Bangla transit issue
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia to stop street protests and join a debate in Parliament on the proposal for the passage of Indian goods through Bangladesh. "I am requesting you (Khaleda) to discuss the issue of transhipment of Indian goods in the coming Parliament session," the official BSS news agency quoted Hasina as telling a meeting at Faridpur, 100 km southwest of Dhaka. "Khaleda is unnecessarily confusing the people about the proposed passage of Indian goods for political gains," Sheikh Hasina said.

ISI activities: India’s concern conveyed to Dhaka
India had apprised Dhaka over New Delhi’s increasing concern on activities of Pakistan’s ISI from Bangladesh. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said India had consistently shared its security concerns with Bangladesh at all levels and ‘kept’ them apprised of our assessment of the heightening of these concerns due to ISI activities. The seizure of 30 kg of RDX recently from ISI agents was made near Siliguri and not Bangladesh.

UPDS denies allegation of merger conspiracy
The United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), an insurgent outfit of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts of Assam, has denied that it was conspiring for the merger of two districts with Nagaland. The newly-formed UPDS, comprising two Karbi and one Dimasa outfits, said the Autonomous State Demand Committee along with CPI (ML), Karbi Students Association and Dimasa Students Union had brought the allegation through a Guwahati-based daily. It was nothing but a political gimmick and the people of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills would decide whether to merge with Nagaland or not, it said.

Manipur bans bandhs
Manipur government has banned all sorts of bandhs called by any organisation causing inconvenience to people. A notice issued by the Manipur Government pointed out to the Supreme Court order which held enforcement of such call for bandhs as illegal and unconstitutional. The Manipur Government warned all associations, organisations, political parties and individuals against calling such bandhs since fundamental rights of the people as a whole cannot be subservient to the claim of such rights of any individual or section of people. The government further cautioned that sponsors of such bandhs would be liable to compensate the State Government for the loss suffered due to their actions.

NSCN(K) decision welcomed
Tajing Taki, press and publicity secretary of Arunachal Congress Working Committee, has welcomed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) decision of not to interfere in the poll process in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Cong nominees for Manipur LS seat
The Congress has nominated R. K. Thekho of the Mao Naga group for the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency and Dr. Nimaichand Luwang for the Inner Manipur constituency. Mr. Thekho was a member of the Manipur Public Service Commission before he applied for the Congress ticket.

Fake currency
Police seized fake Indian currency notes totalling Rs. 2,02,000 from two different places in Sibsagar. One person Amulya Dutta who happened to be the official driver of the Joint Director of Health Service, Sivasagar, was arrested.

2 NLFT ultras arrested
Two insurgents of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have been arrested from SouthTripura district recently. State police and CRPF, during their joint raid at the tribal hamlet Serthungari under Ampi police station, arrested one NLFT insurgent.
In a separate incident, troops of the Assam Rifles acting on a tip-off, carried out operation at Pancharam Para under Ganganagar police station in the district and nabbed one NLFT insurgent.

39 drug-related deaths in Mizoram
At least 39 people, including five women, have died due to drug abuse since January 1 this year in Mizoram, State Excise Commissioner R Lalzauva said. While 37 deaths occurred due to the consumption of spasmo proxivon, a pain-killer drug widely abused by the Mizo youth, two persons died from the abuse of heroin, smuggled from the Golden Triangle, in the Myanmar-Thai-Laos border, Lalzauva said.Drugs claimed 87 lives in the State last year which was the highest in a decade, he said quoting excise department records.

Ban on killing of dogs
A joint meeting of the Dimapur Town Committee Red Cross Society, GB’s Union and wildlife preservation officers was held at Dimapur to discuss prevention of selling and killing of dogs. The meeting under the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act,1960,resolved to prohibit the killings of dogs in the district. Henceforth, under the act, killing and selling of dogs were prohibited and those violating would be dealt with firmly. He asked the police to prevent such cruelty with immediate effect.

Famine relief
The Mizoram Government has released Rs 2.50 crore as emergent famine relief for the drought-affected areas and respective deputy commissioners were instructed to utilise the fund for employment generation, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Aichhinga said.

