Prince Charles, Camilla arrive in India

      New Delhi: Prince Charles arrived here on Sunday on a six-day private tour of India. A grand reception was held at the British High Commission in his honour where he met with the English cricket team, who are playing a series against the home team. The heir to the British throne who is accompanied with his wife Camilla Parker Bowles met the city's who's who, including diplomats, businessmen and politicians at the reception hosted by the British High Commissioner Michael Arthur. Prince Charles appeared to be in a particularly jovial mood as he chatted with the England cricketers, who are hoping to carry their resilient test series form against India into the seven- match one-day series between the sides starting next week. During their visit the royal couple will travel through India's rural hinterland.

     He will be visiting Punjab where he will meet farmers who have taken up organic farming. India's own royalty will get a chance to host the British Prince as he travels to north-western Rajasthan, famous for its royals, forts, palaces and breathtaking desert beauty, where he will be seeing a water conservation project. On his the third visit to India, Prince Charles will be skipping the Taj Mahal, a 17th century wonder in pure white marble.

CPI (M) leader Anil Biswas passes away (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member and West Bengal State Secretary Anil Biswas died here today at the Woodlands nursing home. Biswas, 62, is survived by his wife Geeta Biswas and daughter Ajanta. Biswas's condition was critical from the time he was admitted to the nursing home on March 18 due to brain haemorrhage. The doctors had carried out two surgeries on his brain to remove clots and he was put on a life support system.

     Biswas was born on March 1, 1944. He had joined students' movements in 1962. Completing his MA in political science from Calcutta University in 1966 he, joined CPI (M) in 1965. He became a full-time member in 1969 and served as a journalist with the CPI(M)'s 'Ganashakti'. He rose to become the Editor of 'Ganashakti' in 1983 and continued in that post till 1998. He has served the party in various designations. He has been a member of the party's State Committee (since 1978), State Secretariat (since 1982) and Central Committee (since 1985). He became the Secretary of the West Bengal State Committee and the Politburo member in 1998.

5 Naxals, policeman killed in gun battle (Go To Top)

     Raipur: Five Naxalites and a Special Police Officer (SPO) in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district were killed and several villagers were injured in a gun-battle between the Naxalites and the police on Sunday. According to the police sources, naxalites attacked Telipenta village and killed an SPO, injured several villagers, set houses on fire and looted many others. The Telipenta village falls under the hyper-sensitive Kutur police station area. Eight loaded rifles and other material was obtained from the site of encounter. Search for naxalites in the area is on, sources said. Rebel Maoists have a strong presence in eight of the Chattisgarh's 16 districts.

Bill for job quota in private sector soon (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed Finance Minister P Chidambaram has submitted its report to the Union Cabinet on the proposal to provide job reservation in the private sector and the government would soon introduce a Bill in this regard in the Parliament. "Providing reservation for backward classes is one of the promises made by the UPA government in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). We are heading towards a draft Bill in this regard," said Meira Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. To work on the proposal to provide job reservations in the private sector for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the GoM was set up in 2004 under the chairmanship of P Chidambaram. Kumar said that the government would now study the report submitted by the Group of Ministers and would soon prepare a draft Bill.

Medha Patkar taken into custody (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The pioneer of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement), Medha Patkar, was today taken into custody by police while holding a protest in the national capital. Patkar, along with several Narmada Bachao Andolan activists, was held when they were protesting the decision of the Narmada Control Authority to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar dam without rehabilitating the displaced persons. A minor scuffle took place between the activists and police when the later were taking them into custody. Last week Patkar had alleged that the Gujarat Government was "surreptitiously" raising the height of the Narmada dam despite the fact that Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz had put on hold the permission to raise the height of the dam. Patkar has been maintaining that taking the dam from the current level of 110.64 metres to 121.92 metres without prior resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced families in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra was a violation of the Narmada Disputes Tribunal Award and Supreme Court orders. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is a people's movement that mobilised tribal people, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across Narmada river, Gujarat, India.

Chinese met satellite system for Pakistan (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: As part of the cooperation between Pakistan and China in the field of space technology for its peaceful use, both at bilateral and regional level, China has reportedly provided a meteorological satellite data reception equipment to Pakistan to help the latter in forecasting and managing natural disasters. Based on DVB-S (Digital Video Broadcast-Satellite) technology, the equipment would provide real-time data collected by China's Fengyun meteorological satellite series, The Dawn quoted a senior official of China Meteorological Administration (CMA) as saying. The equipment was handed over to Pakistan's ambassador Salman Bashir at a ceremony held at the China National Metrological Satellite Administration Headquarters. Quoting sources, the paper said that the receiver system had multiple uses, including weather forecasting, disaster assessment, environment monitoring, oceanography, aeronautics, astronomy and forestry as well as for energy.

Mai's memoir to be published this year (Go To Top)

     Washington: The memoir of Pakistan gang rape victim Mukhtaran Mai, who has attracted much media attention, both domestic and international, is likely to be published later this year, the Daily Times reported today. The paper reported that Mukhtar Mai's memoir based on her traumatic experience of being raped on the orders of a tribal council would be published in August or September this year. Through her strong resolve to fight back against the perpetrators of the crime committed on her, Mai has emerged as the face of Pakistan women who are sufferers of all kinds of crime, including rape, gang rape, divorce and wife beating According to the paper, books written by Muslim women detailing their painful experiences have attracted a wide readership in the US. While Iranian Azar Nafisi's 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' has been a bestseller, and Bangaldeshi writer Monica Ali's novel 'Brick Lane' has also fared well. Similarly, Asra Nomani's 'Standing Alone in Mecca' about her pilgrimage to the holy cities has been well received in the US. Also under publication is Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi's book based on her life under a conservative Iranian regime and the restrictions that it places on women. An Afghan woman Masuda Sultan has just published a book, 'My War at Home'. She has also become the subject of a sympathetic story in the New York Times.

NRI doctor wins science award (Go To Top)

     London: Non-Resident Indian Dr. Ajit Lalvani, who is consultant physician in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford, has won an award for excellence in science instituted by London-based India International Foundation. The Deputy Indian High Commissioner in London, Ranjan Mathai, presented the award on Saturday night, which was received by Ajit's father Kartar Lalvani as the doctor was on a lecture tour of Switzerland. Dr. Ajit, a pioneer in Tuberculosis research, had also won the Scientific Prize of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease last year. The Delhi born doctor leads a research group funded by the Wellcome Trust to investigate the immunology of TB infection and is also a grant recipient from the World Health Organisation.

Samresh Jung adjudged Best Athlete (Go To Top)

     Melbourne: Ace Indian shooter Samresh Jung was adjudged the "Best Athlete of the 18th Commonwealth Games" here today and became the first Indian to bag the honour. This honour came as a consolation to Jung who fell short of his dream target of winning seven golds in a single edition of the 18th Commonwealth Games to end with five golds, a silver and a bronze in shooting competitions. The Delhi marksman has become the highest gold getter in the history of the Games ahead of Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe and Susie O Neill, who earned six gold medals apiece in earlier editions. Jung's dream of winning seven golds was dashed as he finished third in the men's 25 metre centre fire pistol at the Commonwealth Games shooting.

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