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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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August 8 Terrorists strike again in Kupwara Colonel Balbir Singh, commanding officer of 4 Rashtriya Rifles, and two jawans were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine at Kayeegam village. Congress stalwarts jittery, candidate list postponed It is reliably learnt that former finance minister Manmohan Singh will be contesting the 1999 general election, though from where is not yet clear. THE KARGIL CRISIS Kargil shows need for revamping security Had the NSC been a useful and objective institution to recommend policy issues, probably the hyped fanfare and expectations from the prime minister's Lahore bus trip may not have lulled the government into complacency, says Lt Gen Sood (retd) in an interview. Freeze LoC to end border skirmishes, says Abdullah The J&K chief minister said militant activities in his state has not come down and that more than 1300 infiltrators have crept into the region during the last three months. THE BENGAL TRAIN TRAGEDY 2 blasts rock Assam, engine derails No one was injured in the blasts, masterminded by suspected ULFA militants. Ram Naik to handle railways The minister of state for railways has been given independent charge of the ministry following the resignation of Nitish Kumar. ELECTIONS '99 Pakistani intrusion will be foiled: Vajpayee Launching the election campaign of the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine at a rally in Ludhiana, the prime minister virtually ruled out resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, saying, 'how could talks be held in such a vitiated atmosphere?' Sonia promises development for western Orissa Addressing an election rally in Jharsogura, Gandhi came down heavily on the BJP-led government at the Centre, stating that those who could not protect the border had no right to continue in power for a single day. Jaya vows to defeat 'unholy' DMK-BJP front Addressing a mammoth election rally at Marakkadai in Tamil Nadu, she criticised the BJP-led government for its failure to rise up to the expectations of the people. It could not even preserve the country's territorial integrity, she charged. EC freezes chakra symbol In an interim order, the EC today decided to grant ad-hoc recognition to the two factions of the Janata Dal, headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Sharad Yadav, as national political parties. DMK-MDMK differences persist Major differences arose today between the two parties over identifying the seats to be allotted to the latter. Mudragada joins TDP The former Andhra Pradesh minister recently resigned from the BJP. Congress will back left parties: Karunakaran The CWC member said all democratic and secular forces should cooperate with the Congress to ensure the defeat of the BJP whose return to power would endanger the country's security and economic independence. OTHER REPORTS Alert in Bengal as forces scour for Chhota Shakeel The central intelligence agencies are now trying to ascertain if arrested gangster Ashwin Naik had any connections with insurgent outfits of the north-east. 7 militants killed in J&K encounter An army spokesman said today that the militants were killed when they engaged the troops in a gun battle. In Manoharpur, Graham Staines is a distant memory Where it all began six months ago there is little trace of sympathy for the Staines family or concern about Dara Singh, the main accused, still being at large. THE REDIFF SPECIAL 'The Indian Army is a force with first rate men, second rate officers and third rate equipment' 'The Indian Army spends 85 percent of its annual budget on paying and maintaining its force. From time to time, successive chiefs have talked about a lean and mean force. But sadly, the fat and the flab remain,' says Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd). THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS Below 150, Sonia finis. Below 200, Vajpayee falls again In case the charms of Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka do not work, and the Congress tally falls significantly below 150, the worst-affected will be the BJP. A weakened Congress will be instantly more attractive to the converts from secularism now within the BJP fold,' says Monu Nalapat. Face the facts 'The ball is in the Kashmiri leaders' court. Some of them are unnecessarily trying to touch Srinagar, Delhi and Islamabad at the same time. The leaders, particularly the younger lot, have to face the realities,' feels Kuldip Nayar. Uneasy lies the head 'Both President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee are cordiality personified whenever they meet. But the damage has been done. And not entirely by them.' Capital Buzz, political gossip from the Delhi Durbar. 
