Madrid:
Over 200 people were killed on Thursday as serial blasts
ripped through Madrid railway stations. Dazed and bloodied
commuters staggered from the Atocha station in the heart
of the Spanish capital where two blasts destroyed a suburban
train. Two other train stations were also hit by the near-simultaneous
explosions.
The
Spanish government blamed Basque separatist group Eta for
the attacks which came ahead of Sunday's elections. "This
is a massacre," said an official spokesman. He condemned
what he called "an attack on Spanish democracy", calling
Eta "a criminal gang of killers." The authorities say no
warning was given before the blasts. The explosions at Atocha
happened at about 0630 GMT as a train was pulling into the
station.
Two
militants among four killed in attack on armymen in JK (Go
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Pulwama
(J-K): Four people, including two militants and a soldier
were killed in a fierce gunbattle in Kashmir when terrorists
took shelter in a school in a remote village on Thursday.
Dozens of pupils and teachers fled their school in Khrew
village, south of Srinagar after a Pakistan-based Islamic
militant group used it as a base to attack an Indian army
training centre in Kashmir. Troops surrounded the school
and more than 210 children and teachers who were inside
fled to safety. "In the morning around 8 a.m. when I was
sitting in my house, I heard the sound of firing. People
started running around...suddenly we came to know that firing
was going on near the girls high school.
Around
210 children were trapped inside the school. "We gathered
here and requested the police that our children should be
released. Out of those 210 children there were some teachers
also and the police rescued them," said Faroukh Ahmed, an
eyewitness. The militants then moved into a house next door
and were killed there at the end of a six-hour gun battle.
A soldier and a woman, who was caught in the crossfire,
were also killed and another soldier was critically wounded.
A spokesman for the outlawed, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad
group called newspaper offices in Srinagar and said a suicide
squad had attacked the army centre.
Elsewhere,
troops shot dead two militants in a separate gun battle
near Sopore town in north Kashmir, police said. The attack
on the army school came a day after the Indian cricket team
arrived in Pakistan for a five-week "goodwill tour", its
first to Pakistan in 14 years.
Muslims
demand a committee to resolve the temple-mosque row (Go
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New
Delhi: The Muslims in India on Thursday demanded institution
of a committee to find a solution to the vexed temple-mosque
row. Hindu zealots had in 1992 razed to ground the 16th
century Babri mosque in Ayodhya, claiming it was built on
the birthplace of the Lord Rama and that a temple existed
there before it was destroyed by Muslim Mughal invaders.
The incident triggered nation-wide riots which claimed over
3,000 lives. Hindu hardliners have since then been campaigning
for the construction of a temple at the site. Muslims dispute
this and want the mosque rebuilt. The Supreme Court has
banned a permanent structure on the site where now stands
a make-shift temple dedicated to Lord Ram.
Bharati
Majlis, a Muslim organisation, proposed constituting a National
Integration Council with representatives from both religions,
to resolve the long-standing dispute. "It would be better
if they (National Integration Council) have one Hindu member,
one Muslim member and one neither Hindu, nor Muslim, a neutral
member. This committee of the National Intergration Concil
should talk to the Muslim board, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and people outside
these also, the Shankracharyas and other Muslim leaders
who are not part of the board. It should then invite open
suggestion and discussion should be based on their outcomes,"
Javed Habib, president of the Bharti Majlis, said.
RK
Hegde's son joins BJP (Go
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New
Delhi: Bharat Hegde, the son of former Karnataka chief
minister the late Rama Krishna Hegde, formally joined the
BJP here on Thursday. Party chief Venkaiah Naidu himself
introduced the junior Hegde to mediapersons. Bharat's sister
Samata Hegde and brother-in-law Gopal also joined the party,
but the duo was not present on the occasion. "After S. Bangarappa,
Bharat's inclusion into the BJP will further consolidate
the party's position in Karnataka," Naidu said while referring
to the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. The party chief
said that Bharat and his family members met Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee earlier in the day and expressed their
desire to join the party. R.K. Hegde's wife had written
a personal letter to Vajpayee asking him to take her children
into the party fold, Naidu added. R.K. Hegde died a couple
of months ago after a prolonged illness.
