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India-China boundary talks continue

     Beijing: Special Representatives of India and China on Tuesday resumed negotiations connected with the sixth round of the Sino-Indian boundary talks, with a senior Chinese leader calling for a quick solution to the vexed border bedeviling bilateral ties. Welcoming India's National Security Advisor M K Narayanan to China, the communist party Politburo standing committee member and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Jia Qinglin hoped that the ongoing sixth round of border negotiations would lead to an early settlement of the boundary issue. Narayanan began a second round of talks with his Chinese counterpart, Dai Bingguo here at the picturesque Diaoyutai State Guest House, venue for major international meetings, including the North Korean nuclear issue. He is also scheduled to call on Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing later today. The special representatives of India and China are tasked with finding a "package" solution to the Sino-Indian boundary dispute from the political perspective. Narayanan and Dai have met several times informally and formally in Shanghai and Beijing since Saturday in an attempt to find an early solution to the protracted boundary issue. Indian Ambassador to China Nalin Surie, Joint Secretary East Asia, Ministry of External Affairs, Ashok Kantha and other senior officials are also attending the in-camera talks.

Death to Sarabjit in fourth blast case too (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Pakistan Supreme Court today upheld the death sentence of Indian national Sarabjit Singh, who is held in the Kotlakhpat Jail on charges of spying, in the fourth bomb blast case in Lahore in 1990. The country's Apex Court verdict came even as there was uproar in India against the death sentence given to him in three bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad following which President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to look into the mercy plea. A two-member bench headed by Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar heard the appeal from Singh's lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid in connection with the fourth bomb blast case at Yakki Gate in Lahore in July 1990. Pakistan authorities take Sarabjit Singh as one Manjit Singh who was an Indian spy when held in 1990. The Pakistan SC also dismissed Sarabjit's review petition, saying that the appeal came after the 60 days mandatory period in which the defendant had to file the appeal. Defending the petition, Singh's lawyer Hamid said he tried to impress upon the court that the prosecution was confused between Manjit Singh and Sarabjit Singh, who are different persons. Hamid also questioned the prosecution's evidence, saying that it was flawed in many ways.

     However, after a brief hearing the court dismissed the case. Later, Sarabjit's counsel said that he would be filing a review petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, urging it to reconsider the death sentence it upheld against Singh in earlier three cases. Earlier, on August 18, the Pakistan SC had upheld the death sentence of Singh for allegedly carrying out three bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990. Subsequently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the matter during his meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York, where the latter promised to look into the matter.

Bangladesh Biman airline strike ends  (Go To Top)
by Nazrul Islam

     Dhaka: Employees of the Bangladesh's official airline Biman have withdrawn their wildcat strike at Zia International Airport after a successful discussion between the country's civil aviation minister and the leaders of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association. "We have had a fruitful discussion. Many demands of the employees have been accepted by the authorities," Mir Mohammd Nasiruddin, Bangladesh's Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister, said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Biman authorities and the leaders of the striking employees at 3 p.m. local time He also proferred an apology for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the strike.

Sensex closes at record 8528 points (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex closed at an all time high of 8528, up 49 points while the Nifty settled at 2570, marking a gain of 13 points. Broad-based buying interest was seen across a host of sectors including auto, banking, oil and gas. On the other side, FMCG, metal and tech stocks took a hit. Major stocks like ICICI Bank, RIL, Tata Motors, HLL and ONGC contributed to the northward rally. However, ITC, Bharti Televentures, NTPC, BHEL and Maruti Udyog were under selling pressure.

Chappell, Ganguly as squabble ends  (Go To Top)
by Sushil Pareek

     Mumbai: Strictures were imposed on both Indian cricket team coach Greg Chappell and captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday after both appeared separately before the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) review committee to sort out their reported differences. Briefing reporters after the meeting, BCCI President Ranbir Singh Mahendra said that the review committee had heard both Chappell and Ganguly, and had come to the conclusion that in the interest of Indian cricket, both must bury the hatchet and get on with their respective responsibilities. Mahendra said that in view of the heavy cricketing schedule in the months ahead, both the review committee and the BCCI would henceforth be monitoring the performance of the coach and captain, and only then would any decision be taken about making changes, if any, in the future. The Board President also described as unfortunate the alleged comments made by Chappell against Ganguly, terming him physically and mentally incapable of being in the team or leading it. He said that it was the review committee's view that this was a clear case of miscommunication. A warning was also issued to members of the national team and the coach not to interact with the media verbally or in writing, failing which, they would face disciplinary action. Mahendra was apparently referring to the statements attributed to off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who came out in support of Ganguly. The review committee included Mahendra, Jagmohan Dalmiya and former cricket captains Sunil Gavaskar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Ravi Shastri. They discussed the contents of Chappell`s e- mail to the BCCI in which he levelled various charges. In the details of the e-mail available to the media, the former Australian captain had said that Ganguly was struggling as a player and that it was affecting his ability to lead the team effectively and that the pressure of captaincy was affecting his ability to play to his potential.