Kerala: Travel agents threaten to boycott Air-India August 7 Militants attack army camp, kill 7 soldiers A group of 40 militants attacked a Rashtriya Rifles camp in Kupwara district of Kashmir early on Friday with automatic weapons and grenades. Among those killed were a major and two junior commissioned officers. Pak official expelled for spying Mohammad Safdar, the expelled member of the high commission staff, has been given till August 12 to leave the country. India may not meet CTBT deadline New Delhi is in no position to discontinue its missile weaponisation programme, the Washington-based Institute for International Economic Relations said in its latest report. Panel blames Dara Singh for Staines murder The Wadhwa Commission has given a clean chit to Hindu organisations in the murder of Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons. BJP, Congress scramble to make capital of report "All this while, the report was ready, but the BJP government did not release it. Now, after the Lok Sabha has been dissolved, the government is releasing the report. The timing is suspect," said Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal. THE KARGIL CRISIS Major advances in defence systems soon Two types of missiles, electronic warfare systems and unmanned aerial vehicles will reach production stage this year, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam announced. Develop technology for mountain warfare: PM Vajpayee was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day meeting of DRDO directors, which aims to come up with a technology profile for the year 2010. THE BENGAL TRAIN TRAGEDY Nitish Kumar is finally relieved The President the resignation on the advice of the prime minister. Train mishap averted in Andhra Pradesh The driver of a Nalgonda-bound goods train was quick to notice some of the wagons getting uncoupled. ELECTIONS '99 Amethi is Sonia's, make no mistake! A study by government sleuths in the VVIP constituency found that the Congress chief would defeat the BJP's candidate, "no matter who it is". EC wants control over deployment of central forces The commission has also decided to use for the first time the services of the National Cadet Corps at polling booths to ensure smooth voting. Fernandes's mission sparks rumours The defence minister "did not appear quite cheerful when he emerged from the meeting with Naidu. Apparently, he failed in his mission, whatever it was," a TDP politician said. EC gives Farooq a bloody nose The Jammu and Kashmir administration has been told in no uncertain terms to change all the three returning officers it had decided on. TRC wants more than one seat in TN In a statement issued in Delhi, the party chief, Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, said the TRC would contest the polls only if it was given more than one seat. BJP, Lok Shakti to begin talks on seats soon Ramakrishna Hegde said if BJP politicians showed understanding and were a little more accommodative, a coalition set-up similar to the ones in West Bengal and Kerala was possible in Karnataka too. Deve Gowda to share seats with BSP, CPI-M Parrying a question on the total number of seats his party will contest in the Lok Sabha election, Deve Gowda said the list of candidates would be announced before August 15. Now, Pawar's ally too loses its symbol The Election Commission has awarded the RPI's 'rising sun' symbol to the R S Gavai faction. Record 444 persons barred from contesting Nalgonda polls Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh has the dubious distinction of debarring a record number of persons from contesting the upcoming election. THE REDIFF DIARY Gandhi vs Gandhi Times have truly changed for the Congress. And it's best visible in the rarefied zone the leaders move in, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf. THE REDIFF ELECTION SPECIAL Revenge of The Shroud 'But we didn't vomit. Yet. That happened when historian and Shivaji-specialist Babasaheb Purandare -- at whose very knees we learnt about Shiv-shahi -- presented The Shroud a sword as a Marathyaanche Prateek: a symbol of Maratha loyalty. Is NOTHING sacred?' says Varsha Bhosle. OTHER REPORTS Pokhran scientists bag first DRDO awards Teams of five members each from the Department of Atomic Energy and the DRDO shared the award of Rs 1 million for path-breaking research for the 'Shakti' programme. Russia concerned that Pak may sell nukes to Arab friends The apprehension emanates from the recent visit of a Saudi defence delegation to the highly sensitive nuclear installation at Kahuta in north-west Pakistan, restricted even to erstwhile Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Radio Moscow said. Kalpnath Rai dies at 58 The senior Congress politician suffered a massive heart attack on Thursday night. Gangster Ashwin Naik taken to Delhi Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) D Sivanandan told reporters in Bombay that the Crime Branch had rushed two teams of senior officers to Delhi and Calcutta to co-ordinate investigations. THE REDIFF SPECIAL Suddenly many Hindus saw Muslims as foreign aggressors 'The Babri Masjid destruction was the last straw. That one act divided the communities on a permanent basis. Hindus did not feel safe in Muslim areas, and the Muslims opted to live with their own people.' V Gangadhar concludes his three-part series on the Ahmedabad riots. THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS The more things change... 