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Two more killed in leopard attack, toll 8 in one month

         Mumbai: The attacks by wild cats at human inhabitations continue unabated in Mumbai. On Monday, two more persons were killed by leopards, taking the death toll to eight in the past one month. 18-year old Raju Yadav, a resident of Aarey colony in suburban Goregaon, was killed when he was attacked by a leopard late on Sunday night. "He was sleeping along with his family members. The leopard came and caught him around his neck. The boy could not even cry properly. I heard some sounds, took some iron rods and came out. Then I saw the boy was lying blood-soaked," said Ram Chaudhary, a neighbour of the deceased. In another incident, a 55-year old man, a resident of Mulund area, was killed by a leopard early this morning. Forest officials have launched massive operation to capture the wild leopards. The big cats have been prowling in Goregaon suburb, which neighbours a 103 square km national reserve. Officials say the animals could have been driven out due to flooding in the Shivaji National Park. Park officials say they have already captured and caged 13 leopards but as many as 33 are still at large. Forest rangers have been patrolling round-the-clock and residents have been told not to move out at night.

Manmohan meets farmers ahead of Budget (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held his first meeting with farmers on Monday. Angry and disillusioned, farmers say the government revelled in impressive growth figures as their colleagues died and children starved. K Vardarajan, general secretary of a nation-wide farmers' council, thanked the government for hearing their woes. "First we thank the Prime Minister for convening such a meeting. In recent years many other sections were invited for meeting. Only the farmers' community was not invited. This is the first meeting involving the farmers," Vardarajan said after his meeting with the Prime Minister at his residence. "The farmers today are in need of help. We have great hopes and expectations from the government. The Prime Minister has assured us that whatever points we have brought to his notice, they will be looked into with a humanitarian attitude," Ram Singh, another farmers' leader, said. Finance minister P Chidambram last week announced a package of measures aimed at helping farmers in distress and promised to increase the flow of credit to them by around 30 percent. Chidambaram said the central bank and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), will work out a plan to grant a one- time settlement for marginal farmers who have been declared defaulters and are not eligible for fresh credit. He said debt restructuring instead of writeoffs would be undertaken by commercial banks after the central bank (Reserve Bank of India) and NABARD, a bank which specialises in farm loans, draw up a roadmap.

Stolen Nobel medal in Santiniketan: former VC (Go To Top)

          Kolkata: Giving a new twist to the Nobel heist mystery, former Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Dilip Sinha has reportedly informed the CID officials that the burgled Nobel medal of Rabindranath Tagore was still in Santiniketan. "That's all and he has not spoken further," CID's Additional Director-General R K Mohanty said today. Sinha was arrested last week in connection with a mark-sheet scandal at the Central university. The CBI has been probing the medal heist since March and claimed 'some breakthroughs', with the state CID extending assistance in the current investigations.

India, Pakistan pledge to implement Simla accord (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: India and Pakistan have decided to implement the 1972 Simla agreement in letter and spirit to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio and announced several confidence building measures (CBMs) to carry the peace process forward in an atmosphere "free from terrorism and violence". Both countries also pledged to immediately restore strengths of respective High Commissions to 110, free all apprehended fishermen in each other's custody and conclude an agreement on pre-notification of missile tests.

          A joint statement which was issued at the conclusion of the two-day Foreign Secretary level talks today said "they reiterated their commitment to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and their determination to implement the Simla Agreement in letter and spirit". The two sides proposed a comprehensive framework for conventional CBMs aimed at initiating and enhancing communication, coordination and interaction which would be discussed further, it said. It was agreed in principle to re-establish Consulates in Karachi and Mumbai. Foreign Secretary Shashank and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar reiterated the hope that the dialogue would lead to "peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides", the two-page statement said. It said they held detailed exchange of views on Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to continue to sustained and serious dialogue to find a "peaceful, negotiated final settlement".

           The talks ended early to allow Khokhar to return home a day early, which Indian media said was due to domestic developments arising out of the resignation of Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Saturday. Before leaving for Islamabad, Khokhar held a series of meetings with leaders of the new government, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Khokhar said his meeting with Singh was positive. "The meeting with the (Indian) Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) was very good. The Prime Minister was very gracious. He has given me a message for the President which I am carrying back," he told reporters. Khokhar also met External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh. Natwar Singh expressed optimism in carrying forward the peace process. "I am glad that there were positive discussions and concrete outcomes. They have also identified some areas of future work and I have encouraged them to continue their efforts," said Natwar Singh. Khokhar winded up his hectic schedule of meetings with a call on National Security Advisor JN Dixit. Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are due to meet on the sidelines of a regional conference in Islamabad in July and also hold bilateral talks in August.

Centre changes counsel for Babri probe panel (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Central government today changed its counsel representing it before Liberhan Commission probing the events leading to the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya. The change of counsel comes at the fag end of the Commission's probe and also after the Centre had closed its arguments. The Commission is currently hearing the final arguments of the parties. Newly-appointed counsel P P Malhotra today made his first appearance before the Commission after 1997 and told Justice M S Liberhan that he wanted to make additional arguments. Immediately, BJP counsel Satya Pal Jain opposed it saying it amounts to reopening and changing the colour of the case as the Centre had already closed its arguments. However, the Commission told Malhotra, a Supreme Court senior lawyer, that it would consider his request for making aditional arguments only after he submits his written application tomorrow regarding the same. The day's proceedings were adjourned till tomorrow as Kalyan Singh's counsel missed the evening train from Lucknow and arrived late.