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SEPTEMBER 13
Pak shells injure 7, turn Kargil to ghost town again
Kargil, one of the most sensitive towns along the Jammu and Kashmir LoC, has witnessed injuries to seven civilians and extensive damages to property. Again. In a rain of shells from Pakistan, which started Friday evening and continued late into the night. The heavy trans-border firing, in addition, saw massive destruction to the township's winter stock of food grains.
BJP in Uttar Pradesh is a house divided against itself
Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is busy fighting a battle not only with his ever-demanding allies, but has enough stock of problems from within the party. On one front, it is Kalyan Singh versus state BJP chief Raj Nath Singh; on the other it is Kalyan versus his senior-most cabinet colleague, Lalji Tandon, while another minister Kalraj Misra is playing smart by rolling on both sides.
Mulayam, Bardhan warn Vajpayee of dire consequences if Rabri is sacked
The SP chieftain, mounting a scathing attack on the BJP,
said the law and order situation in Bihar was far better than that
in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, all BJP-ruled states, and demanded
that a commission be set up to assess the law and order
situation in these four states.
Laloo too takes strong exception to PM's remark
The RJD leader said the statements of Vajpayee and
other Union ministers smacked of irresponsibility, and said they
should demit their offices immediately.
Flood situation in Bihar grave; toll 311
The Ganga was flowing above the danger level at Kahalgaon and Farakka, while the Burhi Gandak river has crossed the danger mark at Samastipur, Rosera and Khagaria. Adding to the state's woes, the Bagmati was overflowing at Benibad and Hayaghat.
Pakistan will sign CTBT only on recognition as nuclear weapon state
Initiating a special debate on the CTBT at the joint session of the Pakistani
Parliament on Friday evening, its Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz categorically stated that Pakistan
will never agree to the reversal of its nuclear capability. "The
nuclear deterrence established by our demonstrated capability is
vital for our national security and is an assurance of peace in the
region," he said.
Willy has won the battle, not the war
On one side of the new Goa chief minister is the BJP, which changed its earlier stand of participating in the
government, and is already becoming tough with de Souza whom it had always
condemned as a Catholic leader. On the other side is Irrigation
Minister Dayanand Narvekar, Willy's rival in the Congress earlier and who is
now his second-in-command in the cabinet. True to style, Narvekar has already started
planing the next toppling game.
Bookish emigration officer makes life miserable for Kerala's job-seekers
The new emigration officer in Thiruvananthapuram has so far refused to accept photocopies of visas unless they are attested by the Indian embassy at Dubai. He has also
been demanding other documents like work agreement, demand letter and
indemnity bond from the recruitment agents. While the officer claims that his action
is aimed at protecting the recruits, the agents say he
is violating Government of India rules without valid reason.
India's friend heads Russia at its most critical hour
Primakov had kept a low profile till he was suddenly made the country's
foreign minister in 1996, and one of his first task on getting to the
post was a visit to New Delhi. Some time later he issued an
unequivocal statement that Russia, China and India were important
strategic allies and partners. This was a total reversal of Russia's
1990 stand when the then foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev had
dismissed India as just another Third World country.
Bombay beats Singapore and Tokyo in cost of posh living index, is 3rd highest among 17 cities
The 17 cities, in order of expense, were: New York, London, Hong
Kong, San Francisco, Bombay, Singapore, Munich, Madrid, Paris,
Lisbon, Tokyo, Sydney, Milan, Shanghai, Auckland, Warsaw and
Johannesburg, according to a survey compiled by
property management company Frank Knight International.
Younger Norgay would rather talk about life than death
Jamling Tenzing Norgay, whose adventure on Mount Everest is a key part of the IMAX
film Everest,says he chooses not to focus on the deaths on the world's
tallest peak. For over three months now, the documentary film has been drawing full houses
in about 60 movie houses across America, and has grossed over $ 35 million.
Hollywood insiders believe that it could easily gross $ 50 million, making it
an all-time documentary champ.
Liverpool school goes the Muslim way
The school, the first in Britain to be administered by a local authority, is due to open early next year to cater up to 420 pupils aged
between 5 and 11 in the inner city Granby area, where most of the city's Muslim
community lives. It will be open to all faiths, but its timetable will
include regular Islamic assemblies, the teaching of Islamic history, and
religious education with an emphasis on Islam.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Kashmir is as good as gone from the Republic of India
'There aren't great many admirers of Pakistan either in Kashmir, but their number comfortably exceeds that of those who swear by India. A large majority of Kashmir's population perhaps wishes a plague on both the cantankerous neighbouring countries and would prefer to be an independent republic in the manner of other Central Asian entities,' says Ashok Mitra.
