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Released fishermen reach home

     Wagah: The group of 268 Indian fishermen earlier released from Pakistan's jails, returned home on Thursday through the Wagah border. Pakistan earlier this week decided to release these Indian fishermen, who had been languishing in various prisons in Karachi for the past one year for illegally fishing in Pakistani waters. The fishermen belonged from several Indian states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and Daman and Diu. This is the first time when Pakistan has released such a large number of fishermen from across the Wagah border. "The remaining fishermen in the jails are in bad condition... we strayed into Pakistan as we did not know the Pakistani border," said Dhaiyya, a fishermen who spent 15 months in prison. Reports said Pakistani authorities have arrested 895 Indian fishermen for straying into their waters since November 2003 and seized 159 boats. About 108 Pakistani fishermen are also behind bars in India on similar charges. "There is no demarcation of the area. And due to the heavy current they get drifted into their waters. So we have to educate fishermen about the borders," said Bharat Bhai Murli, a representative of the Gujarat government, who had come here the fishermen. Earlier, in November 2003 more than 200 Indian and 93 Pakistani fishermen were released by New Delhi and Islamabad on humanitarian grounds.

China marks 1.3 billionth person (Go To Top)

     Beijing: China named the first baby born at a Beijing hospital today as the 1.3 billionth person of the world's most populous nation, more than two decades after a one-child policy was introduced to keep its numbers in check. According to The News, China's population exploded after the late Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong exhorted the people to multiply in the 1950s to make the country strong. But China put the brakes on growth with the tough one-child rule and is now worried about finding jobs for the masses and caring for the elderly.

Maruti introduces Bharat III (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Limited has introduced Bharat stage III variants of its popular models Zen, WagonR and Baleno. According to a press release, in terms of emission, Bharat Stage III norms are more stringent than Bharat stage II norms as emission limit is reduced for Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen oxides. Introduction of Bharat Stage III technology involved heavy investment by the company and its vendors. Bharat Stage III emission norms come into effect from April 1, 2005 in 11 Indian cities. Till that time both Bharat II and Bharat III variants of Maruti Zen, WagonR and Baleno will continue to be available in these cities (NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Agra and Surat).

Anil Ambani meets Chidambaram (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Vice-President and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, Anil Ambani met Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today in Delhi. However, the reason for the meeting and the issues discussed are yet to be known. The meeting assumes significance as it comes at a time when the two Ambani brothers-Anil and Mukesh, are engaged in a bitter battle over the issue relating to the ownership of Reliance Empire. According to sources, Anil also met a number of senior officials of the Union Finance Ministry after his arrival in the capital last night.