Advani
calls on Pakistan PM
New
Delhi: BJP president and former deputy PM LK Advani
today called on visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz and discussed issues regarding improvement of relations
between the two countries. Sources said that the half-an-hour
long meet took place in a cordial atmosphere and the Pakistani
Prime Minister extended his invitation to Advani. The BJP
leader is slated to visit the neighbouring country early
next year.
Pak
PM arrives on two-day visit (Go
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New
Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz arrived
in the Indian capital on Tuesday afternoon on a two-day
official visit. Aziz Aziz who was warmly received by External
Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh at the Delhi airport, is
primarily here to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for
the 13th SAARC Summit to be held in Dhaka from January 9
to 11. Aziz, on his first visit to India after he assumed
office, is heading a high-level delegation comprising Ministers
for Petroleum, Railways, Water and Power besides Ministers
of State for Foreign Affairs, Overseas Pakistanis and Culture,
Sports and Youth. Three Senators and seven National Assembly
members are also accompanying the delegation.
The
two countries are expected to hold substantive talks on
contentious issues on the sidelines. This could include
a discussion on the informal Kashmir proposals mooted by
President Pervez Musharraf. The Indian government is also
likely to raise the issue of Pakistan giving Most Favoured
Nation Status to it and the proposed Indo-Iranian oil pipeline
that will pass through Pakistan. During his visit, Mr. Aziz
is scheduled to meet Natwar Singh, BJP president L.K.Advani,
former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, petroleum minister
Mani Shankar Aiyer, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath. He also expeted to address
the FICCI before his departure.
Two
US offices closed down in Mumbai (Go
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New
Delhi: The United States has closed its Consular Section
and the American Center in Mumbai for one day today as a
precautionary measure in response to "threat information",
a US Embassy spokesman said here. A US Embassy spokesman
was quoted as saying that the two offices in Mumbai would
open tomorrow, but added that "we will review the situation
on an ongoing basis." American citizens in both Mumbai and
New Delhi had been advised to maintain a high level of vigilance.
"We are taking every measure to ensure the security of American
citizens," he added.
Bombay
HC orders 3-day notice for Teesta's arrest (Go
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Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the Maharashtra
police to give a three-day notice to social worker Teesta
Setalvad before arresting her. Teesta had moved to the court
on November 9 seeking anticipatory bail in the wake of an
affidavit filed by Best Bakery prime witness Zaheera Sheikh.
Zaheera had alleged that Teesta pressurised her to tell
lies before the trial court in Mumbai. She said that because
of her pressurisation earlier she had cast aspersions on
the verdict of a Gujarat court. Zaheera also alleged that
Teesta had kidnapped her and kept her in wrongful confinement.
Teesta filed a petition praying that in the event of the
arrest she may be granted anticipatory bail. The petition
had come up for hearing before Justice RS Mohite.
Bill
to bar politicians with more than two kids on hold (Go
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Gwalior:
The Union Health Ministry has decided to withdraw the
bill barring politicians having more than two kids from
contesting polls. The bill has been lying pending in the
Parliament for more than ten years. This follows an incident
whereby a candidate, who had three offspring, two of whom
were twins, was disqualified from contesting municipal polls.
He filed an appeal against the Madhya Pradesh Municipal
Corporation Act urging withdrawal of the bill from the parliament.
It had created quite a furore in state political circles.
The nomination papers of Sunil Srivastava, a BJP candidate
for Gwalior municipal polls, were rejected by the state
election commission. "The reason I was told for my disqualification
is that I have three live children. The rule was made on
26 January 2001, that anybody having more than two children
will be disqualified. My first child was born in 1996 and
the second time I had twins. I was very disappointed to
hear about this," Srivastava said. Despite his appeals for
an exemption, state authorities refused to budge saying
that the directive did not allow for any natural aberrations.
"The Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act has a provision
that if anybody who has three children, one of whose birth
is after January 26, 2001, will be barred from contesting
an election. Hence his nomination paper was rejected," local
district officer Rakesh Srivastava said.
Newspaper
registrations on Net (Go
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New
Delhi: The Minister of Information and Broadcasting
and Culture, Jaipal Reddy, today launched the Online facility
for viewing new registrations of publications by Registrar
of Newspapers for India (RNI), according to a press release.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the measure
would provide transparency in the functioning of RNI and
also facilitate the smaller newspapers and periodicals,
especially in the far flung areas. He said that the idea
behind such an effort is to see that the whole procedure
is simplified and rationalized. The Minister stressed the
need for a sustained effort in maintaining such services,
introduced for facilitating the publishers.