'It is like there are two parallel systems operating in India, one for the haves, the other for the have-nots. In between is the large section of the wannabes, whose heart beats for the ranks they have left behind and who will not get admittance into the rarefied ranks they covet if they pause to think,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy. Battle Symbolic 'What we are witnessing in Karnataka today is not a battle for a symbol. It is a symbolic battle -- the Janata Dal is a symbol, and a warning, of what happens to smaller groups as the two giants come to centrestage,' says T V R Shenoy. THE WEATHER Monsoon rages in the Konkan, Goa Heavy rains are also likely at isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar plateau, coastal Karnataka and Kerala in the next 48 hours. August 6 THE BENGAL TRAIN TRAGEDY Stone-age technology led to Gaisal Even Bangladesh has now begun to use the Global Positioning System that uses satellites to track its train movements, but not India. Retired SC judge to probe mishap The government has also suspended five senior railway officials. Rescue work at mishap site completed An official said the bodies have been moved to the North Bengal Medical College Hospital in Siliguri and the New Jalpaiguri railway hospital. 'If I can't find my Raju I don't know how to face my wife' Desperation and despair run into impassable bureaucratic apathy at Gaisal. Jyoti Basu orders mass cremation of bodies The chief minister said the decomposing bodies are posing a serious health hazard for the local people. THE KARGIL CRISIS Srinagar-Kargil highway not yet safe The stretch from Zojila to Kargil is still within the range of Pakistani artillery and drivers returning from Kargil say the army's claims of the road being safe are all false. THE REDIFF INTERVIEW 'I hold Narasimha Rao responsible for allowing Kashmir to slip out of India's hand' 'Gen Sundarji said to change the Brasstacks configuration quickly, to south to north, and the forces were pulled back to Bikaner. Then all the MPs were brought to the desert. All military attaches were brought. But I think it was a war, and the PM was not informed.' The concluding part of the interview with Lt General (retd) P N Hoon. THE KARGIL CRISIS:The entire coverage ELECTIONS '99 Govt survey gives BJP, allies the edge The survey covered Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. NCP loses fight for charkha symbol The Election Commission said the INC-Socialist, after its merger with the NCP, had extinguished its identity and "the name and symbol has now got merged into the identity of the NCP and, therefore, the new formation cannot claim the symbol". Pakistan took advantage of BJP's incompetence: Sonia "Indians have never supported traitors. History has proved this time and again," said the Congress president as she launched the party's election campaign at Bhor, 100km from Baramati, Sharad Pawar's hometown. Congress alone can uphold democracy: Dilip Kumar Asked what prompted him to return so actively to the Congress fold, he confessed, "Yes, I had completely dissociated myself from politics for seven years, but then certain happenings made me indignant and I decided to do something." DMK-MDMK deal soon: Karunanidhi Asked if he had got any response from the MDMK, the Tamil Nadu CM said, "So far no. But we are expecting it soon." MDMK ready to contest all TN seats The stalemate in the party regarding a seat-sharing agreement with the ruling DMK persisted with both parties in no mood to soften their stands. DMK to contest six Bombay seats The AIADMK will field candidates for five Lok Sabha and 14 assembly seats in Karnataka. Sena names Manohar Joshi for Lok Sabha poll Former MPs Madhukar Sarpotdar, Mohan Rawle and Suresh Prabhu figure again in the party's list of 22 candidates for Parliament. Women hold the key in Maharashtra Women voters outnumber men in five Lok Sabha and 48 Assembly constituencies. BJP asks BJD to surrender seats "The BJD is weak in at least five seats and is not politically active," the BJP's state unit said. Milk is the flavour of UP elections Thousands of consumers in the state had to face an acute milk shortage for more