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Fire at Amritsar Railway station

       Amritsar: A major fire broke out early on Sunday at the Amritsar Railway station disrupting the entire communication system. The fire broke out at 4: 00 a.m. at the ticket counter of the railway station, causing a heavy damage to the infrastructure, said railway officials. Fire tenders were pressed to service and the fire brought under control. Severe damage has been caused to the computer systems in the station and tickets are being issued manually, said sources. A short circuit is believed to be the cause of the fire. No casualties have been reported so far.

Manmohan undergoes wrist surgery (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent a minor surgical procedure on his left hand wrist here on Sunday. The operation took place at the Army Hospital Research and Referral Hospital. After successful surgery, the Prime Minister returned to his residence, 7 Race Course Road, from where he will attend to his normal official duties. However, he will attend office after two days' rest, said a Prime Minister's Office release. The operation on the left wrist follows a similar procedure on his right wrist in October 2005. This completes the procedure advised by doctors to relieve pressure on a nerve near both wrists.

Young doctor shot dead in Delhi (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: A twenty-year-old doctor was shot dead by an unidentified person outside a hospital in the Gole Market area here on Sunday. According to police, the victim Rajesh, a private medical practitioner, was shot outside the Kalavatisharan Hospital. The attacker, who was not yet nabbed, shot at least 12 bullets into Rajesh, said police. Dr. Rajesh was rushed to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police added. Police said that they were investigating the case and the motive behind the killing was still not known.

30 hurt in clash in Ahmedabad (Go To Top)

      Ahemadabad: At least 30 people were hurt in clash between Hindus and Muslims in Ahmedabad on Sunday, witnesses and police said. The clashes took place in communally sensitive Gomtipur locality of the city. Police official B.C. Modi said hundreds of people were involved in the fighting, and stone pelting caused that most of the injuries. "It is a highly sensitive area. At 12-12.30 p.m. a scooter rider bumped to an unknown man which led to pelting of stones between Hindus and Muslims. We have no information about anybody getting hurt as such. The situation is under control. We are conducting intensive patrolling," said Modi. Today's violence follows Hindu-Muslim riots in Vadodara, early this month, which killed six people and left scores of other wounded. Gujarat saw widespread communal rioting in 2002 which left over 1,000 people, mainly minority Muslims, dead.

CPI-M stir against petro price hike (Go To Top)

       Kolkata: Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said on Sunday that the Left parties would call for a nationwide movement against the proposed petrol and diesel price hike. After the two-day Politburo meeting of the party in Kolkata, Karat told a press conference that if the price of petrol and petroleum products were raised then the Left parties would launch an anti-UPA movement along with national and regional secular parties. He also added that the CPI-M had already started discussions with regional political parties of different states to intensify the movement as the price of essential commodities were bound to go up once the price of petrol and diesel was raised.

US urges India to cut troops in Kashmir (Go To Top)

      Washington: A veteran US diplomat John W McDonald, who is the chairman of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD), has called upon New Delhi to cut troops in India-held Kashmir to send a "strong signal" to Islamabad for a peaceful resolution of the longstanding dispute. "It is ridiculous to deploy 700,000 troops in Kashmir. The Indian government should reduce troops to send a strong message," the Daily Times quoted McDonald as saying while talking to a group of journalists and diplomats from nine different countries visiting the US, at the National Press Club. McDonald (99), who served in the US State Department for 40 years, said, "New Delhi was the impediment to the resolution of the Kashmir issue". The IMTD has pursued Track-III diplomacy involving business community from both sides to strengthen bonds between the two countries. It has trained 28 Indian and 50 Pakistani businessmen and 70 legislators from Azad Jammu and Kashmir in a bid to build peace through collaborative action. The US diplomat disclosed that it was he who had proposed the Kashmir bus service in April 7, 2000, to a large group of people at a refugee camp outside Muzaffarabad, which finally started on April 7, 2005.

Case against AQ Khan closed (Go To Top)

       Islamabad: Reacting to a US nuclear expert's insistence that the nuclear proliferation case against Pakistan scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan should be reopened and investigated further, Islamabad has said that the case had been closed, and all important information had been collected and shared with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the US. The country's Foreign Office said in clear terms that foreign interrogators would not be allowed to have direct access to Khan. "We have completed our investigations and shared information with the IAEA and the US. We do not have any new information to share with the US. The Dr AQ Khan case has been closed on our part. If the US has any new information they should share it with us. We are ready to cooperate," the Daily Times quoted Foreign Office spokesman Suhail Mehmood as saying last evening while speaking to journalists.

Hindus protest 'secular' move in Nepal (Go To Top)

        Rupandehi (Nepal)/Gorakhpur(UP): Nepal government's proclamation to turn the world's only Hindu kingdom secular has irked Hindus in the country who say the move would destroy the distinctness of the country and its historical identity. Hindus have termed the move as "hasty" and unfair to the majority population. "All the religions enjoy the same freedom as Hinduism in Nepal. Christians, Sikhs, and others - all live peacefully in Nepal following the tenets of their religions. But Nepal has a distinct identification of being a Hindu nation. I think the government has taken the decision in haste, and it's a wrong decision," said Brijesh, a resident of Rupandehi, a town bordering India. Over 80 percent of Nepal's 26 million people are Hindus and 11 percent Buddhists. Earlier this week, thousands of Hindus, including saffron-clad holymen, took to the streets in the capital Kathmandu to protest against government's move. Hindu leaders in India have also taken a strong exception to the move saying that the government was buckling under Maoist pressure.

Tension at Bangla border over killing  (Go To Top)
by Nazrul Islam

      Dhaka: Bangladeshi authorities have sounded alerts at several border areas along the country's border with India following the killing of two Bangladeshi nationals reportedly by the Border Security Force in Molani frontier in northern Thankurgaon district on Saturday. A local television channel, Channel I reported from the bordering areas that tensed situation has been prevailing in the area following Saturday's incidents that killed a Madrasha teacher and a cattle trader. Villagers told the television channel that Border Security Force personnel opened fire on them, killing them on the spot. They said many of the villagers fled their homes fearing further attacks. Bangladesh Rifles sources said the BSF men fired several rounds of gunshot from near the Nargaon Border Outpost.

Anil Ambani has Amitabh as ambassador (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: As part of its corporate identity makeover, Anil Ambani-owned Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group - has launched new logo and signature tune and has roped in superstar Amitabh Bachchan for its corporate advertisement film. The new identity for the 'third largest group in India' came in less than a year of ownership settlement in Reliance empire between Anil Ambani and elder brother Mukesh Ambani on June 18, 2005 through an intervention by mother Kokilaben. The company is expected to spend over Rs 700 core in the current financial year alone on advertisements. The makeover would give ADAG a new symbol 'Reliance Apex' and corporate colours 'blue' and 'red'. "Our new corporate colours blue and red convey values of integrity, confidence, energy and passion... Reliance Apex, is an embodiment of hope, optimism and success," said Ambani. The group will have a new signature tune.Listing the strengths of the group that has a market cap of about Rs 1,00,000 crore with an asset base of over Rs 31,500 crore and net worth of Rs 27,000 crore.