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Indo-Pak dialogue on CBMs concludes

      Islamabad: The fourth round of India and Pakistan Expert Level Dialogue on nuclear and conventional confidence building measures (CBMs) concluded here on Wednesday, with both countries reiterating their desire to keep working towards further elaboration and implementation of Nuclear CBMs. During the two-day talks, India and Pakistan discussed security concepts and nuclear doctrines to develop measures for confidence building within the framework of the Lahore MoU of 1999, with the objective of promoting a stable environment of peace and security between the two countries. The two sides also expressed satisfaction on the signing of the Agreement on Pre-Notification of Flight Testing of Ballistic Missiles and the operationalisation of the hotline link between the two Foreign Secretaries in an effort to prevent misunderstanding and reduce risks relevant to nuclear issues.

    The two sides have discussed nuclear CBMs on three occasions since the composite dialogue process resumed between the two countries in 2004. The third round of talks were held in August 2005 in New Delhi where the two sides agreed on pre-notifying testing of ballistic missiles in a structured format, with the objective of enhancing mutual confidence. On Thursday, the two sides are to begin the third round of conventional CBM talks to discuss an agreement presented by Pakistan to prevent incidents at sea in order to ensure safety of navigation by naval vessels, and aircraft belonging to the two sides.

Japanese' rape: Accused remanded (Go To Top)

     Pushkar (Rajasthan): A local court here on Wednesday sent the main accused in the Japanese woman's rape case, Bablu, and his mother Roshni to judicial remand. The court, on Tuesday, had granted a-day police remand to both. Police sources said that the questioning of Bablu and his mother had been completed and the legal notice in this regard was expected to be submitted in the court on April 29. The case came into light when the accused, a Japanese woman, on April 19 faxed her complaint alleging that she was raped and robbed of Rs.54,000 by the son of a hotel owner here earlier this month after being drugged. The woman had faxed her complaint to the Ajmer Superintendent of Police from Agra. She claimed that she was raped by 22-year-old Babloo, the son of a local hotel owner, on April 2, after being given `bhang`.

Rahul campaigns for mother Sonia (Go To Top)

      Rae Bareli: Rahul Gandhi, the Congress MP from Amethi, led the election campaign for his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the by-polls in Rae Bareli. .Rahul, who was greeted enthusiastically by supporters in the town, sought votes for his mother whose resignation from the same Lok Sabha seat in a dramatic political move last month necessitated the by-polls. Rahul addressed several meetings and met people during his campaign. He claimed that whatever development was taking place in the area was due to the efforts of the Gandhi-Nehru family and also targeted the Mulayam Singh Yadav's Government in the state by saying that the pace of development is not satisfactory as there was a different party ruling in the state. "On May 8, please come out in large numbers, click the right button on the EVM (electronic voting machine) and please make my mother win the election," he said. Rahul on Monday had said that he was ready to take charge of his party's affairs in the state. He said his mother would also shortly be visiting the area to meet the people. Sonia Gandhi, 59, quit Parliament after the Opposition charged her with violating the constitution by heading the National Advisory Council, while being a Member of Parliament (MP). But she vowed to contest by-elections from her rural Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which has been represented in Parliament by several generations of the famous Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty to which she is married.

Fire at PM's residence contained (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: A fire broke out in a semi-permanent structure serving as a CPWD store room in the compound of the Prime Minister's official residence, 7 Race Course Road, here today. The fire was fully contained in about half an hour. The fire broke out at approximately 1.30 p.m. (IST). The fire was noticed by security personnel deployed in the area, when smoke was seen coming out of the locked store room. The Fire Control Room was alerted and fire tenders reached immediately. Electric short circuit is suspected to be the possible cause of the fire. Some furniture has been damaged and the extent of damage is being assessed.

