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Curfew imposed in 3 Ganganagar towns

       Jaipur: Three towns in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district are now under curfew after four farmers were killed in police firing on Wednesday. The Army is also out in the district to prevent further incidents of violence. The farmers, angry at water scarcity, turned violent when they were lathicharged by the police. They lost patience and attacked the police station in Rawla and also set several vehicles on fire. Farmers in the area have been demanding water to irrigate their fields for nearly two weeks. On Tuesday, they locked up dozens of officials at a government office in Ghadsana town. To set the hostages free, the police was forced to resort to lathicharge. "We have called the Army. All our forces are deployed there. Our MLAs and MPs are also being sent there as well as some ministers. They will talk to the farmers," said Gulab Chand Katariya, Rajasthan's Home Minister. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each farmer killed in the police firing. A retired judge of the Rajasthan High Court has also been appointed to hold a judicial inquiry into Wednesday's incident.

Security tightened on Indo-Nepal border  (Go To Top)  

        Sonoli Border: Based on information provided by intelligence sources that fake currency and ammunition is being smuggled into India, the Special Service Bureau has tightened security on the Indo-Nepal border. Each vehicle, including light motor vehicles, coming from Nepal are being checked thoroughly. "We received some specific information about the smuggling of some elements, which would hamper the National econmoy as well as threaten the National security. The activities at the borders is taking shape, which will directly effect our manpower, heritage and population. To stop and curb this movement and safeguard the interest of the nation, the 2nd wing of the SSB is conducting this operation," Vijay Kumar S P, S S B Sonoli border in Maharajganj.

Somnath to meet Advani on next session  (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will meet Leader of Oppositon in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and other BJP leaders today to ensure the smooth functioning of both the houses of Parliament during winter session commencing December 1. The meeting comes after the Speaker met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi who assured him of full cooperation in the matter. On Tuesday, a party source had said that two separate meetings were being held with major political parties so that a consensus was evolved ahead of the November 23 meeting and winter session in December. Since the formation of the 14th Lok Sabha, much of the proceedings in both houses had been disrupted, following which the budget session had to be cut short and the Union budget was passed without discussion.

PM rules out sending Indian observers for Iraq polls  (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: Accepting the demand of Left parties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today ruled out the possibilities of sending Indian observers for impending elections in Iraq. "We are all agreed that there is no question of sending anyone from here to Iraq. But if Iraqis can come here to get trained we don't have any problems because it is a UN request," CPI leader A.B. Bardhan told reporters after an hour-long breakfast meeting here. RSP leader Abani Roy said that National Security advisor J.N. Dixit briefed them on several foreign policy issues, including recent talks with leadership of Myanmar and Iran and developments in Israel and Afghanistan, in the presence of the Prime Minister. The four Left parties - CPI, CPI(M), RSP and Forward Bloc - had urged not to send Indian observers to Iraq, but said that India should be ready to provide training to Iraqi officials if they come here. On Wednesday, they had demanded a review of the Indo-Israel strategic ties in view of the increasing attacks on the Palestinian people and demanded the release of pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi from in Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has invited the Left leaders to brief them about the recent visits of US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca and Myanmar's Military ruler.

Arafat critical, Palestinian security on alert (Go To Top)

         Washington: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday was said to be in 'critical condition' at his West Bank compound in Ramallah. International news reports and agencies quoted Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh as telling CNN that Arafat was in bad shape. "He has been going through a very slow recovery over the last few days, including the last six hours, and now he is in critical condition. He needs to be examined by three groups of doctors," Libdeh was quoted as saying. Libdeh said that a group of Jordanian and Egyptian doctors will arrive today to examine him, and as of now there was no move to shift him to a hospital. "Then, if they feel that his condition is serious, they'll make a decision," said Libdeh, who runs the prime minister's office. Earlier, Israeli public radio reported that Arafat, 75, had lost consciousness for several hours at his Ramallah compound in Ramallah, where he has been kept under virtual house arrest since December 2001. Meanwhile, Arafat key aides have summoned the entire Palestinian leadership to his headquarters after his condition worsened to discuss the emerging situation. Members of the Palestinian security services have also been put on alert, a foreign news agency reported. Israel has said that it will allow Arafat to go for treatment anywhere he chooses, whether at home or abroad, but there is no guarantee he would be allowed to return.

Ganguly's availability in 4th Test uncertain  (Go To Top)

       Nagpur: Skipper Sourav Ganguly's participation in fourth Test against Australia is in doubt when a medical report on his injury didn't make any mention of his date of return to action. The report on Ganguly's upper thigh strain issued by the team management here today was full of medical terms, but failed to say anything about the skipper's availability in the Mumbai Test commencing November 3. It merely said that after a medical check-up, including bone scan, MRI and diagnostic ultrasound, it was revealed that Ganguly suffered from intra-articular pathology of the right hip joint noted by increased synovial fluid accumulation. "It is common for hip joint pathology to produce symptoms of referred pain distally into the groin and thigh. He is now receiving medical treatment for this condition and his progress will be monitored carefully over the next few days," the statement said.

Australia hold edge over India  (Go To Top)

        Nagpur: Australia stretched their lead to 415 runs at the end of third day of the third Test against India at the VCA stadium today. The Aussies took little more than an hour to dismantle the lower order of the Indian innings in the morning. But the visitors once again chose not to enforce the follow-on after skittling out the Indians for a paltry 185 in the first innings. It was the second time in the series when the visitors had opted to bat on despite a lead of over 200.

Rising oil prices a concern: Chidambaram (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Speaking at a CII conference here, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said rising oil prices are a cause for concern but added that there was no justification for the price increase as there is still a small surplus in supply. Based on globaly supply, the justifiable price level is between 34-40 dollars per barrel. "If the oil prices continue to rule high it will rob developing countries like India of critical percentage of their potential growth. In fact, every five dollar per barrel increase in oil price affects our GDP by nearly one and a half percent and also contributes to inflation," said Chidambaram. The Finance Minister also talked about the Investment Commission they are setting up to invited foreign and domestic investement into the country. Chidambaram assured that the commission would be chaired by and composed of people from business and industry.