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4 killed, 40 injured as riots rock Gujarat town

          Ahmedabad, Nov 2: Four people were killed and 40 injured as communal violence on Sunday morning rocked Viramgam town, some 70 km from here, in Gujarat, leading to imposition of curfew. The police fired 20 rounds in the air to scatter the rioters who torched three shops in Chandfadi and Sheikhvaad where the violence, sparked by a brawl during a local cricket match, erupted. The injured, including three children, received shrapnel injuries and were admitted to differenet hospitals, police said. DIG (Ahmedabad Range) A K Sharma said the situation was under control and adequate police force had been deployed in the area to maintain peace.

CBI to challenge Allahabad HC order in Taj case

          New Delhi, Nov 2: CBI plans to challenge the Allahabad High Court order against the arrest of six people, including former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, in the controversial Taj Corridor case. CBI sources said there was a need to challenge this order as it would otherwise become a precedence in future and the agency would not be able to arrest anyone involved in a corruption case. The sources said that the order of the division bench of Lucknow was being studied by the Directorate of Prosecution and a petition was likely to be finalised soon and submitted before the Supreme Court.

          On October 31, the Allahabad High Court had stayed the arrest of former Uttar Pradesh environment minister Nasemuddin Siddiqui, former UP environment secretary R K Sharma and Chairman and Managing Director of NPCC S C Bali saying they would not be arrested till the conclusion of the probe unless the arrest was absolutely necessary. Earlier, the High Court had stayed the arrest of former Chief Minister Mayawati, her principal secretary P L Punia and the then environment secretary V K Gupta in the same case.

No early breakthrough in Indo-Pak ties, says Musharraf

          Beijing, Nov 2: There can't be any breakthrough in relations with India in the near future. Stating this, President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said, "I would like to see relations between Pakistan and India improve at a faster pace." In an interview with China Daily, Musharraf said that since April there has been some improvement in Pakistani-Indian ties with exchange of ambassadors and the restoration of travel links. "But the peace process as a whole is proceeding quite slowly," the Online News quoted Musharraf as saying. He is here on an official visit. Musharraf arrived in South China's Hainan Province on Saturday to attend the Boao Forum, which opens on Sunday. He will come to Beijing on Monday for a three-day official visit.

Advani asks Pakistan to hand over the 20 most wanted criminals (Go To Top)

          Hyderabad, Nov 2: India on Sunday asked Pakistan to hand over the 20 most wanted criminals for their involvement in terrorist activities. "I would once again urge the Pakistan government to respond to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's appeal. Now that the American government itself has declared Dawood Ibrahim an international terrorist, who has been carrying out terrorist activities not only in India but even in conjunction with the al Qaeda, it is time Pakistan handed over to India the 20 criminals who have been named by the Interpol, by the government of India, as having been guilty of terrorist acts in India and let the law take its course," Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani told reporters after reviewing the passing-out parade of the National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

Salem admits he entered Portugal on fake papers (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Nov 2: Abu Salem, underworld don and the main accused in the 1993 serial Bumbai blasts case, has reportedly confessed that he had entered Portugal on fake documents while he was running away from his Indian mafia adversaries. Salem stated this during the hearing at a Portuguese court trying him on two counts of entering the country with forged documents and obstructing government servants from performing their duty. According to reports reaching here, the underworld don, who is facing an extradition trial in Portugal, told the court that he had to enter the Portuguese territory as he was trying to save himself from the Indian mafia, who had been chasing him ever since he parted ways with them. XXXXXX Salem was part of the gang of recently declared international terrorist by the US, Dawood Ibrahim, till mid 90s' and part of the team that conspired and executed the Bombay blasts in which 257 people were killed and property worth Rs 30 crore was damaged.

VHP protests delay in legislation on cow slaughter (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Nov 2: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday took the BJP-led NDA government to task for "delaying" the legislation for prevention of cow slaughter in the country. "The Government should do their homework and bring in the legislation," VHP supremo Ashok Singhal said at a function here to mark 'Gopashtami'. "It is unfortunate that this government, which we felt would keep Hindutva in mind, could not pass the Bill despite BJP's commitment to prevent cow slaughter in the country," Singhal said.

