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Blasts rock RS Pura sector in Jammu
Jammu, Apr 18 (ANI): Twenty explosions were triggered along with
the intnernational border in RS Pura sector in Jammu division
early on Thursday, BSP sources said. There was no casualty, but
three pickets which were being built to fence the boundary were
damaged.
A group of three Pakistani intruders were seen moving in a
suspicious manner at about 4 a.m. near Pittar post area where
construction of the pickets was going on. The troops opened fire,
forcing the intruders to retreat towards the Pakistani side but
the latter succeeded in planting some explosives near the
pickets.
The explosives went off one after another till 8 a.m., the BSP
said.(ANI)
Sonia's anti-PM remark brings BJP youth activists out in streets
Go to
top New Delhi, Apr 18 (ANI): Hundreds of members of the Bharatiya
Janata Party's youth wing took to the streets here on Thursday to
protest against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's remarks against
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
The remarks were derogatory, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
(BJYM) activists said.
Last week Sonia Gandhi had told reporters at a conclave of the
party's chief ministers in Guwahati that Vajpayee's statement
that Congress wanted to force a mid-term election in Gujarat
showed that he lost his "mental balance".
Adding fuel to the fire, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad
on Monday accused Vajpayee of being unable to control riots in
the western state and demanded his arrest under the new anti-
terrorism law, POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act).
The demonstrations held placards and shouted slogans against
Sonia Gandhi, demanding an apology from her.
"They said Vajpayee should be arrested under POTA. All those who
have political rivalry against him also honour him, opponents
shower praise on him. With the use of such words against Prime
Minister, we think it's a challenge thrown by Congress President
Sonia Gandhi and senior leader Ghulam Nabi on BJP.
"We have accepted the challenge and we have decided to reply by
coming to the streets," said BJYM chief, Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
Later, the activists burnt an effigy of Sonia Gandhi.(ANI)
Poor infrastructure keeps Kushinagar out of bounds for tourists
Go to
top Kushinagar, (UP), Apr 18 (ANI): Poor infrastructure has made
India's Buddhist centre of Kushinagar out of reach for foreign
tourists.
Believed to be the place where Lord Buddha breathed his last,
Kushinagar boasts of Ramabar stupa (monument) where, the locals
claim, his mortal remains are kept.
A 15,000-year-old idol of Lord Buddha is one of the major
attractions. At least 32 countries, including Thailand, Japan,
Sri Lanka, Korea, China and Myanmar, where Buddhism is a dominant
religion, have set up monasteries here.
But even the architectural styles of these monasteries have
failed to attract visitors.
"Here no infrastructure is being set up--either by the state
government or by the Centre. There are also no facilities for
boarding or lodging. There is no source of entertainment and no
transportation facilities. There are not even proper
telecommunications service," laments Rajesh Tiwari, assistant
manager of Vat monastery.
Tiwari said it was unfortunate that while other countries were
showing interest in making Kushinagar an important Buddhist
centre, Indian authorities were least bothered about it.
Seven years ago, an airport was set up near Kushinagar with
Japanese collaboration, but it has still not been made
functional.
Officials, however, say development projects for Kushinagar are
already under way. "We have started development of Kushinagar in
recent years," said Arvind Rai, tourist officer of Gorakhpur
city.
"Different Buddhist countries have built monasteries here. There
are also a couple of two-three star hotels which have good
facilities. Other projects are in the pipeline," Rai added.
He said air link between Kushinagar and neighbouring historical
cities of Banaras and Lucknow is being established to attract
tourists.(ANI)
Violence during shutdown in Patna Go to
top Patna, Apr 18 (ANI): A shutdown called by the Bihar Chamber of
Commerce and the business community on Thursday took a violent
turn when the police tried to stop activists from indulging in
arson and destruction.
The situation went so much out of control that the businessmen
started throwing stones at the police. In the process, many
journalists along with policemen were injured. Then teargassing
was resorted to.
In the past 24 hours, three businessmen in the city were shot
dead. The business community blamed policemen for conspiring with
the criminals.(ANI)
BJP meeting on political tie-up with BSP
Go to
top New Delhi, Apr 18 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party began a meeting
on Thursday on its possible alliance with the BSP led by Ms
Mayawati for power-sharing in UP.
According to reports, the BJP would become a junior partner to
Bahujan Samaj Party. In return, 13 BSP MPs would support it in
Parliament, shoring up the BJP position as head of the ruling
coalition.
Various leaders of BJP's UP unit, who on Wednesday said they
wanted a fixed programme in an alliance with Mayawati, also
attended the meeting.
The coalition experiment between the BJP and BSP in the past was
not successful. The alliance lasted slightly over one month in
1995, while in 1997 the coalition fell after six months of
rule. The recent elections in UP produced a hung House with no
political party getting a clear majority in the 403-member
legislative Assembly.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which won 146 seats,
emerged the single largest party but it fell far short of the
required majority.
The BJP and its allies has 109 members and the BSP 98, giving
them a joint strength of 207, five more than the halfway
mark.(ANI)
4 Canadian troops die in Afghanistan as US drops bombs by mistake
Go to
top Islamabad, Apr. 18 (ANI): In a first ever incident of casualty
among Canadian troops in Afghanistan after the ouster of the
Taliban regime, at least four of them were killed and eight
injured on Wednesday when an American F-16 fighter plane
accidentally dropped a couple of laser-guided bombs on them in a
routine training exercise.
The statement issued by Canadian military department said, "A US
National Guard F-16 dropped one or two 500-pound bombs on
(Canadian) troops who were conducting a live-fire training
exercise in an area about 14 km south of Kandahar air
field."
In the US-led war against terrorism, more than 700 Canadian
troops are deployed in Afghanistan operating near Kanadhar to
flush out Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists.(ANI)
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