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6 policemen killed in Jharkhand blast

      Ranchi: At least six policemen were feared killed in a landmine explosion in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Thursday. Police said the blast took place when a police team went to Thalkobad School, located between Kiriburu and Karmapara, to defuse landmines planted there. The Naxalites had laid the landmines to target police personnel who take shelter in the school during their long range patrol, they added.

Kashmir shutdown paralyses life (Go To Top)

      Srinagar: Normal life in Srinagar was affected on Thursday as the Kashmir Valley observed a general strike to mourn the deaths of 21 school children and one of their teachers in the Wullar Lake boat tragedy in Baramulla district on Tuesday. As a mark of respect to those killed in the tragedy, markets here and in major towns like Kupwara, Baramulla, Anantnag remained closed as also educational institutions. The shutdown call was given separately by Hurriyat Conference hardline faction leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat. The incident took pace on Tuesday when a navy boat, carrying about 25 students of the Burning Candle High School of Handwara town in Kupwara district for a joyride, capsized in the Wullar lake at Watlab, 75 kms from Srinagar. According to defence sources, all the children, accompanied by their teacher, had requested a naval sailor to take them for a boat ride in the lake. After getting permission, they were taken for the joy ride, but the boat capsized apparently due to excess weight.

SC to hear plea on Da Vinci on June 12 (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Refusing to give urgent hearing to a petition seeking ban on the screening of "The Da Vinci Code" across the country, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that it would hear the plea on June 12. A vacation bench, comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Lokweshwar Singh Panta, observed that the film was released after clearance from the Censor Board and the Government. The petitioner, Mathews, claiming to be a member of Delhi-based Cathedral Church, said in the petition that the controversial film hurt the sentiments of the Christians. The controversial film "The Da Vinci Code" is based on Dan Brown's novel by the same name. While the film is banned in Punjab and Nagaland, the screening of the film has been suspended in Tamil Nadu.

One dies in flood-hit Assam (Go To Top)

      Guwahati: At least one person has reportedly died in flood-hit Asom as the first wave of floods hit the state. One dead body of a 55-year old man was recovered from Guijan village in the Tinsukia district, said police. Besides this, thousands of people living in Nagaon, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, North Cachar hills districts have been facing brunt of the flood which has worsen by the reports of erosions on embankments of the rivers flowing through the state. Water level has risen in Jiyadhol River during the past 72 hours, submerging over twenty villages in Western part of worst effected Dhemaji district. It has also affected the road communication in the region as the flood water is flowing over national highway 52 which links Dhalimara - Budhikor - Dhemaji . Dhemaji is always the first to be hit while in Nagaon district, about 100 villages in the greater Kampur area bore the brunt of the Kopili river as it is in spate. Fear looms over 100 villages in the Central Asom as Kapili river was flowing more than 9 metres above the danger level in the North Cachar hills district. Meanwhile reports from Jorhat in Upper Asom said that the continuous erosion of the river Brahmaputra has posed a major threat to the northern part of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP). World famous KNP has been under the threat due to unabated erosion on its northern side since 1999. This has in fact jeopardized the very existence of the centenary park spread over 430 square kilometres.

Left threatens protest if petro price hiked

      New Delhi: The Left parties on Thursday threatened to launch a nationwide protest with non-Congress and non-BJP parties if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government hikes prices of petro products. The decision was taken at a meeting of all four Left parties - CPI, CPI (M), Forward Bloc and Revolutionist Socialist Party (RSP) -- which lasted for about 90 minutes. After the meeting, CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said: "If the government announces a hike in the prices of Petrol and Diesel, which is likely next week, then the Left parties and other organisations will come out spontaneously to oppose the move. We will contact other political parties and give a joint call for a nationwide protest action, including a general strike". The exact date for the countrywide action would be decided after discussions with all the willing parties, he added. The Left reiterated that the government should review the tax structure by reducing the customs and excise duties. They also came out strongly against President APJ Abdul Kalam's move to return the Office of Profit bill. Asserting that the bill should be sent back to the President, they demanded setting up of a special Parliamentary Committee to go into the matter. They added that it was for the Parliament to decide whether to pass the bill in the present or amended form. The meeting was attended by CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan, D Raja, Forward Bloc's Debabrata Biswas and G Devarajan, and RSP's Abani Roy.

Fire in Meerut factory kills two (Go To Top)

      Meerut: Two factory employees were killed on the spot when the establishment caught fire on Wednesday evening here. "An illegal work of making gas cylinders was running in the shop. Due to sparking during welding, a drum of the thinner caught fire. As a result, two workers, Tony and Pravesh, died on the spot and four got injured", said Mukesh Mishra, District Magistrate, Meerut. The injured have been admitted to a clinic. The exact cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained. According to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Navneet Seekera, "It will be too early to reach at a conclusion. But what we can draw out initially is that the chemicals in this illegally run factory caught fire. Since it is closed from all sides, therefore, the factory workers could not come out and suffered badly in the accident". Mishra has ordered the shut down of all illegal factories in Meerut and the shifting of large factories outside the town to avoid such incidents in the near future.

'Ramdev attack suspect no terrorist' (Go To Top)

      Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has ruled out the possibility of Gaurav, the youth arrested by the state police in connection with a plan to attack yoga guru Ramadev, having links with terrorists. "The investigation has now almost been concluded and there are one or two lose ends which need to be tied up. By and large, the investigation is over. It has been finally established that man arrested has nothing to do with any terrorist organisation. Neither is he a terrorist. The Punjab Police has investigated his family and they have even interrogated his neighbours. Nothing has been revealed which goes against him," Singh told reporters. Gaurav was detained last Sunday after he allegedly breached Baba Ramdev's security during a therapeutic session. Gaurav had travelled in the same helicopter as the chief minister and the guru when he was nabbed.

TN suspends screening of Da Vinci (Go To Top)

      Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government has asked District Collectors and the Chennai Police Commissioner to suspend the screening of The Da Vinci Code. A press release issued by the state government aaaaand quoted by The Hindu, said on Wednesday: "The Government has taken cognizance of the various reports and complaints received from the minority communities, particularly Christian community regarding the proposed screening of the movie. The screening of the movie might hurt the religious feelings and sentiments of the Christian community and lead to demonstrations and disturb peace and tranquillity within the State." The Collectors and the Commissioner have been asked to study the situation closely and to take action under Section 13 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Central Act 37 of 1952) for suspending the screening of the movie.

Jaya Bachchan files papers for RS by-poll (Go To Top)

       Lucknow: Veteran film actress and former Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan today filed her nomination papers for the RS by-poll from Uttar Pradesh as a Samajwadi Party candidate. Jaya filed two sets of nomination papers before the returning officer and Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Principal Secretary RP Pandey in the presence of State Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party (SP) General Secretary Amar Singh, and Lok Sabha MPs Jaya Prada and Prof Ramgopal Yadav, besides other senior party leaders. She was disqualified in March following a complaint filed by a Kanpur-based Congress leader that she held an office of profit for being the chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Film Development Corporation, which she quit recently. Besides, former party MP from Muzaffarnagar, Amir Alam also filed his nomination papers for the other Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant in the state due to the resignation of Ani Ambani.