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India, China hold talks on border issue

          New Delhi: Special Chinese representative Dai Binguuo met Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh here on Tuesday. Dai has been holding talks with his Indian counter part, national security advisor J.N. Dixit since Monday in a bid to resolve a border issue that has bedeviled ties between the world's two most populous nations. The nuclear-armed neighbours, who fought a brief border war in 1962, have been negotiating since 1998 to map exactly where their 3500 km border lies, but with a little success. Even though the details of the meeting were not known, sources in Indian foreign ministry said talks moved forward after China officially recognised Sikkim as a part of India. China had said during this round, the two sides would have an in- depth exchange of views on the guiding principles that were formulated during the earlier meetings. This is the third round of meeting between New Delhi and Beijing. The earlier two rounds of border talks with Bingguo were held with the erstwhile National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had finalised the brief for the two-day meeting last week. The decision to appoint Special Representatives was taken last year during the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to China - the first by an Indian premiere in a decade-in a new push to settle the border issue. The issue of the 4500 km frontier dividing the countries is viewed as central to problems between nuclear-armed China and India, which - citing regional threat perceptions - conducted a series of nuclear tests in 1998.

JMM demands dismissal of Arjun Munda (Go To Top)

          Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Tuesday launched a counter attack on BJP-led-NDA government in Jharkhand and demanded dismissal of State Chief Minister Arjun Munda. JMM leader Stephen Marandi met with State Governor and demanded dismissal of Arjun Munda. They alleged that Munda was a convict for violating section 144 Criminal Procedure Code in Jamshedpur. "It's very pity that BJP had given the responsibility of this state to that person,who is a convict,this is why, we (JMM, Congress, RJD and CPI) went to the Governor and demanded his immediate dismissal," said Stephen Marandi, MP (RS) JMM. Later, they also alleged that Munda won first assembly election as a Schedule Tribe candidate whereas "Munda" caste to which Arjun Munda belongs was included in ST only in the year 2001- 2002. So, on that ground some strict action should be taken against him.

One killed in Hindu-Muslim clashes in Gujarat (Go To Top)

          Veraval (Gujarat): At least one person was killed and 12 injured when Hindus and Muslims clashed with each other. They threw stones at each other and set several shops afire. Police had to use tear gas shells to disperse the enraged crowds. Locals said the violence was triggered by a Muslim boy teasing a Hindu girl. "It started around 1 p.m. when two boys teased a girl. Violence broke out, people tried to resolve the matter but no agreement was reached. In the afternoon there was even more violence and it continued till evening," Prabhu Das, an eyewitness said. Authorities have rushed in additional police forces to defuse the violence in the town, around 350 km from Ahmedabad, and imposed a curfew until Tuesday morning. "At present the situation is very tense but it is under control, there has been no fresh incident. We are keeping our fingers crossed, we cannot take chances, especially night. We have also called in for more forces from outside. I am sure we will able to contain the situation," Rohit Pathak, District Collector, said.

Iraq hostage's father meets Kalam, PM (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The father of one of the Indians taken hostage in Iraq met President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh here Tuesday even as the Centre doubled up its negotiations for the safe release of its citizens. "We met the PM, the President, and they assured us that they are taking every measure to ensure the safe release of our sons," Ram Murti, father of Antaryami, one the hostages, told reporters. Three Indians are among the seven truck drivers for a Kuwaiti firm, who were seized last week by a little known group the "Black Banners" brigade of the Islamic Secret Army. New Delhi has since been in constant touch with Iraqi authorities and aired emotional appeal on Arabic television networks urging the rebels to spare the innocent. Following the pleas, the militant have extended the deadline for negotiations and also agreed to have a local tribal leader as mediator.

Centre to tackle flood, drought (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accompanied by his colleagues, Union Ministers Ram Vilas Paswan, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Meira Kumar, on Monday left for an aerial survey of Bihar's flood-affected areas of Darbhanga, Begusarai, Khagaria and Samastipur. Reports indicate that later Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi is expected to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister for a Rs 7200 crore assistance for flood damage. Meanwhile the government, which is sparing no effort to tackle the near drought like situation in various parts of the country due to the scant rainfall has begun consultations with states, like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra and directed the Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi, to meet all the Chief Secretaries and Agricultural Secretaries of these states here today. The Agriculture Secretary is already touring Maharashtra and Rajasthan to get a first hand information of the situation.

Yagna in Amritsar to please Goddess Indra (Go To Top)

          Amritsar: With monsoon playing truant and insufficient power supply having distressed the residents of Amritsar to the extent that they now look upon the rain gods to smile upon them. Few priests and residents on Tuesday performed Vinshnu and Indra yagya with a hope that the Rain God will have mercy upon the mankind. Shastri Anil Sharma who performed the yagya didn't remember last time when he had performed yagya to please the Rain God. "It is very rare but definitely helps in bringing rain in draught like conditions and when mankind is suffering", said he. He said the yagya would be performed for 24 hours and if the same failed to bring rain he would perform another yagya for 48 hours. Shastri is performing yagya along with three more priests. Om Parkash, a devotee who took part in the yagya said, "when human efforts fails, it's the God that eventually helps." He sounded confident in saying that it won't take too long to rain after the yajna. He said he would also partake in yagya for 24 hours along with priests expressed similar views. If the summer monsoon, which accounts for 80 percent of the country's rainfall, continues to be erratic, agriculture experts fear a more severe impact on food production.