Karnataka
gears up for chariot ride (Go
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Bangalore:
Karnataka Chief Minister M Krishna on Thursday assured
that his government would not allow any untoward incident
during Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani's controversial
chariot ride. Advani began a mammoth journey across the
country on Wednesday as the BJP re-election campaign moved
into top gear. The 75-year old will arrive in Bangalore
on Friday. Thousands are expected to come out to cheer the
leader as he traverses the city in a specially-designed
saffron and green bus. The procession has evoked severe
criticism from Opposition leaders and social groups who
say it could spark communal tension. "I would treat it as
part of the BJP's election campaign. It is a sacred duty
of any government to maintain law and order, to protect
the citizens and their properties and we will be doing it
fearlessly. I am sure that nothing untoward will happen,"
Krishna told a news conference here.
Advani
shot to fame in 1990 when he led a nationwide or chariot
ride to campaign for the construction of a Ram temple in
place of a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya. That issue helped
propel the BJP to power in 1998, but since then the reality
of coalition politics has seen the party put many of its
Hindu revivalist themes on hold. The Congress as well is
fighting to retain power in Karnataka, one of its few remaining
strongholds. The state is going in for polls' along with
the national elections.
Addressing
his first press conference in Kottayam earlier during the
day, Advani said he was optimistic that a solution to the
vexed Ayodhya issue would be possible after the upcoming
Lok Sabha elections. Before leaving for Coimbatore, on the
second day of his 'Bharat Uday Yatra', Advani said Ayodhya
was discussed in the NDA on several occasions and "there
was a unanimous view that a solution would be found but
it was possible only on the basis of court verdict or by
agreement between the two communities".
Asked
whether the 'Vision Document', being prepared by the BJP,
would make a reference to Ayodhya, he refused to reply.
"The RSS had sought inclusion of other three contentious
issues (Uniform Civil Code, Abrogation of Article 370 and
ban on cow slaughter) in the document at a recent meeting
with party leadership in Delhi," Advani said.
Jammu
BJP calls shutdown against women's Bill (Go
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Jammu:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called a day-long shutdown
on Thursday in Jammu to protest the state's controversial
residential law. The state Assembly passed the "Permanent
Residential (Disqualification) Bill" on March 5, under which
women who marry outside the state would have their residence
rescinded. The BJP activists disrupted traffic and shouted
slogans against the Bill. Most of the shops and business
establishments remained closed amidst tight security arrangements.
Rajesh Gupta, leader of the BJP's youth wing, said the law
impinged on the basic fundamental rights of women. "This
shutdown is against the Bill which has been passed by the
government. This is taking away the rights from women amd
it is an attack on women's fundamental rights. There is
anger among people of Jammu," Gupta said. The Bill has evoked
strong protests from women groups and other political parties.
The law does not apply to men in the state. According to
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, men and women have
a right to equality in the country.
Musharraf
declared Pak's 'constitutionally-elected' President (Go
To Top)
Islamabad:
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has finally received
constitutional sanction for holding on to the post till
2007. In a ruling that was expected, the Speaker of the
National Assembly, Chaudhry Amir Hussain, ruled on Wednesday
that Musharraf was the country's constitutionally elected
President. The ruling was announced in spite of the Opposition's
non- acceptance of this position. "Neither a general can
speak in the august House nor the House can debate an address
of the general," Khursheed Shah, a leader of the PPPP, was
quoted by the News, as saying. The Speaker, however, reminded
the Opposition that Musharraf was not the first General
who had become the President of Pakistan, and added that
many politicians had joined the cabinets of the generals
in the past.
Indians
lose match but win hearts in Lahore
(Go
To Top)
Lahore:
Pakistan `A' beat the visiting Indian team by six wickets
in a friendly match in Lahore on Thursday. Indians scored
335 runs by losing six wickets when asked to bat first.