than three days owing to a strike by private vendors. Congress may tie up with SSP in Sikkim The ensuing election will be an acid test for chief minister and SDF president Pawan Chamling and his arch-rival, former chief minister and SSP chief Nar Bahadur Bhandari. OTHER REPORTS Kapur threatens to withdraw Elizabeth "I would rather the film is seen by the Indian people as I had intended it to be seen anywhere else, or not at all," he said. Reject Joshi's move, Christians urge CMs The Union human resource development minister had 'rejected' Vajpayee's suggestion on the 'Year of Christ' celebrations. Delhi HC censures police for VIP motorcades A furious division bench observed, "What is the problem if the prime minister travels like a common man? If there is a security threat to VIPs, take them by helicopter. But don't disturb the common citizens." THE REDIFF SPECIAL 'We try to rebuild mutual faith and then another riot starts destroying our work' 'The people no longer have any confidence in the government, any government. To them, the best way to avoid trouble is to move to safer areas and live with members of their own community.' The second of V Gangadhar's three-part series on the Ahmedabad riots. THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS Great Indian Internalised Myths 'When you claim to protect Hindus, you can negotiate enormous contracts that make Hindus and everyone else pay a higher price than necessary for power. You can adroitly evade any questions too. That's what all this "protection" really amounts to,' says Dilip D'Souza. The Silent Sentinel 'Once Pakistan floated the Kargil balloon it was jointly decided by the three services that the maritime fleet be poised off the West Coast to act as a strategic counterweight to any Pakistani naval misadventure on the 1965 pattern,' says General Ashok K Mehta. August 5 THE BENGAL TRAIN TRAGEDY 200 bodies still trapped in the mangled heap The authorities said they are likely to recover all the trapped bodies by midnight. The work of clearing the debris will begin immediately thereafter. Probe into rail mishap begins "It is an unusual and terrible situation. We are getting conflicting reports. But we are here to collect prima facie evidence," said Chief Railway Safety Commissioner N Mani, who is investigating the accident. 'Single human error won't cause mishap' "Our safety system is so designed that for any major accident to occur, the error has to be that of at least two humans," an executive director of the Indian Railways told rediff.com Survivors recount harrowing tales "Though we managed to squeeze our way out through an opening, we were greeted by only rain and darkness amid shrieks and wails all around. The first medical aid and recovery van came only around 0700 hours, five hours after the accident," said Maina Singh, who suffered injuries on his chest and temple. Seat swap saves passenger's life Anil Kumar is alive today because he was gracious enough to concede a fellow passenger's request to swap his seat. AWS could have prevented Gaisal tragedy Experts on railway signalling and traffic management at Hyderabad said a Rs 500 million pilot project was sanctioned for the introduction of radio-band automatic warning system between New Delhi and Mathura only this year. Human error remains bane of Indian Railways Sixty per cent of all rail accidents are caused by human error, says a study. But punishment is rare. On an average, 1.2 persons are punished per accident. THE KARGIL CRISIS 'The Pakis were supposed to be 1km away from the LoC. They haven't implemented it' 'Let me tell you it is no victory at all. Someone crossed into your territory and your troops are not allowed to cross over. Then, we have given them safe passage!' says Lt Gen (retd) P N Hoon. THE KARGIL CRISIS:The entire coverage ELECTIONS '99 DMK allots BJP 6 seats in Tamil Nadu But the stalemate over distributing seats to the Marumalarchi DMK continued, with Chief Minister Karunanidhi unwilling to part with more than five seats. Shatrughan Sinha to campaign for Khurana The film actor and Rajya Sabha member denied that he had any differences with the BJP leadership. "I was in the BJP, I am in the BJP and I will remain in the BJP," he said. BJP has 4 new candidates for Maharashtra poll Bombay unit president Kirit Somaiya announced the first list of 53 candidates. Wilfred D'Souza's party merges with NCP in Goa The NCP will contest both the Lok Sabha seats from Goa and field candidates from the erstwhile GRC. AIR, DD to host views from top parties The six national and 48 state parties recognised by the Election Commission will be given time on the state-owned electronic media. Three women among BJP nominees in MP The party has introduced seven new faces, re-nominated all Union ministers and replaced four members of the dissolved House in its