Drought-hit UP farmers stand to lose crops (Go To Top)

          Varanasi: With no signs of rainfall, and the possibility of a drought looming large, farmers here are going through a nightmarish situation. The monsoons continue to be tardy and there are no signs of a rapid recovery in the remaining days of July, making lives of millions of farmers miserable. Acres of standing crops in Varanasi district, like several other areas in northern and western parts of the country, are wilting away for want of water. Many have given up all hopes of a good harvest. "It is a severe drought. We have sown our paddy crops but there are no signs of rains. We will face huge losses," said a distraught Vibhuti Singh. "There were some early showers but after that there was no rain at all. All the paddy crops have dried up and on top of that we do not even get electricity. Sometimes we get electricity for just an hour. It is a very bad situation," said Shivshankar Singh, another farmer. Not knowing what to do, many hapless farmers have started preparing for the next crop. Besides Uttar Pradesh, rains have been deficient in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, Vidharbha region in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. Groundnut and soyabean crops have been affected by insufficient rains in the central and western parts of the country.

Himachal Pradesh farmers suffer for want of rains (Go To Top)

          Kangra: Farmers in Himachal Pradesh, much like their counterparts elsewhere in the country, are going through a major crisis with no signs of rainfall, and the possibility of a drought looming large. The monsoons continue to be tardy and there are no signs of a rapid recovery in the remaining days of July, making lives of millions of farmers miserable. Though farming in the state is only for domestic consumption, farmers rely heavily on the annual monsoon rains. July and August are the crucial months for the flowering of most crops. Acres of standing crops in the region are wilting away for want of water. "The crops which we have sown now are drying up. Almost 60 percent of paddy has dried up. And if there is no monsoon in the next week also, then 70 percent of the corn crop will be destroyed," said Sagar Singh, a farmer. Local officials, however, said that only a few areas were badly affected. "There has been less rainfall this year but it cannot be said that there has been no rainfall. It has rained approximately 75 percent of the average rains. Only a few areas like Chander where there has been no rainfall in the past one month, have been badly affected," said Srikant Baldi, Deputy Commissioner of Kangra.

NLFT releases abducted traders (Go To Top)

          Agartala: Insurgent group here NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) has released the 15 traders whom it had kidnapped from Kampui in North Tripura district on June 14. The traders, who were suffering from various ailments, returned from insurgent hideouts in neighbouring Bangladesh, said the police. They entered into the country through Bandharima in Jampui hills in North Tripura last night, and went to a remote BSF border outpost near Khangtalang. The BSF personnel later handed them over to state police. The insurgent group had kidnapped 24 people from Kampui market in Kanchanpur sub-division. It had already released three abducted persons including two drivers, and the remaining six are returning from a different route, said the BSF sources.

Nanavati panel rejects Gujarat Govt plea (Go To Top)

          Ahmedabad: The two-man commission of Justice (Retd) GT Nanavati and Justice (Retd.) KG Shah, probing the Godhra riots, on Tuesday rejected the plea filed by Gujarat government's counsel Arvind Pandya to postpone the cross- examination of police officials. The Commission said that the cross-examination of JK Vachchani, who was police inspector at Ellisbridge police station during communal riots, and collecting the affidavits of riot victims, would continue simultaneously.

India concerned over arms seizure in Bangladesh (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his 30 minute meeting with former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina Wajed here conveyed India's apprehension over the rising instances of insurgent activities in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister also asked the Bangladeshi leader who is here in India on a four day private visit to ask Dhaka to make sincere efforts to check the smuggling of arms. "India has concerns over insurgent activities. Both of us agreed that arms smuggling needs to be stopped. Bangladesh government has to take strong measures to stop arms smuggling. Terrorists' activities have gone up in Bangladesh in the last few years under the present government there", Hasina was quoted as saying.

No compromise on agriculture in WTO: Kamal Nath (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: India has ruled out any compromise on issues regarding agriculture in the WTO talks by saying that any move which in effect affects the livelihood of millions of farmers in the country could not be welcomed by the Indian government. "Developed countries must understand that (in agriculture) we are battling not so much for trade as for subsistence and, therefore, we cannot compromise on subsistence, risking in the process social and economic upheavals", Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath was quoted as saying during his meeting with WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi in Geneva today. The Minister further said that the core issues of market access, could not be provided unless the issue of high farm subdidies provided by developed countries to their farmers was addressed. Therefore an unequal framework would not be acceptable to India. He, however, assured that India would put in all its efforts to get to a solution, which would be acceptable to all.

Jersey city swears in its first Pakistani mayor (Go To Top)

          Washington: It may be a first for the city of Jersey. A Pakistani was sworn in as the area's deputy mayor on Monday. Agha Afzal, who was sworn in at the city hall, took his oath of office on the Holy Quran. Afzal, formerly of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), is now the chief organiser of PML-QA in the United States. He vowed to work for the prosperity and well-being of "this multifaceted community".