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Rain, thundershowers in Delhi

     New Delhi: Meteorological Department officials have predicted that overcast conditions are likely to continue over the weekend with light rain and thundershowers. Rain again lashed the national capital on Saturday evening bringing down the mercury to 22.10 Celsius and bringing cheers to people across Delhi. The maximum temperature was 37.60 Celsius, about three degrees below recorded during this time of year, while the minimum was 22.10 Celsius, five degrees below normal. A total of 1.8 mm of rain was recorded, said the weather office. The rain was attributed to western disturbances. Traffic snarls were reported from different parts of South, South-west and West districts late in the evening. Traffic along the Ring Road, Hauz Khas, Pitampura, Palam Marg, Moti Bagh, RK Puram and other areas came to a standstill. People in Delhi heaved a sigh of relief as unseasonal rains brought temperatures down to 23.6 degree Celsius (three degree below normal) on May 18. Rainfall with 1.2 mm and cool wind blowing at a speed of 25 km/ph brought a welcome respite for the people. Maximum temperature in the capital touched 44.5 degree Celsius on May 7.

Nine killed in Bihar gang war (Go To Top)

        Sheikhpura (Bihar): In a suspected gang war, nine persons were killed by some unidentified criminals in Moneypur village under Kasar police station in Bihar's Sheikhpura district on Saturday night. The attack comes ahead of the third phase of panchayat elections to be held on May 22 in the State. Senior police officers have rushed to the spot. The identity of the criminals was still not known. The attack seems to be a result of a gang rivalry between Ashok Mahto gang and Akhilesh Singh gang. The needle of suspicion moves towards the former gang but no confirm reports have been received so far. So far, gang rivalry has claimed 18 lives in the past three days in Bihar. Earlier, Akhilesh Singh gang had killed nine people in Gowadih village of Nalanda district on May 18. Akhilesh Singh is an upper caste Bhumihar. He is absconding after having escaped from jail last year. During the past five years, dozens of people have lost their lives in Sheikhpura, Nawada and Nalanda districts in the war for supremacy between the two gangsters. The massacre happened despite Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's order for a probe into the killing of nine people belonging to backward castes by an armed gang led by an upper caste gangster on May 18.

Leaders pay tributes to Rajiv (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Several senior leaders gathered at the memorial of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Vir Bhumi, here on Sunday to pay homage to the departed leader on his 15th death anniversary. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid floral tributes at Rajiv Gandhi's samadhi. Congress president and widow of late Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra also paid tributes at Vir Bhumi. Several functions have been organised to pay tribute to the departed leader. The day is also observed as Anti-terrorism Day. On the eve of Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary, the Prime Minister, turning nostalgic about the venue delivered a public speech at the Municipal Grounds in Visakhapatnam. Singh said, "On this sacred city, I pay my tribute to Rajivji. I salute the memory of a great son of India and reiterate his promise we have all made in the Congress Party to carry his mission forward". "It was here in these grounds that Rajiv delivered his last public speech exactly 15 years ago," Singh said with an emotion filled voice.

   Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber in 1991, who bent to touch his feet in a mark of respect before setting off explosives strapped to waist in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur city. The assassination by the Sri Lankan Tamil was said to have been in revenge for Rajiv Gandhi's decision to send Indian troops to the island nation in 1987 as part of a peacekeeping accord between Colombo and Tamil separatists brokered by New Delhi.

India-Pak Def. Secys to discuss Siachen (Go To Top)

      Islamabad/New Delhi: India and Pakistan will be holding high level defence talks in New Delhi on Tuesday on the issue of troops pullout from the Siachen Glacier. Officials have said that the two-day Defence Secretary-level talks on Siachen will be followed by further parleys on Sir Creek on May 25-28. Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt will lead the Indian delegation and his Pakistani counterpart Lt. Gen. (retd.) Tariq W Ghazi will lead the Pakistani delegation. The talks are expected to pave the way for a "final point" of agreement regarding troop pull out from Siachen, regarded as the world's highest battlefield. There have been talks of demilitarising the Siachen glacier, but the main contention has been the tricky issue of authentication of ground positions of Indian and Pakistani troops on the glacier. India's contention is that a proper authentication must be done with regard to troop position before the glacier is completely demilitarised, which Pakistan has so far, refused to accept. Earlier, on May 17, Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that there were no plans of "pullout of troops from Siachen" at present. "There are no plans pullout of troops at present from Siachen, where a ceasefire is in place from November 2003," Mukherjee said.

