Army
recovers 350 kg of explosives
Srinagar:
Another major haul of 350 kg RDX was recovered in South
Kashmir's Anantnag District on Thursday morning. The explosives
were discovered during search operations in the Aishmaqam-Gous
forest area of the district. It was the second major recovery
of explosives in South Kashmir in less than a week. Earlier,
On November 20, the Indian Army had recovered 300 kg of
explosives at Anchidora Pulwama.
Tobacco
ban at schools, colleges from Jan 1
New
Delhi: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said
on Thursday that there would no sale of cigarettes and tobacco
products within 100 metres from the boundary wall of schools,
colleges and other educational institutions throughout the
country from January 1. ''From January next year, the ban
will be strictly enforced,'' Ramadoss said after releasing
the report on ''Tobacco Control in India'', prepared by
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention, USA, and World Health Organisation.
Earlier, the ban was within 100 metres from the gate of
an educational institution. On the enforcement of the ban
on sale of ''Gutka'', he said the Centre would impose it
after a request by a state government.
Kannada
actors stage protest (Go
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Bangalore:
Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh on Thursday appealed
to his state's regional film industry to maintain calm as
actors took out a massive protest demanding restoration
of a moratorium on non-Kannada language films in the state.
The regional Kannada film industry allege that it has been
adversly hit by non-Kannada films, which rake in money at
the box office. "Film stars who are protesting should be
responsible enough and know that law and order needs to
be maintained," Singh told reporters in Bangalore after
holding talks with the leaders of the Kannada film industry.
Doyens of the industry like Rajkumar, who hit world headlines
four years ago after being kidnapped by the late forest
brigand Veerappan, have called for a statewide shutdown
on November 29 to protest the state government's inability
to resolve the issue. Some of the top Kannada industry personalities
have decided not to attend any meeting convened by the state
government till it implemented a three-week moratorium on
the screening of new non- Kannada films. Initially, the
industry had clamped a seven-week freeze and later scaled
it down to three weeks. Last week, superhit Bollywood film
"Veer Zaara", a mainstream love story was released across
the state, which agitated the regional industry members.
The film is still running amid police protection. Exhibitors,
unfazed by the protests are planning to release a few other
Hindi films.
Bhutan
King meets PM (Go
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New
Delhi: Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk called on Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and is reported
to have discussed a number of mutual issues, including fears
of a possible northeast rebels backlash against his kingdom.
Wangchuk is on a six-day working visit during which he would
call on President A.P.J Kalam and have substantive discussions
with other senior leaders. The Crown Prince of Bhutan, Jigme
Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, is accompanying the King during
the visit. Bhutanese forces had attacked a string of rebel
camps in the south of the small Himalayan kingdom in December
2003 as Indian troops sealed their 380 km (236 mile) border
between the nations to cut off the lines of retreat. Hundreds
of the the rebels, mostly from the three outlawed groups,--
United Liberation Front of Asom, National Democratic Front
of Bodoland and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, ethnic
groups fighting for separate homeland in India's northeastern
region, had been killed and a number of them reportedly
sneaked into India. Officials fear that the rebels are trying
desparately to regroup, claims which analysts say could
explain the bombings in Assam and neighbouring Nagaland
last month. More than 70 people had been killed as the rebels
targetting crowded marketplaces, homes and even schools.
Tea and oil rich Assam is one of the seven states that make
up India's volatile northeast, home to hundreds of ethnic
tribes and dozens of insurgent groups. It is estimated that
up to 3,000 guerrillas were holed up in the southern forests
of Bhutan who carry out hit-and-run strikes against Indian
forces.
School
kids meet PM on Flag Day (Go
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New
Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spent some time
with school children on the ocassion of Flag Day at his
residence on Thursday. Flag Day is the last day of Communal
Harmony Week, which is observed annually from November 19
to 25. Communal Harmony Week coincides with Quami Ekta Week.
During the event, funds are raised for various activities.
The National Foundation of Communal Harmony was set up by
the government to promote the physiological and the psychological
rehabilitation of child victims of communal, caste, ethnic
and terrorist violence.
Khokrapar-Munnabao
rail link likely by Oct 2005: Natwar (Go
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New
Delhi: External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh on Thursday
told reporters here that if New Delhi's ongoing negotiations
with Islamabad proceeded as per agenda delienated, the railway
link between Khokrapar and Munnabao could become a reality
by October 2, 2005. Interacting with the media a day after
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz engaged the Indian
leadership in a series of meetings at which several issues
were raised and discussed, including the vexed Kashmir issue
and the oil gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan,
besides an invitation to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan singh
to visit Pakistan and attend the 13th SAARC summit in Dhaka
next year, Natwar Singh said that the time was appropriate
for refocusing Indian foreign policies vis-a-vis the immediate
neighbourhood. The minister also made a pitch for an emphasis
on economic diplomacy, which he said could lead to political
benefits in the long-term.
Asked
to comment on the dominance of the issue of Kashmir during
the Aziz visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Singh said
that the issue should be seen in the larger context of Indo-Pak
ties. He said that the discussions between the two countries
was an ongoing process, and only when that process ended,
could a solution emerge to satisfaction of all parties concerned.
As far as Dr. Manmohan Singh was concerned, the minister
said that he had categorically told the Pakistan Prime Minister
that he (Manmohan Singh) did not have the mandate for redrawing
the map of Kashmir, as had been suggested by President Pervez
Musharraf last month. He said that he would like relations
between India and Pakistan to be similar to the Sino-Indian
model.
