Burns happy with talks; Flood Scam Goswami's houses searched; Fernandes worried over BJP's internal developments; Cholera claims three lives, 100 ill in Punjab; MP Muslims protest against singing Vande Mataram; Congress: Digvijay Singh gets Bihar, Khurshid retains UP; Another NCP MLA inducted in Rane ministry; Tehri dam readies for power generation next year; Security agencies to form task force for tiger conservation; Iranian hardliner Ahamdinejad wins Iran presidential vote; Pak police become mullahs, authorities get worried; Indian call centres on alert after fraud claim; Tendulkar will get over form slump: Chappell; Jessica Simpson's hairstyle is 'Most Wanted'; Beyonce's gowns up for grabs; Earl Jones' illness causes 'Pond' to close; Timberlake may star in 'Black Snake Moan'; 'Close Encounters' may have been of 'Third Kind'; Nicole Kidman terrified of exposing herself; Internet blamed for Scottish Live 8 ticket chaos;India Travel Times, Indian News, Tourism, Hotels, Airlines, Tour, Travel, Ayurveda, Yoga, Festival, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Kathakali, Dance,

Home Contact Us Dateline New Delhi, Saturday, June 25, 2005

Burns happy with talks
by Ashok Dixit

New Delhi: US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns held a second round of talks with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran on Saturday evening lasting almost two hours. Burns, who will be heading for Bangladesh later this evening, exclusively told ANI TV, that today's talks were a follow-up to Friday's deliberations with the Indian leadership, and added that the discussions were very explorative and comprehensive in nature, and that he was satisfied with the end result. "We have had very good, substantive bilateral discussions with the Indian leadership here. We are looking forward to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States next month, and to his discussions with our President," Burns said. When asked if he could be more specific on the issues that had been deliberated upon, he said: "I would'nt be a very good diplomat if I did that would I. I will just say that we have had a very good, productive bilateral interaction." Apart from Saran, Dr.S.Jaishankar, Joint Secretary (Americas) and other officials took part in Saturday's talks.

On Friday, Burns told a press conference that his talks with the Indian leadership had focussed on issues like UN reforms, how to take the Next Steps in Strategic Partnerships (NSSP) forward, ways to enhance cooperation in sectors like agriculture, science and technology, defense and security. The focus, however, remained on what steps the US would be taking to induct new permanent and non-permanent members into the United Nations Security Council. He said that Washington was not averse to India staking a claim for a membership in the UNSC, and added that any such decision was a political one that would be attended to by the President of the United States. He, however, said that both Japan and India met the required criteria for inclusion in the UN body, but suggested that Japan was a frontrunner from the Asian region.

Flood Scam Goswami's houses searched (Go To Top)

Patna/Lucknow: The State Vigilance Bureau today conducted search operations at flats of former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, wanted in connection with the multi- crore flood relief scam, in Patna and Lucknow. Additional Director General of Bureau Neelmani said that search operations were carried at a flat in Queen's Tower and another in Gangotri Apartment in posh Gandhi Maidan locality. "We are probing various aspects relating to the scam and trying to lay hands on the unaccounted property of the accused to recover the swindled amount." Neelmani said. Details of seizure, however, were not made available. In Lucknow, the vigilance sleuths raided Goswami's flat in Gomati Nagar locality, which he had bought for 30 lakhs rupees in April. Vigilance Inspector Lal Bahadur Singh said that the raids were conducted on the order of special court in Patna. Neelmani further said, ""The raids were also conducted to look for clues which may lead to Goswami's arrest." He added that the designated vigilance judge had already issuded a proclamation notice against Goswami as a step prior to attachment of his property.

Fernandes worried over BJP's internal developments (Go To Top)

New Delhi: NDA Convener George Fernandes has said that the recent turmoil in BJP due to the Jinnah controversy has caused some question mark over the future of the NDA. "....Now we are seeing that issues are developing within the largest party of the NDA. This makes me worry about the future of the NDA," he told a private news channel. When asked whether he had discussed the issue with any one in the BJP, Fernandes said, "Whom should I speak to? Everybody is attacking Advani and I do not wish to disturb Atalji." "Whatever is happening now should not have happened," he further said. Earlier, Fernandes had said that the statements of Advani and the controversy after that would not have any negative impact on the NDA. He had said that it was an internal matter of the BJP and NDA had nothing to do with that.

Cholera claims three lives, 100 ill in Punjab (Go To Top)

Pandoli (Punjab): Cholera outbreak has claimed three lives and infected around 100 in the state in the past three days, the worst outbreak of the water-borne disease in the state. The deceased were mainly living in the backward Pandoli village, which lacks proper sanitation. Officials said many cases were brought to the hospital in the last two days. Villagers fell ill after they drank contaminated water at a community meal on June 23. Several people with symptoms of the water borne disease are also admitted in various hospitals in district headquarter Barnala. A large number of people are being treated in a makeshift hospital in the courtyard of a Gurudwara due to heavy load on hospital facilities. Inderjeet Kaur Walia, Chief Medical Officer, Sangrur, said they have sent water samples to Chandigarh for further investigation. "It is likely due to the mixture of sewage water with the drinking water as the ground water level for hand pump is very less. Some of them were also taken ill due to hot weather. We are engaged in treating the patients and have also taken water samples. In all we have taken 57 samples," said Walia. Walia said the state government has announced compensation of 100,000 rupees for the families of those who have died. Health authorities said the shortage of chlorine, used to treat water, had also led to contamination. "Everybody in the village is infected. 2-3 people have died and all of a sudden after drinking water, we do not know what happened, there was a problem in the stomach and we were ill," said Ravinder Singh, a patient. Cholera causes vomiting and diarrhoea that lead to severe dehydration and death within 24 hours if not promptly treated. The disease can largely be prevented by washing hands before handling food and avoiding contaminated drinking water. Many of those who die could be saved by a simple mixture of water and rehydration salts. Meanwhile, state authorities are educating people in the affected areas to maintain high level of personal hygiene and not to drink dirty water.

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