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Top Stories
Army
chief in Shanghai, on
landmark tour of China
What is India News Service,
Friday, 24 December 2004, 2000 hrs IST
Army Chief Gen N.C. Vij on Thursday
visited Chinese
military facilities and exchanged views with senior defence officials on the
second day of his landmark visit to the Communist nation aimed at boosting
mutual trust and defence cooperation.
General Vij, who arrived in Shanghai for a week-long China trip, visited the
People\92s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison there. He also held discussions with
senior PLA officials.
General Vij will also visit the eastern port city of Qingdao and the
north-western city of Xian.
The visit, the first by an Indian Army Chief in over a decade, is intended to
promote military-to-military ties, they said, adding that the two sides wanted
to step up bilateral cooperation.
The last Indian Army Chief to visit China was General B.C. Joshi in July
1994.
India and China signed the first-ever Joint Declaration in June last year in
which both sides agreed on the need to broaden and deepen defence exchanges to
enhance and deepen the mutual understanding and trust between the two armed
forces.
\93The aim of his (General Vij\92s) visit is basically to promote bilateral
relations further and to improve friendly relations between both countries and
the armed forces,\94 an official said.
General Vij, who is scheduled to arrive in Beijing during the weekend, will
hold official talks with his Chinese counterpart, Gen Liang Guanglie, and is
expected to call on the Chinese Defence Minister, Gen Cao Gangchuan. On the
political front, General Vij is also expected to meet a top Chinese leader
during his stay in Beijing.
Seer probe team asked to investigate one more
suicide case: Probe into a more than 3-year-old apparent suicide by
a real estate businessman and his family in Tamil Nadu has been handed over to
the special team investigating murder charges against Shankaracharya.
PMO seeks to open Advani case again:
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has directed the CBI to formulate grounds to file a revision petition against the discharge of Leader of the Opposition LK Advani in the Ayodhya case and also to examine "if there was any negligence on the part of any investigation and prosecution agency in not filing a revision petition on time".
Uproar over PMO letter: Heated
exchanges, interruptions and uproarious scenes were witnessed in Parliament as
the Bharatiya Janata Party mounted an attack on the United Progressive Alliance
Government alleging that it was
undermining the CBI and urging the reopening of a case against Opposition leader
L K Advani.
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Spotlight
P V Narasimha Rao
is dead
The former Prime
Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao,
died
on Thursday at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. He
was 83. He leaves three sons and five daughters. Rao had been hospitalised
since December 10.
The 'chance' PM who changed our destiny:
His was a political career dictated neither by a godfather nor by the
toiling masses, who invent and demolish idols in democracy. In the end, PV Narasimha Rao would have cursed his
stars that once helped him become the Prime Minister.
Master politician, he reinvented economy:
He will be remembered as an astute political craftsman, a respected linguist
and author, as someone accursed to undergo dramatic vicissitudes of destiny
and career, and as the first Congress leader outside Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to
hold the coveted office of Prime Minister. But, perhaps, more than anything
else, PV Narasimha Rao will go down in the history as the architect of
India's second-generation economic reforms.
Pall of gloom
on Rao\92s village:
A pall of gloom descended on this sleepy
village, the place where former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao spent his
childhood.
How will Cong reckon with history?:
It is more than one of those little ironies of politics that former Prime
Minister PV Narasimha Rao died a bitter man mainly because his own party,
the Congress, had almost abandoned him.
His unfinished
work \97 a sequel to \93The Insider\94
Kalam, PM
mourn Rao\92s death
Modern Chanakya's sojourn not taint-free
PV had a penchant for turning tables
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BJP revokes Uma Bharti's suspension:
The
BJP on Friday revoked the
suspension of firebrand leader Uma Bharti. She was suspended from the party on
Nov 10 after she challenged the authority of party president LK Advani during an
office-bearers' meeting in full media glare.
MLA threatens to
pump bullets into any Tehelka journalist he comes across: A day
after a Tehelka tape showed BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava saying Zaheera Sheikh was
paid Rs 18 lakh to turn hostile in the Best Bakery case, he warned, "I'll pump
six bullets into any Tehelka journalist
I come across".
Read Tribune edit: Another
Tehelka
States
Charge sheet against IPS officer:
Blaming IPS officer S.S. Virk for \93willful disobedience\94 of orders terminating
his inter-cadre deputation, the Central Government has issued a charge sheet
against him.
NDA charting a course in Kerala backwaters?:
A third force in Kerala seems like an improbable idea in the
intensely polarised state. But, with about 15 per cent of popular votes, the NDA
is readying itself to make inroads into the backwater.
Election Commission appoints six observers: The Election Commission has
appointed six Special Observers for Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana to supervise
the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in these States in three phases in
February 2005.
Karnataka
clamps ban on Shobha Yatra: The State Government on Thursday resolved to ban
the Shobha Yatra proposed by the Sangh Parivar during the Datta Jayanti
celebrations at Baba Budan Giri.
No decision on Bihar poll alliance yet, says Cong:
After the assertion by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) that it would not
forge any poll-alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for the Bihar Assembly
elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said that her party had not
discussed or decided any strategy.
Neighbours
Tigers reject agenda for talks:
The Tamil Tigers have rejected the Sri
Lankan government\92s latest proposal to resume peace talks, saying it lacked
\93clear and concrete arrangements\94 regarding the basic elements for further
talks.
Reconciliation efforts under
way, says Musharraf: General
Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday Pakistan enjoyed "real democracy" and efforts
were under way for reconciliation and political harmony.
Islamabad hopeful of
progress in next round of talks with Delhi: Pakistan expressed hope that the
foreign secretary-level talks with India next week would show movement in line
with the September agreement between the two countries.
Pakistan calls for reciprocal
flexibility: Pakistan
emphasized on Thursday that New Delhi and Islamabad must demonstrate flexibility
and statesmanship to move towards dispute resolution.
22 killed in Nepal clashes:
Nepali soldiers killed 22 Maoist rebels in a fierce gun battle on Thursday, the
army said, as a partial blockade of Kathmandu by the rebels reduced traffic to a
trickle on two key highways.
View from abroad
India, Russia certify Sukhoi configuration:
India and Russia have certified the
latest Sukhoi fighter configuration, a leading defence weekly reported from
London on Thursday. The new variant of Sukhoi - also known as MK3 model -
differs from the earlier MKII models, Jane's Defence Weekly reported quoting
Russian manufacturer NPK Irkut.
UNSC should support the weak,
says Pakistan: Pakistan on
Thursday declared that "the world needs a UN Security Council which can also
stand up for the weak and the powerless; a council which is a force for
objectivity, fairness, equality and justice".
Musharraf had no hand in
N-proliferation, says Powell: US
Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he does not believe President Pervez
Musharraf was involved at any stage with the nuclear proliferation done
allegedly by Dr A.Q. Khan. ...
Pakistan to get $950m from
World Bank:
Pakistan will receive $950 million soft-term loans from the
World Bank next year for various social sector projects.
Overall
Army chief in Shanghai: General Vij's visit is the first by an Indian
general to China in a decade.
Narasimha Rao died: The former Congressman was the first from outside the
Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the PM's office for a full term.
Nepal soldiers killed 22 rebels: The Maoists had blockaded roads and
reduced traffic in Kathmandu to a trickle.
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