Let us make it a friendly border, says Narayanan
Declaring that cooperation between India and
China is ``a historic necessity'', the President, Mr. K.R.
Narayanan, urged the two nations to overcome differences and make
their border a peaceful and friendly one.
Multi-racial statute scrapped in Fiji
Fiji's new military ruler, Commodore J.V.
(Frank) Bainimarama, today promulgated a decree scrapping the
1997 Constitution Amendment. As a document of multi-racial
political pluralism, the scrapped statute had proved conducive to
the democratic election of the now-deposed Prime Minister, Mr.
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian, in a country dominated
by a narrow majority of natives.
Jayalalitha acquitted in colour TV case
A Special Court in Chennai today acquitted
former Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalitha, her close associate, Ms.
Sasikala, and another accused, Mr. S.R. Bhaskeran, in the
``Rs.10.16-crore colour TV scam''.
India mobilising opinion
A senior official of the Foreign Office, Mr.
S. T. Devare, is to leave for Australia and New Zealand in the
next few days in an effort to mobilise international opinion in
the matter of the ongoing constitutional turmoil in Fiji. This
will be the first overt effort to be made by India. Mr. Devare is
also likely to visit Suva, capital of Fiji.
Rupee hits new low
The rupee clocked a new closing low of 44.56/57
to a dollar on the inter-bank foreign exchange market today.
Sustained dollar demand from corporates and importers for month-
end considerations amidst reduced supplies pushed the rupee down
by another seven paise following its overnight sharp 13-paise
decline.
Sri Lanka blast kills 8
Eight policemen were killed and 10 injured when
a Claymore mine blasted the truck in which they were travelling
near Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka today.
Judgment reserved
The trial in the ``MPs bribery case'' against
former Prime Minister, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, and 10 others,
ended today, with a Delhi court reserving its judgment at the
conclusion of final arguments by the prosecution and the 11
accused.
Indian peacekeepers surrounded
As many as 224 Indian peacekeepers and 11
military observers were encircled by rebels in the eastern
Kailahun province in Sierra Leone, according to the UN mission
(UNAMSIL) spokesman, Mr. David Wimhurst. The troops were ``not
held in detention, but they are submitted to a restriction of
movement. They had been immobilised for more than three weeks,''
he said.
