Excelsior... Nation

Mani Shankar Aiyar

‘Vajpayee not fit to champion cause of democracy in Pak’

GUWAHATI, Nov 15: AICC secretary Mani Shankar Aiyar today criticised .....more

Manik Sarkar

Total bandh in West Tripura; CM reviews situation

AGARTALA, Nov 15: A 12-hour CPI(M) sponsored bandh in protest against.....more

Special British
Envoy to visit India

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is sending his....more

HC questions propriety of CP’s plea against state

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: Delhi High Court today questioned .....more

Murasoli Maran

Call for pooling resources for space technology

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: The 6-day second ministerial . ......more

Richard Celeste

US keen to move nuke non-proliferation agenda forward

MUMBAI, Nov 15: United States is keen to push forward .....more

Expansion of UP Ministry on Nov 17, says Gupta

LUCKNOW, Nov 15: The three-day-old fifty-member Uttar Pradesh Council ....more

Notorious criminal Dolatpuri killed in Muzaffarnagar

MUZAFFARNAGAR (UP), Nov 15: Notorious criminal Surendra alias....more

Total bandh in West Tripura; CM reviews situation

AGARTALA, Nov 15: A 12-hour CPI(M) sponsored bandh in protest against yesterday’s massacre of 17 people by All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) militants at Sidhai in West Tripura today evoked a total response, while Chief Minister Manik Sarkar reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting here, official sources said.

Shops, offices and schools in West Tripura remained closed, they said adding the situation in Panchbati market area where the militants opened indiscriminate fire was tense but well under control.

The Chief minister cancelled his scheduled trip to New Delhi today and reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting. The ruling Left Front reiterated its demand that more central paramilitary forces be rushed to the State.

The State police has requested the BSF to seal the Indo-Bangladesh border and intensify patrolling to prevent the militants’ from crossing over to the neighbouring country.

The Opposition Trinamool Congress has also called a 12-hour bandh tomorrow demanding imposition of President’s rule in the State following the attack that left 17 dead and 11 others critically wounded.

The Opposition Congress, BJP and Trinamool Congress criticised the ruling Left Front Government and demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister on moral grounds.

If the Government is not resigning on moral grounds it should be the duty of the Union Government to dismiss it to save the lives and property of the innocent, State Trinamool Congress chief Sudhir Ranjan Majumder said in a statement.

Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Gopal Roy said the State should be declared disturbed and handed over to the Army for free and fair operation.

Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura Assembly, Samir Ranjan Burman, in a statement blamed the Left Front Government for the massacre saying the extremists were members of Gana Mukti Parishad, a tribal wing of the CPI(M).

The killing was a pre-planned move to drive out non-tribals from tribal areas before enumeration of the voters’ list to keep the party-domination intact, Burman said in a statement.

BJP spokesman Brajesh Chakraborty condemned the incident describing it as barbaric. He said the Government had lost its moral right to continue in power in the State. (PTI)

Special British Envoy to visit India

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is sending his special envoy here in a move clearly aimed at bringing back on track bilateral ties which had been derailed in the wake of Pokhran nuclears tests last May.

Peter Hain, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who commences his three-day visit to India on November 17, will convey to New Delhi his Government’s earnest desire to "open a new intensive chapter" on relations between the two countries.

Hain, who is the first British Minister to visit India after the new Vajpyayee Ministry assumed office, will push for enhanced cooperation in a number of key areas with a major focus on tie-ups in the sphere of information technology, British High Commissioner to India, Sir Rob Young told reporters here.

Responding to questions on Commonwealth leaders meeting in Durban taking strong view of the military regime in Pakistan, Sir Rob said his country saw "eye-to-eye" with India in dealing with the situation in Pakistan.

The Commonwealth leaders have sent out a very strong signal and it would be a key factor in maintaining pressure on Pakistan to restore democracy in that country, he said.

The British Envoy was specifically asked whether his Government would support any move by India and other countries to expel Pakistan from the Commonwealth close on the heels of Islamabad being suspended from the 54-member grouping.

Hain, who is coming here at the invitation of Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja, will have wide-ranging discussions with him on international, regional and issues of mutual interest.

The British Minister hopes to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Union Ministers L K Advani, George Fernandes and leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi during his stay here.

As part of high-level contacts, British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot is visiting India early December which would be followed by the visit of Secretary of Trade and Industry in January, Sir Rob said.

Issues ranging from terrorism to environment will figure during these parleys with the Indian leadership, he said.

Stating that India and the UK had a unique relationship, he said we are keen to build on it.

He was of the view that with the Vajpayee Government firmly entrenched with strong prospects of lasting the course, there were good prospects for a gear change to an already flourishing relationship.

Sir Rob said Britain was keen to give a sharp focus to enhancing cooperation with India in the it sector which offered a great deal for both countries.

While maintaining that there was no change in Britain’s position that India should sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), he however made it clear that differences on this issue had in no way come in the way of strengthening bilateral relations. (PTI)

HC questions propriety of CP’s plea against state

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: Delhi High Court today questioned the propriety of City Police Commissioner in moving a petition to challenge a lower court order regarding transfer of a rape case from a local police station to the Crime Branch, saying this would lead to a piquant situation as he has chosen to challenge the state.

It is a piquant situation when the Commissioner has filed a petition against the state as power of the magistrate has been challenged by him, a Division Bench comprising justice Anil Dev Singh and Justice R S Sodhi observed while hearing a plea by the police commissioner, Ajai Raj Sharma.