PMs sans power
'It is a question worth finding answer to: Have our recent prime ministers, the ones who ruled from 1991-- have they surrendered part of their power to other institutions? Like to the judiciary or the executive, for instance? I would say that most of them have. Yes, in their own way they contributed to creating a new breed of PMs, mostly favouring the executive in the process,' says Rajiv Shukla.
Bye, cycles!
'I tried hard to ride as often as I could with the girl who was later to become my wife. This was risky business as the elders in her family frowned upon our romance. But once or twice a week, the wonderful bike rides did materialise and added zest to my life. The bicycle remained a part of my life till I got married...'
V Gangadhar on his bicycle adventures.
Uttar Pradesh: Vajpayee's praise surprises Kalyan's detractors
SEPTEMBER 12
Set up apex intelligence agency to protect India against missile strikes: service chiefs
Defence sources said the proposal along with the three service
chiefs' recent communication to Vajpayee to immediately establish a National Command Authority to handle a possible nuclear war is part of an elaborate security strategy being planned by the armed forces.
Nuclear powers have to do something more before India is ready to sign CTBT: PM
Vajpayee asserted that the Indian government was upholding the spirit of CTBT through its actions, despite its reservations on signing the treaty.
Cabinet expansion shortly, says PM
Despite his statement, the exercise is unlikely to be undertaken before the prime minister leaves for New York on September 22 to attend the UN General Assembly session, since President K R Narayanan, who is currently on a four-nation tour, will only return to New Delhi around 1900 hours on September 21.
Talks will reconcile India's strategic needs with strong non-proliferation regime: Celeste
"Our policy (on nuclear weapons) requires us to be aggressive and has led to a difficult time," said Celeste, speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the Asia Society's Washington chapter. "Both countries want a better relationship... we have a great, unfulfilled relationship."
Another round of Jaswant-Talbott talks likely
The prime minister's special envoy will make a stop-over in Washington on way to New York where Vajpayee is coming on September 22, to participate in the United Nations General Assembly session.
ULFA rises against Advani's statement
The home minister's announcement that talks
with insurgents on secession will not be entertained
has punctured all possibilities of negotiations with
the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom. For,
the organisation has made it clear that it would never
sit across the table if talks were to be held within the
framework of the Constitution.
Gujarat assembly urges Centre not to allow dams review panel into India
The Gujarat Vidhan Sabha unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre not to permit the World Bank-appointed World Commission on Dams in India due to its ''anti-Third World'' stand, and maintained that exercise was meant
to influence the Supreme Court ruling on the issue in the near
future.
Bihar, Bengal reel under fresh floods
Bihar relief Special Secretary A K Sinha said the
floods have affected more than 12 million people.
He said 7,839 villages in 26 districts bore the wrath
of the weather gods. Property worth over Rs 1 billion
and crops on nearly 275.8 million hectares of land
have been washed away.
Army representation sought in Planning Commission
The Indian army has asked for a berth in the Planning Commission to co-ordinate developmental activities in the states, especially border areas, Chief of Army Staff General Ved Prakash Malik said.
H K Bhasin replaces L C Jain as envoy to SA
Jain was appointed by the I K Gujral government, and soon after the BJP-led coalition government came to power, there were reports that Jain has been asked to resign his post. Incidentally, he has been replaced just a few days after the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Durban earlier this month.
SA has no desire to have Kashmir on NAM agenda, clarifies Mbeki
South African Vice-President Thabo Mbeki said Dr Nelson Mandela was concerned about the situation in Kashmir, but he was not saying the matter must come on the NAM agenda.
NHRC free to probe Punjab mass cremation
Supreme Court thwarts government effort to stymie investigation.
Vajpayee keeps alive guessing game on Rabri Devi's fate
The prime minister remained non-committal on the increasing demands by his party leaders and of the Samata Party, a coalition partner, for the dismissal of the Bihar government.
Vajpayee confident of smooth sailing for his government
Apparently buoyed by the recent lease of fresh life given to him
by the AIADMK's Jayalalitha, the prime minister remarked, ''It
may be the wishful thinking of our opponents that this government should fall, but let me assure you we are here to stay.
