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Top Stories
Centre proposes unified
force to tackle Naxals
What is India News Service,
Wednesday, 16 February 2005, 1300 hrs IST
The Central government will form a Unified Commando Force comprising Central and State law enforcement agencies to tackle the Naxalite problem in the State.
According to an official in the Union Home Ministry, the proposal has come in the wake of the recent killing of seven policemen by Naxalites in the Pavagada region.
The force, which will consist of State Police and Central Paramilitary Forces, will be \93under the disposal of the Chief Minister\94, he said. \93The State will be provided with additional forces which would have to improve their intelligence network,\94 he said. In fact, the Centre has provided 23 battalions of paramilitary forces to tackle Naxal violence in four to five states facing the Naxal menace, he added. Under the current proposal, 30 per cent of the work force and monetary support will be provided by the Centre and 70 per cent of the force and infrastructure facility will be provided by the State government, he said.
Forces will not indulge in extra-judicial killing. \93There should not be any proxy encounters and an attempt should be made to convince the Naxals to come into the national mainstream,\94 said the official.
Flights to N-E disrupted as pilots report sick:
Air traffic to the North East was affected on Tuesday after ATR pilots of the Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Indian Airlines, reported
sick.
EC maintains hawk's eye on voter registers:
Wary of poll rigging prospects in Bihar, the Election Commission has decided to scrutinise voters' registers of all polling booths registering 68 per cent or more voting percentage in the second phase of polling on Tuesday, even as an estimated 50 to 52 per cent voters exercised their franchise for 82 Assembly seats in the State.
Over 50 p.c. polling in Bihar, Jharkhand:
The Election Commission said today that an estimated 50 to 52 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of the Assembly elections in Bihar, and in Jharkhand the turnout was around 55 to 60 per
cent.
Natwar hopes to boost India-Pakistan ties:
The External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, said today that he intended to use his three-day visit to Pakistan to provide further impetus to the India-Pakistan rapprochement process.
Adhere to CMP, Basu tells UPA government:
Although the CPI (M) assured support to the UPA government, Jyoti Basu cautioned that agitation would continue if unfair economic policies were followed.
Kashmir: Centre ready for talks:
The Centre today reiterated its offer of talks to all political groups \97 including the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference \97 to find a solution to the Kashmir problem.
Tihar puts out welcome mat for MP from Madhepura:
The Member of Parliament from Madhepura is likely to rub shoulders with Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru, an accused in the Parliament attack case. Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, who is being shifted to Tihar jail on the orders of the Supreme Court, would be incarcerated in high security wards, where leading lights of terrorism and the underworld are housed.
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States
Orissa bundh evokes poor response: Tuesday\92s Orissa bundh, announced by the Naxal outfit, Communist Party of India (Maoist), evoked
a poor response.
Get ready for Lok Sabha snap poll too: Jayalalithaa: The All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary and Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, appealed to the party ranks to "be prepared for a snap poll to the Lok
Sabha".
Fresh snow sets off avalanches:
Having remained open for a couple of hours, the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar highway was closed again today following fresh snowfall and landslides. More than 400 vehicles were stranded on the highway.
Boy found dead:
A day after he was abducted, the body of the 16-year-old schoolboy was found on a field near here by police. Two of his alleged kidnappers have been arrested.
Earlier headline: Hoshiarpur boy kidnapped for Rs 50 lakh ransom
MLA\92s murder dominates House proceedings in UP:
Claims that the BSP MLA had been cremated under suspicious circumstances and demands for a CBI probe into the matter resounded through the House.
Swaminarayan temple priest arrested in sex case:
The priest of a Swaminarayan temple was among four persons arrested in Junagadh city in an alleged sex scandal expose involving the sect.
Indo-US joint eye research:
Sankara Nethralaya and the US-based Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (AVRO) have come together to conduct workshops in India and the US, involving 15 scientists each from both countries, and evolve a plan for collaboration in eye research.
Neighbours
203 killed in coal-mine disaster in China:
With authorities ordering a news blackout on the disaster, only news supplied by the state-controlled news agency is allowed for publication.
Awami League keeps up pressure to oust Khaleda:
The eighth general strike in just three weeks largely paralysed Bangladesh on Tuesday and the country's main Opposition party said there would be no let up in its campaign to oust Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from power.
US tells Nepal king to restore normalcy:
While there was a hint of tough talking by the US, the Washington Post urged Bush to join hands with other governments to correct the \93Himalayan mistake\94.
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View from abroad
Harvard honour for Manmohan: Within days of Oxford University deciding to confer a honorary doctorate on the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, America's most prestigious university, Harvard, has also decided to award him a honorary doctorate.
US sees India, Pakistan as potential threats:
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in one of its rare open hearings, identified Asia, and specifically India and Pakistan as well as China, as potential threats.
"India-UK ties enter Golden period": Ties between India and Britain are entering the 'golden period' and the 1.6 million NRIs here can partly claim credit for it, Indian High Commissioner, Kamalesh Sharma,
said.
Overall
Unified commando force will tackle Naxals: The centre is keen on working
with the states to take on the armed revolutionaries.
Centre said it was ready to talk Kashmir: It has invited all groups,
including separatist ones, to the negotiating table.
US sees India as a threat: An official committee has admitted Asia is a
powerhouse it will have to watch with caution.
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