Metropolitan magistrate Rajesh Kumar of Tis Hazari court, not satisfied with the investigation done by the Shalimar Bagh police station in North Delhi in the alleged rape of a widow, working as a domestic help, by her employer and then forcing her into prostitution, had directed the commissioner to transfer the case to Crime Branch on October 25.

The Magistrate, in a subsequent order on November two, after finding that the order had not been complied with asked the Commissioner to appear before him on November four. However, another bench of the High Court on November four, in an interim order, had stayed the magistrate’s order.

Delhi Government standing counsel K C Mittal said though there was no necessity for the magistrate to summon the police commissioner, yet it was for the state to see what action should be taken in this regard.

Sharma’s counsel Dinesh Mathur said the magistrate has no power to order transfer of the case. The matter will come up for hearing on November 22. (PTI)

Call for pooling resources for space technology

NEW DELHI, Nov 15: The 6-day second ministerial conference on space applications for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific began here today with a call for pooling limited resources for regional cooperation in space technology to improve the quality of life.

Held under the ageis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Indian Department of Space, the conference is being attended by top scientists of more than 22 countries besides companies engaged in space technology.

Inaugurating the three-day preparatory meeting of senior officials of the ESCAP member countries which precedes the ministers’ meeting, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran called for pooling the limited resources to reap fully the benefits of space technology applications for sustainable development of the region.

The event coincides with a science symposium on "Space Technology and Applications for improvement of quality of life in developing countries: A Perspective for the next Millennium" and the first-ever international exhibition, "Space ’99," in which satellite and information technology giants such as the National Remote Sensing Agency (NASA), are participating.

The first ministerial conference was held in Beijing in 1994.

Mr Maran said the countries of the Asia Pacific region had a major responsibility for defining a newer vision for the region and setting appropriate goals in tune with the emerging technologies and ever increasing demands on the limited resources. "The main challenge in the coming years is to have an equitable access to space technology development and applications to ensure mutual benefit sharing."

ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary Kayoko Mizuta said the conference was expected to launch a new phase of Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development (RESAP).

"What is needed at present is enhancing national and regional cooperation in the development and application of space technology and further promote regional cooperation in space applications," she said.

"In most countries of the region, the benefits from the application of space technology are still far from being fully harnessed. And developing countries in Asia and the Pacific are still confronted by an explosive growth of population, degradation of environment, poor agricultural productivity and inadequate industrial and infrastructural development, among other problems."

These factors, combined with the chronic lack of funds for basic social services, have continuously resulted in an overall decrease in the quality of life in those countries which the ESCAP wants to improve through various measures, including the application of space technology, she said.

Stating that the RESCAP programme had made the region one of the most dynamic in space technology, Ms Mizuta said at least 11 remote sensing ground stations were running parallel with a considerable number of meteorological ground stations for operational acquisition of environmental data in about 30 countries.

Initially four countries embarked on the comprehensive end-to-end space programmes while others were catching up fast with their own national space programmes. At least nine countries were engaged in national multi-mission projects, she said.

In 1998 alone, the region had access to more than 80 communication satellites providing over 1,700 transponders for telecommunication and television broadcasting. Some 30 national remote sensing centres and programmes and more than 20,000 scientists were active in remote sensing alone.

Knowledge and skilled human resources, coupled with a stable space information infrastructure, placed the ESCAP region squarely at the forefront of space technology development, she said.

In addition, several countries with large geographic areas have invested more than 100 million dollars each in the development of spatial information infrastucture with a remarkable impact on the development and applications of space technology. An unfinished agenda, however, remained which required a continuation of its implementation, she added.

Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) Chairman Dr.K.Kasturirangan said the need of the hour was to build "endogenous capability through mutual sharing of the expertise and experience available within the region and developing necessary skills to optimally utilise the advanced space technology applications."

The Asia-Pacific region, he said, should take advantage of the emerging trends in technological developments and work out plans to exploit fully the potential in high priority application areas such as food security, distance education, tele-medicine and disaster management.

The space conference, symposium and the technical exhibition, he said, provided a unique opportunity for scientists, administrators, policy makers and private entrepreneurs to exchange and understand various viewpoints as to how space technology applications could contribute towards improving the quality of life, particularly in developing countries.

Inaugurating the science symposium, Union Minister for Science and Technology M M Joshi called for developing appropriate systems to assist management of natural disasters which were a recurring phenomenon in the region. "This requires integration of scientific tools with people through education, local administration, local actions and self-help groups, he said."

The space systems, he said, had to meet the greater challenges of understanding the universe, the earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, the biosphere with better observation, communication and navigation systems. "Simultaneously, we have to integrate these capabilities with the actual lives of the people to improve the quality of life."(UNI)

US keen to move nuke non-proliferation agenda forward

MUMBAI, Nov 15: United States is keen to push forward the nuclear non-proliferation agenda in India but is equally interested in furthering bilateral relationship in trade and investment, US Ambassador to India Richard Celeste said today.

"The signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has to be viewed in context of India’s own interests and it is in India’s interests to do so", he told newsmen on the sidelines of the Indo-US Joint Business Council meeting here.

The two largest democracies are today faced with immense opportunities as well as obstacles and the US has to determine whether it is a one issue agenda on nuclear non-proliferation or a more robust issue of engaging with India in every opportunity, he said, adding that US President Bill Clinton was interested in the latter.

Senior member of the US House of Representatives and Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India, Gary Ackerman, said "this is the beginning of bringing together two great nations as never before. However, there are obstacles".

Great opportunities have emerged in recent weeks with the signing of the Indo-US energy declaration while on the other hand, there are issues such as CTBT that are yet to be resolved, he added. (PTI)