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Kalam to leave on four-nation tour by Rajesh Kumar Sinha

      New Delhi: President APJ Abdul Kalam is leaving on a four-nation tour on May 22 to visit Russia, Switzerland, Iceland and Ukraine. Kalam during his trip will have a series of meetings with the heads of the states and the governments in these countries. Union Minister of State (Independent) for Overseas Indian Affairs Jagdish Tytler, few Members of Parliament, scientists, government officials and media people are also accompanying the President. In Russia, Kalam would meet Russia President Vladimir Putin, have strategic talks, which may include the expansion of the Security Council, further cooperation in the civilian use of nuclear energy and space research. He will also visit Duma and interact with its members. Kalam will also pay a visit to the University of Moscow, the Academy of Sciences and many other scientific installations. Kalam may also interact with the scientists working on the Brahmos, the joint missile project by India and Russia Presidents tour is very important from the point of view that India is currently lobbying with world leaders for a permanent seat in the expanded Security Council of the United Nations Organization. This is going to be the first visit by any Indian President after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. In Switzerland, Kalam will meet President of Switzerland Samuel Schmid and hold bilateral talks. The programme of the visit has a focus on science and technology and includes visits to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Geneva, the Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne and the Swiss Institute of Disaster Management. During his visit to Iceland, Kalam will visit the Earthquake Prediction Centre in Reykjavik where he will explore possibilities of cooperation in seismic predictions. He will also meet President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson and would discuss issues of mutual co -operations on different issues. The programme includes visits to various Icelandic scientific establishments. A Memorandum of Understanding on Foreign Office Consultation is likely to be signed and an Air Services Agreement initialed during the visit. The Indian classical music and dance troupes from ICCR will also give cultural performances in Iceland. The last leg of the visit is Ukraine; Kalam will have discussions with Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko on defence and space research, besides other bilateral issues. The president will return to India on June 4.

Oxford-like university to come up in Haryana: CM (Go To Top)

     Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that his government would soon set up a world class university in the state on the pattern of the Oxford University. The new university would provide high quality education to the youths, Hooda said. The Chief Minister was speaking at a civic reception hosted by Surajmal Memorial Educational Society in New Delhi last evening. He said that 25 per cent seats in the proposed "Education City" would be kept reserved for the residents of Haryana and the students would be able to compete in the competitive exams both at the national and the international level.

I haven't done smooching: Meera  (Go To Top)      

Mumbai: Pakistani actress Meera, who makes her debut in Bollywood this weekend in film "Nazar", has denied reports that she has given a hot kissing scene in the movie. "There is no smooching. I have only given a romantic shot and the closest I have come to kissing is to give a peck to my co-star Ashmit. Such shots are permissible also in Pakistan". Following the reports of the said kissing scene, Meera had attracted enough criticism from her home country. Some fanatic groups had even threatened to kill her. "I am afraid.......now I take protection whenever I am in Pakistan. I have kept two personal body guards in Pakistan who guard me round the clock," The News quoted her as saying in Mumbai ahead of her film's release. Meera is the first Pakistani actress in a decade to star in Bollywood film after Zeba Bakhtyar starred in early 1999s. Film "Nazar" is also the first joint production of the Bollywood and Lollywood, Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore. The timing of the film's release is also significant even as it comes on the sidelines of improving bilateral relations between the two nations. About the possibilities of the film getting released in Pakistan, Meera said, "I am going to talk to President Musharraf and request him to allow my film to be released in Pakistan. I have a huge fan following in Pakistan and my fans are eagerly waiting me to see on bid screen. I hope he agrees to my request."

Palestine President Abbas holds talks with Manmohan (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived in India late on Thursday on a two-day official visit, held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on West Asia and the fragile Middle East Peace Process (MEPP) on the same day. The meeting between the two leaders lasted for about 30 minutes. No details were officially known about the meeting, but informed sources said that MEPP figured in the discussions. Prime Minister Singh is believed to have expressed India's support for the Palestine cause and assured Abbas that New Delhi would use its stature in the international fora to help the Middle East peace process to move forward. Abbas, who is on his first visit to India as Palestine President, also met the president of the governing Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, and is due to meet President A P J Abdul Kalam . He will also have talks with External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh. Abbas, who flew in from Islamabad, is on a tour of South Asia to apprise South Asian leaders of the latest situation in the region following setbacks in the MEPP and is eliciting support for the peace process. India has reaffirmed its pledge to render all support to the MEPP. It has also said it would sustain this commitment while extending unwavering support to the Palestinian cause.

      India was the first non-Arab State to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and allowed it to open its office in New Delhi in January, 1975. The PLO Office in New Delhi was accorded full diplomatic recognition in March 1980. India accorded recognition to the State of Palestine in November 1988 and the PLO Office in New Delhi started functioning as the Embassy of the State of Palestine. In the wake of establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), India opened its Representative Office in Gaza on June 25, 1996, for ensuring effective co-ordination with the PNA. It shares the perception that the question of Palestine is at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and supports the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to a State and the imperative need for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 425 and the principle of 'Land for Peace. India has continued its moral, material and technical support to the Palestinian people. During a brief visit to Islamabad on Thursday, Abbas was received by President Pervez Musharraf, nearly the whole cabinet and the chiefs of all three armed forces. Speaking to Pakistani journalists, Mr Abbas said Islamabad "enjoys greater political weight amongst the international leadership". "We hope that President Musharraf will put his political weight behind efforts for a just resolution of the lingering dispute," the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency quoted him as saying. Mr Musharraf said Pakistan was a loyal ally of the Palestinian people. "Palestinians are our brothers. We will always be with our brothers in the resolution of the Palestinian dispute," he said.

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