US for military action in Iran (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: A storm is gathering in Iran and if it does not give up its quest for acquiring nuclear weapons it could face military action from the United States. "Adamant stand taken by the regime in Iran on this issue left only two choices and both has dangerous connotations- either to acquiesce with this stand or go in for military action to destroy its nuclear facilities," said Robert D Blackwill, President, Barbour Griffith and Rogers International, USA at an interactive session on 'India's rise as a great power and US India Relations' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here today. He said that America was trying to avoid the second option but the statement of the President of Iran yesterday promising nuclear assistance to Sudan left little hope for any peaceful alternative in the matter. The former US ambassador to India asserted that war on Iran would be the last thing that the world would like as it would evoke immediate Iranian response, lead to volcanic reaction among the Islamic countries, a rise in the oil prices, large number of civilian casualties and doubts as to whether this action would act as a deterrent against future nuclear programmes by Iran.

Naxalites blow up rail cabin in Jamui (Go To Top)

     Jamui (Bihar): The banned Naxalite outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist) in a fresh incident of violence blew up a railway cabin at Narganjo station in Jamui district late last night. The rebels first asked the staff to vacate the cabin at Narganjo station of the Eastern Railways. Then they blew it up using dynamite, railway sources said. This attack disrupted the train services on various routes as the railway authorities were apprehensive that the Naxalites might have planted bombs on railway track in the area. Sources said that a special patrol engine was being run to check for bombs in case any other was planted. This act of violence by the Naxalites has affected train services on different routes: The affected trains are Howrah-Delhi Janata Express, Howrah-Delhi Lalquila Express, Hatia-Gorakhpur Maurya Express, Howrah-Danapur Express, Durg Express, Chapra- Tatanaga Express, Tata-Patna Express and Tata-Danapur Express.

    The Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War (also known as the People's War Group or PWG) merged to form a new entity, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on September 21, 2004, somewhere in the projected 'liberated zone'. Officially, the PWG Andhra Pradesh 'state secretary', Ramakrishna, at a news conference in Hyderabad, announced the merger on October 14, 2004, on the eve of peace talks between the PWG and the State Government. Since its inception on April 22, 1980, the PWG had been trying to bring all the Left Wing extremist groups (also called Naxalite) in India (numbering around 40) under its umbrella with the objective of overthrowing 'the bureaucrat comprador bourgeois and big landlords classes who control state power in collusion with imperialism' and 'to establish in its place the New Democratic State under the leadership of the proletariat' with the ultimate aim of establishing socialism and communism. Later, in September 1993, the PWG, MCC and the CPI-ML (Party Unity) decided to jointly intensify the Naxalite movement in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and other States and constituted the All India Peoples Resistance Forum to build a strong anti-feudal and anti-imperialist movement. The CPI-Maoist intends to carry on the new "democratic revolution, which would remain directed against imperialism, feudalism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism." The new party believes that the merger would cause "fear among the ruling classes" and would fulfill "the aspirations of the masses" for a strong revolutionary party that would usher in a "new democratic society" by advancing towards socialism and communism. Following the merger, the outfit, according to current estimates is active in 156 districts of 13 States that include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and Kerala. The outfit has also been making attempts to establish and expand its presence in several other States such as Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

Pramod Mahajan still critical (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan continues to be in critical condition four days after his brother shot him inside his 15th floor Worli residence. Doctors attending to him said that Mahajan is receiving supportive care, but added that his damaged organs i.e. liver, pancreas and kidneys would have to recover on their own. ''There is not much we can do. We can only give supportive care. The organs have to recover on their own,'' Dr. Nilesh Doctor, a liver and pancreatic surgeon, was quoted as saying. A medical bulletin this morning said that Mahajan is still on ventilator support, his blood pressure is low and his kidneys are functioning poorly. Doctors have warned that there is a possibility of infection setting in because of open wounds and massive blood loss. Doctors say the next surgery will have to target these organs. But that's provided Mahajan shows some stability in his vital signs like blood pressure and breathing. Only once these improve will his kidneys start recovering. ''His multiple organs have failed because of acute trauma, and now there is renal failure. His kidneys can start working in two- four weeks. "But that only if other things are better, like no bleeding, stable blood pressure and also he must breathe without the help of a machine,'' said Dr Rushi Deshpande, kidney transplant surgeon. Right now, Mahajan's kidneys are being supported by 24-hour dialysis. He is breathing with the help of ventilators and his dipping blood pressure has been propped up by medicines. He will recover if he pulls through, though it will be an extremely slow process.