Naxalites plant bomb under dead body (Go To Top)

     Raipur: Six people, including a CRPF jawan, were badly injured when a pressure bomb planted by the Naxalites under the dead body of a tribal exploded, about 10 kilometres away from Bhairam garh near Bijapur and Geedam Road this afternoon. The injured were brought to Raipur this evening by helicopter and are being treated at the trauma centre at the city's Ambedkar Hospital. According to Additional Superintendent of Police, Raipur, VK Chowbey all the injured are reportedly out of danger, but are still being kept under observation. Mahendra Karma, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said that the salva judum scheme announced by the state government would continue despite by the killings by the Naxalites.

Second Tarapur A-plant unit goes critical (Go To Top)

     Tarapur: The second indigenous 540 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Tarapur Atomic Power Plant (TAPP-3), went critical on Sunday, two months ahead of the schedule. This is a milestone in the project completion process and signifies the beginning of self-sustaining nuclear fission in the reactor core. With the criticality of the nuclear reactor at Tarapur, the country's total installed capacity of nuclear energy goes up to 3,890 MW from the existing 3,350 MW of electricity. Last year, the first indigenous Unit 4 of TAPR, the predecessor of Unit 3, had attained criticality on March 6. The 540 MW unit has been indigenously built and is the first of its kind in the country to be designed so as to attain criticality within five years of its construction. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a Public Sector Undertaking is spearheading India's nuclear power programme. Fifteen reactors are under operation and seven reactors are under construction. Nuclear Power is environment friendly, technologically proven, economically competitive and associated with the advantage of energy security and diversity. The NPCIL, with its record of safety and excellence, preserves the environment, keeping it healthy; as the nature intended it to be. The NPCIL re-dedicates itself to increase nuclear power generation capacity in the Country consistent with the available resources in a self reliant, safe, economical and rapid manner in keeping with the growth of energy demand in the Country. The NPCIL had first built boiling water Reactor in five years and the plant went on stream in 1969.

Pope's remarks on conversion condemned (Go To Top)

       Varanasi: Hardline Hindu organisations in the country have taken strong exception to Pope Benedict's recent comments condemning attempts to ban religious conversions in India. Scores of activists belonging to a local outfit Hindu Provdhini Mahasabha took to streets in the temple city of Varanasi on Sunday to condemn the Pope's remarks. Enraged protesters also burnt the effigy of the Pope. "Poor and destitute Hindus are being converted by them. If government wants to put a halt to conversions, Pope Benedict should have no problem. We strongly condemn Pope Benedict's comments," said Vinay Shankar Jha, one of the protesters.

    Pope Benedict condemned the attempts to ban religious conversions in India in a speech on Thursday reflecting growing tension among major faiths about the role and nature of missionary work. In unusually strong language, the Pontiff told New Delhi's new ambassador to the Vatican, Amitav Tripathi, that efforts in some states to outlaw conversions were unconstitutional and should be rejected. Pope's statement assumes significance as it came after the Rajasthan government passed a law last month threatening five years in prison and heavy fines for proselytising, but the governor has not yet signed it. Five other states have already passed such laws to curb missionary activities there. Some hardliners in the country have been advocating conversion bans in recent years as it gained ground in state elections. They argue that such bans foster communal harmony, but Muslim and Christian minority groups accuse the party of whipping up Hindu voters' fear to boost its political support. Several other Asian countries have also considered banning conversion or found ways to discourage it in recent years. Under pressure from hardline nationalist Buddhist monks, the Sri Lankan cabinet approved such a bill last year but later dropped it.