Jaffna mayor critically hurt, 19 others killed in explosion
Military sources said Brig Susantha Mendis, who was in charge of military operations in Jaffna, and the city's senior police official Chandra Perera were among those killed. Few other details were immediately available.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Way to go!
'As a matter of fact, we have hardly any time to lose. Ironically, while we have miles to go even in ensuring universal literacy, we have been overtaken by the imperative necessity to be not only IT literate, but proficient in the use of IT to cope with the demand of a future that is already upon us. Supercomputers are an excellent example of the fact that when India is challenged, she rises to the occasion and delivers.' Union Human Resource Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi on India's developmental plans.
Assam: Advani announces Rs 1 billion reimbursement
Maharashtra: Mahajan admits to tensions between Sena and BJP
TODAY'S WEATHER
More rains in Bengal
Heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places
in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, east Madhya Pradesh,
Konkan and Goa during the next 48 hours.
SEPTEMBER 11
No question of blindly signing the CTBT, aver experts
After the fourth round of talks between Strobe Talbott and Jaswant Singh in Washington recently, it was officially announced that the Indo-US dialogue was constructive and progressing well. This indicated that there was going to be a certain amount of give and take between both the parties. However, diplomatic and security experts said that what this trade-off would be had not been made public as yet.
Vajpayee promises Rs 2 billion for UP flood victims
The prime minister, who described the floods as a laghu pralaya , has announced several schemes, and said the country would form a joint strategy with Nepal to build bunds (dikes) on all 'dangerous' trans-border rivers.
Karunanidhi rules out support to Vajpayee government
According to the Tamil Nadu chief minister, while his party, the DMK, has always wanted to maintain cordial relations with the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre for administrative reasons, relations at the political level were different.
Left govt makes truce with IAS officials
The number of IAS men aspiring to move to Delhi has been on the increase ever since the government started booking officials under its anti-corruption drive. To reverse the trend, the government headed by Chief Minister E K Nayanar has been forced to rehabilitate suspended IAS officers.
Joshi takes on Pawar, says 'no' to Vidarbha
The Maharashtra chief minister has strongly opposed the formation of a separate state of Vidharbha. The Shiv Sena would under no circumstance allow the state to be divided, he asserted.
RLM leadership joins issue with Congress leadership
Saying that the Congress should not misconstrue the Morcha's
repeated pleas that it should take the lead in forming an
alternative government as a sign of weakness, the RLM leaders said while they could not pressurise the Congress to ensure ouster of the BJP, they would pursue with their anti-BJP stand.
Row intensifies over World Commission on Dams' visit
Gujarat Major Irrigation Projects Minister Jaynarayan Vyas has charged the World Commission on Dams with 'violating' the assurances given by its chairman last week, that the body visiting India would not "adjudicate" on the Sardar Sarovar Project.
Sharief's airdash to London raises eyebrows
It is believed that during his sudden visit to London, the Pakistan prime minister will enquire about the health of the president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nayahan. However, raising funds to meet country's financial crisis could be one of the main reasons which the prime minister will discuss with the UAE president. Earlier, Abu Dhabi had assured all possible assistance to Pakistan.
Sonia's Congress revitalisation plan is for the long-term
The Congress president's contention has come as no surprise to most partymen who believe that the party must first re-capture its pristine glory if it is to once again become popular among the people.
Nancy Mehta Vs Susan McDougal: whose passion was it anyway?
Five years after the charges of embezzlement and forgery were filed against Bill and Hillary Clinton's friend and former business partner Susan McDougal, a jury in Santa Monica near Los Angeles will decide whether McDougal's "burning passion" for money led her to bilk her employees. McDougal's lawyer too agrees it was a crime of passion but he blames Nancy
Mehta. "The passion here is Nancy Mehta's passion," says Mark Gergos, "Her passion for Susan."
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Jinnah did not want a theocratic state run by mullahs
'Just before his death, he proposed a joint defence pact with India. Had Jinnah's vision prevailed we would have seen a very different South Asia. There would have been two stable nations -- both supplementing and supporting each other. There would have been no crippling defence expenditures. There would have been open borders, free trade and regular visits between the two countries.' Professor Akbar S Ahmed assesses Jinnah on his 50th death anniversary.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Return of the tourists
'Terrorism is becoming indiscriminate in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, it isn't just one particular community that is their target. But robbing and killing for petty cash -- even food! -- isn't designed to win friends. And the harder the authorities crack the whip on militancy, the more those trapped mercenaries put pressure on the locals. They are on a downward spiral and they know it,' says T V R Shenoy.