first list of 27 candidates for Madhya Pradesh. RPI-Athawale ties up with Pawar Congress But the CPI has announced its decision to part ways following differences over seat distribution. Chautala's party will be part of NDA The Haryana CM said the main issue during the election would be that only an India-born person should become prime minister. The Kargil conflict had amply proved that only a person born in the country inherited nationalism, he said. Congress names 9 spokespersons for elections They are Kapil Sibal, Margaret Alva, Najma Heptullah, M Hanumanthappa, Eduardo Faleiro, Anand Sharma, Sibte Razi, Ashwini Kumar and Ambika Soni. OTHER REPORTS 2 IAF pilots on rescue mission killed The pilots, trying to rescue a trapped German tourist in Himachal Pradesh, were killed when their helicopter crashed in bad weather. NCM urges Gujarat to restore communal amity before LS poll NCM Chairman Tahir Mahmood said the ugly communal designs behind the latest holocaust in Ahmedabad were all too naked to be probed. Jaya Jaitley charged with trespass A city court has issued summons to Samata Party leaders Jaya Jaitley, Balraj Kumar and Anil Hegde for allegedly making a forced entry into Priyanka Vadra's residence in February 1997. ULFA's armed and political wings cross swords Differences came to the fore at the general council meeting of the banned outfit in March this year in Bhutan, according to Amulya Baruah, a self-styled 'sergeant major' who was nabbed by police a few days ago. Shekhar Kapur blasts Asha Parekh He described as unfortunate a remark by the censor board chief that he had raised the controversy over Elizabeth only for publicity. France to host mammoth exhibition in Delhi French Premier Lionel Jospin is likely to visit India in early December to inaugurate a major exercise to improve his country's poor image in India. Yeltsin coming at the year-end The sixth joint session of the Indo-Russian Economic, Trade, Scientific and Cultural Commission will precede the proposed Delhi summit. West fearful of Saudi-Pak nuke axis There is concern that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, might have agreed to finance the Pakistani effort and might try to buy missiles and nuclear know-how for itself. Pak Christians face doomsday scenario With the nationalisation of Christian institutions in 1972, the largest minority in Pakistan stands condemned to menial jobs like sweeping, bootlegging or working as labourers for survival, a BBC report said. THE REDIFF SPECIAL 'Perhaps I would be safer in a Muslim locality' The division of Ahmedabad into Hindu and Muslim sections has begun. In a three-part series, V Gangadhar reports on the phenomenon. THE REDIFF COLUMNIST Biting the hand that feeds 'In fact, all who plead for autonomy to Kashmir forget that Jammu & Kashmir has all along been the most autonomous Indian state ever since the princely domain legally acceded to free India in October 1947,' says Arvind Lavakare. THE WEATHER West Bengal in for heavy showers Heavy rains are also likely at isolated places in Orissa and east Madhya Pradesh during the next 48 hours. August 4 THE BENGAL TRAIN TRAGEDY Human error blamed for Gaisal collision The toll may even cross 1,000, as all the seven general compartments involved in the crash were crowded way beyond capacity. Moreover, there were many ticketless travellers who will not be included in the official count. Nitish Kumar quits The railway minister said the accident was supposedly caused by human failure and he had to take moral responsibility for such a situation. Was it sabotage? Officials of the North-East Frontier Railway suspect sabotage behind the head-on collision between the Avadh-Assam Express and the Brahmaputra Mail. Toll crosses 400 While 250 bodies could be extricated from two of the coaches, the rescue operators failed to enter four other coaches because cranes and gas cutters were not available. Only 22 bodies identified More than 100 passengers might be trapped inside four coaches, piled atop one another due to the impact of the collision, the North Dinajpur district magistrate said. Railway safety panel set up As for the railway minister's desire to step down, Vajpayee said he had advised him not to take any hasty step. THE KARGIL CRISIS Dixit, Vohra to gauge mood in the West The former foreign and home secretaries are scheduled to meet US Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, besides other officials. THE KARGIL CRISIS:The entire coverage ELECTIONS '99 EC changes the schedule The new dates are Sep 5, 11, 18, 25 and Oct 3. The changes were made because the dates announced earlier were clashing with some festivals and also posing administrative and logistical problems. Sonia will contest for the Lok Sabha The Congress president said she is not worried about the 'foreigner' issue. "Whether they