Cong. formalises pact with AIADMK front
After weeks of procrastination, the Congress
today formally announced its tie-up with the TMC and the AIADMK
in Tamil Nadu. In Pondicherry, however, the Congress and the TMC
will fight the AIADMK and PMK.
Jayalalitha will give a good govt.: Moopanar
The Tamil Maanila Congress president, Mr. G.
K. Moopanar, today announced that the ``Congress-TMC alliance
with the AIADMK is on'' in Tamil Nadu and virtually stood
guarantor for the AIADMK general secretary, Ms. Jayalalitha,
providing a ``good government'', if voted back to power.
Destruction of Buddha statues: Pak. mission fails
The Taliban has rejected the appeal made by
Pakistan and the international community for reconsideration of
its decision for destruction of the pre-Islamic statues including
the two giant Buddhas in Afghanistan.
Sri Lankan PM for Pak.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr. Ratnasiri
Wickramanayake, will leave for Islamabad on Sunday to confer with
the Pakistani Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in yet
another effort to rescue the Bamiyan Buddhas from destruction by
the Taliban.
Bush urged to secure release of political prisoners in India
A bipartisan group of 19 members of the
House of Representatives, including some prominent India bashers,
have written to the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush, urging him
to take up the issue of political prisoners with the Indian
Government.
A rather different Holi
In a bid to ``break the ice'' with one of
the organisations speaking out frequently against Christianity,
the Bishop of the Church of North India visited the headquarters
of Vishwa Hindu Parishad here today to greet its senior vice-
president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, on the occasion of Holi.
Hurriyat team's Pak. visit in doubt
Mr. Yaseen Malik, JKLF leader and senior
member of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, is scheduled to
leave for the United States later tonight. Mr. Malik is among the
five members named by the APHC as members of its ``delegation''
to visit Pakistan to further the peace process.
Soldiers for peace want early talks
The India-Pakistan Soldiers' Initiative for
Peace (IPSI) has urged the Governments of India and Pakistan to
carry forward the peace process towards an early dialogue.
India will back Mauritius on Diego Garcia: Narayanan
The President, Mr. K. R.
Narayanan, today affirmed that the security and sovereignty of
Mauritius was of ``paramount importance'' and India was firmly
with the Government of Mauritius on the issue of restoration of
its sovereign right over ``its own soil'' in the Chagos
Archipelago.