Tamil Nadu: Inter-community clash breaks out in TN village
Tamil Nadu: Karunanidhi rejects BJP's demand for CBI probe into Coimbatore blasts
Tamil Nadu: PMK urges PM to call coordination committee meet
TODAY'S WEATHER
Rains to continue in Bengal, Bihar
Heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar plateau, east Madhya Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala during the next 48 hours.
SEPTEMBER 10
Vajpayee to call all-party meet over CTBT
While the BJP-led coalition government has virtually
acknowledged the need for signing the CTBT, the party
leadership fears that a hasty decision on the subject could
be politically risky and disastrous. The meeting would,
therefore, prepare the ground for a national consensus
on India signing the controversial treaty.
Centre told to revoke Bezbaruah's transfer
The Supreme Court today virtually forced the Union government to declare that it would revoke the controversial August 13 order transferring M K Bezbaruah and reinstate him as enforcement director.
Bezbaruah case handling riles Vajpayee
The prime minister expressed ''extreme unhappiness'' over the affidavit filed by the government in the Supreme Court in the case, which led the judges to comment that the Centre was trying to mislead the court. Vajpayee has also asked the attorney general to fix responsibility in the matter, sources added.
Centre gets reprieve over CVC ordinance
The Supreme Court declined to make any order on the plea that the recently promulgated ordinance, making the Central Vigilance Commission a ''statutory authority,'' was bad in law. A three-judge bench, however, gave two weeks' time to the Union government to file its response to the challenge.
Congress stand sparked Jaya volte face
Despite the AIADMK supremo's assurance on continued support, the 'BJP strategists seem to favour the DMK as a long-term ally.' In this context, a source foresees 'possible provocative actions' by the BJP in the coming months, forcing the AIADMK to withdraw support.
India will block all attempts to internationalise Kashmir: Brajesh Mishra
The principal secretary to the prime minister was upset over United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's equation of Kashmir with the deadlocked peace process in Cyprus.
Gujral says India should coordinate anti-Taliban measures with other nations
Observing that the Taliban threat had further deepened
tension in the subcontinent, the former prime minister called upon the Centre to work out a ''coordinated response'' with Iran and other Central Asian countries besides Moscow, as an effective measure.
Jagmohan blames Pak for Kashmir trouble
The former Jammu and Kashmir governor has said that
the problem in the troubled state is a result of terrorism ''generated, funded, equipped and trained'' from across the border.
Hazare sentenced to 3-month jail term in defamation case
Eminent social worker Anna Hazare was on Tuesday
sentenced to three-month simple imprisonment in a defamation suit
filed by Maharashtra Minister Babanrao Gholap. Additional
Metropolitan Magistrate C Holambe-Patil offered a release bond which was refused by the social worker, following which he was taken to jail.
Indian tricolour hoisted in Pakistan
The Indian national flag was hoisted on a building in Hyderabad, in Pakistan's Sindh province, on Sunday, when the country was observing its annual defence day.
Gujarat government shuts door on team from World Commission on Dams
Stung by the controversy, WCD Chairman Prof Kader Asmal, in a three-page letter dated September 4, informed the chief minister that he (Prof Asmal) had asked his secretariat to cancel the proposed field visit to the Sardar Sarovar Project area "unless your government extends an official invitation".
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'When the first wave of sound hit me, I screamed out: I hear firecrackers!'
'But before I could hear their reactions, I was stunned to hear my own voice. So I repeated it again and again and again, to hear myself speak. I also realised that I could actually control the volume of what I was saying. So I started saying it in different ways. Slowly, with total control. Faster. Louder. Softer. It was like a game I was playing with myself.' Painter, sculptor, architect Satish Gujral on his emergence from the world of silence.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Where Hope Resides
For 25-year-old Mariappan, it was a dream come true. He had cleared the interview for a mason's job in Saudi Arabia and would be flying out in a couple of months. All he needed now was to go through that mandatory medical examination, and he could leave Madras for at least two years. Then suddenly everything went wrong. Instead of boarding a flight to that promised land, Mariappan was on his way to a leprosy centre run by the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.
Man for all reasons
Those who know N Vittal, the new chief vigilance commissioner, say that in many respects, he is most unlike the run-of-the-mill bureaucrat. That he would rather quit than succumb to a minister's whim. The example cited is when Vittal was secretary in the ministry of communications, with Sukh Ram as minister, during Congress rule. Recalls a government official: Once, in front of the prime minister, Vittal corrected Sukh Ram when the latter tried to favour a particular party. Vittal forcefully intervened to point out that Sukh Ram was wrong, making the minister extremely furious. Vittal was immediately transferred, but he stuck to his guns.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
What if Delhi is nuked?
