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Controversy hits Rajya Sabha nomination filing

          New Delhi: Controversy has hit the last day for the filing of nominations for the Rajya Sabha today with a Congress Party nominee charging the Samajwadi Party and Reliance Vice Chairman Anil Ambani (a nominee himself) with deliberately delaying his flight from the Indian capital to file his nomination in Lucknow. Brijmohan Bhama told the Aaj Tak television channel that he was inside an Indian Airlines aircraft that was stranded on the tarmac for quite sometime. Without taking any names, he said that he suspected the hand of a prominent industrialist for the delay. Sharad Yadav from Bihar, CPI (M) leader P Madhu from Andhra Pradesh, former Delhi assembly deputy speaker Kiran Chaudhary, Mohsina Kidwai from Chhattisgarh are among the others who will file their nominations today. Scrutiny of the nominations will be held on Friday and the last date of withdrawal is June 21.

Nature offers solution to Cauvery waters row (Go To Top)

          Coorg (Karnataka): It seems to be the nature's solution to the ongoing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of the Cauvery river waters. Catchment areas in Karnataka have been receiving heavy rain bringing in plentiful of water for farmers of both states to share and irrigate their parched lands. The downpour has not just swept away the spectre of drought which has dogged the region for three years but has created a situation where Karnataka's brimming reservoirs may leave it with no option but to release water so as to avoid being flooded.

           The residents of the Cauvery river basin in Coorg district of Karnataka are facing a harrowing time due to the uninterrupted rainfall. Many said that the Cauvery catchment area had not received so much rainfall in the past 35 years and the incessant rains have cut them off. "This is the birthplace (Talacauvery) of river Cauvery. This time it is raining heavy and we were cut off for more than a week. We had seen these kind of rains only thirty-five years back. We have had no electricity for the past nine days. No one has come to even ask our problems. This time it is heavy rains and with floods Krishnaraja Sagar dam (KRS) would be full," said Seetharam, a villager. Authorities said that the administration was making all efforts to keep the road network clear. "This time the rains are accompanied with dusty winds. Many trees were also uprooted so the clearing of the roads is going on. We are trying to keep clear the road network as far as possible," said Shrikanth Valagad, Divisional Commissioner of Madikeri (Coorg district). Tamil Nadu has said its farmers could begin the cultivation of Kuruvai or winter crops only after Karnataka released waters. The neighbouring states are at odds over the sharing of waters of the 760 km-long Cauvery river, and representatives from both the states have held meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the vexed issue. The Cauvery river water row has been one of the long standing disputes between the four basin states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry but the latter two are not significantly affected. Though there is an independent tribunal to deal with the dispute, the issue is heavily politicised. The row has often led to protests by farmers in both states.

New ID cards to check immigrant influx along Nepal border (Go To Top)

          Nautanwa (UP): Villagers along the Indo-Nepal border here are being issued national identity cards in a bid to check the influx of illegal immigrants and Maoist rebels from the Himalayan Kingdom. With these new Multi-purpose National Identity Cards (MNIC), the government aims to create and maintain a new population register, where biodatas of each citizen would be stored. The 35-crore- rupees pilot project is being implemented in border districts of 13 states of the country and will be extended to the hinterland later. For the genuine citizens who often ended up with tedious paper work, legal hassles and face harassment for even minor things like college admissions, the cards would be a big relief. Curious and excited, the villagers are come out in full support of the new system. "This card will be very helpful as we are border residents and now we will be recognised as Indian citizens," Raj Kumar, a border resident, said. According to reliable sources, the thousands of Nepalis employed as domestic servants, rickshaw-pullers and labourers harbour and give monetary assistance to Maoist rebels waging a civil war in Nepal which is believed to have cost over 9500 lives since it began in 1996. "As Nautanwa is at the international border with Nepal so this place has been chosen for MNICs. It will greatly help improve the situation in the area as every day large number of people move across the porous border and now it will be much easier to identify border residents and illegal immigrants," A.K. Srivastava, project officer for the MNIC programme in Nautanwa, said. The Indian government has roped in many local agencies and is reviewing past records of the people staying here to distinguish between citizens and immigrants, who having picked up local languages and culture have little problem assimilating into the Indian society.

Blast rocks Baghdad, 33 killed (Go To Top)

          Baghdad: At least 33 people were killed and another 127 wounded when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad on Thursday. The explosion took place at the gates of a recruitment centre for the new Iraqi army. The casualty figure at three local hospitals kept rising as ambulances and police trucks brought in the wounded, many of them badly mutilated. Rescue workers heaped badly mutilated bodies into ambulances and police trucks while dazed Iraqi Armymen in uniform stood by watching the carnage. At least 10 vehicles were damaged in the blast, and scattered glass across the street. The recruitment centre is near the US-led coalition headquarters and a military operating base, close to the old Muthanna airport.

Three Pakistanis charged with SA diplomat's abduction in Malaysia (Go To Top)

          Singapore: Three Pakistani nationals and a Singaporean have been charged by a Malaysian court with the abduction of a South African diplomat last month. Quoting a report issued by Malaysia's official Bernama News Agency, The News identified the Pakistanis as Nisar Ahmad Khan (35), Arshad Mehmood (38) and Shahid Mehmood (28). The Singaporean was identified as Narajan Singh (67). All four, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the court, it added. South African Deputy High Commissioner Nicky Scholtz (54) had reportedly alleged that he was forced into a car as he was walking along a Kuala Lumpur street on May 23. Thereafter, he was robbed and held prisoner for several days before being freed, he said. The Pakistanis were also charged with stealing a cheque book, a South African passport, 200 dollars, 10,000 Taiwan dollars and a handphone from Scholtz's hotel room. All the accused were denied bail. Judge Akhtar Tahir fixed the trial for December 8.