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Karnataka unveils populist CMP

          Manglore: Just two days before the presentation of the state budget, the ruling Congress-Janta Dal(S) coalition in Karnataka today unveiled its Common Minimum Programme(CMP). Chief Minister N Dharam Singh said that the leaders of both parties have discussed the financial implications of their decisions and framed the CMP in a harmonious way.

          Some of the major highlights of the CMP are given below: 1. To provide cooperative loans to farmers at 6 percent interest. 2. To supply rice to the poor at Rs 3 per kg. 3. To ban online lottery. 4. To extend the mid-day meal scheme upto class X. 5. To provide transparent, efficient and sincere governance with pro-people policies. 6. To prohibit dance bars in cities and towns. 7. To chalk out self-employment and employment assurance schemes for the unemployed. 8. To set up special fund for market intervention to help farmers in the event of price crash. 9. To evolve schemes for the betterment of minorities. 10. To implement recommendations of the Nanjundappa Committee on regional imbalance. 11. To bring in an amendment to Article 371 of the Constitution to confer special benefits to the region. 12. To set up a High Court bench in north Karnataka to fulfill its long cherished demand.

VHP launches AP reservation agitation (Go To Top)

           Vijayawada: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today launched its week-long agitation programme to protest against the Andhra Pradesh government's recent decision to provide five per cent reservation to Muslims. VHP Poorvandhra vice president Loknath Sharma, while talking to newsmen, said that reservation based on religion was unconstitutional and would only divide the country. Citing the instance of 1906 when the British had given a special status to Muslims which after being supported by Congress during Lucknow conference in 1914, resulted in the country's partition, he said that the government should withdraw the order and not indulge in votebank politics.

Benazir's Surrey palace sold for 4.3 million pounds (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: The Rockwood Estate in Surrey, England, that was alleged to have been purchased by former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her jailed husband Asif Ali Zardari has been sold for a price of over 4.3 million pounds. The sale was effected by liquidator of a number of Isle of Man Trust companies, which were created to disguise the true identity of beneficial owners of the property. The liquidator, according to The News, was acting on the authority of the Pakistan Government. The paper said that the purchaser is a local businessman, who already owns the adjoining property.

          Rockwood House is an imposing detached double fronted residence, which forms an integral part of the estate and is approached by a long meandering driveway. A detached annexe adjacent to the main house provides significant ancillary accommodation. The estate is predominantly pasture with areas of woodland and in all extends to approximately 379 acres of Green Belt open countryside. Meanwhile, Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has rejected allegations that the Surrey palace belonged to her. In a statement, Senator Farhatullah Babar, the party's spokesman, said that neither the property belonged to Benazir Bhutto nor was she concerned as to who sold it to whom and for what purpose.

Six Pak Forest Institute students found dead (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: Six Pakistan Forest Institute students were found dead at a tourist resort near Peshawar late on Friday. Delayed reports reaching here, quoted Peshawar Police as saying on Saturday that the bodies were discovered inside the pictorial tourist resort of Makhrah in the Kaghan Valley. Police said the students were part of a group of 40 male and female students of the Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar and they were on a study tour of the Kaghan Valley since July 12. They were staying at Shougran, one of the beautiful tourist spots of the valley. On July 14, six students, including four males - Syed Iltaf Ali Shah, Taimour Arif, Abdul Qadeer and Syed Mujtaba Shah and two females - Kinza Fatima and Humaira Begum went out for a walk and disappeared. The bodies of four of the students were recovered from Makhrah on July 14 by locals, and the remaining two - Syed Mujtaba Shah and Abdul Qadeer - were found on Friday afternoon. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained. The dead bodies have been sent to their families.

Pak pacers demolish Bangladesh in a 76-run victory (Go To Top)

          Colombo: Shoaib Akhtar demolished the Bangladeshi middle order today to help Pakistan to a 76-run victory over Bangladesh. Shoaib claimed three for 30 as Bangladesh folded up for 181 in 45.2 overs. Mohammad Sami (2-30) and Shoaib Malik (2-41) shared the spoils. Earlier, a stylish 102 runs by opener Yasir Hameed helped Pakistan score 257 for six in the second Pool A match of the Asia Cup tournament. Hameed, playing in his 30th one-day international, hit 10 fours in his 122-ball innings and strengthened Pakistan's innings after his skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat. He was lucky to survive at 52, when Mohammad Ashraful dropped him at long-off.

          Hameed's 168-minute stay at the wicket involved an 86-run opening stand with Imran Farhat and 109 runs for the third wicket with Haq in 127 balls. Farhat, attempting to sweep left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak fell leg before wicket for 27. No. 3 batsman Shoaib Malik lasted just eight balls and was run out for three runs. Haq made a quick 66-ball 58 which included four boundaries and two big sixes off left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. Hameed followed Haq giving a catch to Mushfiqur Rahman at long-on, off seamer Khaled Mahmud. Yousuf Youhana remained unbeaten at 29. Spinner Razzak was the pick of Bangladesh bowlers taking two wickets for 36 runs in 10 overs. For Bangladesh, Javed Omar waged a lone battle, scoring 62 off 86 balls before he was controversially run out while television replays showed Shoaib Malik had disturbed the bails before collecting the ball. Middle order batsman Alok Kapali's 28 off 27 balls provided the late sparks but the required rate by then had climbed beyond manageable levels to seven an over. Omar and Mohammad Ashraful (12) provided a fairly brisk start to the Bangladeshi innings, adding 48 in 10 overs but Sami's double blow took the wind out of their sails.