'The military is preparing a nuclear blueprint to ensure a second-strike capability even if India's top leadership is destroyed, by passing on command to the second-rung brass who will then retaliate. While that will ensure revenge, the question is what happens to the country? Who will govern? Will it be the military (and who among them -- what if they breakout into a fight)? In fact, there will be a scramble for power precisely at the time when the country needs calm and great leadership to ensure stability during what will easily be its worst hour,' says Amberish K Diwanji
Maharashtra: Main accused in Gulshan Kumar murder held
Tamil Nadu: Order CBI probe into Coimbatore blasts or face dismissal , BJP state unit tells CM
West Bengal: Flood situation grim despite waters receding; toll 149
TODAY'S WEATHER
More rains in Bengal, Orissa
Heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Gangetic West
Bengal, Orissa, Bihar plateau, east Madhya Pradesh, Konkan, Goa, coastal Andhra Pradesh, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep during the next 48 hours.
SEPTEMBER 9
Jaya pulls back, but BJP rallies forth
Observers feel that the Tamil Nadu rallies are of immense political significance because the BJP has now emerged as the prime mover in the state's political realignment. The BJP leadership anticipates that the MDMK rally would possibly split the AIADMK front and the MDMK, along with the PMK and Chief Minister K Karunanidhi's DMK will come together to form a new front in Tamil Nadu.
Annan incurs BJP's wrath over Kashmir
The BJP objected to the United Nations secretary-general's statement linking Kashmir to the Cyprus deadlock, the Sudan civil war, the stalled West Asia peace process, the Kosovo ethnic violence and the continuing unrest in Congo.
Supreme Court ire forces govt to seek adjournment in Bezbaruah case
The adjournment was sought by Solicitor General Santosh Hegde as
he wanted to take instructions from the government to reply to
the charge that the enforcement director's transfer was 'politically motivated.'
Supreme Court won't review 1993 verdict in view of Presidential reference
The nine questions raised in the Presidential reference should
be dealt with in the light of the 1993 judgment which gave primacy to the chief justice's recommendations in the appointment and transfer of high judiciary, a nine-member bench ruled.
Wilfred de Souza wins trust vote
23 votes for, 14 against. One legislator each, from both sides of the 40-member Goa assembly, stayed away.
Congress take Left support for granted: CPI
Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja said the Congress should be willing to undergo a transformation in its ideology and approach to economic policies. However, no such introspection was evident at the recently concluded Congress meet at Pachmarhi. Now, he said, the Left parties would deliberate and evolve a common approach towards the formation of a secular democratic government at the Centre.
Pachmarhi strengthens Sonia's hands
Several senior Congress leaders feel that the party president has now emerged much stronger.
Pawar blames BJP's policies for India's isolation
The former defence minister said the failure of the Vajpayee government on the foreign policy front became apparent when India's well-wishers like South African President Nelson Mandela chose to refer to the Kashmir issue in his inaugural address at the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Durban.
VHP takes up Vaishnodevi controversy
VHP working president Ashok Singhal came down heavily on the Jammu and Kashmir government's move to constitute a new committee to manage the affairs of the Vaishnodevi shrine, replacing the old Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board formed in 1986 by then state governor Jagmohan. The move smacked of a ''conspiracy'' to usurp Rs 1 billion that had been collected by the board as offerings, he alleged.
'It looks likes a graveyard at night...'
Large parts of the city are still without electricity and other facilities after flood waters broke through embankments and inundated several localities.
Tale of unwed mothers spurs Kerala women against faithless men
Janu died at 35. As an unwed mother. And a streetwalker. Little knowing that she may, in her death, achieve what she had not been able to in life: Justice.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'If judicial independence and impartiality collapses for some reason or the other, then the whole edifice of justice will start wobbling'
'We must all remember one thing, that when the impeachment process was introduced, we had taken it from the American system. Everybody knew when the Constitution was formed that the impeachment process is a cumbersome one. It is not an easy-run process. Therefore, when it was known that it is a cumbersome process, it was deliberately kept to ensure judicial independence. That is what is important and paramount.' Former chief justice of India, A M Ahmadi, talks about what ails the judicial system, and what will cure it.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Something Beautiful for God
Jewella C Miranda's photoessay on the Missionaries of Charity.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Sonia makes just the right moves
'Sonia accomplished two things in Pachmarhi. One, she let the Opposition know she is in no hurry to replace Vajpayee, that she is not overkeen on playing footsie with a bunch of untrustworthy cads, that any future electoral pact will be on terms that will benefit the Congress and not them. Two, she has let those entertaining ambitions know that she is the undisputed leader,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Sticks And Stones Are OK; Words Are Not
'Mandela reacted as any human being might react: with sorrow and concern for the way Pakistan and India are spilling blood. At another level, he must be worried sick because of our recent nuclear misadventures. He knows: if we are tempted into plastering each other with nuclear bombs, there is going to be a price to pay around the world as well. And it won't be either India or Pakistan paying it,' says Dilip D'Souza.