Delhi medicos arrested in OBC quota stir (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Police arrested around 300 protesting medical students while they were marching towards the residence of Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh to protest against the hike in Other Backward Class (OBC) quota in the higher educational institutions. Police went into action after students of five medical colleges blocked the road leading to Arjun Singh's residence in the heart of the capital. Some students were dragged by the police and forced to board buses that were driven away. In the latest move, the government plans to reserve 27 percent seats in all central universities over an above the existing quota, taking the total reservation to almost 50 percent, which means lesser number of seats for meritorious students from the general category. Arjun Singh's recent statement on this score has once again revived the Mandal issue after 16 years. Now, the reservation quota would be increased from 22.5 percent to 49.5 percent. The reservation would be made in all medical courses including post-graduate courses such as MD and MS in institutions like All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Chandigarh) and Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (Delhi), Lady Hardinge (Delhi) and Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (Pondicherry). The uproar over the reservation issue began when Centre proposed to extend the reservation for the backward classes in the higher educational institutions in the name of "long overdue development in a dispassionate manner". The proposal based on the Mandal formula aims to provide 27 per cent quota for OBCs in central educational institutions and the IIMs and IITs. Centre is likely to introduce a bill in Parliament during the second part of the session beginning May 10. The 104th Constitution amendment gives the right to the government to take steps for advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. This proposal is viewed as a vote-bank appeasement policy. Ever since the news of the proposed reservation plan became public, the government is facing severe criticism. First, the Election Commission attacked HRD Minister for his going public with plan for reservations in elite institutions of learning, even as the election process was on in five states. The reservation has also provoked the students across the country.

Sensex bounces back (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Stock Markets bounced back smartly on Wednesday as the benchmark Sensex closed 292 points higher at 11,965. Following a 383-point plunge in the last two trading sessions, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index opened 30 points higher at 11,677. The index slipped into red to a low of 11,635, but soon bounced into positive zone. Supported by robust buying interests across the sectors, the Sensex closed 291.75 points higher at 11,938.53, after surging to an intraday high of 11,965.09. In the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty, closed 2.7 per cent or 93.10 points up at 3,555.75, after soaring nearly 100 points to as high as 3,562.30 in the intraday trade. Maruti Udyog, Cipla, Tata Steel, ACC, ONGC, Tata Motors, Wipro, Bajaj Auto and Hindalco were the key gainers of the day. Maruti Udyog was the star gainer at the Sensex as the counter moved up 6.5 percent or Rs 56 to Rs 923. The company, on Wednesday, reported a 39.1 per cent increase in its net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005-06 ended March 31, 2006. Tata Motors closed 4.5 per cent higher at Rs 958, and Bajaj Auto gained over four percent to Rs 2,953. Hero Honda was up 2.6 per cent at Rs 847. Tata Steel surged five percent to Rs 654. Cipla soared six percent to Rs 263. ONGC flared up 4.8 per cent to Rs 1,387. Reliance added 2.6 per cent to Rs 978. Only two counters - Ranbaxy Laboratories and Larsen and Toubro ended weak among the BSE 30 scrips. They slipped 0.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

I will recover and show my best: Sania (Go To Top)
by Chandrika Jain

      New Delhi: The young tennis star Sania Mirza who was suffering from elbow and wrist injuries today said that she would recover soon and would show her best for the French Open that begins in Paris on May 28. She said this statement while launching Lotto's new collection named "Sania's Summer 06 Signature Collection". On the occasion, when reporters asked Sania about involvement of celebrities in endorsements or advertisements, she said now every sports person is doing this and to be associated with such a big Italian brand is a great honour for me." The collection is a tribute to the achievement of Sania and all the young girls who aspire to be like her can now get an opportunity to wear the exact apparel she sports for her performance in the international arena. Commenting on the range of collection, that it is a reflection of Sania's agility, style, taste and attitude, she said, "Collection is made according to my taste and comfort. I want to thanks lotto personally." Signing the tennis star Sania Mirza as its brand ambassador was one of the highlights of Lotto's first year of operations in India.