raise it or not does not worry me. The people will decide. They [the BJP] don't know what stuff I am made of," she said. Khurana, Verma get tickets, but not Swaraj The BJP has renominated 79 MPs and dropped eight in its first list of 139 Lok Sabha candidates. Prominent among those in the list are Vajpayee, Advani, M M Joshi, Ananth Kumar, Jagmohan, Uma Bharati and Ram Naik. Congress assiduously wooing Muslims Apart from giving more teeth to the National Minorities Commission, the party's manifesto, which is being prepared, will propose an economic package for the minorities that emphasises the National Minorities Development Corporation. Congress prepares candidate list for 5 states The party's central election committee has finalised the names of almost all its candidates in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Union territory of Chandigarh. Karnataka BJP tones down opposition to Patel State unit chief B S Yediyurappa said the BJP would even campaign for Patel provided he contested the election as a Lok Shakti candidate and not of a faction of the Janata Dal. EC calls for written submissions from JD factions on symbol After hearing oral submissions from both sides for about two hours this morning, the full commission comprising Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill and election commissioners G V G Krishnamurthy and J M Lyngdoh adjourned the matter to 1000 IST on Friday. Beginning of the end for Sena, says Kunte "Today, Thackeray feels humiliated and it is worse than capital punishment for him. He is being denied a right which every Indian has in this country," the veteran Congressman remarked. Karunakaran seeks choice seats for himself, son But a section of the state Congress feels that fielding Muralidharan from Kozhikode will be a blatant violation of the party's norm that denies a seat to a candidate who has lost two consecutive elections. OTHER REPORTS 19 killed in UP bus mishap The bus was carrying about 50 passengers, mostly pilgrims from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. 15 killed in Bihar boat tragedy Most of the victims were farm labourers crossing the river to harvest crops. Some 40 people were on board when the boat capsized. Smoking ban leaves Kerala treasury gasping Similar public-interest petitions being filed by anti-smoking activists in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are all set to adversely affect the huge excise revenues that the central government earns from the tobacco industry. Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav charged with Jessica Lal's murder The main accused, Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, has been charged under sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 212 (harbouring suspects) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. SC recalls verdict against Satish Sharma Stating that no case was made out against the former petroleum minister, the three-judge bench recalled its earlier orders imposing a fine of Rs 5 million and directing a CBI probe into the allotment of petrol pumps and LPG dealerships from his discretionary quota. Anna Hazare on week-long maun vrat The social reformer has warned of another indefinite fast from August 9, Quit India Day, if the government delays suspension of the officials involved in the Rs 326.6 million drought scandal. Bhatia withdraws case against Bongirwar The judges said the high court was not the proper forum for redressal of Bhatia's grievances and he should have first gone to the police and then to a magistrate before moving the court. THE REDIFF SPECIAL 'Perhaps I would be safer in a Muslim locality' The division of Ahmedabad into 'Hindu Ahmedabad' and 'Muslim Ahmedabad' has begun. V Gangadhar reports from the riot-affected city. THE REDIFF COLUMNS Sonia's toughest hour 'It will be very surprising if the Congress, with all its allies, crosses the magic figure in the forthcoming election. It will be even more surprising if any among the BJP's burgeoning rank of allies is tempted to do another Jayalalitha on Vajpayee,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy. The State as Bully 'The censors actually believe, in their moronic arrogance, that they can decide on our behalf what we ought to see and in what form. That is what this battle is all about. Not nudity or sex,' says Pritish Nandy. THE REDIFF DIARY Cosmopolitan, multiple orgasms and a baby 'I spend my mornings singing nursery rhymes about some jerk called Simple Simon, and cajoling a two-foot midget to eat a mashed banana... After 31 years, and many multiple orgasms, I am discovering the joys of being a woman.'
