said time had come for political parties
to evolve a code of conduct for behaving inside and outside
the House. "We should look inside us. All political parties
must evolve a code of conduct for behaving inside and outside
Parliament," Singh said in his brief customary speech in
Rajya Sabha at the end of the truncated budget session.
Observing that budget session is the time when MPs discuss
mobilisation of resources and proper utilisation of funds,
Manmohan regretted that "this has not happened this time".
Six
killed, 51 wounded in ULFA violence (Go
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Guwahati:
At least six people, including two BSF men and a minor
girl, were killed and 51 others injured in three blasts
triggered by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA)
in three districts of Assam since Wednesday night. Three
persons, including, two BSF men were killed and six others
injured when an IED planted by ULFA exploded at Paikan in
Goalpara district blowing up their bus coming from Tura
in Meghalaya to Guwahati on Thursday, official sources said
today. The victims were an assistant sub-inspector, the
driver of the BSF bus and the daughter of a BSF personnel.
Initial police reports had put the toll in the blast at
nine, which was later revised to three dead. In another
blast on Thursday morning two persons were killed and 37
others injured when a time bomb went off in a bus as it
halted at the Gossaigaon weekly market in Kokrajhar district.
The vehicle was totally wrecked in the explosion, the sources
said. The bus was en route to Cooch Behar in North Bengal.
When it stopped at Gossaigaon the helper spotted an unclaimed
object and raised an alarm. But before the police could
act the bomb went off killing one person on the spot and
another succumbing to his injuries in hospital. The third
explosion occurred in Dibrugarh township on Wednesday night,
with ULFA militants lobbing a hand grenade in front of a
cinema hall killing one person and injuring eight others.
Karnataka,
MP shutdown evokes mixed response (Go
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Hubli/Bhopal:
There was a mixed response to the BJP-sponsored shutdowns
in both Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh called in connection
with the arrest of senior party leader Uma Bharti on Wednesday.
The shutdown in Madhya Pradesh was largely without incident,
but in Hubli and Bangalore, shops were shut and streets
were deserted. Some incidents of violence were reported
from Hubli and Dharwad. BJP activists marched through the
streets of the town amidst heavy security alleging that
the Congress-led coalition government in Karnataka had falsely
implicated Bharti. In Bangalore, BJP chief Ananth Kumar
courted arrested along with hundreds others after they tried
to forcibly shut some shops. They were taken into preventive
custody for obstructing traffic near Anand Rao circle, one
of the busiest traffic junctions in the city. Activists
of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also
took to the streets shouting slogans and burning effigies
of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, forcing shopkeepers
to down their shutters in almost all districts of the state.
Bharti, who is to be shifted to a jail in Belgaum, is now
in judicial custody till September 7, and has been lodged
at the Agricultural University guesthouse at Dharwad near
Hubli. Bharti is charged with attempt to murder. Five people
had died in police firing after she and her followers defied
prohibitory orders to unfurl the national flag at the Idgah
Maidan, a restricted area.
Truck
union leader arrested under ESMA (Go
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New
Delhi: The Delhi police today arrested OP Agrawal, the
chairman of the All-India Motor Transport Welfare Association,
which is one of the organisations spearheading a nation-wide
truckers strike over a new service tax. Agrawal was taken
into custody under the Essential Supplies Maintenance Act
(ESMA)," JM Saksena, the secretary general of AIMTC, the
apex body of truckers that gave the strike call. Saksena
told reporters here that Agrawal's arrest could aggravate
matters. He also confirmed that the AIMTC is likely to meet
Finance Ministry officials later today in a bid to end the
strike that entered its sixth day today.
Relief
to income tax assessees (Go
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New
Delhi: In a marginal relief to the middle class, Union
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today exempted income upto
Rs 1,11,250 from tax. The move will cost the government
exchequer to the tune of Rs 300 crores The minister deferred
till April one next year the proposal to withdraw the tax
exemption on aircraft leasing and interest on NRI deposits.
The Budget had originally proposed tax exemption upto Rs
one lakh and this had resulted in an anomalous situation
wherein those having marginally higher income beyond Rs
one lakh would have to pay huge tax upto Rs 9000 resulting
in real income, much less than those having an income of
Rs one lakh. To correct this anomaly, the Government has
decided to provide tax rebate under section 88D of the Income
Tax for those having taxable Income between Rs one Lakh
and Rs 1.125 lakh so that their real income is not less
than Rs one lakh after tax.
