Month: March 2011

New Delhi, March 29: Pakistan’s Twitter-savvy Interior Minister Rehman Malik has thanked Home Minister “brother” P Chidambaram for the successful Home Secretary level talks between the two countries which concluded today.

“The meeting between the home secretaries of Pak and India has gone very well. Congratulation to both the teams…

It is their first meeting after my meeting with H.E Mr.

Chidambaram. Congratulation to brother Chidambaram,” Malik posted a message on the social networking web site ‘Twitter’.

New Delhi, March 29: Aviation regulator DGCA is probing a “near-miss” incident between two aircraft, with at total of over 300 people on board, at the Patna airport last week.

A major accident was averted when the pilot of a Kingfisher Airlines’ A-320 aircraft, which was cleared for landing at the Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport on Friday evening, saw an IndiGo A-320 on the runway and executed a ‘go-around’.

The two aircraft, which were reportedly carrying a total of 336 passengers, were given clearance by the Air Traffic Control.

Ambala, March 29: Ambala Deputy Commissioner today escaped unhurt when his car met with an accident on GT road near here, police said.

DC Samir Pal Saro was en route to Ambala Cant in a car to receive Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was visiting the city to attend a school function. When the vehicle was crossing SP (Railway) office, a mini truck rammed into the car, police said.

Though Saro and the driver escaped unhurt, the front gate of the car was damaged badly.

New Delhi, March 29: India will provide assistance of $1 million to Myanmar for relief and rehabilitation in the areas affected by last week’s earthquake.

Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a message to Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar, mourned the loss of lives.

The prime minister offered help in the rescue and relief efforts for the earthquake which hit the country March 24.

Berhampur (Orissa), March 29: Rich tributes were paid to noted tribal freedom fighter Laxman Nayak at the Berhampur Circle jail here on occasion of his martyrdom today.

Nayak was hanged to death at the jail on March 29, 1943.

He was born in November 22, 1899 in a remote village in Malkanagiri district and was instrumental in spreading the message of Mahatma Gandhi among tribals of southern Orissa during the national movement.

At least 22 members of Sahid Tirath Yatri came from Balasore and Bhadrak districts to pay their tribute to the freedom fighter.

New Delhi, March 29: The Delhi High Court today upheld the life sentence awarded to a political activist Hari Singh for hijacking an Indian Airlines flight in March 1993 but asked the government to suitably commute his sentence as he had committed the crime “to make a political point.”

A bench headed by Justice S Ravinder Bhat upheld the life sentence awarded to Singh by a Delhi trial court in August 2001 saying “this court finds no infirmity with the approach or the findings of the trial court. The conviction of the appellant (Hari Singh) has to be sustained.”

New Delhi, March 29: A two-day national consultation will be held here April 4-5 by the ministry of health and family welfare in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) to highlight the growing use of tobacco products other than cigarettes.

Lucknow, March 29: The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday announced a Rs.45-crore package to develop villages and towns within the 10-km of the India-Nepal border.

The decision was taken at a screening committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta here Tuesday.

While allocating a fund of Rs.45 crore for the purpose, Gupta declared, “The tasks to be undertaken would include improvement of roads, drainage, drinking water, health and power, among other things.”

New Delhi, March 29: The BJP today flagged the issue of Indian black money stashed abroad and alleged that the UPA government was not “earnest and serious” enough on the issue despite Supreme Court interventions in the matter.

“The UPA government is not really firm on this issue. It has presented a very selective list (of those Indians having black money abroad) to the Supreme Court. The government is not being very earnest about this issue. There is no will,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman rued.