The highest scorer from the Indians was vice-captain Rahul
Dravid who scored 92 off just 69 deliveries, hitting 13
boundaries and six. But Pakistan A cruised to victory with
four overs to spare losing just four wickets. Captain Taufeeq
Umer 104 and Imran Nazir 65 were top scores from Pakistan.
The
team have been given unprecedented security cover since
landing here on Wednesday for their first full tour in 14
years. The trip is being seen as an emotive symbol of the
thaw in relations between the countries. They last met in
the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where India won by six
wickets. But India's record on Pakistani soil is not impressive,
having won just three of 15 matches. There is always intense
pressure on the players during matches between the two countries
because of high expectations of volatile fans on both sides
of the border.
India's
victory hopes rest firmly on their batting line-up led by
Sachin Tendulkar, the only Indian team member to have played
Tests in Pakistan before when he made his debut in 1989-90
as a 16-year old. Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, captain
Saurav Ganguly and Vangipurappu Laxman are all in prime
form with Test hundreds in Australia, where India drew a
four-Test series 1-1 earlier this year. But they suffer
in the bowling department, with leg-spinner Anil Kumble
and off spinner Harbhajan Singh both out due to injury.
Pakistan have a young batting line-up, apart from skipper
Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana, but their pace battery
of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Abdur Razzaq is among
the best in the world.
The
one-day series ends in Lahore on March 24. It will be followed
by three Tests at Multan (March 28 to April 1), Lahore (April
5-9) and Rawalpindi (April 13-17). Earlier, scores of cricket
crazy Indian fans left Attari for Lahore to witness the
historical series that comes after 14 years.
Line
and length key against India: Akram (Go
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Islamabad:
Keeping in view India's strong batting line up, former
Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram has advised his country's
cricket team to concentrate more on their bowling and fielding,
if they wished to emerge as winners. Akram reportedly said
that if the team wanted to win against India in the one-day
series beginning March 13, it should mainly focus on these
two areas. According to Online News, Akram said Pakistani
fast bowlers would have to pay full attention to their line
and length, as India had a strong batting side. He also
said that the ongoing tour would prove fruitful, as it would
result in creating a fraternal and congenial atmosphere
between both the two countries. Wasim also advised cricket
fans to control their emotions and maintain discipline during
all the matches to create a good impression on the visitors.
In
Lahore it's party time with cricket curry (Go
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Lahore:
With Lahore down with cricket fever, the people here
are leaving no stone unturned to enjoy every moment of the
cricket series beginning Saturday. It seems everything starts
and ends with the word cricket here. A report in the Nation
said that people have invited their relatives to watch the
nail-biting matches together. They have also ordered best
of Lahori dishes to relish them with cricket curry. Some
others, the real cricket zealots, have already started offering
prayers for their team's win against their traditional rivals.
The report said that with the arrival of the Indian cricket
team, Lahoris have begun arranging special gatherings and
big events.
Meanwhile,
the provincial government is not far behind as far as cricket
mania is concerned. It is installing big TV screens at different
open places for people to watch the matches in large numbers,
and reduce the pressure on the Qaddafi stadium. A giant
60x60 screen is being installed at Race Course Park for
spectators who fail to enter stadium, the report said. Undeterred
by their approaching examinations, school students to have
been gripped by the cricket euphoria. "We are well prepared
to take examination, but we do not want to miss a glimpse
of this series which is the biggest cricket clash ever,"
the paper quoted two schoolboys as saying.
March
13 holiday in Karachi (Go
To Top)
Karachi:
The Sindh government has declared March 13 a holiday
in Karachi on the occasion of the first one-day international
match between Pakistan and India, Geo news channel reported
on Thursday. All departments of the Government of Sindha
and the local government in Karachi will remain closed on
March 13, however, police, fire brigade, health department
and other essential service organizations would not observe
the holiday.