Govt
mulling over replacing POTA (Go
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New
Delhi: The Central government is mulling over bringing
an ordinance to repeal the stringent anti-terror law POTA
in view of its inability to table a bill in Parliament due
to the abrupt curtailment of the Budget Session, Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said here. "We will not
be able to table the bill to repeal POTA. We will decide
it after the Parliament session is over," he said. However,
the minister made it clear that the government would not
wait for its automatic lapse on October 31. "We will not
allow it to lapse. We may bring an ordinance (for its repeal),"
Azad added. The Union Cabinet had on August 10 decided to
repeal the controversial law and give more teeth to an existing
law to help check unlawful organisations by amending the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act during the current
session of Parliament.
LS
passes Finance Bill without debate, NDA boycotts (Go
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New
Delhi: The Lok Sabha today passed the Finance Bill without
discussion after the opposition National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) boycotted proceedings in Parliament over what alleged
were the insulting remarks made by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Wednesday evening. This was probably the first
time that the Demands for Grants and the Finance Bill were
passed without any debate. The two-phased budget session
was to continue till September 3, but the Opposition's renewed
attack on the government on the issues of Savarkar and Uma
Bharti, besides the "tainted" ministers problem, rendered
the current phase no different from the earlier phase. The
Bill was passed in a business-like manner by a voice vote,
but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said it was not a happy occasion
that the Bill and the Demands for Grants to the tune of
Rs.5 lakh crore had been voted for without any discussion.
Fifty-five official amendments were moved by Finance Minister
P Chidambaram during clause-by-clause consideration, in
which he has given tax benefits to those whose taxable income
is marginally beyond Rs 1 lakh to ensure that their real
income is not unduly affected. In the budget, he had exempted
income up to Rs.1 lakh from income tax, but those earning
beyond Rs.1 lakh had to pay income tax from Rs.50, 000 onwards.
Two
militants shot dead in Kashmir (Go
To Top)
Rajouri:
Security men shot dead at least two terrorists here
Thursday in a major offensive. Shiraz, a local chief of
the Hizbul Mujahideen, and his accomplice were killed in
forest bordering Thanamandi, 180 km from Jammu, after a
nearly two-hour encounter, security officials said. Officials
said Shiraz had extensive knowledge of the region and was
training new recruits being sent from Pakistan-based training
camps. "We killed two militants, one of them is Shiraz.
Both belong to HM (Hizbul Mujahideen). The second rebel
had just joined the militant group. Both were very active
in the region. Shiraz had been active in the valley for
past eight years," S.M Sahai, DIG, said.
Mother
Teresa remembered (Go
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Kolkata:
The 94th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa was celebrated
here Thursday. Nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, an Order
she founded 52 years ago here, joined Sister Nirmala in
a special mass service organised in her memory. Sister Nirmala
said that Mother Teresa life was an ideal that should be
emulated by everybody. "It's Mother's birthday...we wish
Happy Birthday to Mother and to all her children, the people
of Calcutta. We thank God for the gift of Mother's life,
that is, we thank God for the gift of our own lives. And
let us say so that ask Mother to pray for us, bless us that
we too may make our lives something beautiful for God as
she has done," she said. Mother Teresa was beatified by
the Pope last October, paving the way for her canonisation,
or being declared a saint. The Mother had qualified for
beatification after Vatican officials acknowledged that
she was responsible for a miracle in which an Indian woman
was cured of stomach cancer through her intervention. Mother
Teresa, who died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87,
was popularly known as the "Saint of the Gutter" for her
extraordinary love and dedication to poor, homeless and
diseased people. She came to India in 1929 at the age of
18 and took up teaching and became an Indian citizen in
1948. She started working in slums and later set up her
Missionaries of Charity which was approved by the Vatican
in 1950. The charity now runs more than 500 homes in over
100 countries. Mother received several national and international
awards for her social service during her lifetime.
India-Pakistan
border guards meet to thrash out issues (Go
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Suchetgarh
(J-K): Indian and Pakistani paramilitary soldiers manning
the international border between the neighbours in Suchetgarh
on Thursday held talks to thrash out some local disputes.
