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Militants shoot two civilians in Poonch

       Poonch (J-K): Some unidentified militants shot dead two civilians in Bafliaz village of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, late on Friday night. According to police sources, militants shot dead Shad Khan and Mohammad Bashir, whom they suspected to be informers of police, and flee away from the spot. Security forces have launched a massive manhunt to nab the militants, police said.

Gujarat on flood alert as dams open (Go To Top)

      Ahmedabad: A fresh flood alert has been sounded in five districts of Central Gujarat, including Vadodra after about 1.5 lakh cusecs of water were released from three dams on Friday night. Ahmedabad, Vadodra, Godhra, Anand and Kheda districts have been put on alert and fire brigade personnel are evacuating people from low-lying areas, officials said. Authorities have cautioned people in an around Ahmedabad against the rising level of water in the Sabarmati river. Meanwhile, residents of flood-ravaged Surat have started cleaning their houses to avoid the spread of water-borne disease, after floodwaters receded in the area.

18 dead in Rabiya Manzil collapse (Go To Top)

      Surat: At least 18 people have been killed after a building known as Rabiya Manzil collapsed in flood affected Surat. "The Rabiya Manzil collapsed yesterday morning around 10:30. We were shocked as it was a five storeyed building. Except the wall of dargah, the four buildings, which come before it, are in a safe condition. The wall was constructed between 1971-75. The government did not take notice after that," said Anees Bombaywala, resident of Surat. Meanwhile the death toll continues to rise, is mounting in flood hit Surat as hospitals, mortuaries, cremation and burial grounds are crowding up with corpses of those people who drowned in Surat. According to a rough estimate, about 200 people may have affected by the collapse of the Rabiya Manzil. Residents complained about the absence of timely assistance and medication for four days. "The helicopters just took a round. Our endless efforts to show them red clothes did not bring results. They went in some other direction. We did not get any packets of relief items. Our is a colony of 25 lakhs. Nearly 200-250 people died due to destruction of the Rabiya Manzil," said Surat resident. People kept the bodies of their near and dear ones inside their flooded homes before moving out to the mortuaries. The worst-hit areas include Kader Shah Ni Nal, Khwajadana Dargah, Sagar Hotel, Navapura and Maan Darwaza. On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced an additional Rs 350 crore as relief for Surat. The total Central assistance has climbed to Rs.500 crore. Dr Singh also announced a compensation of Rs one lakh for the families of those who had lost their lives in the floods.

Cyclone warning in Andhra, Orissa (Go To Top)

     Visakhapatnam (AP)/ Bhubaneswar: Weather officials in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday warned of a cyclone in the coming days and heavy rains are forecasted in Orissa due to depression in the Bay of Bengal. The weather officials have advised fishermen in Andhra Pradesh not to venture into sea as heavy rains and strong winds in the region were expected in the next 24 hours due to low pressure build-up. Even as the state recovers from floods caused by the southwest monsoons that killed at least 110 people and dislocated 1.7 million, a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression is threatening the region with further calamity. The Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC), Visakhapatnam officials predict isolated heavy rains over several districts in the next 48 hours due to depression that is about 100 kilometres South-East of Balasore coast in Orissa and is likely to further intensify moving in a northwest, westerly direction. CWC Director V. Subrahmanyam said fishermen have been advised not to go out to sea for the next 24 hours. "Strong surface winds from western direction reaching at the speed of 45-50 kilometres per hour are likely along and off southern coastal Andhra Pradesh over the next 24 hours. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea," he said.

     Meanwhile, the fishermen in the port city of Visakhapatnam are waiting for the cyclone warning to be lifted to be able to venture into the sea. At least 10 fishermen who had gone for fishing remained missing. Orissa that also falls in the influence area of depression due to Bay of Bengal, its meteorological department has also issued a warning of heavy rains in the State. Cyclonic rains in the region for the past two days have created a flood-like situation in several low-lying areas in Bhubaneswar throwing normal life out of gear.

7/11 blasts: SIMI activist arrested (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Mumbai police on Saturday arrested a Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activist Etesham Siddiqui in connection with the July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai's local trains. Later today, Siddiqui was produced before the court and was remanded to police custody till Monday. The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had arrested Siddiqui earlier on July 29 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after they seized literature of the banned SIMI from him. ATS had then said that it was not sure whether Siddiqui had any role in the July 11 bomb blasts, but this aspect would be probed.

      Islamabad: Pakistan will shortly be inking its landmark accord on nuclear energy co-operation with China, under which it will acquire six reactors of 300 megawatts each. A Pakistani official said negotiations between Islamabad and Beijing were in the final stages and the deal was most likely to be reached during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintap in November this year. "Negotiations on nuclear energy cooperation between Pakistan and China are in final stages and the deal is most likely to be reached at during the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao in November, this year," The Nation quoted an official as saying. He said Pakistan wanted to acquire a nuclear power reactor of 600 megawatts from China but the Chinese had just started using the first of such reactors and hence its provision to Pakistan would take some time. He said the deal would greatly help in meeting Pakistan's energy needs more so since the US has not shown its willingness to extend any co-operation on the lines of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. He said with Chinese cooperation, Pakistan would be able build six new nuclear reactors in the next 10 years having a capacity of 2,000 megawatts, as part of the country's plan to increase the capacity of nuclear power generation to over 8,000 megawatts by 2025. He further said China has already helped Pakistan build a nuclear reactor of 350 megawatts at Chashma and it was currently building one more at the same place with the same capacity.

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