Curfew clamped in Aligarh after clashes (Go To Top)

          Aligarh, Nov 2: An indefinite curfew has been imposed in three police station areas on Sunday in Aligarh following clashes between two groups. The three police station areas of Delhi Gate, Sashni Gate and Kotwali have been brought under curfew and adequate security personnel deployed there. Locals said a fracas took place over the cremation of two bodies. Tension mounted leading to a clash between the two groups. Babulal Yadav, Inspector-General of Police, ruled out any political connection to the incident. Police used mild baton-charge to disperse both the groups. When it failed, police had to resort to tear gas and rubber bullets. Three shops were set ablaze and two scooters damaged by an angry mob. Police have arrested one person in this connection.

20 killed in Maharashtra bus mishap (Go To Top)

           Pune, Nov 2: At least 20 people were feared killed and several injured when a passenger bus from Gujarat fell into a valley in Maharashtra late on Saturday night, police said on Sunday. A total of 56 passengers were travelling in the bus when the mishap occurred. The injured have been admitted in Wai Hospital, Mission Hospital, Babar Hospital and Satara Civil Hospital. The accident occurred in Pasarni Ghat near Panchgani in Satara district. While going from Mahabaleshwar to Pune, the bus fell into the 200 ft deep valley, the police said.

20 US soldiers killed in Iraq copter attack (Go To Top)

          Baghdad, Nov 2: At least 20 American soldiers were feared killed when a helicopter was shot down in Iraq early on Sunday. However, a military spokesman said only one soldier was killed and 20 injured. The aircraft was one of two twin-rotored Chinook helicopters flying nearly 60 personnel from a US military base to Baghdad International Airport. It is said to have come down near the flashpoint town of Falluja, 50 km west of the capital. Falluja lies within the so-called "Sunni trangle" of central Iraq - a largely Sunni Muslim area where resistance to the US-led coalition's occupation has been intense. The US military spokesman said the helicopter had been fired on with an "unknown weapon", but local Iraqis reported that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile. It is understood the troops on board were going for rest and leave. Sunday also saw an American soldier killed by a bomb blast in Baghdad. The spokesman said the soldier died in hospital after his convoy was attacked in the early hours.

Russian paraglider adjudged best (Go To Top)

          Bir Range (Himachal Pradesh), Nov 2: The pre-world cup paragliding competition has concluded in the mountainous Himachal Pradesh. Bir valley in Kangra district of the Himalayan state has been fast emerging as a paragliding destination over the years. Russian paraglider Shokhov Nikolav came first in the competition, while Indian Addie Kumar finished second.

          In the women's category, the first place was bagged by Anja Karol, a German pilot. The second position was held by a Japanese pilot, Hiroki Ioka. Mallison James, a pilot from Britain, found the event very learning as the conditions were very conducive. "It's very interesting. We had fantastic conditions, very good condition of racing and flying, which is very good fun. Trying to go round the course as fast a possible. I learnt a lot, there are some very good guys here. It's fantastic," he said.

         Around 28 pilots from countries like England, France, Germany, Russia and Spain apart from India participated in the five-day event which concluded on Saturday. Fifteen pilots from India participated in the competition. It featured dare-devil paragliding tasks as out-and-return distance, gain of height and distance over a triangular course.

          A separate set of tasks for hobby-pilots was organised for amateurs to try their skills with professionals. The tournament also held several attractions for tourists who could learn different aerobatics from veteran paragliders in the natural splendour of the Himalayas. Bir valley in the picturesque tourist resort of Manali is only the second place in India to offer paragliding. Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir is the other place for paragliding. But with Gulmarg out of contention due to a 14-year old raging separatist violence, Bir Valley is fast taking over as a dream destination in South Asia for paragliders from all over the the world.

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