Suchetgarh lies some 25 km from Jammu. Sector commanders
of Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistani Rangers discussed
issues ranging from infiltration of militants from Pakistan
into India, as well as the problems faced by people residing
in border areas. Rab Nawaz, the sector commander of Pakistan
Rangers, said that the talks were aimed at sorting out minor
problems at the ground level. "We are trying to work together
towards more peaceful and congenial atmosphere among both
the forces, - the BSF and the Rangers. We are quite satisfied
with whatever we have discussed. Each side has heard the
other's viewpoint and we have both decided that we should
continue working towards peace and tranquility on the borders
and between both the countries," he said. Deputy Inspector
General of India's paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF),
P.K. Mishra, said that both sides agreed on steps to avoid
accidental firing on farmers and also prevent illegal crossing
across the border. "We can resolve all the small differences
that crop up. We have requested Pakistani Rangers that our
guards will accompany our farmers whose fields lie near
the international border," Mishra said.
Kathmandu
blockade ends (Go
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Kathmandu:
A weeklong Maoist blockade of Kathmandu ended today. Six
organisations affiliated to the Maoists announced the lifting
of the blockade for a month effective from today after coming
under pressure from human rights groups and civil society
as well as intensified aerial and land patrol by the Royal
Nepal Army. Even before the blockade was lifted, people
began moving out of their homes to purchase essentials.
Vehicles also started to ply on major linked to the Nepalese
capital. While welcoming the Maoist move to lift the blockade,
Government spokesperson and Minister for Information and
Communication, Mohammed Mohsin, said the rebel position
was not clear as they were still indulging in bomb blasts.
CPM
bid to improve ties with Congress (Go
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by Gautam Ghosh
Kolkata:
The CPM has started making conscious efforts to improve
relationship with the ruling Congress at the Centre following
the All India Congress Committee's(AICC) refusal to attack
the leftists at its recently held session in Delhi. The
AICC, which met in the capital last week to review the political
situation prevailing in the country after installation of
the UPA government, refrained from targeting the leftists
for opposing its economic policies and singled out the BJP
and other Sangh Parivar outfits as its political adversaries.
The AICC stand vis-a-vis the Marxists, which caused considerable
dismay to the Congress representatives from West Bengal,
Kerala and Tripura, has not gone unnoticed in the left political
circles here. The CPM consequently decided to tone down
its aggressive stance towards the Congress-led Centre.
The apparent success of yesterday's meeting of the coordination
committee in Delhi is being regarded as a direct fallout
of the softening of the CPM's attitude towards the Congress.
The Marxists had earlier claimed credit for the Centre's
decision to reduce import duty on petroleum products in
order to bring down the fuel prices. However, the party
was still cut up with the UPA government for ignoring its
pleas for raising the PF interest and accept its demands
regarding foreign direct investment(FDI) in telecom, insurance
and civil aviation. The CPM also observed August 20 as "Demands
Day" at the national level along with other left parties
to create pressure on the Centre over the concerned issues.
Sources said a section of leaders in both the CPM and the
Congress was anxious to "clear the misunderstanding at the
earliest since it has been sending wrong signals to the
people and serving as a political weapon in the BJP's hands."
The CPM, it has been learnt, is also concerned over the
fate of the UPA government on two counts. First, the party
feels the Congress-led government may meet the NDA's fate
if it fails to contain price rise and provide relief to
the middle-income people in its economic policies. Secondly,
the CPM is not quite sure about the effectiveness of the
Congress' current strategy to take on the Sangh Parivar.
Anju
jumps into the final (Go
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Athens:
India's ace long jumper Anju Bobby George entered the
final round of the long jump event. Anju qualified for the
final with a leap of 6.69 metres in her very first attempt,
making her the first Indian to reach an athletic final in
the Olympic Games in 20 years. The 27-year old athlete did
not exert much and took a safe jump to cross the qualification
mark of 6.65 m without much fuss to bring the cheer back
in the Indian camp, which has struggled to make a mark in
the mega event. Barring shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's
historic silver- winning feat, none of the other Indian
athletes have come anywhere near a medal in the sporting
extravanganza and the entire focus will now be on the unassuming
Anju. Anju's jump has raised hopes of a medal for India
but the Kerala athelete herself acknowledges that it would
be a tough competition with a number of top jumpers, including
Sydney bronze medallist, Marion Jones of the USA, in the
fray.