Assam: AASAA demands non-Bodo representation in tripartite talks
Madhya Pradesh: Motilal Vora rules out tie-ups for assembly poll
Maharashtra: Pawar all for Vidarbha
Bihar minister to taste life behind bars
Ramlakhan Mahto, minister of state for food and supply, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment by a district and sessions court on charges of assault.
TODAY'S WEATHER
Wet spell continues in Bengal, Orissa, Kerala
Heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar plateau, east Madhya Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala during the next 48 hours.
SEPTEMBER 8
The day after
In the current political and military framework, there is no
institutionalised structure for handling a nuclear crisis. If India's
political leadership in New Delhi happens to be a victim of a nuclear strike, there would then be no political or military authority in place to assume command of the situation in the country. "Setting up the top security apparatus also involves huge budgetary allocation. The government therefore plans to study how a nuclear command
authority operates in other nuclear countries," an official associated with the nuclear programme told Rediff On The Net.
Goa confidence vote on Tuesday
Way paved for Chief Minister Dr Wilfred de Souza to win the confidence vote on Tuesday.
SP, BJP flay Congress's Pachmarhi declaration
While Mulayam Singh Yadav said the Congress seemed
more worried about regaining its status in Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar, the BJP's K L Sharma said the party's special session
neither demonstrated its cohesion nor pinned
down the central government on any issue.
Tigers cast shadow over MDMK's Madras rally
Real trouble started when Sangoli, the MDMK's
newspaper, published a long list of slogans which
alone should be shouted at the rally to commemorate
the 90th birth anniversary of the party's patron-saint,
the late C N Annadurai, which contained positive
references to the LTTE. Quick to any meddling by
the Tigers on Indian soil, the Intelligence Bureau
got into the act, and the MDMK overnight
issued another long list of slogans for the rally,
excluding all references to the LTTE.
Siachen defence needs to be met immediately
A high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister George Fernandes
also cleared a large number of other proposals for improving the
working conditions of troops deployed at the inhospitable Siachen
glacier.
Arif Mohammad Khan, Jain brothers discharged in hawala case
Special judge V B Gupta in his 33-page order said that there was
no evidence against them.
Clinton's visit in November unlikely
The sources cited two reasons for this: not much time is left to make preparations, and the ongoing problems in Pakistan due to the civil war in Afghanistan.
Incest accused may face deportation despite judge's efforts
The girl would be forced to leave because the entire family would return to India if her brother is expelled, Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said. He has had no assurances from Immigration and Naturalisation Service officials that they won't deport the youth if he pleads to a misdemeanour to avoid a felony charge.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
'We have never forced people to convert'
'Even I was a Hindu. Nobody made me a Christian. If anybody had told me to become a Christian, I would never have become one. It was the grace of God that touched my heart and I became a Christian. This conversion is only his responsibility. Nobody can make somebody -- be somebody.' Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor, in her most elaborate interview yet.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Faces of Terror
'It so happens that at the moment, American interest in counter-terrorism coincides with India's. Therefore, a rather diffident two cheers for America's war du jour on terrorism! With the full knowledge that Yank policy has in the past nurtured those very terrorists, and will quite likely do so in the future too: after all, they have their eye on Central Asia's oil and gas, hence their support of both Pakistan's ISI and the Taliban,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Kerala: Professor Chandi passes away
Madhya Pradesh: Sonia launches Congress campaign
Pondicherry: BJP to campaign against statehood
Tamil Nadu: Army C-o-S rebuts DGP's claim on ISI hand in Coimbatore blasts
Tamil Nadu: Jaya accuses media of negative projection
TODAY'S WEATHER
Rain in Bengal, Orissa
Heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar plateau, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala during the next 48 hours.
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