Bengal: Cabinet approves renaming of state, Calcutta Bihar: Bedlam in assembly, member suspended THE WEATHER Orissa witnesses heavy showers Heavy rains are also likely at isolated places in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, the Bihar plateau and Kerala during the next 48 hours. August 3 Bengal rail disaster toll may go up to 500 The accident occurred when the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail and the Guwahati-bound Awadh-Assam Express collided head-on. Most of those killed on the Mail were army and paramilitary personnel. Officials rule out terrorist attack They pointed out that some explosives carried by paramilitary personnel might have gone off because of the impact of the collision. Government, EC head for clash on telecom policy The commission expressed the hope that all aspects of the controversial telecom policy would be taken into account by the Delhi high court. Flood situation in Bihar worsens Relief control cell sources said over 4.2 million people have been affected in the current wave of floods. THE KARGIL CRISIS Pak studying US formula on Kashmir According to the Urdu daily Jang, the Americans have proposed to India and Pakistan to allow greater autonomy to the Kashmiri territory they control and open the Line of Control to the people living on either side. 'Vajpayee kept mum on Kargil to enhance reputation' Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged that the BJP had surrendered to foreign powers on the economic front also. THE REDIFF SPECIAL The Invisible Heroes 'Each and every photograph is scanned for minute traces that can reveal enemy presence. It is worse than looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, even though the photographs are enlarged.' Amberish K Diwanji gets a close-up of the IAF's Photo Interpretation Cell. THE KARGIL CRISIS:The entire coverage ELECTIONS '99 Church, Muslims demand poll tickets in Kerala The Catholics and the decisive Muslim community have demanded that the Congress-led UDF should allocate a fixed number of seats as minority leaders are "inadequately represented" in the state's 20 parliamentary constituencies. Vajpayee to contest from Lucknow again The BJP's first list of candidates will be released on Tuesday. Ayodhya, Kashmir not forgotten: Mahajan If soldiers from all states can make the supreme sacrifice in the Kargil sector, every Indian citizen has the right to reside in that state, the I&B minister said. BJP gears up for an encore in Vananchal According to sources, the candidature of the sitting representatives in 11 constituencies of south Bihar has almost been cleared while for the remaining three, the party is likely to field new faces. Balayogi favours quotas for dalit Christians The former Lok Sabha speaker also urged the people to elect a stable government at the Centre to ensure the passage of constitutional amendment bills. Another Karnataka minister quits D Nagarajaiah, the sixth minister to quit after the split in the Janata Dal, said he was disgusted with the latest political developments. SS-BJP will romp home: Thackeray The Shiv Sena chief denied that he had ever tried to woo the minorities and dalits during elections. Those Muslims who are with us will always be with us, he claimed. DMK strikes deal on seats with allies The Pattali Makkal Katchi will contest seven Lok Sabha seats while the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress will contest two. OTHER REPORTS Nirad C Chaudhuri dies at 101 The litterateur had suffered a stroke on July 12. He was recovering for a while, but his condition deteriorated further last Tuesday. Mia Farrow to help deprived Indian kids The Hollywood actress scoffed at suggestions that she might see herself as a latter-day Mother Teresa. "Make no mistake, it is not charity. I am getting more out of it than I put in," she said. Dave sworn in as Arunachal governor Guwahati high court Chief Justice Brijesh Kumar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the former RAW chief. China tests new long-range missile According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the Dong Feng-31 has a range of 8,000km and is capable of carrying a single nuclear warhead of 700 kg. THE REDIFF COLUMNS Dan Burton for ex-Congressman in 2000 'A little muscle goes a long way; it's time for Indian-Americans to assert their collective political clout,' exhorts Rajeev Srinivasan. Communication gaps 'Thank god a gentleman can't become PM of contemporary India. I'll take the barbaric any day! If pinko-wishes could kill, Atalji would be in smithereens - the hate is so palpable,' says Varsha Bhosle. THE REDIFF DIARY Negotiating with Bill Gates 'When Vajpayee hires precisely the same kind of people that Rajiv did for the BJP's election campaign, he's immediately seen as being savvy, shrewd and very professional.' THE WEATHER Rains lash parts of the North-East The Southwest monsoon was active in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Archives |
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