Sanskrit Diwas observed
Sanskrit Diwas was observed in Arunachal Pradesh where songs were sung and speeches were delivered solely in the classical language. This year has been declared as the Year of Sanskrit by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, according to the organisers. Speaking on the occasion, noted Sanskrit scholar Vijay Ganesh Kulkarni emphasised on popularisation of the language. Refusing to accept the idea that Sanskrit was a dead language, he said it is the mother of all languages in India and proved to be the world’s most scientific language. "The irony is we are looking forward towards English while neglecting our own treasure," he said. Rekha Dwivedi, head of the Department of Hindi in Arunachal University, stressed on revival of the language. Schoolchildren also presented their deliberations and songs in Sanskrit. A five-day Sanskrit Sambhasan Shibir was also organised to popularise the language.

Sikkim HC recovers excess payments
Sikkim High Court has recovered all the excess payments made to former Chief Justice S. N. Bhargava following a Union Law Ministry directive. In January this year, joint secretary to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, P. K. Agarwal had directed the registrar of Sikkim High Court to recover all the excess payments. made to Justice Bhargava after all necessary adjustments against the arrears payable to him on account of salary and pension.The Centre’s directive came after the Sikkim Government’s request to the High Court for prompt recovery of excess payment made to the former Chief Justice on the basis of an inquiry. The probe was initiated by the State Accountant-General in July 1998

Film festival in Tripura
A week-long Indo-Finland International film festival, the first of its kind in Tripura, has begun recently. The State’s Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism Director Sanjib Chakraborty informed that altogether 22 films, including six from Finland, would be screened in the ‘Fin-In-Film-Fest’.Of the 16 Indian films, nine had been produced by the West Bengal Film Development Corporation. All the 16 Indian films to be screened have received various national and international awards.

TSR jawan killed in ATTF ambush
One jawan was killed and another injured when All Tripura Tiger Force insurgents ambushed a Tripura State Rifles (TSR) foot patrol at Paharput area of South District recently. The insurgents, armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked the patrol about 9.30 a.m. killing one of the jawans on the spot and injuring another, Inspector General of Police (law and order) Selim Ali said. The jawans also fired in retaliation in which two insurgents might have been killed as villagers saw the ultras carrying two bodies. However, he said this was yet to be confirmed. CRPF and Assam Rifles rushed to the spot with reinforcement after the incident.

Landslides damage houses in Nagaland
At least 50 houses collapsed and many more were damaged, rendering 200 families homeless when massive landslides triggered by incessant rains struck New Market area of Kohima in the past fortnight. Official sources however, said there was no casualty. Deputy commissioner of Kohima Norman Putsure, after visiting the areas, ordered for immediate assessment of the damaged houses. and supply of relief materials to the affected people.

KYWS to boycott LS polls
The Kakoi Youth Welfare Society (KYWS) has decided to boycott the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in protest against the Arunachal Government’s failure to protect the life and property of the people of the area. KYWS spokesman Kipa Babu said that the Government failed to implement the four-point agenda arrived at recently with the Assam Government on the boundary disputes with both States. He alleged that the Assam Police were harassing villagers in Barsattung, Dirga, Jumi and Kakoi areas of Aruanchal Pradesh. The Government has failed to protect the life and property of the villagers, he said. In protest, the villagers, numbering about 700, had decided to boycott the poll, Kipa Babu said.

Body of missing 9-yr-old exhumed, 1 arrested
In a shocking incident, police has exhumed the body of a nine-year-old boy from the compound of a retired BSF Inspector General’s house and arrested one of his servants for his "involvement" in the murder. Police said the servant was arrested after he confessed to having committed the crime as the boy used to complain against him to their ‘master’ retired BSF IG C. Z. Ghafoor. The body of the boy, a student of third standard, was found buried three feet below the earth with the throat slit, superintendent of police of East Khasi Hills district D. K. Rapthap said.
The child, who had been missing since the night of August 8 was the son of Ghafoor’s another servant. The accused servant Ali, who hailed from lower Assam’s Bongaigaon, had been tending flowers in Ghafoor’s garden for the last three years.